US government asked Qatar to ‘tone down’ Al Jazeera – Axios

Influencing the network would show Doha’s change of heart about Hamas

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked the Qatari government to change its relationship with Hamas, starting with the way Al Jazeera reported on the Israel-Gaza conflict, Axios reported on Wednesday.

Blinken reportedly revealed this to a group of American Jewish community leaders on Monday, according to three people who attended the meeting and spoke with the outlet. The US diplomat visited Doha on October 13, just days after the Hamas incursion into Israel triggered the latest escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. 

During the visit, according to Axios’ sources, Blinken asked the Qatari government to “change its public posture” towards Hamas. As one example of how this could be done, he reportedly said they could “turn down the volume on Al Jazeera’s coverage because it is full of anti-Israel incitement.”

Blinken did not offer any examples of the rhetoric he wanted “toned down.” The State Department declined to comment on his reported remarks. The Qatari Foreign Ministry did not respond to Axios’ requests for comment. Neither has Al Jazeera.

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Israel moves closer to blocking Al Jazeera

Israel has accused the Doha-based network of being “a propaganda mouthpiece” for the palestinian militant group, and has been looking at banning the channel.

“The government is working on something,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat told the Jerusalem Post last week. “The idea is if they are crossing the line in assisting Hamas, we can shut out the entire channel.”

Meanwhile, the White House has relied on Qatar’s relationship with Hamas to negotiate the release of some of the hostages taken on October 7. Blinken has been “deeply appreciative of the role Qatar is playing” in getting two American captives released last week, according to an unnamed State Department speaking in a background briefing.

At least 1,400 Israelis were killed and thousands injured during the Hamas incursion. West Jerusalem responded by declaring war on the Palestinian group and launching artillery and air strikes against Gaza.

Israel is ‘light that will defeat darkness’ – Netanyahu

The Israeli prime minister has promised a “crushing victory” over Hamas in Gaza

Israel is part of the forces of “freedom and progress” and light while Hamas belongs to the “axis of evil,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the nation in a speech on Wednesday.

“Our war against Hamas is a test for all of humanity. It is a fight between the Iran-Hezbollah-Hamas axis of evil and the forces of freedom and progress,” Netanyahu said in a televised address. “We are the people of the light, they are the people of darkness. Light will triumph over the darkness.”

Israel is recruiting world leaders in support of continuing the campaign, because “our war against Hamas is also their war,” Netanyahu added.

He called the Palestinian group’s October 7 incursion “a dark day in our history” which will be “investigated thoroughly” but only after the war. Meanwhile, Netanyahu argued, his job is to lead Israel “to a crushing victory over our enemies.”

According to the PM, Israel’s two goals are to “eliminate Hamas by destroying its military and governing abilities” and do everything possible to free the hostages taken on October 7.

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Israel delaying Gaza invasion to give US time – WSJ

“All Hamas terrorists are dead men walking – above ground, below ground, outside Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “We are raining down hellfire on Hamas. We have already eliminated thousands of terrorists – and this is only the beginning.”

Palestinian officials in Gaza have recorded 6,546 deaths since the hostilities began, of which at least 2,704 were children. Israel has reported 1,405 deaths, most in the initial Hamas attack.

Netanyahu assured Israelis that the government would provide “continued extensive assistance for all citizens of the state, just like we did during Covid” and would “not leave anyone behind.”

He also promised there would be a “ground incursion” into Gaza, but would not reveal when, saying that the operation needed to be kept out of the public eye “in order to better safeguard the lives of our soldiers.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday morning that the US has asked Israel to delay the ground attack at least until the end of this week. The Pentagon needs more time to deploy air defenses to US bases in the region, due to an increase in attacks by missiles and drones, according to anonymous officials.

Israeli politician wants Gaza turned to ‘Dresden’

The US is holding Israel back from “Biblical vengeance,” a former Knesset member has said

Israel should level Gaza to the ground and expel all Palestinians to Egypt to deter its enemies, Likud party member and former Knesset lawmaker Moshe Feiglin said in an interview on Wednesday. Feiglin’s recent TV appearance, in which he called for firebombing Gaza like the German city of Dresden in WWII, has gone viral on social media.

Speaking with the Israel News Network (INN), Feiglin lamented that 18 days have passed since the Hamas attack and “we still have not revenged [sic], in a biblical way…we did not burn Gaza to ashes immediately!” 

Israel’s immediate objective must be to “destroy Gaza; above ground and the underground tunnels. Only then send the army in,” Feiglin told INN. 

“Make sure that all the people of Gaza are running to Rafiah. Create a tremendous humanity crisis. Level the entire area, just as you did in Gush Katif and in Yamit,” he added. “Anything less than that, and we’ll be defeated, and we’ll get the same things again and again; even in a worse way.”

Gush Katif was an Israeli settlement inside Gaza, destroyed by Ariel Sharon’s government in 2005 as part of a withdrawal from the territory. Yamit was a settlement in Sinai, bulldozed after the 1982 peace treaty returned that territory to Egypt.

Feiglin criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reluctance to invade Gaza as having “destroyed Israel” and “destroyed any kind of fear” among the Muslims around the world. He also accused Netanyahu of making Israel into a “banana republic” of the US.

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Israel delaying Gaza invasion to give US time – WSJ

“The American hug is a bear hug,” Feiglin said. “I respect the Americans. They should not be here. We should not take any assistance from them. I cannot even start to describe what a disaster we are bringing on ourselves, when the only reason why we haven’t reacted in the last 19 days is because of the Americans.”

“The Americans are not coming here because they love our beautiful Jewish eyes. They have their interests, and the minute their interests change, they will be long gone, and we will be stripped from the ability to protect ourselves,” he added.

Another interview of Feiglin’s has recently gone viral on social networks. Speaking to Israel’s Channel 14 two weeks ago, he demanded “complete incineration” of Gaza, which should “turn into Dresden” with “not a stone on stone” left. 

Feiglin is a long-time member of Likud, who challenged Netanyahu for party leadership in 2013, winning 23% of the vote. He was a Likud MK between 2013 and 2015, when he left to start his own movement, but returned to the party in 2021. During the 2014 conflict in Gaza, he sent Netanyahu a 7-point public proposal for displacing all Palestinians from the enclave, and did so again in 2018.