International

IDF Generals Urge Trump To Back Netanyahu’s West Bank Sovereignty Plan

Published

3 years ago

June 23, 2020

President Donald Trump is expected to make a decision Tuesday as to whether to back Israel’s plan to claim sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post reports.

Moreover, The Post reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to move forward according to the President’s Middle East Peace Plan by taking back 30 percent of the area.

In the meantime, 18 Israeli Generals sent a letter, presented to Trump by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, urging him to support Netanyahu’s plan.

In their letter, the Generals applauded Trump’s continued support for the Jewish State throughout his presidency, which included moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Read the full letter below:

Dear Mr. President;

We write to you in the name of more than a thousand senior military officers and combat soldiers from the Israel Defense Force reserves who have joined together in recent months to form a new social movement called “Habithonistim – Protectors of Israel”.

We want to thank you for your deep commitment to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

We thank you to for recognizing our sovereign rights and our deep historical and religious connection to the land of Israel, by among other things, recognizing that Jerusalem is now and has always been our capital, and moving the Embassy of the United States to the city. We thank you for respecting Israel’s national security requirements, among other things, by recognizing our sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Your farsighted vision for peace, which includes a recognition of Israel’s sovereign rights in Judea and Samaria – the cradle of Jewish civilization — has put wind in the wings of thousands of Israel Defense Force officers and warriors and buffeted the sails of the Israeli nation as a whole.

Mr. President, thanks to your friendship and visionary leadership, we stand now at an historic crossroad in the 4,000-year history of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. We trust that you will continue to work to secure the future peace of the people of Israel and of the Middle East as a whole by standing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he applies our sovereignty to our eastern frontier, the Jordan Valley and to our cities, villages and farms in Judea and Samaria in accordance with your visionary peace plan.

As God Almighty said to Joshua as he stood before the Jordan River, poised to lead the Nation of Israel to the Promised Land, so we say to you today: “Be strong and of good courage.”

With deepest gratitude and respect,

General Gershon Hacohen

General Yossi Bachar

General Danny Bitton

General Shalom Kaatabi

General Yossi Kuperwasser

General Zvika Fogel

General Amir Avivi (CEO of Habithonistim – Protectors of Israel)

General Harel Knafo

General Dovi Yung

General Avigdor Kahalani

General Moshe Sheli

General Nehemia Sokal

General Yitzhak Gershon (Jerry)

General Avi Gur

General Eli Perets

General Amatsia Chen

General Albert Lankry

General Yossi Mikdas

Related Topics:Benjamin Netanyahu Israel Jerusalem West Bank

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International

Mental health crisis spikes among Afghan women after Taliban regained control two years ago

Published

3 days ago

September 21, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

The women of Afghanistan are suffering a mental health crisis since the Taliban regained power two years ago. According to a joint report from three U.N. agencies released Tuesday, approximately 70% of women experience feelings of anxiety, isolation and depression.

The numbers continue to rise, as there has already been a significant jump between April and June of this year alone, with an increase from 57% the preceding quarter.

The report, conducted by U.N. Women, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, interviewed women online, in-person and in group consultations as well as individual telesurveys.

592 Afghan women in 22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces took part in the study. The Associated Press reports:

They have barred women from most areas of public life and work and banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade. They have prohibited Afghan women from working at local and non-governmental organizations. The ban was extended to employees of the United Nations in April.

Opportunities to study continued to shrink as community-based education by international organizations was banned and home-based schooling initiatives were regularly shut down by the de facto authorities — a term use by the U.N. for the Taliban government.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education and the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The report also served as a vessel for Afghan women to send a message to the rest of the world: do not validate the Taliban government. Forty-six percent of women said international recognition of the Taliban government should not happen under any circumstances, while 50% warned that recognition should only occur under specific conditions contingent on improving women’s rights.

The report notes that the women expressed concern that recognition would only encourage the Taliban government to continue becoming stricter in their policies and practices against women and girls.

Afghan women had specific ideas and suggestions: they “urged the international community to continue political and economic sanctions against the Taliban, including by not granting exemptions to a travel ban. They urged an increase in engagement with the Taliban on gender equality and women’s rights, including by engaging community and religious leaders in awareness and advocacy efforts” writes the Associated Press.