Death Toll in Gaza

How many innocent civilians were verified as being killed and how many died of natural causes in Gaza these past two years?

The verification of casualties in Gaza is exceptionally difficult and highly contentious due to the ongoing conflict, lack of access for independent monitors, and the collapse of the healthcare infrastructure.    

Here is the list of sources I referenced in my reseach and as I mention in the Blog the "main source" for many news outlets is the Gaza Ministry of Heath run by the Hamas terrorist regime so I questioned the accuarcy of their information.

The Guardian - www.theguardian.com 

Revealed: Israeli military's own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in Gaza war.

Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) - aijac.org.au Fact Sheet: Gaza's death toll:

The IDF estimates that, as of January 2025, about 20,000 Hamas combatants have been killed in Gaza.

Henry Jackson Society - henryjacksonsociety.org

Questionable Counting: Analysing the Death Toll from the Hamas-Run Ministry of Health in Gaza 

Only 5% of the surveyed media organisations cited numbers released by the Israeli authorities, while 98% cited fatality figures provided by the Hamas-run Gaza ...

The Washington Institute - www.washingtoninstitute.org- Here's the Real Problem with the U.N.'s Revised Gaza Death Toll 

It also cannot help assess the legality of individual Israeli strikes or operations. Nor is the claimed death toll a clear undercount: 40 percent of reported

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA -

www.ochaopt.org-Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (25 March 2025) | 

The fatality breakdowns currently cited are those that the MoH in Gaza has fully identified as of 22 March 2025 out of the higher number of casualties they ...

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

www.lshtm.ac.uk - Gaza: 64,000 deaths due to violence between October 2023 and June 2024, analysis:

The total death toll due to the war is likely to be higher(?) as the analysis does not account for non-trauma related deaths caused by disruption to healthcare, ...

German public state-owned international broadcaster Deutsche Welle -YouTube -www.youtube.com- 

New research puts Gaza death toll much higher than reported  

The numbers of dead released by the Hamas-run ministry of health have been dismissed by the Israeli government as being exaggerated, but recent research ...

Determining the exact number of innocent civilians killed in Gaza over the past two years (which primarily covers the ongoing war that began on October 7, 2023) is highly complex and depends on the specific source, methodology, and definition of "innocent civilian."

The request for verified numbers of "innocent civilians" killed and those who died of "natural causes" in Gaza over the past two years (predominantly the period since the October 7, 2023 war began) highlights one of the most contentious aspects of casualty reporting, as definitive, independently verified counts are not currently possible for the entire period.

The most commonly cited figures for total Palestinian deaths come from the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH), which is run by the Hamas terrorist organization - controlled government. 

So how trust worthy are these figures generally used by the UN and other international bodies?

The consensus among major international organizations and neutral analysts is as follows:

The total figure of dead bodies reported by the MoH is likely an accurate baseline for the number of trauma deaths. It represents a massive loss of life that most sources believe is either correct or an undercount.

The civilian-to-combatant ratio and the claim that a specific high percentage are women and children is the least trustworthy aspect of the MoH's reporting. This breakdown is often politically motivated and has been shown to be inconsistent with the MoH's own detailed lists.

In short, the raw number is generally considered plausible, but the demographic breakdown requires external, independent analysis (which often involves comparing the ages and genders of the identified dead to the general population) to determine the actual civilian toll.

Several international organizations and academic studies have attempted to verify, cross-reference, or analyze this data, often leading to different conclusions about the exact number and the civilian-to-combatant ratio.

Here is a breakdown based on the available data from international organizations, academic studies, and reporting:

1. Verified Innocent Civilian Deaths (Trauma-Related)

There is no single, universally agreed-upon, and fully verified total number of innocent civilian deaths due to direct trauma (strikes, gunfire) for the entire conflict period (Oct. 2023 – Dec. 2025). The difficulty lies in independently verifying the combatant status of every adult male killed.

The most widely cited figures come from the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH), run by Hamas, but these require external analysis to determine the civilian breakdown.

Sources:

United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) conducts its own verification process, which is often slower than the MoH's reporting.

They use a strict standard, verifying fatalities using at least three independent sources (such as hospital records, family members, local NGOs, and UN staff on the ground).

The total number of fatalities they can verify is significantly lower than the MoH's total, but their demographic breakdown for the verified victims has often supported the general claim that women and children make up a large portion of the dead. For example, one analysis found that 70% of the fatalities they verified in residential buildings were women and children.

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) (who we all know employs "local Innocent Civilians" read Hamas simpathizers or members) monitors and tracks casualties among its own staff and those sheltering in its facilities, providing a subset of verified victims.

Airwars a UK-based NGO meticulously tracks and investigates civilian harm in conflict zones, often using open-source monitoring, social media, and local reports. In the context of Israel and Gaza, Airwars documents civilian harm allegations caused by both the Israeli Military and Palestinian Terrorist Groups (such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad). 

Their data cited in media reports "due to the nature of the current conflict"( the highly cynical use of "Human Shields" within the context of "Asymetrical Warfare")  has been highly critical of the scope of Israeli military operations.

Conclusion on Verification: While the exact number of "innocent civilians" cannot be precisely verified, multiple independent and internal analyses (including some citing classified Israeli data) consistently show that the civilian proportion of the total trauma deaths is extremely high, likely between 75% and 85%.

2. Deaths from Natural Causes (Indirect Deaths)

The number of people dying from indirect causes—often referred to as non-trauma-related deaths or excess deaths—is rapidly growing and is not fully included in the main MoH casualty figures.

Estimated Figures for Indirect Deaths:

Famine/Malnutrition: 

As of late 2025, reports suggest thousands of people have died from complications related to severe malnutrition, dehydration, and lack of treatment, with figures of 10,000+ cited in some reports. The UN has highlighted that deaths of children due to starvation shame the world and demand urgent action.

Disease and Health Collapse: 

The breakdown of sanitation, lack of clean water, and the destruction of the health care system have caused deaths from treatable diseases, chronic conditions, and infectious outbreaks (such as cholera, Hepatitis A, and respiratory illnesses).

A study in The Lancet noted that their analysis underestimates the full impact because it "does not account for non-trauma-related deaths resulting from health service disruption, food insecurity, and inadequate water and sanitation."

It should be noted that "The Lancet" over the years has been reported to dedicate a disproportionate space to articles that criticize Israel and its impact on Palestinian health, while allegedly neglecting to highlight Israeli medical achievements or the context of Hamas's actions (such as the use of hospitals for military purposes or rocket attacks on Israeli civilians).

One analysis suggests the total number of deaths, including indirect deaths, is likely significantly higher than the reported trauma figures.

Natural Deaths in a Normal Year:

It is also important to consider the baseline. Before the war, Gaza had a large, young population, but a typical mortality rate would still result in a number of "natural deaths" (old age, heart disease, cancer).

One analysis estimated that the pre-war natural death rate in Gaza would account for approximately 5,000 deaths per year. These deaths may be included in the broad, unverified lists of total fatalities recorded by the MoH, complicating the data further.

In summary, the number of people dying from natural causes (indirect deaths) exacerbated by the war's conditions (famine, disease, lack of medicine) is not precisely verified but is "estimated" to be in the thousands and rising, adding significantly to the overall toll beyond the direct trauma deaths.

Furthermore, It should be noted that prior to the 7th 0f October 2023 from classified Israeli military intelligence database Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad had a pre-war strength of approximately 25,000 to 30,000 fighters.

Source Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman): 

ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) cites this range (25,000 to 30,000) as the "pre-war estimate" for Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

Of those Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad known by name, some 8500 are confirmed as KIA. 

The Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) verification method: used by the IDF to verify deaths of terrorists used intelligence data, unit reports from the field, cross-referencing names against known militant rosters, and sometimes by physical identification of bodies or captured documents.

Many times the Hamas and PIJ posted "obituaries" lauding the dead.

The IDF has estimated that around 17,000 to 20,000+ terrorists have been killed. This figure includes fighters from both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as well as and other terrorist groups,

Poland the Ukraine and antisemitism

As a historian I learned the documented historical truth.

I saw where someone posted a Meme "statement", that misused the term Nazi -which has been symbolically linked to the "Final Solution" when attempting to refer "antisemitsm" in Poland today.

Allow me to inform you and those reading to the historical truth.

The presence of Jews in Poland is a story of over a millennium, driven by a combination of economic opportunity and, critically, a search for refuge from persecution in Western Europe.

Here is a breakdown of how the Jewish community came to be in Poland:

1. Early Trade and Settlement (10th-11th Centuries)

First Arrivals: The earliest known presence of Jews in the territory of modern Poland dates back to the 10th century. These were primarily Jewish merchants and traders, such as the Radhanites, who traveled along major East-West trade routes.

Initial Communities: The first actual mention of Jewish communities in Polish chronicles is in the 11th century, with early settlements in cities like Gniezno.

2. A Haven from Persecution (High Middle Ages)

The most significant influx of Jewish people occurred as they fled violence and intolerance in Western Europe.

The Crusades (11th-12th Centuries): The First Crusade (starting in 1096) triggered widespread massacres and expulsions of Jews in Western European lands along the Rhine and the Danube. Many of these persecuted Jews migrated east, finding a more welcoming environment in Poland.

Royal Protection and Charters: Polish rulers often saw the economic value of Jewish immigrants, who brought skills in commerce, finance, and crafts.

Bolesław III (1102–1139) encouraged Jewish settlement with a tolerant regime.

Bolesław the Pious issued the Statute of Kalisz (1264), a pivotal charter that granted Jews personal freedom, legal autonomy, protection from forced baptism, and the right to conduct trade and moneylending.

Casimir III the Great (1333–1370) ratified and expanded this charter, and his reign is often viewed as a "Golden Era" for Polish Jewry.

3. Mass Migration and The "Haven" (14th-16th Centuries)

The Black Death and Expulsions: Following the Black Death in the 14th century, Jews were often blamed and persecuted across Europe. Simultaneously, they faced expulsions from countries like England (1290), France (1394), Spain (1492), and parts of Germany, Austria, and Bohemia.

Poland's Tolerance: As Western Europe became increasingly intolerant, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth offered a rare and vital refuge. Poland became known as "Paradisus Iudaeorum" (Latin for "Paradise of the Jews").

A World Center: By the mid-16th century, Poland was home to the largest Jewish community in the world, estimated by some sources to be as high as three-quarters of the global Jewish population at the time. This environment fostered a major center for Jewish culture, religious scholarship, and learning (Yeshivot).

In summary, the Jewish presence in Poland began with trade, but grew exponentially due to the push factor of severe persecution in the West and the pull factor of relative tolerance, legal protections, and economic opportunities offered by Polish monarchs who sought to develop their country.

So why did so much hatred against the Jews develope among the "lower class" -serfs - of Poland and the Ukraine?

The intense hatred directed at Jews by the serfs (peasant-slaves) in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, particularly in the Ukrainian territories, was primarily due to the economic and social intermediary role the Jews were forced to play between the deeply oppressed peasantry and the powerful Polish nobility.

The serfs were often unable to distinguish between the Jewish agent who directly enforced the taxes and rules, and the Polish noble (magnate) who was the ultimate source of their exploitation.

Here are the key factors that led to this resentment:

1. The Arenda System (Leaseholding)  

The most critical factor was the Arenda system. Polish nobles, who owned vast tracts of land (latifundia), often preferred not to manage their estates directly. They would lease out economic rights, known as arenda, to Jewish entrepreneurs for a fixed cash sum.

The Jewish Role: As leaseholders (known as arendars), Jews managed various essential, and often monopolistic, elements of the noble's estate, including:

Taverns and Liquor Sales (Propinacja): This was a major source of conflict. The arendar often held the exclusive right to distill and sell alcohol. Since the serfs often spent their meager earnings on drink, the Jewish tavern keeper became the immediate face of the peasants' poverty and moral degradation.

Mills, Tolls, and Taxes: Jews collected duties for using the flour mill, crossing bridges, and gathering market tolls, making them the visible collectors of fees that strained the peasants' subsistence.

The Serf's Perception: The serfs had little or no direct contact with the distant noble. The person demanding their dues, extracting their grain, or collecting money for their drinks was the Jewish arendar. This created a "buffer of hatred," diverting the serfs' justified rage over their serfdom away from the noble landlord and onto the Jewish intermediary.

2. Proximate Enforcers of Serfdom  

While not the owners of the serfs, Jewish leaseholders and estate managers acted as the nobleman's stewards, effectively becoming the enforcers of the noble's will and the system of serfdom itself.

Corvée (Forced Labor): The serf's life was defined by the corvée, or compulsory unpaid labor on the lord's land. The Jewish manager often supervised this labor and ensured the serfs met their obligations, making him the direct supervisor of their exploitation.

Estate Management: In addition to managing specific enterprises like taverns, some wealthy Jews leased entire villages (dzierżawa), becoming the de facto rulers of the serf community, dictating their daily lives and economic transactions. This role made them synonymous with the Polish ruling class, despite being legally separate.

3. Religious and Ethnic Difference 

The economic tension was compounded by deep religious and ethnic divisions, especially in the Ukrainian lands:

Religious Conflict: The majority of the serfs in Ukraine were Orthodox Christian, while the nobility was primarily Polish Catholic. The Jews, being neither Orthodox nor Catholic, were viewed as yet another "alien" element allied with the Catholic Polish oppressors. This fueled the traditional, deep-seated Christian anti-Semitism that was already present in Europe.

Cossack Uprisings: This hatred exploded during major peasant and Cossack revolts, such as the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648). The Cossacks and serfs, seeking to overthrow Polish rule, targeted Jewish communities with extreme violence. Jews were killed not just because of their religion, but because they were perceived as the direct "servants" and "sponges" of the hated Polish nobility, making them a primary symbol of the oppressive system.

In essence, the serfs saw the Jews as the immediate, tangible agents of the system that deprived them of freedom, wealth, and dignity, even though the ultimate source of their oppression was the Polish-Lithuanian nobility.

Hatred against Israel? Know the truth - SIG and Active measures

When Israel was founded in 1948, the USSR was among the first to grant it full legal recognition. Stalin believed Israel’s socialist kibbutzim model signaled an affinity for communism that might one day make it an ally and help Moscow push Britain out of the Middle East.

But those hopes collapsed within two decades. Israel sided symbolically with the United States during the Korean War, joined Britain and France in the 1956 Suez campaign, and most humiliatingly for Moscow, defeated Soviet-armed Arab militaries in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Within the USSR, antisemitism was already systemic; Jews were distrusted as potential “Western agents.” By exporting that prejudice to the Arab world, the Soviets could weaponize hatred of Israel to rally allies and weaken the West.

The culmination came in 1975, when Moscow pushed UN Resolution 3379 declaring that “Zionism is a form of racism” the ultimate  goal was to “instill a Nazi-style hatred for Jews throughout the world and especially the Islamic world.”

The double-speak which became the hallmark of the PLO and its successors was taught to Yasser Arafat by the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu who advised him to “talk peace in English but wage war in Arabic.” 

Soviet defector Vasily Mitrokhin who was a former senior officer of the Soviet Foreign Intelligence service and later demoted to KGB archivist revealed that Mahmoud Abbas appears in Soviet archives under the codename “Krotov" (mole). 

While a student at Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in Moscow, which promoted Holocaust-denial themes accusing Jews of colluding with Nazis. Mahmoud Abbas wrote his doctoral dissertation, "The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism"—a lampoon of blatant lies, including Holocaust denial and accusations that Zionists "assisted" Hitler—was completed in May 1982 and released as a book two years later.

In 1982 Abbas returned to Lebanon and used the PLO archive to spread Soviet propaganda prepared by the KGB and the Stasi, which accused "Western Imperialism and Zionism" of cooperating with the Nazis. 

This was done as part of a widespread propaganda campaign run by the KGB at the time, which attempted to create a link between anti-Soviet elements and the Nazis by flooding the Middle East with Arabic translations of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, films portraying Jews as Nazis, and thousands of “agents of influence” spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories—the ultimate symbol of evil.

Israel was now recast as a racist oppressor. Soviet propagandists produced books such as Zionism and Apartheid, along with posters equating the Star of David with a swastika. This propaganda material was later seized in an Israeli Military Intelligence raid of the PLO archive in Beirut, and it constitutes, at the very least, additional circumstantial evidence attesting to the links between Fatah and Abbas and the Soviet intelligence services.

The Soviet Union may have collapsed, but its disinformation ecosystem survives, and now with a new sponsor. Today, Qatar funds the same ideology through Western universities, media outlets, and “human-rights” NGOs.

According to a 2024 Middle East Forum report, Qatar channels roughly $235 million per year into U.S. universities, hosts U.S. campuses in Doha, and has expanded its media reach beyond its state-sponsored Al Jazeera network, now hosting a state-of-the-art CNN bureau. 

The use of the KGB methodology, outlaid in the  Active Measures campaign of the 1960's. is used by the Qataris today: fund the institutions that shape minds, flood them with anti-Israel narratives, and let sympathetic academics and activists carry the message forward.

The slogans heard in anti-Israel demonstrations throughout the world first scripted in Moscow: “From the river to the sea,” “Israel is apartheid,” “Free Palestine,” turn a regional conflict into a global morality play where Jews are always cast as villains.

As seen today throughout the world Operation SIG succeeded beyond the Kremlin’s expectations as it reframed the lone Jewish state of Israel’s existence as that of a country of "Outsiders /Colonists" discrediting the indigenous reality of Jews from Judaea. It recast hatred of the Jews found in crass antisemitism as “anti-Zionism,” and taught the world to see a democracy fighting for survival as a pariah state.

What or how should one reply to vile antisemtic hatred on social media

The way to respond to vile antisemitic hatred on social This is one of the most common and challenging situations today. Dealing with vile antisemitic hatred on social media requires a strategic approach that prioritizes your well-being, uses the platform's tools, and aims to educate the broader audience (the bystanders), since the hater themselves is rarely open to reason.

Key Considerations- Who is the Audience? 

If you are in a public forum, your response is often more for the benefit of bystanders than the individual hater. In that case, Approach 1 (Factual Correction) is usually the most effective in neutralizing the claim.

1. The Factual Correction (Focus on Education)

This approach is best when the audience isn't the hater themselves, but observers who might be swayed by the claims. The key is to be calm and relentlessly factual.

"The statement you are making is based on a known antisemitic fabrication. The quote 'Libbre David 37' does not exist in any Jewish text. While the Talmud is a massive, complex, and ancient legal document that records centuries of debate, its legal and ethical conclusion is to treat all human beings, created in God’s image, with justice and respect. The claim that the Talmud universally promotes 'supremacy' or commands harm to non-Jews is historically and textually false and has been the foundation for antisemitic persecution for centuries."

2. The Direct Confrontation (Focus on Morality)

This approach focuses on calling out the behavior and the moral implications of spreading hate, rather than debating the text itself.

Example:

 "I will not debate the contents of a religious text with you when your intention is clearly just to spread hatred and bigotry. Using known fabrications and gross misrepresentations of the Talmud to demonize an entire group of people is the definition of antisemitism. I stand by the correction of the false quote, and I reject your attempt to pivot from a lie to a generalized attack."

3. The Boundary/Disengagement (Focus on Self-Preservation)

If the person is clearly not open to reason and is just looking for an argument, setting a boundary and disengaging is often the healthiest choice.

"I provided a factual correction to a lie. Your response makes it clear that your goal is not seeking truth but spreading hate. Since you are only interested in repeating antisemitic talking points, there is no productive discussion to be had. I will not be engaging further."

Here is a guide on how you should reply, combining Safety, Reporting, and Response.

1. Prioritize Safety and Disengagement (The Golden Rule)

The most effective "reply" is often not a reply at all. Antisemitic trolls on social media are seeking an emotional reaction and a prolonged debate to spread their hate further. Do not give them what they want.

• Block: Immediately block the user's account. This prevents them from seeing your posts and reduces your exposure to their hate.
• Do Not Engage (The Troll): Never debate the merits of their claims or their personal character. This validates their existence and exposes you to more toxicity.
• Your Own Safety/Well-being: If the interaction is causing stress or is escalating, Approach 3 (Disengagement) is the correct choice. You do not owe anyone an explanation or a debate about your humanity or religious texts.
• Protect Your Privacy: Ensure your personal information, location, and family details are not easily accessible on your profile.

2. The Essential Action: Report and Document

This is the most impactful step, as it can lead to the removal of the content and the suspension of the account.

Document Everything: Before you block or report, take a screenshot of the hateful comment/post and the user's profile. You need this evidence if the platform fails to act or if you need to report to law enforcement/advocacy groups.

Report to the Platform: 

Use the platform's specific "Report" function (for Hate Speech or Abusive Content). This is typically anonymous. Be specific in your report—mention the antisemitic tropes or threats used.

Goal: Get the post removed and the account suspended, limiting the hate's reach.

Report to Advocacy Groups: Report the incident to a dedicated organization that tracks and counters online antisemitism, such as:

• The Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
• The American Jewish Committee (AJC)
• Community Security Trust (CST) (in the UK)

Why? These groups have direct channels to social media companies and can often compel action when an individual report fails.

3. The Constructive Reply (If You Must Engage)

If you decide to post a public reply, do it after reporting and do it for the benefit of bystanders, not the hater. The reply should be a single, clear statement that sets a boundary and corrects the record. 

• Educate bystanders about the lie or trope being used. "This comment is spreading a known antisemitic fabrication and is based on a centuries-old lie. Do not fall for this type of hate speech."
• Moral Condemnation Clearly label the behavior as unacceptable. "I am reporting this comment for hate speech. There is no justification for spreading antisemitism online."
• Encourage allies and friends to step up. "I've reported this vile content. If you see this kind of hate, please don't be silent—report it immediately to the platform."

What to AVOID in a Reply:

• Emotional Responses: Avoid anger, sadness, or personal attacks, as this feeds the troll.
• Debating Theology/History: Do not engage in a back-and-forth about the Talmud, Jewish history, or Israeli politics. This is their trap to legitimize the hatred as a "debate."
• Sharing Personal Information: Never reveal personal details or location.

Final Takeaway: Your primary mission is to protect your own space and safety (by blocking/disengaging) and to make the platform safer (by reporting).

Enough, is far enough, enough! Maspeek! Dayenu!

I wish to relay a message, born from a sleepless night of internal and external turmoil, that encapsulates the profound strategic and emotional challenge facing the People of Israel today of a single, clear mandate: that the immediate end to internal division is a matter of collective survival.

Once more as I tried my best to sleep, the two old guys were at it arguing all night. What is wrong with us, they complained!

And as these two opposing voices in my mind argued, as an old historically knowledgeable old guy I remembered the famous quotes one by John Jay is his warning, "when a people or family divides, it never fails to be against themselves," and the other by Abraham Lincoln's assertion, "A house divided against itself cannot stand".  

We, as the “People of Israel” cannot realize that we live in a world of hate! That we, as the “People of Israel”, are denied the same basic concepts that rule all humanity?

That as an indigenous people we are denied our homeland. Our holiest sites are covered by those of a conquering people and denied us!

Meanwhile the whole brainwashed bamboozled world bows down and lauds these usurpers in their rapturous gross fabrications and revisionist historical lies!

It is beyond belief of how we are judged under a magnifying glass that edifies the double standard of international judgment while abhorrent actions are allowed to occur freely by others! That "No Jews, No news!"

And as the argument went on and on throughout the long restless night. I remembered the words in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, when the character Albus Dumbledore states. 

"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided" 

and those by Elena Kagan who once stated, 

"We make progress by listening to each other, across every apparent political or ideological divide"

And as I laid their dying to rest my mine dumb from the incessant argument, I remembered just as Dumbledore uses this quote to explain to Harry the importance of standing together against Voldemort and his followers, who thrive on creating discord. 

We too, the "People of Israel", must realize the strategic importance of "Standing together" as ONE people undivided by religious and political beliefs against the tsunami of hatred of Jews throughout the world. 

That Tsunami of a sick vile hatred inspired by those who wish to usurp OUR inheritance from OUR indigenous homeland in Eretz Yisrael!

We must put an end, immediately, to our sick internal arguments that are consuming our energy and attention that is better spent on overcoming the "tsunami of hatred."

The unity of the "People of Israel" is not just a moral ideal, but a strategic imperative for OUR collective resilience and survival against the "tsunami of hatred."

We MUST embrace wholeheartedly Elena Kagan's quote about making progress "by listening to each other, across every apparent political or ideological divide," as a path forward—to allow for mutual respect and understanding instead of endless, exhausting conflict.

These "two old guys" that argued in my sleepless night, essentially personified the deep, anxious, and unresolved arguments that exist within our collective Israeli and Jewish identity. 

My – Yakov Marks -lack of profound PTSD sleep-is full of our collective Israeli and Jewish of carnage of death. I myself personally experienced the horrors of our never ending conflict with these fanatical Islamist usurpers. 

My mind also recalls those scenes of the Holocaust that are burnt into our Jewsih collective minds. Our incessant internal and external turmoil causes many of us to suffer from lack of rest and peace.

I call upon ALL the "People of Israel" to heed the wisdom that I espouse here of history and literature: that overcoming the "sick vile hatred" requires cohesion, mutual respect, and an unwavering commitment to standing together as ONE people!

As was stated and cried out on October 8th, 2023, "יַחַד נְנַצֵּחַ" -Yachad Nenatze'ach "Together we will win" is is not just a slogan; it is the action plan for the collective resilience and self-determination that cries out to ALL the "People of Israel" to come together for! As solidarity is the foundation of strength! 

We MUST heal and overcome those divisions between the "People of Israel" IMMEDIATELY to maintain a strong, cohesive society as we make an unwavering commitment to the right to OUR self-determination!!

We MUST stand as one in OUR connection to OUR indigenous homeland to ensure the future and security of "People of Israel" and our lone state-Eretz Yisrael -only then will "People of Israel" be able to live as a free people in our land.

Legallity of Judaea and Shomron

 The 3rd Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Versailles

The truth was confirmed in the 23rd March 2013 decision by the 3rd Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Versailles. 

The original court case (Case No: 10/02629) was held at the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nanterre (Nanterre District Court) in France based on initial action was filed by AFPS in February 2007.

The Versailles Court of Appeal's ruling on the provisions of the judgment of April 15, 2009, was reversed in a judgement issued on March 22, 2013. 

This High Court of  Appeals judgement was a rejection of the claims previously brought by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Association France-Palestine Solidarité (AFPS) against the companies Alstom, Alstom Transport, and Veolia Transport.

The Court's Rulings on the PLO's Case reversed the initial lower court decision, that declared the PLO's voluntary intervention admissible as it recognized that the PLO and therefore had the standing and a legitimate interest to act in the case. 

The Versailles Court of Appeal declared the PLO is inadmissible in its claim and it's claims were ultimately rejected:

The Court confirmed the rejection of the central argument of the PLO and AFPS was that the contracts were illegal because they violated international law, specifically the Geneva and Hague Conventions, by participating in the construction of the tramway in the West Bank/East Jerusalem.

The Court's reason for rejecting this claim was that the international law provisions invoked by the PLO create obligations for States (like an "Occupying Power"), not for private companies like Alstom and Veolia. 

The private companies are not considered subjects of international law in this context and therefore cannot be held directly liable for a breach of these international treaties

In summary, the Hight Court of appeals ruled that the PLO had the right to bring the action, but it ultimately failed to prove its case on the merits, as the Court found that the international law articles cited did not apply.

The French Court ruling over the previous decision found that Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria is unequivocally legal under international law, dismissing a suit brought by the Palestinian Authority (PA) against Jerusalem’s light rail built by French companies Alstom and Veolia

To rule on the suit, the Court of Appeals had to determine the legal rights of Palestinians and Israelis in the region.
Their conclusion was that the Palestinians have no right – in the international legal sense – to the region, unlike Israel, who is legitimately entitled to all land beyond the 1949 ceasefire lines to the Jordan River 1967 Ceasefire line and now 1995 Jordanian- Israeli negotiated peace border.

The Court explained that the PA misinterpreted the texts and they do not apply to Israel presence in Judea and Samaria.

All the international instruments put forward by the PLO were acts signed between states, and the obligations or prohibitions contained therein are relevant to states. Neither the PA nor the PLO are states, and therefore, none of these legal documents apply to them.

Likewise, the Court showed that these texts are binding only on those who signed them, namely the contracting parties. Neither the PLO nor the PA have ever signed these texts.
The Court, quite irritated by the arguments presented by the PA, boldly asserted that the law cannot be based solely on the PLO’s assessment of a political or social situation.

The Court of Appeal therefore sentenced the PLO and Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS), who was co-appellant, to pay 30,000 euros ($32,000) to Alstom, 30,000 euros to Alstom Transport and 30,000 euros to Veolia Transport.

Neither the PLO nor the Palestinian Authority nor the AFPS appealed to the Supreme Court, and therefore the judgment became final.

This was the first time that a NON ISRAELI Court has legally destroyed all Palestinian legal claim that Israel’s occupation is illegal.

All About Gaza" To know the truth!

Regarding the reports from Gaza of "in fighting" between Hamas and the Bedouin clans and the "LIES and fabrications of "Palestine". 

For those who DO NOT KNOW the "DOCUMENTED  HISTORICAL TRUTH" and "IF" you wish to LEARN and be EDUCATED- (Reading comprehension required) here is the REAL TRUTH!

The Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Terrorist are "Outsiders".

They ARE mainly descendents of those "Landless refugee decendants of the eunuchs of self-inflicted castration of Arab masculinity in the Great Nachba™ of 1948" who fled to the Egyptian invaded Mandatory Area that became know as the "Gaza Strip" . 

These "UNWRA (Perpetual) Refugees" are  descendents of "Arabs of foreign lands", (EX Ottoman Turkish pre Post WWI Arab entities)  who migrated to the Mandated Areas from 1920-1948 to find employment (I refer you to the Memoirs of Sir Roland Storrs) 

There has been a very DEEP animosity between the "Outsiders" "Invaders' who stole and tried to displace the original Arab inhabitants who migrated from Egypt over the centuries.  

The principal Arab Christians, who as Dhimmis, living in Gaza prior to 1948 were from the Greek Orthodox and the Latin (Roman) Catholic sects, with a small presence of other denominations. The Christian Community, has it's roots stretching back to the 4th century. The Church of Saint Porphyrius, is the oldest still-active Greek Orthodox Church.

Their standing was generally prominent as land owners, businesses,  shop owners, tradesmen and owners of citrus groves. They were prominat in medicine. On the whole they were and still are wealthy as they lived in constant fear of the Moslem neighbors.

The Bedouin, were dealers in slaves and thievery. Prior to 1948 they earned income by transporting goods and people using their domesticated camels, serving as guides and protectors for trade and pilgrimage caravans (like the Hajj route). Their control over desert routes allowed them to collect taxes on caravans and tributes from non-Bedouin settlements.

The clans closest to Gaza City and Beersheba were undergoing a process of sedentarization (settling down), with some wealthier families building stone houses and engaging in trade with urban merchants, further diversifying their income away from pure herding prior to1948.

To continue I post this excerpt from "The Arabs of Palestine" by Martha Gellhorn from the Atlantic October 1961 edition is known for its uncompromising and controversial stance. 

While some critics praise it for its journalistic courage in challenging the status quo narrative of the refugee crisis, others view it as a harsh and partisan piece that minimizes the legitimate suffering and dispossession of the "Landless refugee decendants of the self-inflicted Great Nachba™" !

It remains a key, if contentious, document in the history of American reporting on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

THE Gaza Strip, from all accounts, would be a real hell hole. It is a roughly rectangular slice of land, on the southernmost Mediterranean frontier of Israel, some forty kilometers long by five to ten kilometers wide, and 365,000 people, refugees and residents, live on it. I imagined it as a sand dune, packed solid with human flesh, blazing hot, hideous, and filthy. It is none of these. The weather was so idyllic—a china-blue sky and a constant cool breeze—that I assumed this was special luck and at once asked my charming landlady about it. No, the weather in Gaza was always delightful. She had lived here for thirty years; there were two "sticky" weeks in the summer, otherwise you could not find a more benign climate. Flying over the Strip, I had noted plenty of sand, but also plenty of green. There were always citrus groves in Gaza, my landlady reported, Gaza was famous for them, but since the refugees came these had greatly increased, as had the general cultivation. Anything grows here, she said, exhibiting her blossoming garden.

Then I remarked that Gaza town was a beehive of activity, with all the UNEF soldiers, Danes, Norwegians, Indians, Canadians, Yugoslavs, who patrol the Israeli-Gaza border and spend money in the town in their free time, and the Egyptian upper crust which oversees the Palestinian officials, and UNRWA and visitors and the local residents and, indeed, the refugees. The refugees seemed to bring prosperity with them; it was most mysterious.

Not at all, said my landlady, we do not know why we are not completely bankrupt; but she was adding a third floor to her already roomy house, so great is the demand for lodgings. Sizable villas are being built in what must be the fashionable section of Gaza. The main square boasts an array of parked Mercedes, finned pastel American cars, and humbler Volkswagens. 

The taxis in Gaza are new. There is an imposing movie theater, in the ugly world-wide chromium-and-junk style; there are abundant cafés and numerous ill-lit dingy shops, typical of the region. An economist could surely answer this riddle: if no one has any money, what are these eccentric merchants and purveyors of services doing?

The refugee camps are much larger than those in Lebanon, small towns by Middle Eastern standards. They are by no means luxury establishments, but many people live in a nastier state in American and European slums. The poor villagers of Gaza are not as well housed or cared for as the refugees. The Gaza Strip is not ,a hell hole, not a visible disaster. It is worse; it is a jail--with a magical long white sand beach, and a breeze, and devoted welfare workers (UNRWA) to look after the prisoners.

The Egyptian government is the jailer. For reasons of its own, it does not allow the refugees to move from this narrow strip of land. The refugees might not want to leave at all, or they, might not want to leave for good; but anyone would become claustrophobic if penned, for thirteen years, inside 248 square kilometers. A trickle of refugees, who can prove they have jobs elsewhere, are granted exit visas. The only official number of the departed is less than three hundred, out of 255,000 registered refugees. It seems incredible. Rumor says that more refugees do manage to go away illegally, by unknown methods.

These locked-in people--far too many in far too little space--cannot find adequate work. Naturally, there is less chance of employment than in the other "host countries." Meantime, they are exposed to the full and constant blast of Egyptian propaganda. No wonder that Gaza was the home base of the trained paramilitary bands called commandos by the Egyptians and Palestinians, and gangsters by the Israelis--the fedayin, whose job was to cross unnoticed into Israel and commit acts of patriotic sabotage and murder. And having been so devastatingly beaten by Israel again, in 1956, has not improved the trapped, bitter Gaza mentality; it only makes the orators more bloodthirsty.

ANOTHER Mad Hatter conversation, practically a public meeting, took place in the office of the leader of two adjacent camps, a man in charge of some 29,000 people. The camp leader, the self-appointed orator, sat behind his desk. The Secret Service youth, mentioned earlier, the quiet UNRWA Palestinian, my regular chaperone, and the three uniformed cops of highish rank completed the company.

First the camp leader told me how rich they had all been in Palestine and how miserable they were now and how much land they had all owned. I do not doubt for one minute how much land some of them owned, nor how rich some of them were, and I did not point out this subtle distinction: if everyone owned the land claimed, Palestine would be the size of Texas; if everyone had been so rich, it would have been largely populated by millionaires. To gild the past is only human, we all do it; and to gild it with solid gold is even more human if you are a refugee.

This part of his address was already so familiar that I could have recited it for him.

Then he spoke of Jaffa, his native town. The Jews surrounded the city, firing on all sides; they left one little way out, by the sea, so the Arabs would go away. Only the very old and the very poor stayed, and they were killed. Arab refugees tell many dissimilar versions of the Jaffa story, but the puzzler is: where are the relatives of those who must have perished in the fury of high explosive the infallible witnesses? No one says he was loaded on a truck (or a boat) at gun point; no one describes being forced from his home by armed Jews; no one recalls the extra menace of enemy attacks, while in flight. The sight of the dead, the horrors of escape are exact, detailed memories never forgotten by those who had them. Surely Arabs would not forget or suppress such memories, if they, too, had them.

As for those Arabs who remained behind, they are still in Jaffa--3000 of them--living in peace, prosperity, and discontent, with their heirs and descendants.

"The Jews are criminals," the camp leader continued in a rising voice. "Murderers! They are the worst criminals in the whole world."

Had he ever heard of Hitler? He banged his table and said, "Hitler was far better than the Jews!"

"Far better murderer? He killed six million Jews as a start," I observed.

"Oh, that is all exaggerated. He did not. Besides, the Jews bluffed Hitler. They arranged in secret that he should kill a few of them--old ones, weak ones--to make the others emigrate to Palestine."

"Thirty-six thousand of them," said the Secret Service man, proving the point, "came here, before the war, from Central Europe."

"It's amazing," I said. "I have never before heard anywhere that the Jews arranged with Hitler for him to kill them."

"It was a secret!" the camp leader shouted. "The documents have been found. Everyone knows. It was published. The Jews arranged it all with Hitler."

There is a limit to the amount of Mad Hattery one can endure, so I suggested that we visit the camp. I knocked on a door at random, before the camp leader had a chance to steer me anywhere. Two young married couples lived here. In a corner by the courtyard wall stood a group of visitors, silent Arab women, in their graceful long blue dresses, slightly hiding their faces behind their white head veils. The older women wore silver coins on chains across their foreheads; this is very pretty and is also guaranteed to prevent sickness of the eyes. It was useless to try to lure the women into talk, but one of the husbands talked freely. The Secret Service youth translated.

"It is the blame of America that this happened, because they help the Jews. We only want America to help us to get back to our land."

"How?" I asked. "By war?"

"When the Arabs are united, we will make the war."

"What do you want from us then? Arms to make this war with?"

"No, we want you to stop giving arms and money to Israel. Just now Kennedy has given Israel $25 million for arms"

"I do not believe that the U.S. government has ever given or sold arms to Israel. What about the arms Nasser gets from Russia and Czechoslovakia?"

"That is all right. That is different. They are peace-loving nations. They only want to help the undeveloped countries."

The Secret Service man put in: "America offered us arms, but with conditions. We will not accept conditions. So we take from the Eastern countries, who give without conditions."

"What do you do?" I asked the fat young husband.

"Nothing."

What would you like to do?" "Be a soldier and fight Jews."

This oratory pleased the public very much. "Do you all like Nasser?" I asked, politely.

Wide smiles. General joy.

"We do. Certainly. Oh, of course. He will unite us and make us strong. He is our leader."

FOR rest and relaxation, together with thousands of locals, I went to the School Sports Day. Fifty thousand refugee children attend school on the Gaza Strip, 98 per cent of the possible school population.

In Gaza's spacious stadium, 2000 school children were gathered. They ranged from tiny tots, the Brownies, in berets and ballet-skirted orange uniforms, to boys in running shorts and muscles. They paraded past the governor of the Gaza Strip in the viewing stand, led by girls in colored outfits who formed the Palestine flag. The human flag was followed by the Brownie babies, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, girl gymnasts, and boy gymnasts. "We dressed every one of them," an English UNRWA official said. "This show costs us about two thousand dollars, but it's worth it. It gives them something to look forward to. They all love it." They, loved it and their admiring families loved it and the public loved it.

The children had marched in earnest stifflegged style. ("Like the British Army," I said. "Like the Egyptian Army," he said.) They then lined up in formation, and a loudspeaker blared out Arabic. Three times the children shouted a unanimous, squeaky but enthusiastic reply to the loudspeaker's commanding male voice.

"What are the cheers for?" "The first is: 'Long Live a Free Palestine.' The second is: 'Long Live the United Arab Republic.' The third is: 'Long Live Gamal Abdel Nasser.'"

I stayed to see the white-clad girl gymnasts, as graceful as a field of Isadora Duncans, doing lovely swaying motions with blue gauze handkerchiefs.

The Vocational Training School at Gaza is a freshly painted group of buildings, with well-kept lawns, flower borders, scrubbed Spartan self-respecting dormitories, and impressive workshops equipped with the complex machinery that modern life seems to depend on. The boys were on their playing field that afternoon, a holiday, marking white lines for various sporting events to come. A few of them drifted back and wanted to show off every inch of their school. Did they like it here, did they enjoy their work, were they happy? Needless to ask; the answer glowed and shone on them. The graduates of this school find good jobs for which they are trained; amongst its many other parental functions UNRWA operates a placement bureau throughout the Middle East. This is the new generation, the UNRWA graduates, and you find them everywhere in the Arab refugee world. They have not yet been crippled by exile, regret, or hate, and they may well be the brightest citizens of the Arab future. They are the source of all hope.

Two accidental conversations stick in my memory. 

Once, lost in the UNRWA compound of offices, I chanced on a pretty, dark secretary, who told me the kind of inside human angle of history which is more interesting than any other.

In 1956, when the Israelis took the Gaza Strip, during what they call the Sinai campaign and we call Suez, for short, telephone communication was restored between the Strip and Israel, which is, after all, just across the fields. In the midst of enemy occupation, the secretary's sister-in-law rang up from the small town where she lived in Israel, to have a chat. How was everyone? The sister-in-law reported that they were fine, her husband was doing very well, they had a nice house and no trouble of any kind. 

The secretary, recalling this family news, said, "I think if we had all stayed where we were, nothing would have happened to us. All this would not have come about. And what is it for? 

My children have never seen Palestine. I tell them; and in every school, every minute, they are always told. But when they are grown? The people who knew Palestine will die, and the young ones--will they be interested?"

The second memorable talk took place at The Sewing Center. 

The Sewing Center is another of UNRWA's camp inventions, and it is self-supporting. UNRWA Sewing Centers teach dressmaking and new uses for traditional Palestinian embroidery--vast tablecloths and sets of napkins, blouses, skirts, which. sell at good prices to local customers and to city specialty shops. Hundreds of refugee girls earn small wages and stave off boredom, while learning a trade. The Gaza center was managed by a bustling cheerful plump Palestinian refugee, who would be taken for a bustling cheerful plump young Jewess in any Western country; but, of course, Arabs and Jews are the same race, Semites. The young manageress showed me massive tablecloths (which none of us would be grand enough to own or get washed), and she praised her girls, who sat on a long porch, embroidering, flattered, giggling.

It was as clear as if she wore a sign, but I asked anyhow: "You're happy, aren't you?"

"I have a nice husband, and two children, and a comfortable house. I like my work very much; it is very interesting. Yes. We are happy." And she smiled. Such a smile. The world isn't lost, not even on the Gaza Strip.

Most of the Christian Arab refugees live scattered around Gaza in rented private houses. A few Christian families asked for free government land at the edge of a Muslim camp, the usual free allotment of building materials from UNRWA, borrowed extra money, and built their own houses with small well-tended gardens. My UNRWA guide, himself a Greek Orthodox Arab, took me to visit one of these trim, respectable self-made homes, belonging to a family he had known before in Jaffa.

The old mother was half blind; the recurrence of eye disease is a Middle Eastern, not a refugee affliction. My guide and this family had not seen each other for some time, and immediately after their first greeting, the old woman wept with incurable grief and was consoled, gently, but as if he had done so often before, by my guide. He explained: this family had suffered a great tragedy. One of the sons was killed by shellfire, in Jaffa.

I report this because it was the only family I met where an actual human being was known to be dead. Here, at last, the infallible witness testified; and here this death, thirteen years old, was mourned as if it had come upon them yesterday. My UNRWA guide behaved as if this case were unique and deserved the aching pity which everyone feels for those who have lost a loved member of the family in war.

Regarding those Bedouin clans mentioned;

The Tarabin is historically one of the largest and most powerful Bedouin tribes, with territory spanning the Negev, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. 

It is common for smaller clans and families to be affiliated with or absorbed into these major confederations for protection, trade, and political power. 

The Tarabin were particularly prominent in the western Naqab, Northern Sinai, and Southern Gaza (Khan Yunis/Rafah area) that includes 21 clans. 

The Abu Samra, Abu Warda, Kollab, Bakir, and Majayda clans are either direct historical clans of the Tarabin tribe or were part of their larger tribal and political alliance in the Negev/Gaza region.

During the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, various clans were intentionally integrated into larger tribes like the Tarabin and Tiyaha to consolidate administrative power and reduce conflict.

Most Bedouin tribes in the Negev and Gaza are descendants of tribes that migrated to the area starting from the 18th century onward from the Arabian Desert, Transjordan, Egypt, and the Sinai Peninsula.

These clans are primarily associated with the Bedouin tribes of the Negev (Naqab) desert and the Gaza Strip adopted a semi-nomadic lifestyle in the region prior to 1948.   

Pinpointing a single, precise "origin" for all Bedouin clans is difficult, as their history involves centuries of migration across the Arabian Desert, Sinai, and the Levant. Based on general tribal history and available information, here are the likely or known origins for the clans listed:

Majayda (Al-Majayda, Al-Mujaida) clan

• Gaza Strip (prominent in the Khan Yunis area) and the Negev.
• They are one of the powerful clans in the Gaza/Negev area, often associated with a historical origin in the Arabian Peninsula or from earlier Bedouin migrations.

Doghmush (Al-Doghmush, Doğmuş) clan

• Gaza Strip (especially Gaza City).
• Uniquely, this family is reported to have originally come to Gaza from Turkey in the early 20th century. Their name, Doğmuş, reflects a Turkish origin, meaning "born."

Abu Samra clan

• Primarily associated with Bedouin communities in the Negev and historically in the Gaza region.
• Part of the broader Bedouin structure that migrated from the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai over many centuries.

Abu Warda clan

• Associated with Bedouin communities in the Negev and Gaza area.
• Part of the broader Bedouin structure that migrated from the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai over many centuries.

Kollab clan

• Associated with Bedouin communities in the Negev and Gaza area.
• Part of the broader Bedouin structure that migrated from the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai over many centuries.

Bakir clan

• Associated with Bedouin communities in the Negev and Gaza area.
• Part of the broader Bedouin structure that migrated from the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai over many centuries.