First Time Here? Readers suggest starting with the expanded Gaza Explainer in #133 and #120.
Top Ten IsRafOK Entries: #85; #123; #128; #140; #144; #154; #161; #162; #164; #171
Tags: 8 Min Read; Big Raf Analysis; Relief!
Again, thanks to all for questions and feedback. Especially pushback.
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Arcs of History...
Exclusionary language means different things in different places. In most of the world, it is part of ethnic cleansing. For example, "Free Tibet" is not the same as "Free Palestine."
They sound the same... But mean very different things.
Until October 6, 2023, over four million Palestinians lived under governments elected by... Palestinians. Half in the West Bank (under the Palestinian Authority-PA) and half in Gaza. Another two million are Arab-Israelis, citizens of Israel who vote, pay taxes and have the same health care system as the rest of the country.
I am not saying any of this is perfect, or without challenges, stains and imperfections. All of these spheres were worthy of improvement.
This is where Free Tibet is not the same as Free Palestine. The Free Tibet movement would welcome a Chinese pullout like the 2005 Israel-from-Gaza pullout. In Tibet speak, such a pullout would be an unqualified victory. Even if China then sealed its border.
Free Tibet would have won.
"Free Palestine," "From the River to the Sea" "Within Our Lifetime" are covers for something else. To Israelis and most of the world's Jews, these statements are calls to a bloodbath. They are not pushing for already existing self determination to be improved. They are exclusionary (read: bloodbath) demands. They are the same slogans used by Hamas and the Ayatollahs. There is no peace, tolerance or love in them.
They are a violent opposite to "Free Tibet."
I saw an interview with a former Israeli military judge. The journalist asked if he had a clear conscience after years of harshly treating West Bank Palestinians. He had two responses. First he said, "These people coming before me are enemies [so I have no choice but to be harsh]." Then he said, "[This situation—of military jurisdiction in parts of the West Bank—wasn't supposed to] last forty years!"
If I step back, to ask: What does each generation in the West think the future holds (for the West Bank & Gaza)?
The "situation" began in 1967, when Israel found itself in control of the West Bank and Gaza. How do the "waves of peace" flow over the decades since?
In the 1960's, the Israeli government explicitly wanted peace and did not want these territories
In 1977, Egypt's Sadat came to Jerusalem, and an ultimately-successful peace process started between Egypt and Israel
1987, the First Intifada started (Appx 2,300 fatalities, Palestinian & Israeli)
1993, Oslo Accords between Palestinian leadership and Israel signed
1994, Israel-Jordan peace agreement
2000, Second Intifada (appx 4,000+ fatalities, Palestinian & Israeli)
2000, Barak-Arafat-Clinton attempt to finish Oslo at Camp David
2001, Taba Summit, again attempting to make progress
2005, Sharm El Sheikh Summit of 2005 (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian National Authority)
There are other efforts, but none of them involved the two principles and/or lacked a supporting party in power: The Arab Peace Initiative of 2002; The Israeli Peace Initiative of 2011; The John Kerry Parameters of 2016; The 2020 Trump Israel-Palestine plan. The Saudis, in the 2002 and other initiatives, made offers that Israel did not engage. Thomas Friedman said, to effect, "When one side was ready, the other wasn't."
From how I measure, bilateral, direct engagement by the principals ended in the 2000-2005 frame. Everything since has been one side or the other lacking a counterparty.
Which means, I think: No one under 30 or 35 remembers when Palestinian and Israeli leadership talked to each other. When plowshares were dreamt of, not swords.
(The Abraham Accords of 2020 are interesting only if you live in a signatory country. There was no bloodshed among the parties to the 2020 Abraham Accords. Israelis take their lovers to Dubai and Asian guest workers fly to Israel via the Gulf. Progress? Yes. Peace? No.)
So we have arrived at scary language. I have seen "Free Palestine" painted on rural bridges in the U.S. Those who say it either agree with Hamas’ and the Ayatollah's slaughterers, or they are witless puppets to a bloodthirsty hybrid war.
The organizers and funders of the protests very much have a clue.
Mail
IDF Evacuation Orders, Phoey! Where Can Gazans Go?
Why didn't the U.N. and Egypt open an area for women, children and the elderly to temporarily evacuate the combat area? Why isn't this even on the table? (This was vocally advocated in the early months of the Gaza war.)
How many Gazans need to die for this even to be mentioned?
The answer (based on words and deeds): Egypt prefers that Gazans die.
So, apparently, does the U.N.
Hamas continues to launch rockets at Israel from the "safe zones" in Gaza—deliberately drawing IDF fire into areas where civilians are supposed to be “safe” and deliberately triggering new evacuation orders from the IDF.
Where is the humanitarian help for that?
Dept of The Invisible
Items invisible in the Western media. (Now combined with the Postmark concept, to help consolidate topics by locale.)
Turkey in Uproar: "Muhammad and Moses Shaking Hands"
Istanbul police have arrested three cartoonists — including Doğan Pehlivanoğlu (believed to be the creator) — who work for the long-running Turkish magazine LeMan (a very mild Turkish equivalent of France’s Charlie Hebdo), after the magazine published a comic showing the Prophet Muhammad and Moses shaking hands above the bombings in Gaza.
The cartoon has sparked widespread outrage. Protests by offended Muslims took place yesterday outside the magazine's offices.
Turkish authorities have since blocked online access to the magazine’s website. The cartoon was deleted. The cartoonists claim they were misunderstood.
Above is the image.
Authorities declared they will not tolerate insults to the Prophet Muhammad or offenses to Muslim sentiment.
Turkey... member of NATO, in process to join the EU....
Syria
Over the past week, there have been several reports of weapons depots in Syria blowing up. Below on July 2, near the Shiite towns of Fuah and Kfarya in Idlib province.
The circumstances behind the explosions are "mysterious." (The clue: Shiite towns and Hezbollah's ongoing attempts to rearm.)
Iran
Fordow: Back to Work!
June 29: The Iranians are wasting no time and working at full speed, with heavy engineering tools at the Fordow nuclear site.
July 1: In Iran, funerals for those killed in Israeli strikes continue daily, even a week after the ceasefire.
Over, Not Over
Iran: An explosion occurred earlier today near Nafesa Park in southeastern Tehran. The location was identified via geolocation — there is an Iranian missile base at the site of the explosion.
This not the first explosion at an Iranian missile-related location since the ceasefire.
Gaza
Aid Trucks
I have seen maybe 100 videos of aid trucks coming into Gaza. Possibly 200.
The aid is to be free of charge (commercial supplies do not appear to have been attacked, to speak of).
Four things happen to the aid trucks:
They are hijacked by Hamas, who stockpile and/or sell the “free” food
They are taken over by Gazan civilians (it appears, to get to it before Hamas does)
They are hijacked by one of Gaza's clans
They make it to their intended destination for distribution
This dynamic has been going on since day one of this war.
For the past month or so, flour in the Strip has been at the lowest price for the whole war. (It is supposed to be free-to-the-consumer, but OK....)
This indicates that the much maligned GHF is effective. I saw a headline: “170 NGOs, including Oxfam, Doctors without Borders and Amnesty International” are protesting GHF. Hamas openly condemns the GHF:
In a statement issued by the Hamas Government Information Bureau, Hamas condemns the continued activity of the GHF foundation and calls to stop working with it and to operate only through international organizations such as UNRWA... (e.g. a Hamas controlled entity)
See how this is the same as “Free Palestine?” Those NGOs could demand to open their own aid points. Or to increase the total number of trucks. Or anything positive and additive. But it isn’t any of those things. It is a call to shut down a channel.
And the price of flour has never been lower.
That isn’t politics. It is NGOs, wittingly or not, being actors in hybrid warfare. In this case, arguably against Gazans themselves.
Tunnels
July 1 brought documentation of another 3km of tunnel destroyed in the Khan Younis area.
July 2 brought documentation of another 2.5km tunnel located and destroyed. It was about 39 meters deep. (That's deep!)
Clan Dynamics in Khan Yunis: Yasser Abu Shabab
Yasser Abu Shabab's armed militia, which opposes Hamas and secures the American Foundation's [GHF] food distribution, published a proclamation last night in which it accepted responsibility for an operation in the Khan Yunis area in the southern Gaza Strip (the militia's headquarters is in Rafah, so they went north for the operation).
As part of the operation, Yasser Abu Shabab's men entered the compound of the College of Applied Sciences in Khan Yunis, where, according to information in their possession, Hamas was storing food that was supposed to reach civilians.
According to the proclamation, upon the arrival of Yasser Abu Shabab's men, Hamas members fled the scene - no conflict arose between the parties.
The food seized at the scene by Abu Shabab's men was distributed to the heads of the various clans in Khan Yunis.
Then, two days later:
Hamas' military court in Gaza has given Abu Shabab a 10-day ultimatum to surrender himself "to the authorities" for "treason."
If he doesn't, he will be tried in absentia.
In a Middle Eastern mindset, this is success, on Abu Shabab's part.
The Gaza meme-verse kicks in:
A response on July 2 [regarding the demand that Abu Shabab "turn himself in"]:
وين التسليم في مشفى ولا مدرسة ولا خيمة ؟ يوضحوا مشان يعرف وين يروح ياسر
Where should he turn himself in - a hospital, a school, or a tent [in a safe zone, where Hamas embeds themselves among civilians]? They should clarify so Yasser knows where to go.
These are all places Hamas embeds itself.
Then, Hours Later, Abu Shabab Posts
Yasser Abu Shabab is healthy and will soon present major national projects for the people.
The Hamas court is issuing directives from the hospital where it is hiding - this is a show that does not worry us.
This court should judge those who threw us into the disaster of 10/7. And brought us to this situation of hunger, death and the elimination of the Palestinian issue.
This court should judge the Hamas people who charge 50% commissions and steal aid.
Our strength is in our unity - let's build a bright future for Gaza without oppression.
Israel
Kibbutz Reim, July 2025
From Yehuda Wald's Twitter post, July 1.
On October 7, about 100 terrorists entered Kibbutz Re'im.
6 pickup trucks entered the kibbutz through the main gate, and there were other infiltrations through other breaches in the fence.
At least seven civilians were murdered on the kibbutz and five were kidnapped.
In addition, 15 soldiers and policemen were killed in the kibbutz and the surrounding area.
The fighters of the kibbutz's emergency squad fought a heroic battle for many hours.634 days later: The Kibbutz Re'im community has returned home.
And the figure published by @bokeralmog is crazy:
More than 90% of the residents have returned home.
Out of 200 families, more than 180 have returned to the kibbutz.Not only that.
There is a waiting list of 10 families who are ready to be taken in tomorrow morning.
The problem is that there are currently no homes to take them in.
Also on Facebook.
Relief Area
Alef
Right to left:
They must do away with the case against you. It's terrible!
Agree and sign here to end the Gaza war. Now!
Bet: The Stealthy...
Building: The Courthouse
Gimmel
Dalet: View from the Right
Not Terror (Israeli youth in the West Bank throwing stones, setting fires, attacking IDF posts)
Terror (Haaretz relaying reports of IDF breaking its own lethal force rules)
Hey
Tell me more about how you didn't vote in the last election because they are all the same shit.
Vav: Iranian General
Zayin
I am starting a new political party, and we will finally replace Bibi.
(Same line at top and bottom.)
Chet (Presented as non-fiction)
My "feminist" activist group is now supporting Iran. Do I cut ties? It's so hard to be a socially progressive Jew right now.
Tet (Non fiction)
Yod: The Netanyahu Family...
Yair postpones his reserve duty
Avner postpones his wedding
Bibi postpones his trial
And Sara is just repulsive
Chaf: Write Your Own Caption (about Bibistim):
A suggestion:
לֹא-יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים, עַל-פָּנָי (שמות כ’, ב’)
You shall have no other G-ds before me
Lammed: What Goes Around...
Mem
(Right to left)
You are looking at pictures from Gaza again?
No, this is Tel Aviv
I was at dinner yesterday at a cafe in the shuk. Suddenly, there were alert noises from people's phones. The lady at the next table says, "It's just the Houthis, forget it."
Everyone did.
To Peace,
Raf
(Thank you A.K., M.T., R.G.)