Looking to get credit at President Trump’s expense, and limit what he’s able to do. But since it wasn’t President Biden who dunnit, who is pulling the strings behind the curtain?
[IsraelTimes] The Biden administration has informally notified the US Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms deal with Israel that includes munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters alongside artillery shells, Axios reports, citing two sources.
The sources tell Axios that some of the deal can be supplied from current US stocks, but most will take a year or more to deliver. The deal will presumably be the last to be approved by the Biden administration.
The package — which needs to be okayed by the House and Senate foreign relations committees — reportedly includes AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles for fighter jets to defend against airborne threats, including drones; 155mm artillery shells; Hellfire AGM-114 missiles for attack helicopters; small diameter bombs; JDAM tail kits that turn "dumb bombs" into precision munitions, 500-lb warheads and bomb fuzes.
In late spring, the US held up a shipment that included 500-lb bombs, but these were subsequently delivered.
Axios quotes a source saying that the State Department told Congress the deal is aimed at "supporting Israel’s long-term security by resupplying stocks of critical munitions and air defense capabilities."
And it quoted a US official saying, "The President has made clear Israel has a right to defend its citizens, consistent with international law and international humanitarian law, and to deter aggression from 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... and its proxy organizations. We will continue to provide the capabilities necessary for Israel’s defense."
[IsraelTimes] Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent who investigated terrorism cases and is on an advisory council to US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, said Shamsud-Din Jabbar did not fit the typical profile of those radicalized by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Jabbar served for 10 years in the US Army and was in his 40s, Soufan noted, explaining that people who fall prey to Islamic State recruitment are typically much younger.
"This is a guy who ... went from being a patriot to being an ISIS terrorist," said Soufan.
The terrorist’s half-brother, Abdur Jabbar, said in an interview that Jabbar had abandoned Islam in his 20s or 30s, but had recently renewed his faith.
Abdur Jabbar told Rooters in Beaumont, Texas, where Jabbar was born and raised, that he had no idea when his half-brother became radicalized.
They’re almost two decades apart in age. The wonder is that he knows anything at all about his older half brother.
The 24-year-old said his older brother had increasingly isolated himself from family and friends in the last few years but he hadn’t seen any signs of radicalization when they talked. He said it had been a few months since he had seen his brother in-person and a few weeks since they talked on the phone.
"Nothing about his demeanor seemed to be off. He didn’t seem to be angry or anything like that. He was just his calm, well-mannered, well-tempered self," the younger brother said.
Three-time divorcee had trouble adjusting to civilian life
Army, court and other public records piece together a picture of a man who had been stationed or lived in multiple states including North Carolina, Texas, Georgia and Alaska, had been married multiple times and seemed to be experiencing financial difficulties as he tried to adjust to civilian life.
Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
A spokesperson for Georgia State University confirmed Jabbar attended the school from 2015-2017 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems in 2017.
He had been married at least three times over the last two decades and had at least three children who were mentioned in divorce and custody agreements. His two most recent marriages, in Georgia and Texas, each lasted about three years, according to court documents.
Dwayne Marsh, who is married to one of Jabbar’s ex-wives, told The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... that Jabbar had been acting erratically in recent months. Marsh said he and his wife had stopped allowing the two daughters she shared with Jabbar to spend time with him.
Divorce records also show Jabbar faced a deteriorating financial situation in January 2022. Jabbar said he was $27,000 behind on house payments and wanted to quickly finalize the divorce.
His businesses were struggling, too. One business, Blue Meadow Properties LLC, lost about $28,000 in 2021. Two other businesses he started, Jabbar Real Estate Holdings LLC and BDQ L3C, weren’t worth anything. He had also accumulated $16,000 in credit card debt because of expenses like attorneys fees, according to the email.
Court documents show he was making about $10,000 a month doing business development and other work for the consulting firm Deloitte in 2022.
On Wednesday, police blocked access to a Houston ...a city in Texas, named after Sam Houston, who would drop deader than he is now if he could see how it turned out... neighborhood where Jabbar’s last address was listed, a small white mobile home in a gated community where ducks and goats were roaming in the grass. On Thursday, the FBI said it had finished a search of the area but did not release more details.
Despite the tumult indicated by court documents, Abdur Jabbar said his half-brother hadn’t shown any outward signs of distress or anger about his relationships.
"I think he blamed himself more than anything for his divorces," said the younger Jabbar. "And he never was bitter toward his ex-wives."
[GEO.TV] The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... on Thursday urged the Paleostinian Authority to "reverse course" after it suspended broadcasts by Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... -based Al Jazeera, accusing the network of incitement.
The PA, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank, said its decision followed a complaint from the Paleostinian Journalists Syndicate concerning Al Jazeera's coverage and said the suspension was a temporary move.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2025 02:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
#1
and this is under the UN's purview, how?STFU
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/04/2025 6:29 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Why does the phrase "follow the money" come so strongly to mind?
How many is this now? Most wars don’t even get one. The Somali ambassador must be in hog heaven — finally Somalia gets to actually do something to punish Israel for existing.
[IsraelTimes] The UN Security Council has begun another emergency session on the Gaza war, this time discussing the recent Israeli raid of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Strip.
Israel says it returned to the hospital after Hamas fighters again resumed operations there under the guise of medical personnel and patients.
The IDF said Sunday that it killed 19 terror operatives during the roughly week-long raid and that it was unaware of any civilian casualties. Hamas-run health authorities previously claimed that 50 people had been killed, including hospital staff.
The IDF said that, of 940 Palestinians who passed through an army checkpoint outside the hospital, 240 were detained for being alleged members of terror groups. Among those detained was Kamal Adwan director Hussam Abu Safiya who the IDF says is suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.
In all, some 600 civilians and another 95 patients, caregivers, and medical personnel were evacuated from Kamal Adwan.
Testifying before Security Council members at today’s hearing is the World Health Organization’s representative for the Palestinian territories Rik Peeperkorn and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. Rik Peeperkorn? You gotta be making that shit up
The session was requested by Algeria, the Arab representative on the Security Council.
Each country’s ambassador presents their capital’s stance regarding Israeli operations in Kamal Adwan along with the war more broadly. Most statements are critical of Israel, while some envoys highlight Hamas’s continued operations from hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon is expected to place particular emphasis on the latter point.
There’s not expected to be any practical implications from the meeting, though some members may have tried to push for a symbolic joint statement condemning Israel for the raid, which would have surely been blocked by the United States.
[IsraelTimes] Officials from the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees tell NYT it won’t be safe for staffers to operate because they rely on coordination with Israel, which will end on Jan. 28
The UN aid agency for Paleostinian refugees is reportedly preparing to shut down 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... and the West Bank ahead of the implementation of Knesset legislation significantly curbing its operations.
The laws passed on October 28 bar UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory and prevent Israeli authorities from having any contact with the agency. The laws will go into effect at the conclusion of a 90-day grace period, which expires at the end of the month.
Appearing to explain the decision to shutter operations in the Paleostinian territories, senior UNRWA Gaza official Louise Wateridge told The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , "If we can’t share that information with Israeli authorities on a daily basis then we have staff lives in danger."
The UN agency says it is required to coordinate with the Israeli military every time its workers deliver aid or move across Gaza and parts of the West Bank — contact that will be severed going forward.
But UNRWA has also repeatedly warned it is on the brink of collapse, and aid groups speculate that it will continue trying to operate in the West Bank and Gaza as long as it has the funds to do so.
Israel has long had an adversarial relationship with UNRWA, accusing it of perpetuating the Paleostinian refugee crisis, as it allows Paleostinians to maintain the status for generations both in and outside the Paleostinian territories. But Jerusalem’s campaign against UNRWA intensified significantly following Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... ’s October 7 onslaught.
Over a dozen UNRWA staffers were found to have participated in the attack, and there has been a drumbeat of revelations in the year that followed regarding the extent to which Hamas has managed to infiltrate the agency.
While Israel has sought to box out the agency from the humanitarian effort over the past year, UNRWA remains the backbone of much of the operations, providing shelters to repeatedly displaced Paleostinians, storing and distributing aid to civilians and providing logistical support to the various international organizations operating in Gaza.
Israel said it was prepared to work with other aid agencies during the 90-day grace period to help fill any vacuums that could be left by UNRWA once the legislation goes into place, but it is unclear whether such cooperation ensued.
Before the legislation was advanced, a senior Israeli official briefing The Times of Israel last January said that Jerusalem opposed shutting down UNRWA in the middle of the war due to fears that it would spark a humanitarian crisis.
However,
the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... animosity toward the organization increased in the months that followed, as the issue became increasingly politicized.
The US has sent somewhat mixed signals regarding the Knesset legislation. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ...71st United States secretary of state and a leading light of the corrupt and inept Biden administration. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the corrupt and inept Obama administration. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. He was a foreign policy advisor for the Biden 2008 presidential campaign. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Blinken helped craft B.O.'s policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. We all saw how well each of those worked. After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a lobbying firm... and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin penned a letter to their Israeli counterparts in October warning that banning UNRWA "would devastate the Gaza humanitarian response at this critical moment."
On the other hand, US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. This Is A Man That Does Not Seem Demented... signed into law congressional legislation halting US funding to UNRWA until March. That move is almost certain to be made permanent in the next, Republican-controlled Congress.
Paleostinians who receive services from UNRWA expressed fears regarding how they’ll make ends meet if the agency ceases to operate.
"The world has abandoned us. We have nothing but the aid we get from UNRWA to survive," Sami Abu Darweesh, a refugee in a UNRWA camp in southern Gaza told the Times. "If that stops, what will we do?"
"UNRWA has always been our only hope for jobs, food, flour," said Enas al-Hila, another displaced person in Gaza. "It’s the lifeline for us and our children, just as it was for our parents and grandparents."
In the West Bank, UNRWA runs education and healthcare systems, serving roughly 900,000 Paleostinians in what The New York Times described as "a quasi-governmental role." The Paleostinian Authority, which has limited illusory sovereignty in the territory has 650,000 students in its school system. It is unclear whether the PA can fold in so many more students. In recent years, PA teachers went on strike for months over low pay.
Jamila Lafi, a resident of the densely populated Qalandiya refugee camp in the West Bank, told the Times that her family relies on UNRWA schools and medical clinics. "Without UNRWA, I don’t know how we’d survive," she said.
[israelTimes] Defense attorney provides court with documents showing that PM’s doctors told him to rest at home for two weeks following the prostate removal operation.
[IsraelTimes] The IDF denies reports by Paleostinian media claiming that the Israeli military struck the Indonesian Hospital and ordered the evacuation of the medical center in the northern 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.
"Contrary to reports, the IDF did not strike the Indonesian Hospital in Jabalia over the past day and did not damage any essential equipment," the IDF’s international media front man, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani says on X.
"Following reports regarding the evacuation of the hospital, messages were sent to reiterate to officials in the health authorities that there is no need to evacuate the hospital," he continues.
"The IDF emphasizes that it is not operating to evacuate the hospital. The IDF remains in ongoing coordination with hospital officials in order to enable and facilitate the supply of humanitarian assistance to the hospital," Shoshani adds.
The military issues a similar statement also in Hebrew.
The statement comes after Paleostinian journalists in Gaza, including some accused by Israel of being members of Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , claimed that the IDF had ordered all those in the Indonesian Hospital to evacuate and that Israeli military vehicles opened fire in the vicinity of the hospital.
The reported IDF evacuation order was even cited by the World Health Organization’s representative to the Paleostinian territories during his testimony at an ongoing UN Security Council session.
The IDF operated at the Indonesian Hospital last month, during which it said troops killed several terror operatives and detained dozens of suspected members of terror groups.
The military also operated at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia last weekend, where it evacuated the remaining patients and staff to the Indonesian Hospital. Kamal Adwan’s equipment was also delivered to the Indonesian Hospital to ensure it could keep running, according to the military.
[IsraelTimes] The US plans to increase its strikes in Yemen, American officials tell their Israeli counterparts, per a report by the Kan Public Broadcaster.
That’s one way to keep Israel on a leash…
The attacks are expected to be aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi rebels rocket facilities.
A source tells Kan that outgoing US President Joe Biden has given the US military “broad” authorization for the strikes.
The report says the US stressed to Israel that Israeli strikes must remain solely against military targets to prevent harm to civilians.
[JustTheNews] Homeland contractor, FBI experts issue stark warnings about bomb-dropping and gun-firing drones in terrorist hands.
With New Year’s Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas exposing terrorism vulnerabilities anew, top security experts are warning that a lethal capability being perfected in the skies over Ukraine and the Middle East could soon be headed to the United States: explosives-dropping or gun-firing drones.
“There has not been enough preparation proactively to prevent an incident associated with drone warfare and not even close,” retired FBI Executive Assistant Director Christopher Piehota told Just the News on Thursday. “Government, I think, is waking up to it. But it's a day-late, dollar-short type of situation.
Piehota oversaw the FBI's counter-drone program before he retired.
"We're pretty far behind the defensive curve, so to speak. And unfortunately in the United States, it takes a tragedy for us to really snap out of our of our malaise and work against the threats proactively,” he warned.
Former FBI head breaks down New Year’s attacks, warns United States is in ‘new era’ of terrorismFormer FBI head breaks down New Year’s attacks, warns United States is in ‘new era’ of terrorism
MAJOR VULNERABILITY
Piehota’s concerns were echoed by security experts interviewed this week by Just the News in intelligence, military and law enforcement circles and specifically cited as a major vulnerability in a study prepared for the Homeland Security Department a few months ago by the security contractor Rand Corporation.
That report obtained by Just the News warned that terrorists are increasingly targeting soft targets in crowded places – known as "ST-CP"s in intelligence parlance – and that drones are likely to being employed to carry out attacks against such targets in the near future.
“Although it has generally not been observed as of this writing in late 2023, our interview data suggested a growing concern about the prospect of uncrewed aircraft systems (UASs) being used for attacks on ST-CPs,” the December 2023 report warned. “The use of UASs against ST-CP sites has become a concern in the ST-CP security sector. The unique characteristics of UASs could see their use grow in future years."
You can read the full report here.
Rand explained why drones – which are becoming more numerous – would be attractive to strike a target in America.
“UASs can carry explosive payloads and have the ability to maneuver into secure areas without detection,” it noted. “UASs can also give the operator the ability to act anonymously and a greater chance to avoid detection and capture. The growing use of UASs in both the private sector and government operations likely means that more people will have access to these systems in the future and the expertise to operate them, making the use of UASs for attacks increasingly likely.”
Even the United Nations – which has seen Iranian-built drones terrorize ships in the Red Sea, Hamas-operated drones kill Israelis during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacres and Russian drones inflict carnage in Ukraine – has escalated its preparation, conducting seminars in 2022 and 2023 to coordinate better security against such aerial attacks.
"There is a growing concern globally over the criminal misuse of emerging technologies as they become ubiquitous," the UN said after its most recent counterterrorism meeting. "Recent evidence demonstrates that the acquisition of UAS software, hardware, and components as well as their weaponization and deployment by terrorist groups has increased over the past years across many Member States.
"It is critical that Member States and intergovernmental organizations work closely with academia, civil society, and the private sector to keep abreast of technological advancements in order to anticipate and mitigate the risk of their misuse for terrorist purposes," it added.
"CAUGHT OFF GUARD"
The Office of Director of National Intelligence admitted in a 2021 report that was recently declassified that it was acutely aware of the rising danger of terrorist drones and equally frustrated by slow U.S. efforts to recognize that a technology it devised to fight terrorists might now be used to hunt Americans.
“The United States has a history of being reactionary to unforeseen or misunderstood national security threats,” the report candidly noted. “Recently, the United States was caught off guard yet again by terrorist groups’ ability to adapt their tactics on the battlefield and cause bloodshed in new and surprising ways. These groups are infringing on a battlespace long dominated by the U.S. military: the air domain."
“The recent incorporation of unmanned aerial systems (UASs), commonly referred to as 'drones,' into the tactics and techniques of terrorist operations is forcing the United States to reassess its policies and defense measures to protect its employed military forces,” it added.
You can read that report here.
The Homeland Security Department says its research and development arm is trying to create new technologies to counter terrorism from the sky but admits its efforts face an uphill race.
“The rapid increase in the availability and sophistication of UAS represents a significant challenge, as their capabilities progress faster than the ability to assess and mitigate the threat posed by nefarious small UAS,” the department said.
Experts said countering aerial attacks requires knowing how to identify good from bad drones in the skies in real-time, something the government proved last month when unexplained drone sightings in New Jersey created widespread public panic and little official explanation.
“That's the problem, total unawareness by the American people and complete inability of law enforcement and the executives in these cities to evolve as fast as the terrorist tactics,” retired FBI Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam, who used to oversee major event planning for the bureau’s New York office, told the Just the News, No Noise television show on Thursday night.
“The terrorists will do whatever they can to carry out these attacks. But these officials refuse to step outside their normal box and say, ‘OK, we don't normally do it this way, but let's try it.’ That’s not what they say. They say we don't do it that way. And so they never try something new and even inexpensive,” he added.
Gilliam said the Wednesday morning’s attack in New Orleans exposed the mentality anew: city officials had taken out their heavy metal security bollards protecting the French Quarter to repair them and replaced them with lesser barriers that the driver evaded with ease. He said police could have turned to “using busses, using dump trucks full of cement, police cars, whatever, to block areas and keep things straight” but didn’t.
Gilliam said he suspects terrorists who recently used vehicles to kill dozens in a German Christmas market and the French Quarter will continue to do so until security adapts, and then pivot to drones soon after.
“I believe these unmanned vehicle attacks and drone attacks are coming, but the vehicle attacks right now are the flavor of the day, because they're just so easy to carry out and people are just not aware,” he said.
DRONES PRESENT HEIGHTENED LETHALITY
Piehota, the retired FBI executive assistant director, told the John Solomon Reports podcast that drones can cause far more lethal consequences than just the explosive payload they drop if they target a concert hall or stadium.
“If you have a stadium full of people, and even if the area is considered a no drone zone, you have someone fly in a group of drones, and they start dropping explosives, or they you could even set up drones to fire guns into a crowd. … the problem is going to be the massive disruption in a stadium.
“Most people will become very frightened. They will stampede and they will kill each other trying to get to a safe place,” he warned. Piehota further cautioned that while low-cost commercial drones are one potential threat, it is likely a terrorist group will one day soon acquire a highly lethal military grade drone from a state actor like Iran and deliver an even more devastating attack.
“What you're going to find is as certain international adversaries take a side, and they take a position, and certain military type equipment becomes available to certain terrorist groups, those military grade drones, you can't defeat them,” he said.
“They're made to loiter, and they're made to strike against heavy armored vehicles and against people who are in protective structures. So I just throw that out there, only because folks are more worried about the weaponization of commercial drones, as opposed to the appearance in the United States, potentially and probably, of military grade drones,” he added.
#4
Homeland contractor, FBI experts issue stark warnings about bomb-dropping and gun-firing drones in terrorist hands.
Fear, Uncertainty, and Dread. Oh, come on. If you want real drone terrorism, just fly one to get sucked in a big airliner at take off or landing. That way you get literally a plane load of people with one shot.
#5
If the state court system of the state of New York chooses to imprison the presumptive president of the United States ten days before he was to have been sworn into office — and on such nonsensical charges as these — watch the US Supreme Court weigh in so fast the entire world will be laughing at New York before the hour is out.
And then the JD Vance Justice Department will still be closely supervising them, stem to stern, at the end of his second term. To make sure they’ve seeded out the overly political and their youngsters, both legal and political, are properly trained on legal ethics and constitutional law… which I suppose means providing advisories on the PoliSci departments and law schools. The model is the fourteen conservative federal circuit and appeals court judges who announced in the 2022-23 school year that they would no longer hire law clerks from Yale and Stanford because of cancel culture and open hostility to conservative judges.
So much more savvy than the Taliban, but they want the world Jewish community to spend money improving the lot of the nine Syrian Jews remaining, and then spend more money as tourists, sentimentally visiting the oulde sod.
[IsraelTimes] Mohammad Badarieh, representing Islamist rebel chief Ahmed al-Sharaa, tells Bakhour Chamntoub, one of 9 remaining Jews, that ‘you will be safe,’ all will have ‘peace and security’
At first, anyway. After that it depends on Allah’s will … as interpreted by the HTS rulers Unbelievers are for the Moslems as sheep to be sheared and as fields to be harvested, after all, both of which require initial cultivation.
In a video published to social media this week, a representative of the new regime in Syria, led by Islamist rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, spoke with Bakhour Chamntoub, the head of the tiny Jewish community that remains in the country, promising "peace and security" and even calling on Syrian Jews abroad to return to Syria.
"Good evening everyone, from Damascus, from the home of the head of the Jewish community in Damascus, Bakhour. Reassure us that you’re alright," Mohammad Badarieh, the representative of the new regime, said in the video.
"Thank God, all is well," replied Chamntoub.
When asked, "How are things in the country?" Chamntoub replied, "They couldn’t be better — there’s stability." But his eyes were blinking in Morse Code: "Help us!"
A lightning offensive by Islamist-led rebels toppled the decades-long rule of the Assad family in Syria last month, some fourteen years after civil war first broke out in the country amid the 2011 Arab Spring protests.
Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, of the Hayat 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) group, formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda, has made efforts since the victory to shed his bully boy image, and has pledged to protect minorities in the country.
Minorities are a commodity, donchaknow.
Western governments have begun to gradually open channels with Sharaa and HTS, and are starting to debate whether to remove the group’s terrorist designation. Senior US diplomats who visited Damascus last month said Sharaa came across as pragmatic and that Washington has decided to remove a $10 million bounty on the HTS leader’s head.
In the clip circulating this week, Badarieh, Sharaa’s aide, told Chamntoub, "There’s no more Baath party, there’s no more fear," referring to the Arab nationalist movement Assad led in Syria. "There’s no more checkpoints, no more secret police. We are in a democratic state," he added. Chamntoub responded, "Thank God."
Sharaa said in an interview last week that holding elections in Syria could take up to four years, the first time he had commented on a possible timetable for elections since Assad was ousted. He also said he hoped the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... would lift sanctions on the country.
Syria was once home to one of the world’s largest and oldest Jewish communities. Following anti-Jewish riots and persecution in the wake of Israel’s establishment, however, almost all those Jews fled abroad when given the opportunity, and now only nine Jews live in Syria — almost all of whom are older men and women, according to Chamntoub, who is himself 74.
Referring to the many Jews of Syrian ancestry abroad, Chamntoub acknowledged that "They don’t believe there will be peace, and that they can return home." But he echoed the promise of the new regime, saying, "You will be safe, there will be peace and quiet, and God willing, you’ll return, everyone to his house, to his neighborhood, and to his people, and everything."
Badarieh then enthusiastically extended his invitation to "those from all the communities, among them the Jewish community, members of this dear community, members of the religion of Moses: everyone who returns, your house is here, God bless you all."
At the end of last month, Chamntoub visited the ancient Eliyahu Hanavi synagogue in the Damascus suburb of Jobar, which had been closed since the start of the civil war, and which was almost totally destroyed by fighting.
Speaking to Israel’s Kan news earlier this week, Chamntoub said that Badarieh pledged to support the restoration of the synagogue. "He said to me, ’If you want to restore the Jobar synagogue, I’ll approve it. If you want me to provide you with security for the synagogue, I agree."
[IsraelTimes] Iran’s foreign ministry summons the Italian ambassador over the detention of an Iranian national wanted by the United States for his alleged role in a deadly dronezap against US forces, Iranian state media reports.
The summons comes a day after a similar move by Italia over Iran’s arrest of Italian news houndCecilia Sala, who was seized in Tehran on December 19 while working under a journalist visa.
An Iranian foreign ministry official "urged Italia to reject America’s hostage policy — which is contrary to international law, particularly human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. — and provide for Mr. [Mohammad] Abedini’s release as soon as possible and prevent damage to bilateral ties," state media reports.
On Thursday, the Iranian embassy in Rome said Sala was being given all the humanitarian care necessary, and for the first time, linked her case to that of Abedini. Which was so obvious, even Stevie Wonder saw it
Iran’s said on Monday that Sala had been arrested for "violating the laws of the Islamic Theocratic Republic." It gave no further information.
Sala was detained three days after Abedini, an Iranian businessman, was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport on a US warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2023 attack that killed three US service members in Jordan.
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... has denied involvement in the attack.
Abedini is currently being held in prison and a court is due to decide this month whether to grant him house arrest while judges consider the US extradition request.
In recent years, Iran’s security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies this.
[IsraelTimes] Lifting sanctions on Syria will depend on the political process going forward, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says in Damascus after meeting with the country’s de facto leader.
Europe will not fund the creation of new Islamist structures in Syria, Baerbock adds during a press conference.
“Europe will support, but Europe would not be a sponsor of new Islamist structures,” Baerbock says.
[IsraelTimes] Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has demanded that the United States tell Israel to pull its forces out of the border buffer zone and the Syrian side of Mount Herman, Israel’s Kan TV news reports.
Israeli officials tell the outlet that they have received no official request on the matter.
They also say that Israel’s military presence at and across the border is necessary to protect its security.
The unsourced report also says the rebel leader has asked the US to provide humanitarian aid to the country.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The head of the German Foreign Ministry, Annalena Baerbock, who recommended that Russia abandon its military bases in Syria, was reminded by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, about the American bases in Germany and advised to think about them.
In the Telegram channel, Maria Zakharova responded to Baerbock's statement regarding Russian bases in Syria, emphasizing that this was said by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country where the US military bases are located.
“I have a question: isn’t it time, from the point of view of the head of the German Foreign Ministry, for her to say something similar to Washington?” Zakharova wrote.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for the removal of Russian military bases in Syria on Friday, January 3, during a visit to Syria. Baerbock's statement was published on the German Foreign Ministry's website.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service warned that the US and British authorities intend to prevent the situation in Syria from stabilizing after the change of power and are going to maintain chaos throughout the Middle East. The agency specified that these plans are hampered by the presence of Russian troops on the Syrian coast of the Mediterranean Sea, which continues to be a significant factor in stability in the region.
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov said on December 12 that Russia expects to maintain military bases in Syria because they play an important role in the fight against international terrorism. The diplomat said that Moscow has established contacts in Syria with the political committee of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (a terrorist organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation).
More from regnum.ru State Duma accuses Baerbock of interfering in Syria and Russia
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has clearly exceeded her authority, said Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, on January 3, commenting on the words of the head of the German Foreign Ministry about the need to remove Russian military bases in Syria.
Slutsky emphasized that Baerbock is not just crudely interfering in the process of establishing Syrian statehood; it is dictating to the nuclear power how and with whom it should conduct military cooperation.
“All these issues are far beyond her competence and concern exclusively Russian-Syrian relations,” Slutsky wrote on his Telegram channel.
Slutsky is sure that the head of the German Foreign Ministry is in the "lame duck" mode, since after the collapse of the ruling coalition and the announcement of a vote of no confidence in the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, early elections will be held in Germany. Slutsky called Baerbock's political prospects dubious, especially with such big problems in the "elementary educational base."
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Annalena Baerbock on Friday, January 3, during a visit to Syria, called for the removal of Russian military bases located in that country. Baerbock's statement was published on the website of the German Foreign Ministry.
In response to this statement, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, recalled the American bases in Germany and advised Baerbock to think about them.
Representatives of the new Syrian administration refused to shake hands with German Foreign Minister Annalene Baerbock, who flew to Syria on January 3 for an unexpected visit.
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service has warned that the US and British authorities intend to prevent the situation in Syria from stabilizing after the change of power and are planning to maintain chaos throughout the Middle East.
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Abou Mohammed al-Joulani, Syria's top Islamic terrorist, refuses to shake hands with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock because she is a woman. pic.twitter.com/ZjdfMEU62U
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