Huckabee Addresses Conference Of Presidents Of Major American Jewish Organizations
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee addressed the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Monday evening (16th) in Jerusalem, touching on his upcoming interview with Tucker Carlson, the recent meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Iranian threat.
Referring to his scheduled interview with Carlson, Huckabee said, “This Wednesday I’m doing a long interview with Tucker Carlson. Many have asked why. I figured instead of him talking about me, he should talk to me. I don’t recognize the Tucker of the last few years. But we do not change the narrative by being silent in the face of misinformation. We change the narrative by pushing back. Silence is agreement. It is why some of the horrific things in human history have happened. Because people were silent in the face of blood libels and lies.” On the recent meeting in Washington between President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Huckabee stated, “The meetings I felt were extraordinary, in many ways historic.”
Addressing Iran, the Ambassador stressed that “The US and Israel are absolutely aligned on Iran. Iran cannot continue their nuclear and ballistic program. Iran is not Israel’s problem, it is the world’s problem. For 47 years Iran has said death to America – they preface that with death to Israel, but only because Israel is in the way.”
He warned that “the proxies of Iran alone are a threat not only in the Middle East and Israel, but they are already in the Western hemisphere. If you think it’s only the Middle East at risk, you fail to understand the threat is global.”
Regarding ongoing diplomatic efforts, Huckabee said, “Talks are taking place. But can anything come from the talks this week that will bring peace? I honestly don’t know. There is significant doubt as to whether the Iranian nuclear threat, ballistic program and funding of terror will be removed. But if they were willing to do that, because they realize the consequences of not doing so, I’d be delighted.”
He added, “As I told the President, I hope that miraculously, something can happen to thwart a military confrontation.”
But I also told him, “Mr. President, if it has to happen, I’m willing to be in the middle of it, because for the future of my children, this threat must be removed.” At some time, the United States has to say enough is enough. Either they make a radical change, or they experience ‘the second kick of a mule,’ I think the President has made it clear that a military action is not his first choice, but it is his desire to make sure they can’t wreak havoc in the world.
IDF Chief – Israel Is In A Multi-Front Campaign
The Chief of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir held a discussion on Sunday (15th) with reserve brigade commanders together with senior members of the General Staff.
Also participating in the meeting were Deputy Chief of Staff MG Tamir Yadal, Commander of the Ground Forces MG Nadav Lotan , head of the Personnel Directorate MG Dado Bar Kalifa, and additional commanders.
Addressing the reserve brigade commanders, Zamir said he is “aware of the immense responsibility resting on your shoulders,” adding that the war “demonstrated to all of us how significant the reserve brigades and within them, the reserve battalion and brigade commanders, are to the operational core of the IDF.”
He stressed that “it is our responsibility to care for those who serve, to address the issues of fatigue, to reinforce the professional foundations, and to return to training alongside the continued intense operational activity.”
“Thanks to you, we achieved operational successes across all arenas of combat,” Zamir told the commanders. “You are command personnel without whom we would not have reached the achievements attained in this war. We deeply value the reservists and are acting in an unprecedented manner to ensure they receive the rights they deserve and more.”
Zamir said the IDF is attentive to the needs of the reserve commanders and “to the voices coming from the field,” and is working to provide the required flexibility. He stated that grants “will be maintained and adjusted according to the number of reserve duty days,” and that efforts will continue “to improve and expand the tools available to support your personnel.”
“We must continue acting together to strengthen the competence, readiness, and trust of the reservists in the IDF,” he added.
The Chief of Staff called on the commanders to “bring forward the voices from the field so that we can implement changes and adjustments to streamline and improve” while emphasizing that “clear lines must be set and that we must restore the IDF to full competence.”
“We will provide you with flexibility, but as commanders, you must endure the standards, values and norms of your formations,” he said.
Referring to the ‘Hashem’ multi-year plan, Zamir said that at its core is a focus on strengthening the ground combat force, including force build-up. He stated that the IDF will enhance offensive capabilities, operational nobility, robotic capabilities, and the readiness of the reserve brigades.
Zamir noted that Israel is in a multi-front campaign and said that 2026 “will continue to be a year in which we operate at a high operational-offensive speed to further weaken threats and defeat our enemies along the front lines.”
He also announced that he has directed “the closure of all improvised units established during the war.
”I salute and appreciate all who stepped forward and assisted at the outset and throughout the war, but we must act in a systematic and professional manner,” Zamir said. “Units and forces for which there is an operational need will be formalized and integrated in an orderly way.”Concluding his remarks, the Chief of Staff told the commanders, “I appreciate you and your work – continue the strong performance.”
US Asked Israel To Give Hamas 60 Days To Disarm Before Resuming War – Netanyahu Aide
The Trump administration requested that Israel grant Hamas 60 days to disarm before the IDF resumes full-scale hostilities with the terrorist group, a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Monday (16th).
Speaking at a conference in Jerusalem hosted by the Besheva Media Group, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs revealed that the US had asked the Netanyahu government to hold off on resuming the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip for at least two months to give Hamas an opportunity to disarm.
“We are respecting that,” Fuchs said, adding that if Hamas fails to use the 60 day grace period to hand over its weapons, the fighting in Gaza will resume.
Fuchs added that Hamas must totally disarm within those two months allotted to it, and that a partial disarmament, limited to only heavy weapons such as rockets, anti-tank missiles, and rocket-propelled grenades, would not suffice.
“Wuthin 60 days, Hamas must be totally disarmed, everything,” said Fuchs. “If that doesn’t happen, IDF soldiers need to ensure that it does happen.”
However, Fuchs did not know when the 60-day countdown would begin.
When pressed about the timing of the deadline, Fuchs said it would be “reasonable to assume that by June – a date floated for this year’s Knesset election – Hamas will either have surrendered its weapons or a new campaign in Gaza will be well underway.”
A day earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu Told American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem that Hamas must hand over its entire arsenal, rejecting a partial disarmament, limited to heavy weapons.
The Trump administration and the Board of Peace are reportedly milling an incremental disarmament, beginning with the demolition of tunnel networks and the decommissioning of Hamas’ heavy weaponry, with the terror group retaining its small arms for an interim period, after which firearms would also be turned over.
IDF Strikes Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad Terrorists In Lebanon
The IDF announced Monday morning (16th) that Israeli forces eliminated Hezbollah terrorists involved in efforts to rebuild the terror group’s military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, in what officials described as a violation of existing understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
According to the military, the strike targeted a terrorist operating in the Haneen area of southern Lebanon who was actively working to restore Hezbollah military capabilities near the Israel border.
The IDF said the terrorist’s activities constituted a breach of the security arrangements intended to prevent the reestablishment of hostile infrastructure in the region.
Lebanese media outlets identified the individual as Mohammad Tahsin Hassan Qashqash, reporting that the strike targeted two vehicles parked outside his home, with multiple missiles.
Local reports said Qashqash was preparing to leave in a van parked near a four-wheel-drive vehicle, when an Israeli drone fired several missiles, igniting both vehicles.
The operation comes amid intensified Israeli efforts to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing operational infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
Over the past week, troops from the IDF’s 391st Division eliminated three additional terrorists engaged in rebuilding Hezbollah positions and destroyed several structures and engineering equipment used to advance terror activity along the border area.
The military reiterated that it will continue acting to remove emerging threats and prevent Hezbollah from restoring military capabilities that could endanger Israeli communities.
Separately, the IDF confirmed Sunday night (15th) that it carried out strikes against Islamic Jihad terrorists in the Lebanese village of Majdal Anjar, located roughly 30 kilometers from the Israeli border near the Lebanon-Syria border.
Lebanese reports said at least four individuals were killed in the strike along the Beirut-Damascus highway.
Congresswoman Tells Munich Security Conference Israel “Enabled A Genocide In Gaza,” Sparks Outrage – Benjamin Weinthal
U.S. Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) alleged at the Security Conference on Friday (13th) that U.S. aid “enabled a genocide in Gaza” by Israel. In Dec. 2024, Germany joined the U.S. in rejecting allegations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.
Tom Gross an expert on international affairs, told Fox News “that AOC has flown all the way to Munich – infamous as the city in which Hitler staged his Nazi Beer Hall Putsch that marked the beginning of the road to the Holocaust – in order to smear the Jewish people further with a phony genocide allegation. Such preposterous allegations of ‘genocide’ form the bedrock of modern anti-Semitic incitement against Jews in the U.S. and globally.”
Danny Orbach, a military historian from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the accusation “is incorrect both factually and legally. Under the Genocide Convention, genocide requires proof of a special intent to destroy a protected group, in whole or in part, and as a baseline condition, an active effort to maximize civilian destruction. The evidence shows the opposite… Israel took unprecedented measures to mitigate civilian harm, including establishing humanitarian safe zones that independently verified data show were approximately six times safer than other areas of Gaza.
Israel also issued detailed advanced warnings before strikes and facilitated the entry of over two million tons of humanitarian aid, often at significant cost to its own military advantage, including the loss of surprise and the sustainment of an enemy during wartime.”
These measures were taken despite Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, its systematic use of human shields and hospitals for military purposes, and a tunnel network exceeding 1,000 km. – an operational challenge without historical precedent. Finally, no credible evidence demonstrates the kind of unambiguous, exclusive genocidal intent toward Palestinians that international law requires and that cannot be reasonably interpreted otherwise.” (Fox news)
The Palestinians’ Big Lie About The Al-Aqsa Mosque – Khaled Abu Toameh
Hamas has reportedly justified its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of Israel by arguing that it was seeking to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest shrine in Islam. Hamas even named the attack “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” Yet two years later, the Al-Aqsa Mosque remains intact, as tens of thousands of Muslims continue to visit it and pray there without being harassed. This shows that Hamas’ claim that the Jews are desecrating the mosque is another big lie produced by the terror group and its supporters,
It is worth noting that Jews do have a right to visit the Temple Mount, primarily because it is also the holiest site in Judaism, where the First and Second Temples once stood. Non-Muslims, including Jews and Christians, regularly tour outdoors on the grounds of theTemple Mount. But in recent years, Hamas and other Palestinians have been waging a campaign to protest visits by Jews to the Temple Mount.
In 2000, the Palestinians baselessly accused Israel of planning to desecrate the mosque and seize control of it. These false allegations led to the eruption of the Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada (2000-2005). Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians were killed during the violence, which included a massive wave of suicide bombings in major Israeli cities.
In 2015, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas said, “The Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are ours. They are all ours, and they (Jews) have no right to defile them with their filthy feet.” Jews touring the Temple Mount compound, like other non-Muslim tourists, do not set foot inside the mosque. This has not stopped Palestinian officials and media from regurgitating the lie that the Jews are “violently storming and defiling” the mosque. (Gatestone Institute)
