News articles:
1. China- Trains children for war
2. Palestinians-Strongly support Hamas
3. Biden…Biblical Dispute- Two State or not Two State
China trains children for 'iron army' in latest effort to create national 'combat readiness': report
Weeklong course applies military discipline to sports training in children as young as 7
Published November 30, 2023 6:00am EST
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Retired Gen. Jack Keane reacts to Chinese rhetoric on relations with the U.S., particularly amid concerns over the "reunification" plan to reunite Taiwan with China's mainland.
China has started training children for military service, drilling "good fighting spirit" into them starting as early as the age of 7 to create an "iron army," according to a report.
Hundreds of young athletes will "deeply study" the military’s "sense of standards" and "combat spirit," the Sports Bureau of Shanghai said. The program is to occur in Shanghai, a bustling metropolis known as the Paris of the East and home to more than 26 million people.
The move supports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pledge for China to enhance its readiness for "actual combat," the AFP reported. The government last month adopted a new education law that seeks to instill "patriotic spirit" in children.
"No matter how old or young, everybody deeply cherishes this opportunity," He Youxiao, the head coach of a men’s gymnastics team, said in a report published by the Sports Bureau.
Hundreds of young athletes will "deeply study" the military’s "sense of standards" and "combat spirit," the Sports Bureau of Shanghai said. (Johannes Eisele / AFP via Getty Images / File)
The pilot program started this week, with the first training session on Monday and lasting until next Tuesday. Around 930 athletes at 11 sports centers across the city will train and develop stronger "organizational discipline and teamwork" as a means of helping Shanghai "create an iron army."
"From dawn until broad daylight, the athletes move neatly and in unison, their youth military uniforms showing off a young and elegant manner," He said.
Xi's address last year urged the People's Liberation Army to "focus all its energy on fighting" and prepare for war. Above all else, he said the army must "comprehensively strengthen military training" ahead of "dangerous storms" that the country might face in coming years, The Guardian reported.
China has started training children for military service, drilling "good fighting spirit" into them starting as early as the age of 7 to create an "iron army," according to a report. (Philip Fong / AFP via Getty Images / File)
"Focus all [your] energy on fighting, work hard on fighting and improve [your] capability to win," Xi said.
A video surfaced on social media earlier this year, purporting to show children at a summer camp in Hunan province stabbing mock soldiers with bayonets and throwing mock grenades.
Children in China can also learn how to identify gun parts, assemble mortar shells or even pretend to sweep for mines in nearby forests. (Justin Chin / Bloomberg via Getty Images / File)
Children can also learn how to identify gun parts, assemble mortar shells or even pretend to sweep for mines in nearby forests.
The camp, called Red Sun, is a "military-themed" camp for children found around China, similarly offering team-building and physical activity for children from ages 6 to 16, according to Business Insider.
While no reaction to the sports program has yet been found, the clips from the Red Sun camp drew very mixed reactions on Chinese social media platform Weibo and a far less supportive reaction on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
State-owned English-language Chinese outlet Sixth Tone reported that these "extreme boot camps" for children have continued to multiply across the country and often result in injuries that require hospitalization.
Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news.
Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank strongly support Hamas, October 7 attack
A total of 75% of respondents agreed with the October 7 attack and 74.7% agreed that they support a single Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.”
By DANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARDNOVEMBER 17, 2023 19:03Updated: NOVEMBER 17, 2023 19:04
Palestinians take part in a protest in support of Hamas, in Hebron, the West Bank, November 17, 2023(photo credit: REUTERS/MUSSA QAWASMA)
After Hamas’ devastating October 7 massacre in which some 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, the globe was divided into people able to condemn the attack and people perceiving the terrorists as "freedom fighters."
Palestinian society seems much less divided on the issue compared to the rest of the world, according to a November 14 poll by the Arab World for Research and Development. When asked the leading question “How much do you support the military operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance led by Hamas on October 7?” Palestinian responses showed support for the attack.
Palestinians living in the West Bank overwhelmingly answered that they supported the attack to either an extreme or “somewhat” extent (83.1%.) Only 6.9% answered that they were “extremely” or “somewhat” against the attack, and 8.4% expressed that they had no opinion either way.
Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip show a little less consensus but the overall majority supported the attack. A mass of 63.6% said that they supported the attack “extremely” or to a “somewhat” extent. A further 14.4% answered that they did not oppose or support the attack. Showing a greater rift than that of the West Bank, 20.9% of Palestinians living in Gaza opposed the attack to some degree.
The Israel Antiquities Authority works to find remnants of Hamas victims in Kibbutz Be'eri. (credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)
A total of 75% of respondents agreed with the October 7 attack to any extent.
Do Palestinian men and Palestinian women feel differently about the attack?
Very few differences were found in the beliefs between Palestinian women and Palestinian men when it came to supporting the October 7 attack. Men supported the attack to some degree (75.2%) only slightly more than women (74.9%.)
‘In your opinion, what was the main reason for the operation launched by the Palestinian resistance on 7th October?’
When asked the above question, 31.7% of West Bank-based respondents and 24.9% of Gaza-based respondents claimed the reason for the attack was to “free Palestine.” A further 23.3% of West Bank-based respondents and 17.7% of Gaza-based respondents claimed that the reason for the attack was “breaking the siege on the Gaza Strip.”
An additional 35% of total respondents claimed that the attack was to “stop the violations of Aqsa”, assumed to refer to the Al-Aqsa mosque where only Muslims are permitted to pray at the site, despite its religious significance for all Abrahamic faiths.
Blindfolded large teddy bears with red paint on them depicting blood and photographs of Israeli children held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since the October 7 massacre, in Tel Aviv, November 13, 2023. (credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)
Only 0.9% of total respondents believed that Hamas’ motive behind the attack was to “stop the peace process.” A further 0.7% said that they believed the motivation was to “stop the settlement.”
A total of 5.1% of respondents believed that the attack was carried out to “serve Iran’s benefits.”
Support for a two-state solution
When asked “Do you support the solution of establishing one state or two states?” the majority (74.7%) of respondents answered that they support a single Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.”
The support for a single Palestinian state was more commonly held by Palestinians living in the West Bank (77.7%) than Palestinians living in Gaza (70.4%.)
A total of 17.2% of respondents said they supported a two-state solution, with Palestinians in Gaza (22.7%) supporting this solution to a greater extent than Palestinians living in the West Bank (13.3%.)
Only 5.4% of respondents said they would support a “one-state for two peoples” solution.
Who is the fight between?
While the war is said to be between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization, only 18.6% of respondents have agreed that is the case. The majority (63.6%) feel this is a war between “Israel and Palestinians in general” with a further 9.4% stating that they saw this as a war between “the Western world and the Arab world.”
Related TagsFatahHamasPalestiniansTwo State SolutionTwo State Solution Israel PalestinePalestinePalestinian
Biden and Netanyahu face off in Biblical dispute: Two
state or not two state
And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have assigned the land to you to possess NUMBERS 33:54 (THE ISRAEL BIBLE)
A difference of opinion concerning the future of a Palestinian state is the basis of dispute between the Biden administration and the government of Israel. While Netanyahu is not overtly religiously observant, it is well-documented that giving land in Israel to the enemy is counter to God’s commandments.
Last week,US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin a two-state solution based on the Oslo Accords signed in 1993 would create an unprecedented Arab state inside the borders of Israel that has been ethnically cleansed of Jews with its exclusively Muslim capital in Jerusalem.
In August 2019, the Palestinian Authority announced that they were no longer honoring their Oslo commitments and began building extensively in Area C which was designated for use by Israel. Jews do not live in Area A and are prohibited from entering the area which is under Palestinian Authority supervision.
Netanyahu that the US was dedicated to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Just a few days later, Netanyahu told a news conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday that after the war ended, Israel would retain control of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
Two Israelis were shot near Hebron in Judea, Aug. 21, 2023. Photo by Hesed Hallel/TPS
“In any future arrangement … Israel needs security control all territory west of Jordan. This clashes with the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty. What can you do?” Netanyahu said.
“This conflict is not about the absence of a (Palestinian) state but about the existence of a state, the Jewish state,” Netanyahu also said.
A story published in CNN on Saturday seemed to contradict this, stating that Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden had a telephone discussion about the issue. A few hours after the discussion reportedly took place, Biden told reporters that he believed “there are a number of types of two-state solutions.”
“There’s a number of countries that are members of the UN that … don’t have their own military; a number of states that have limitations, and so I think there’s ways in which this can work,” Biden said.
When asked if Netanyahu had agreed to the arrangement, Biden answered “I’ll let you know when I get him to agree.”
This was refuted by Netanyahu’s office, which issued a statement on Saturday:
“In his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty,” the PM’s office stated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a private
meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, Jan. 9, 2024. Photo by Kobi Gideon/GPO. (source: JNS)
While Biden is worklng off the premise that a “two-state solution” is the only path forward and Netanyahu is being portrayed as the only obstacle, it is clear that the Palestinians also reject the idea. Khaled Meshaal, the former head of Hamas, spoke on the Ammar Podcast on Tuesday, reiterating his organization’s rejection of the “two-state solution”.
“The West says that October 7 has opened up prospects for a political vision, so they have returned to talk about their old commodity, which is the two-state solution.”
“The 1967 borders represent 21 per cent of Palestine, which is practically one fifth of its land, so this cannot be accepted,” he added.
“Our Palestinian project, which has a quasi-Palestinian national consensus, is that our right in Palestine from the sea to the river, and from Ras Al-Naqoura to Umm Al-Rashrash or the Gulf of Aqaba, cannot be waived. This is our Palestinian right and our presence in this land, modern and ancient,” he added.
London UK – Dec 9 2023: Pro-Palestinian muslim protesters hold a banner saying “From the river to the sea…” and chant at a protest (Source: shutterstock)
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the United States to forcibly impose a “two-state solution” on Israel.
“It is time for the United States to recognize the state of Palestine, not just talk about a two-state solution,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
Elements within Netanyahu’s unity government disagree with the prime minister. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the cabinet last week that in order to combat Hamas growing stronger in Judea and Samaria, the Israeli government should work to strengthen the Palestinians Authority.
“I will say this in the clearest way possible,” Gallant said. “A strong Palestinian Authority is in the best security interests of Israel.”
It should be noted that the PA paid benefits to 661 terrorists who took part in the October 7 massacre.
It should also be noted that in the months leading up to the Hamas attack, the Biden administration was actively training and equipping PA policemen in a program in Jordan, in an effort to strengthen the PA. This program was pursued despite a wave of terrorism emanating from the PA that led to Israeli deaths.
The borders of Israel were set by the Bible and the Jews were commanded to conquer the entire land:
I will set your borders from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of Philistia, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and you will drive them out before you. Exodus 23:31
And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have assigned the land to you to possess. Numbers 33:53
The prophets warn that the Nations will attempt to divide the Land of Israel and that this will be the means for the downfall: For lo! in those days 1 And in that time, When I restore the fortunes Of Yehuda and Yerushalayim, I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the Valley of Yehoshafat. There I will contend with them Over My very own people, Yisrael, Which they scattered among the nations. For they divided My land among themselves. Joel 4:1-2