[AFRICANEWS] Egypt's foreign minister discussed Red Sea and developments in Somaliland ...Republic of Somaliland is an unrecognised sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, recognised internationally as a de jure part of Somalia. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden with approximately 5.7 million residents as of 2021. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The government regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland, which united from 1960 to 1991 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. Under the Siad Barre regime, Somaliadestroyed ninety percent of Hargeisa Per international law, once you're in, you gotta stay in, no matter how bad it smells.... with his Somali counterpart on Monday during bilateral talks in Cairo.
The meeting happened around a month after Æthiopia and Somalia agreed to hold ''technical talks'' to resolve a dispute sparked by Æthiopia's deal with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland.
Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi reiterated that the talks were successful in curbing further violence in the region, which would've lead to "a dangerous explosion that could have burned everyone's interests."
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... has been mediating between the two east African countries as tensions between them have simmered since Æthiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland in January to lease land along its coastline to establish a marine force base.
In return, Æthiopia would recognize Somaliland's independence, which Somalia says infringes on its illusory sovereignty and territory.
The resulting declaration said the sides agreed the talks, which would begin by February 2025 and conclude within four months, would respect Somalia's territorial integrity while recognizing ''potential benefits'' of Æthiopia's access to the sea.
Fiqi again lauded the agreement for its maintenance of "Somalia's illusory sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity."
Separately, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke on the importance of the Red Sea's autonomy as a strategic location, saying that "the presence of any party other than coastal countries of the Red Sea is unacceptable."
In a joint statement after meeting, the two ministers agreed on the importance of developing bilateral relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under:
[IsraelTimes] Following the launch of a Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... missile at Israel earlier tonight, a senior member of the Iran-backed rebel group pledges that such attacks will continue "until the aggression against our people in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... stops."
"Netanyahu will learn that his dreams of a new Middle East are nothing but a punishment for him and his imported entity," tweets Hezam al-Asad.
Hezbollah made similar pledges to continue its cross-border attacks against Israel until a ceasefire was reached in Gaza but caved last month after two months during which Israel significantly intensified its counter-attacks against the Lebanese terror group.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11135 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
#3
Trump will reinstate the policies that crippled Iran economically. The US military will begin to respond to Houthi provocations with effective attacks that aren’t telegraphed to Iran 48 hours ahead of time. Special Forces will eliminate the drone bases and interdict the drone resupply lines. The Houthi will resume their status as irrelevant aboriginals.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/24/2024 11:24 Comments ||
Top||
#4
it will not be possible to wipe out Houthi leadership and also prevent civilian deaths
we have to be willing to accept that and make the case again and again and again that Houthi leadership is responsible for the civilian deaths that result from strikes against the Houthi leadership
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
12/24/2024 20:44 Comments ||
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[IsraelTimes] A powerful blast that ripped through an explosives plant in northwest Turkey has killed 12 people and injured four others, officials say.
Footage shows shards of glass and metal scattered outside the plant as ambulances stand by.
“According to initial reports, 12 employees died and four were taken to hospital with injuries as a result of the explosion,” local governor Ismail Ustaoglu says.
The plant, located in the north of Balikesir, makes munitions and explosives and flares for domestic and international markets. Part of the plant collapsed due to the explosion, officials say.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya says the cause is not immediately known but authorities have ruled out sabotage.
Acıya uyandık yine… Balıkesir’de patlayıcı üretilen fabrikada meydana gelen patlamada 12 canımızı kaybettik… Dualarımız bugün Balıkesir’de yitirdiğimiz o güzel insanlar için. Ruhları şad, mekânları cennet olsun. Yaralı kardeşlerime acil şifalar, ailelerine de sabır diliyorum.… pic.twitter.com/yBzsVgxsFw
🚨Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas: "We certainly have received reports of children being trafficked, even those as to whom we know where they are. That is outside the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants
#1
Soooo...what exactly is the point of "Homeland Security". What rock did this guy crawl out from under! Someone should find it and step on it real hard!
Posted by: Oregon Dave ||
12/24/2024 1:06 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"...even those as to whom we know where they are..."
When I hear and read such comments, I have to wonder who in the DC Swamp is being protected?
Does this Idiot In Charge, (until Jan 20th) share the info with the FBI, or other LEO agencies?
[IsraelTimes] US retail giant Walmart appears to have removed two shirts it offered for sale online that featured pictures of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
The shirts were flagged by US-based watchdog Antisemitism.org, which calls the fashion choice “outrageous.”
One shirt shows Sinwar’s face and his name broken into “Sin” and “war,” while a second one features a doctored caricature of the terror mastermind firing a weapon while in combat gear.
Another shirt featuring a low-resolution picture of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah remains for sale on the Walmart website, though it won’t come in time for Christmas and is only available in XXL, for your bigger terror supporters. The shirt, sold by a Texas-based third-party vendor, is titled “Nasrallah Safe Following Israeli Airstrikes,” a decidedly false claim about the Iran-backed terror chief, who is quite dead following an October 27 airstrike.
There is no immediate comment from Walmart.
Large retail platforms like Amazon and Ebay have also run into trouble over the years due to questionable offerings from third-party sellers, including items that appear to be created by scraping random images from the internet.
[IsraelTimes] Lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court claims Reps. Thompson and Huffman’s support for legislation led to ‘uncontrollable weeping, inability to sleep and distractions from work’
A group of Northern Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, residents has filed a class-action lawsuit against their congressional representatives, Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman, accusing them of causing harm to local communities and to Paleostinians in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... by voting to send billions in US military aid to Israel.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Socialist paradise of San Francisco ...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... federal court, claims the politicians caused "moral and emotional/psychic injury" to taxpayers by voting for aid that, the plaintiffs allege, contributes to genocide in Gaza. Both Israel and the Biden administration reject that Israel is committing genocide in its war against Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... in Gaza.
The lawsuit is the latest example of how debates over Israel and Gaza have moved to the courts since the outbreak of the war following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack. Several months ago, federal courts dismissed a lawsuit by pro-Paleostinian groups, also filed in the Bay Area, accusing the Biden administration of complicity in a genocide. A federal appeals court panel confirmed a ruling by a lower court that the judiciary cannot intervene to change the government’s foreign policy.
Survivors of the Oct. 7 attack and Jewish groups have filed a series of suits over the attack against pro-Paleostinian nonprofits, the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... ’ Paleostinian aid agency UNRWA and foreign governments allied with Hamas. In addition, Jewish students have filed suit against multiple universities accusing them of not taking sufficient measures against antisemitism on campus.
The Bay Area case seeks to bar Thompson and Huffman from approving future military aid to Israel and demands damages for the emotional distress caused by war, including "uncontrollable weeping, inability to sleep, distractions from work, despair for the future of their children and humanity."
Oh no! Anyway…
At a presser outside the courthouse where the lawsuit was filed, Linda Helland, a Mendocino County resident and plaintiff, said the representatives’ votes make her and other constituents "complicit" in the violence. Another plaintiff, Paleostinian American Tarik Kanaana of Sonoma County, said Thompson’s actions amounted to aiding in "the killing of my own people."
Twenty one plaintiffs are named in the lawsuit but organizers are aiming to add as many as 1,000 participants if the court allows the lawsuit to proceed. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the lawsuit, with its focus on the rights of taxpayers, was designed differently than the one that was tossed out.
"We’re not asking the court to tell Congress to make policy," attorney Dean Royer told the Chronicle. "We’re asking the court to say taxpayer dollars cannot be used to fund genocide."
The positions of Thompson and Huffman reflect those of many Democratic politicians who back Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas, but have called for minimizing civilian casualties. In April, they voted in favor of a $26.4 billion military aid package for Israel. Thompson and Huffman have also expressed support for a ceasefire and long-term solutions, including a two-state framework that would see a Paleostinian state established alongside Israel.
"Congressman Thompson understands that it has been the civilian population that has paid the cost of Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and he remains gravely concerned about the scale of civilian loss in this war," read a statement from the congressman’s office to local media. "That’s why he has advocated and continues to advocate for the Biden Administration to work with the State Department and our allies to help secure a negotiated bilateral ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, and the establishment of a two-state solution to ensure peace and self-determination for the Paleostinian and Israeli people."
#1
Israel's existence causes quite a lot of emotional distress to a lot of people. Given the kind of people it causes emotional distress to, this (IMO) should come under "What did the Jews did for us?".
[IsraelTimes] Source tells Hezbollah-aligned al-Akhbar outlet that agreement was made with Baghdad government to end assaults due to volatile situation in region, uncertainty over Trump policies
Shiite militia groups in Iraq have decided to stop attacking Israel, a Lebanese report claimed Monday, in what would mark the latest retreat by a regional Iranian proxy that had attempted to pile pressure on Jerusalem.
Iraq-based militias have launched dozens of attack drones at Israel since war broke out in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... following Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... ’s October 7, 2023, assault, alongside other members of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance®, including Hezbollah in Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... , the Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... s in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... , and pro-Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... groups in Syria.
While most of the attacks from Iraq have been largely ineffective, in October, two soldiers were killed and 24 others maimed when an Iraqi drone hit their Golan Heights base.
According to Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, seen as linked to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, the militia groups operating under the Popular Mobilization Forces agreed to stop the attacks at the urging of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... i.
The report cited an unnamed leader of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, an Iraqi militia loyal to Iran, which wields wide influence over Shiite groups in the country.
He said the factions were waiting for US President-elect Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... to take office next month to see how he approaches the region and particularly Iran.
An official from the allied Kata’ib Sayyed ...Arabic term meaning your/his lordship. Groveling in His Exalted Presence is encouraged... al-Shuhada group told al-Akbar that the Iraqi faction had ended its attacks in coordination with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which agreed late last month to halt its rocket and drone launches after months of punishing counterattacks from Israel.
The official also noted that the militia had "partners in Iraq who have an opinion and reservations about those operations, and they must be listened to."
What matters, the official said, is that "there is communication between the parties of the Axis of Resistance® for the purpose of coordinating positions and coming up with a unified vision."
According to the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba leader, the groups also agreed to avoid getting involved in Syria, where Salafist tough guys earlier this month ousted the regime of Iran-backed dictator Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... . He cited concerns that Iraq could experience worse instability than Syria, leading to a resurgence of terrorism.
Tehran, he said, had given the factions freedom of choice on how to act regarding Syria.
The source described reported pressure on the Iraqi government to shut down the PMF and other factions and confiscate their arms as a US-Israeli plot to bring about "the surrender of the Axis of Resistance®."
According to al-Akhbar, Sudani recently denied that there was any such plan.
There was no outside confirmation of the report.
On October 7, 2023, the Iran-backed Paleostinian terror group Hamas led a devastating attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and opened the still-ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
The following day, Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah began firing across the border at northern Israel, causing the evacuation of 60,000 residents from the area. The fighting spiraled into open war in September that ended last month with a fragile ceasefire after Israel decimated the Hezbollah leadership and its weapons stockpiles.
Days later, Syrian rebels swept across the country, taking the capital Damascus while Assad fled.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels have also been firing rockets and drones at Israel from Yemen, including several attacks last week, one of which saw 16 people injured when a missile hit Tel Aviv Saturday.
Israel has bombed Houthi sites in Yemen three times over the past year, but the group has vowed to continue its attacks.
[IsraelTimes] Defense Minister Israel Katz confirms for the first time that Israel was behind the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran over the summer.
Also at a commemoration event for local security officers, Katz threatens the Houthis in Yemen after the Iran-backed terror group continues to carry out attacks on Israel.
“In these days, when the Houthi terror organization is firing missiles at Israel, I want to convey a clear message to them: We have defeated Hamas, we have defeated Hezbollah, we have blinded the defense systems in Iran, and damaged the [missile] production systems. We have overthrown the Assad regime in Syria, we have dealt heavy blows to the ‘axis of evil,’ and we will also severely strike the Houthi terror organization in Yemen, which remains the last one standing,” he says.
(Israel was not directly involved in overthrowing the Assad regime in Syria, but assesses that its strikes on Iran’s proxies in the region contributed to the fall of the regime).
“We will strike [the Houthis’] strategic infrastructure and decapitate its leaders. Just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah, in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon — we will do in Hodeidah and Sanaa,” Katz says, referring to the slain leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.
“Whoever raises a hand against Israel will have their hand cut off, and the long arm of the IDF will strike them and settle the score,” he adds.
[IsraelTimes] Senior American officials have urged their Israeli counterparts to nurture ties with Syria’s new leader, Channel 12 reports.
Oy.
“Cooperation and communication channels of yours with al-Julani will bolster Israel’s influence in the entire area,” the report quotes US officials saying. “We are talking about a pragmatic leader who wants to develop strategic relations with the nations of the region.”
Israel is listening to what the Americans are saying, but also suspects that al-Julani is playing the US and international community, and trying to stabilize his control, but has not truly changed his spots.
The US, nonetheless, believes cooperation could help ensure that Iran does not return to Syria, the report says.
[IsraelTimes] Dearth of tourism since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack leaves West Bank city with empty streets, empty shops and empty guestrooms at what should be most wonderful time of the year.
The Nativity Store in Manger Square has sold handmade olive wood carvings and religious items to people visiting the traditional birthplace of Jesus since 1927. But as Bethlehem prepares to mark its second Christmas under the shadow of the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , there are almost no tourists, leaving the Nativity Store and other businesses unsure of how much longer they can hold on.
For the second straight year, Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations will be somber and muted, in deference to the ongoing war in Gaza. There will be no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no raucous scout marching bands, no public lights twinkling, and very few public decorations or displays.
"Last year before Christmas, we had more hope, but now again we are close to Christmas and we don’t have anything," said Rony Tabash, the third-generation owner of Nativity Store.
Israel’s war against Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... has been raging for nearly 15 months, and there still is no end in sight. Repeated ceasefire efforts have stalled. The war started on October 7, 2023, when the Paleostinian terror group Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. One hundred hostages are still held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza.
Since the war began, tourism to Israel and the Israeli-controlled West Bank has plummeted. And, after Israel barred entry to most of the 150,000 Paleostinians in the West Bank who had jobs in Israel because of the war, the Paleostinian economy contracted by 25 percent in the past year.
The yearly Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem — shared among Armenian, Catholic, and Orthodox denominations — are usually major boons for the city, where tourism accounts for 70% of its yearly income. But the streets are empty this season.
Tabash said he continues to open the store every day, but often an entire week will go by without a sale. Tabash works with more than 25 local families who create hand-carved religious items out of the region’s storied olive wood. But with no buyers, work has dried up for these families.
PLENTY OF ROOM AT THE INN
The number of visitors to the city plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million visitors per year in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 visitors in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Paleostinian tourism ministry.
According to the Christmas story, Mary was forced to give birth to Jesus in a stable because there was no room at the inn. Today, nearly all of Bethlehem’s 5,500 hotel rooms are empty.
The city’s hotel occupancy rate plunged from around 80% in early 2023 to around 3% today, said Elias Al Arja, the head of Bethlehem Hoteliers Association. At his own hotel, the Bethlehem Hotel, he said he has laid off a staff of more than 120 people and retains just five employees.
Qumsiyeh worries that when the war ends and tourism eventually rebounds, many of the families that have handed down traditional skills for generations will no longer be making the items that reflect Paleostinian heritage and culture.
Many are leaving the region entirely.
"We have witnessed a very high rate of emigration since the beginning of the aggression, especially among those working in the tourism sector," said Qumsiyeh.
SLOUCHING TOWARD CHRISTMAS
Almost 500 families have left Bethlehem in the past year, said Mayor Anton Salman. And those are just the families who moved abroad with official residency visas. Many others have moved abroad on temporary tourist visas and are working illegally, and it’s unclear if they will return, Salman said.
Around half of the population in the Bethlehem area, including nearby villages, works in either tourism or in jobs in Israel.
The unemployment rate in Bethlehem is roughly 50%, said Salman. Unemployment across the West Bank is around 30%, according to the Paleostinian Economy Ministry.
Canceling Christmas festivities is one way to draw attention to the difficult situation in Bethlehem and across the Paleostinian territories, said Salman.
"This year we want to show the world that the Paleostinian people are still suffering and they haven’t the joy that everybody else in the world having," said Salman.
It is another blow to the Holy Land’s dwindling population over the decade due to emigration and a low birthrate.
Christians are a small percentage of the population. There are about 188,000 in Israel including 12,850 in Jerusalem; There are 37,500 in the West Bank, and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the US State Department figures, citing Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.
Violence and coercion has resulted in up to a 90% decline in the Christian population in areas under Hamas or Palestinian Authority control, according to a new study by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA).
In 1922, Christians constituted 11% of the population. Today, in 2024, they are just 1%.
The JCFA research, led by Lt. Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch and Attorney Tirza Shorr, discovered mass emigration of Christians, particularly from historically significant cities like Bethlehem.
The Christian population in Gaza shrank from 5,000 before Hamas took over the area to only 1,000 in October 2023, the report found.
JCFA explained that religious and legal discrimination, desecration of holy sites, and social exclusion were behind the decline in the Christian population.
The city of Bethlehem is used as an illustration of what JCFA calls "Christian demographic erasure."
In 1950, Bethlehem and the surrounding villages were 86% Christian.
However, this has dwindled since 1994, when the PA took control of the city. The last census in 2017 showed Bethlehem was 10% Christian families, but many have left, or are leaving, due to systemic socio-economic hardships and instability, discrimination, and harassment, including of Christian clergy, by Muslim Palestinians and the Islam-dominated Palestinian Authority.
Bethlehem also serves as an example of Christians undergoing forced conversion to Islam, a phenomenon that Gaza’s Bishop Alexios, warned of in 2016. "Christians who converted to Islam did so under threats and violence," Alexios said at the time.
The report also collected testimonies regarding violence and harassment against Christians, especially of girls, since the PA took over.
Muslim clans reportedly also use force to resolve disputes.
Most cases, however, go unreported due to fear of retribution and a lack of legal enforcement.
"The survival of Christianity in its birthplace depends on awareness and action. Silence strengthens the perpetrators and leaves the victims without international support," Hirsch said.
"It’s unacceptable that in 2025, Christians in the Palestinian Authority fear reporting hate incidents against them for fear of arrest or worse," the report concludes.
Yes, the ultra-Orthodox Jews are rude to the Christians in Jerusalem, but the ultra-Orthodox Jews are rude to less orthodox Jews as well. What they really need is a solid come-to-Jesus moment to reset their attitude altogether.
[IsraelTimes] Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar said to tell meeting that he will not allow political polarization to split troops under his command, notes danger posed to force by refusal to serve
Finally! Hopefully this time our monkeys will copy Israel’s.
Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar has reportedly vowed that he will not allow political divides to again split the branch of the military under his command, Channel 12 reported, as calls to boycott reserve duty resurface amid indications from the government that it seeks to revive its controversial judicial overhaul.
According to the unsourced report Saturday, Bar made the remarks during an Air Force meeting last week, telling those present that "dividing voices are again raising their heads recently."
"I am very firm in my intention that this time politics will not return to penetrate the air force," he said during a meeting with senior officers who were tasked with investigating the IAF’s activity on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... -led attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and opened the still-ongoing war in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
Bar’s remarks came as Justice Minister Yariv Levin has declared he wishes to restart a controversial government plan to overhaul the judiciary, making changes that opponents say will significantly erode the democratic nature of the country.
When the government first tried to push through the changes in 2023 it prompted months of mass protests across the country and calls for IDF reservist soldiers to not volunteer for special service duties, including pilots. The judicial plan was eventually paused and then pushed aside by the shock October 7 Hamas attack.
At the recent meeting, Bar reportedly said that on the day of the attack, the air force was "at full operational ability" but, had the attack come a few weeks later, "it is possible there would have been harm to the force’s abilities," apparently referring to momentum among reservists to protest the judicial overhaul plan by not showing up for service.
Last week, former state attorney Moshe Lador encouraged IAF pilots to stop volunteering for reserve duty if the government revives the judicial overhaul.
Lador’s comments sparked angry condemnations from both the coalition and the opposition, as well as from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who said that the IDF "must remain outside any political controversy," especially during the current fraught period for national security.
After completing their years of mandatory service, IAF pilots regularly continue to serve in the reserves in a voluntary capacity. At the height of the 2023 protests against the judicial overhaul, hundreds of IDF reservists signed declarations saying that they would no longer show up for reserve duty in protest of the government advancing its plans to curtail the judiciary.
Alongside Levin’s calls to bring the judicial overhaul back on the agenda, the government is working on other contentious legislation dealing with the drafting of ultra-Orthodox community members who in the past enjoyed sweeping exemptions from duty.
Ultra-Orthodox parties in the government are demanding legislation to largely preserve the exemptions after the High Court of Justice ruled in June that there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into compulsory service.
Israelis who do serve say the decades-long arrangement of mass exemptions unfairly burdens them and their families, a sentiment that has intensified since the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught and the ensuing war, in which more than 780 soldiers have been killed and some 300,000 citizens were called up to reserve duty.
The military has said that it currently requires some 10,000 new soldiers — 75 percent of whom would be combat troops — amid the multifront war.
Last week, a former chief rabbi caused a wave of outrage after saying that all ultra-Orthodox men should not be drafted into the Israel Defense Forces.
In October, a group of IDF reservists penned a letter to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi criticizing the continued failure to draft members of the ultra-Orthodox community.
The letter sent by the reservists comes against the backdrop of bitter disagreements in the Knesset over the issue of enlistment to the IDF.
#4
While not a Flag, they need to start w/CO of the USS Gettysburg: revealed today they fired a missile at a second F/A-18, but realized it in time to shut down guidance. So they splashed one, but didn’t pick up the spare….
Completely unsat. (The entire incident, not missing the spare; that was sarc if you missed it)
[Ynet] Adjacent to a newly operational seawater desalination plant designed to serve soldiers in Gaza, the IDF has constructed a small beachfront retreat for its troops. This unique respite, situated amid the devastation of enemy territory, offers soldiers a rare break from their grueling missions in the Gaza Strip.
The retreat, established 14 months after the tanks and APCs of the Givati and 401st Armored Brigades first breached Gaza's gates on October 27, 2023, is an impressive haven of civilian-style comfort. Set amidst the rubble of the war-torn region, the complex includes artificial turf surrounded by modern, portable buildings. These spaces offer officers and their subordinates a chance to converse in a relaxed, private setting reminiscent of rear-base training facilities in Israel.
Within the facility, soldiers have access to mental health support from counselors and remote consultations with physicians via the Tyto device, as well as on-site care from a nurse and a paramedic. The paramedic, Shami—a 64-year-old reservist and medical assistant at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center—explains, "We have 99% of the medications they might need here. It works well." Nearby, a physical therapist provides massages for sore backs and legs, while a mobile dental clinic, staffed by a young dentist and assistant, offers essential care.
And when they leave — whenever things calm down enough to allow that — they’ll leave it all behind for the locals. Perhaps this time the locals will be smart enough to accept it, instead of smashing it to dust like they did the greenhouses left behind when Ariel Sharon pulled the settlers out.
Posted by: Grom the Reflective ||
12/24/2024 00:00 ||
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#1
Gentle reminder: American troops’ extended stay in Germany now 80 years post-WWII.
I’m not a professor of international affairs, but I’m wondering whether that’s why Germany hasn’t invaded the Poles or the Czechs or the Austrians or the French or the Belgians or the Dutch or the Danes or the Russians or the Norwegians or the Greeks or the Bulgarians or others in 80 years; and maybe that’s why Germans haven’t fired rockets England either.
Why hasn’t the UN called for withdrawal of American troops from Germany or from Japan? Why hasn’t the UN called for withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria?
#2
Germany hasn’t invaded the Poles or the Czechs or the Austrians or the French or the Belgians or the Dutch or the Danes or the Russians or the Norwegians or the Greeks or the Bulgarians or others in 80 years
[Rudaw] The new Syrian authority on Saturday appointed a top commander of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS) as the defense minister of the transitional government.
Murhaf Abu Qasra, a prominent figure in the recent HTS-led offensive that overthrew Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... , was appointed to lead the defense ministry as part of the efforts to fill vacant cabinet seats, Syria media.
In an interview with AFP on Tuesday, he said that they distinguish between Kurds and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - the de facto army of the Kurdish enclave in northeast Syria (Rojava).
"We must distinguish between the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces and Kurdish people who are one of the components of the Syrian population. Like all other minorities in Syria, they are entitled to full rights in every aspect of life. This is the problem with the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces," Abu Qasra, known by his nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Hamawi, told the French news agency.
"To summarise, Syria will not be divided and there will be no federalism inshallah. God willing, all these areas will be under Syria[n authority]," he added.
Millions of Kurds live in Syria, but their exact population is uncertain.
The HTS has not clashed with the US-allied SDF so far, and the latter handed over some parts of the oil-rich eastern province of Deir ez-Zor, which they had taken after Assad’s army fled to encounter the rebels in other parts of the country, to the HTS peacefully.
"At the outset of the incident [the offensive that ousted Assad], HTS informed us that our territories are not their target," SDF chief Mazloum Abdi told local media days after the rebels took over Damascus. "We have agreements with HTS regarding Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor."
When the HTS took over Aleppo city, they allowed the SDF to maintain its control of Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, mainly Sheikh Maqsood.
The Kurdish administration in Rojava has also decided to raise the new flag of the country, previously used by the opposition, across its institutions.
Referring to it as "the flag of independence," Abdi said the flag is "suitable" for them "because this is not the flag of the Syrian Arab Republic but the flag of the Syrian Republic, which represents all components."
Abdi also said that they would send a delegation to Damascus to meet with the new authority.
"We want a democratic Syria where everyone has their rights... it's time for us to have our place in a Syria of justice and equality," he said during a recent interview with La Belle France 24.
Riad Darar, former co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), political wing of the SDF, told Rudaw on Saturday that they had twice had contact with the new rulers in Damascus "to open borders between us."
In another effort to appease the HTS-led government, the Kurdish administration also removed tax on goods being imported from Damascus-held areas which were in place for years.
In a recent message to the Kurds, the HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharra, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, sought to ease their fears, saying they are "part of the homeland" and "there will be no injustice" against them.
"The coming Syria will have the Kurds as an essential component, and we will live together in it, and everyone will take their rights," he said.
The Kurdish administration has said it seeks dialogue to "unify views" in Syria.
"We believe that cooperation between the Democratic Autonomous Administration and the political administration in Damascus will be in the favor of all Syrians and will contribute to facilitating a successful end to this difficult phase," it said in a statement last week.
[Rudaw] Syria’s transitional government on Saturday named Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani as its new foreign minister, less than two weeks after toppling the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Shaibani, 37, was born in Hasaka and lived most of his life in Damascus. He has a Bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from Damascus University and a Master’s degree in political science and international relations from Sabahattin Zaim University, a private institution in Istanbul, Turkey.
He was one of the founding members of the Idlib-based Syrian salvation government in 2017 and established and led its department of political affairs. He was also a member of the Islamic advisory council known as Shura for Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
HTS spearheaded the rebel offensive launched late last month that toppled Assad and ended over five decades of Baathist rule. They formed the transitional government in Damascus, with Mohammed al-Bashir as its prime minister.
The transitional government will remain in power until March 1 next year.
[IsraelTimes] Iran is considering establishing an air corridor to Lebanon by which to resupply the Hezbollah terror group, after losing its land route through Syria with the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, The Times reports.
The paper notes that this would be in breach of Israel’s ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.
An unidentified regional source tells the paper that discussions on the matter are taking place in Tehran. The source says Western nations are “concerned that Iran has lost [Damascus as] its go-to airport in the region for smuggling weapons and is now trying to turn Beirut airport into its new logistics hub, just as they did in Syria.”
They add that such action “could lead to the next escalation.”
Israel has said it will enforce the terms of the ceasefire in Lebanon by force where necessary. It has intercepted cargo flights from Iran to Lebanon that it believed were carrying arms for Hezbollah, forcing them to turn around.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...Republic of Somaliland is an unrecognised sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, recognised internationally as a de jure part of Somalia. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden with approximately 5.7 million residents as of 2021. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The government regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland, which united from 1960 to 1991 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. Under the Siad Barre regime, Somaliadestroyed ninety percent of Hargeisa Per international law, once you're in, you gotta stay in, no matter how bad it smells....
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964...
...Arabic term meaning 
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
