The good, the bad and the ugly: A quote from Israel reminding us that Israel’s war of no choice is not good for the country
A quote from Israel says it’s good to die for the country. She said she doesn’t feel like this anymore. “Is it good to die for a country that’s not functioning, that celebrates the hate between us?”
The two friends were classmates of Levy’s. On the other hand, I still believe that Hamas needs to be destroyed. Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder how the war cabinet is doing if they make good decisions.
“I think we’re in a war of no choice and I feel bad,” said Rami Sherman. “We want to live here, to stay here. There are mistakes and problems but the only way to survive in the crazy world of the Middle East is to be united.
Israeli Reserve Soldiers and Defense Forces in Tel Aviv, Israel: A Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Defense Minister Ilay Levy
Of the hundreds who attended the funeral, many knew Levy as a family member, friend or fellow soldier. Others had no relation but attended the funeral as a show of support for Levy’s family.
“Two days ago, when we spoke on the phone for the last time, you told me, ‘Ori, I can’t wait to see you in uniform.’ So here I am in uniform,” she said, as her mother wept.
His sister Ori, dressed in military uniform, said in her eulogy that she enlisted in the army on Monday hours before she heard of her brother’s death.
Hundreds of people paid their respects to Ilay Levy, a 24 year-old captain who was killed Monday, in the pouring rain at his funeral on Tuesday outside Tel Aviv.
The news of Monday’s incident comes as sentiment about the war in Israel is shifting. A small but growing minority of Israelis are speaking out against the war, and thousands participated in a protest in Tel Aviv over the weekend calling for Netanyahu to leave office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday was one of the most difficult days since the beginning of the war.
In addition to the economic impact that the war in Gaza is having, Israeli soldiers are killing more and more Palestinians in the West Bank. The United Nations says the Israeli military has killed about 350 people in the West Bank since Oct. 7. The Israelis say they are rooting out militants.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Twenty-one Israeli reserve soldiers died in a single incident Monday in which two buildings exploded and collapsed on soldiers operating inside after Hamas fired at a nearby tank, the Israeli military said Tuesday.
“We share in the sorrow of their families for the heavy loss and know that the pain is unbearable,” said Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military chief of staff. “On this day, we feel the great and painful cost of war, but that which we are fighting is necessary and justified.”
The deadly incident Monday afternoon occurred near the Gaza-Israel border, where a group of Israeli reservists was “removing structures and terrorist infrastructure,” military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a statement Tuesday.
As a group of soldiers operated inside and around a pair of buildings that had been laid with explosives, militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a nearby tank, Hagari said.
He said that the explosion was probably caused by explosives being laid by the forces which were going to destroy terror infrastructure and buildings. “Simultaneously, there was an explosion that resulted in the collapse of two two-story structures, while most of the force was inside them and nearby.”
The West Bank Economy Has Been Hammered by War: Comment on the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, published in ‘The Palestine Center has Learned from the Experiences of War in Gaza’
The economy of the West Bank is not doing well because of Israel’s war in Gaza. Many fear the economic pain could lead to even more violence in the territory, which is a bit smaller than Delaware and home to some 3 million Palestinians.
The president of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research is not very concerned about the security forces. But he does worry that the West Bank’s battered economy is just one more ingredient in an already combustible brew.
“You are telling people who have their Kalashnikovs with them, ‘I will not spend money on you,’” warns Hulileh, who adds that other groups, including Hamas, could recruit them. “You are opening up your security forces in the West Bank for options.”
If public workers are not paid, the impact will be very bad. He is worried about the loyalty of the security forces of the Palestinian Authority, who are supposed to maintain law and order.
Since the war began, Said says, customers owe him $32,000, which is a lot of money in the West Bank. Per capita gross domestic product in the territory is just $4,500 a year, according to the World Bank. Across the border in Israel, it is nearly $55,000.
Hamas aided Gazans: How they get their wages, where they can go, and how they find work in Israel — The story of Muatanani in Ramallah
The video of people pulling bodies from the rubble in Gaza played on the shop’s TV, and the woman who took off her wedding ring to pay the bills was right in front of me.
Stroll through the streets of Ramallah these days, and the war’s economic impact seems to be everywhere. 4 out of 5 people who visit the gold shop in the city don’t want to buy gold but are interested in selling it, according to the store’s owner.
After the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which Israel says killed about 1,200 people, Israel banned some 100,000 Palestinian laborers in the West Bank from crossing the border to work in Israel. The country cited security concerns.
“Maybe I get a job once a week to wash stairs, to wash windows — that’s how I survive,” says Qatanani, 41, who has a family back in Gaza. He makes roughly 40 dollars a day when he can find work.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Muattaz Qatanani used to commute from Gaza to work each day in Israel, where he built bomb shelters — the kind that Israelis use to seek refuge from Hamas rocket attacks.