The head #Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), Farhat Bengdara, has resigned due to “health issues,” and Masoud Sulaiman has been appointed as acting chief, the state oil company says.https://t.co/FxM78fGhIf
[IsraelTimes] A mysterious airstrip being built on a remote island in Yemen is nearing completion, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show, one of several built in a nation mired in a stalemated war threatening to reignite.
The airstrip on Abd al-Kuri Island, which rises out of the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, could provide a key landing zone for military operations patrolling that waterway. That could be useful as commercial shipping through the Gulf and Red Sea — a key route for cargo and energy shipments heading to Europe — has halved under attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The area also has seen weapons smuggling from Iran to the rebels.
The runway is likely built by the United Arab Emirates, which has long been suspected of expanding its military presence in the region and has backed a Saudi-led war against the Houthis.
While the Houthis have linked their campaign to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, experts worry a ceasefire in that conflict may not be enough to see the rebels halt a campaign that’s drawn them global attention. The Houthis have lobbed repeated attacks at Israel, as well as US warships operating in the Red Sea, raising fears that one may make it through and endanger the lives of American service members.
Satellite photos taken on January 7 by Planet Labs PBC for the AP show trucks and other heavy equipment on the north-south runway built into Abd al-Kuri, which is about 35 kilometers (21 miles) in length and about 5 kilometers (3 miles) at its widest point.
The runway has been paved, with the designation markings “18” and “36” to the airstrip’s north and south respectively. As of January 7, there was still a segment missing from the 2.4-kilometer- (1.5-mile-) long runway that’s 45 meters (150 feet) wide. Trucks could be seen grading and laying asphalt over the missing 290-meter (950-foot) segment.
Once completed, the runway’s length would allow private jets and other aircraft to land there, though likely not the largest commercial aircraft or heavy bombers given its length.
While within Houthi drone and missile range, the distance of Abd al-Kuri from mainland Yemen means “there’s no threat of the Houthis getting on a pickup truck … and going to seize it,” says Yemen expert Mohammed al-Basha of the Basha Report risk advisory firm.
#3
Unknown Yemeni facts:
The Muslim Brotherhood, though born in Egypt, really didn't amount to much. When Colonel Nasser took over in Egypt he attacked the organization's center. So, many Egyptian brothers migrated to Yemen, but at first there was no well-organized Brotherhood chapter to speak of. Ironically, the Ikhwan only evolved years later as a result of the visit of Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Zubairi. Unlike most Muslim Brothers who were Sunni Arabs, Zubaairi was Shia, and he founded the Shiite Hizbullah movement in a town near Sanaa, Yemen, in 1965. It was soon transposed to Lebanon, while the Shiite Houthi revolt festered in Yemen. And the rest is history.
[LegalInsurrection] Will the IRS now move to revoke JVP’s charitiable status?
The nonprofit organization "Jewish Voice for Peace" is neither pro-Israel nor an advocate for peace. Rather, it is an anti-Zionist, pro-Paleostinian group founded by several undergraduate students at the University of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, Berkeley, in 1996. It is currently based in Washington, D.C. We have covered JVP’s malicious conduct in over 100 posts since 2011.
According to JVP’s website, they are "organizing a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Paleostinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people." The site tells prospective members that, if they’ve "been looking for a political home for Jews on the left in this perilous moment; if you’ve been wanting a Jewish community with justice at the center; if you’ve been looking to turn your rage and grief into meaningful, strategic action: Join us. You belong here."
On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced that JVP had agreed to pay $677,634 to settle fraud allegations arising from a $338,817 forgivable loan obtained under the Covid-era Paycheck Protection Act Program, which was part of the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
The CARES Act was "created to provide emergency financial support to Americans suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ... [It] authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses and other entities, including non-profit organizations, struggling to pay employees and other business expenses."
According to the news release, JVP’s loan was brought to the Department of Justice’s attention when another public interest group, TZAC, filed a whistleblower complaint. The following federal investigation revealed that JVP was not eligible to participate in the program. The group had violated the False Claims Act, which stipulated:
A business concern or other entity, including a nonprofit organization, is not eligible to receive a second draw loan if it is primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities, which shall include any entity that is organized for research or for engaging in advocacy in areas such as public policy or political strategy or otherwise describes itself as a think tank in any public document.
JVP had misrepresented the nature of the organization to its lender and the Small Business Administration in the original loan application and again when it further applied for and was granted forgiveness of the entire loan amount.
When an investigation found that JVP was primarily engaged in political activities, JVP maintained that “any misstatements in this application were inadvertent” as opposed to being knowingly fraudulent. Because the government was not able to prove the claims were made willfully, JVP was only ordered to pay back double the original loan amount – $677,634 – to settle the allegations.
Had the misstatements been confirmed to be deliberate, under the False Claims Act, JVP would have been forced to pay back triple the original loan amount – or $1,016,451, as well as “lost interest, along with civil penalties for each false certification made in the loan application and forgiveness application.”
Following the settlement, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves issued a statement that read:
The Paycheck Protection Act Program existed to help businesses survive a devastating global pandemic. When business owners unfairly drain those funds – either by not reading the eligibility requirements or disregarding them – they put the entire program at risk. In the end, those who are harmed are the businesses that actually qualified for and needed the money, and the taxpayers who funded the program.
#1
Jewish Voice for Peace,eh? The Federal Trade Commission should get involved here as well. Truth in labeling, man! If it says "chocolate bar with nuts and raisins" on the label, but inside is a raccoon turd, then we want our money back.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Russkaya compressor station in Krasnodar Krai, which supplies gas via the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, could have been carried out on a tip from the United States, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on January 16.
“There is reason to believe that the terrorist attack on the compressor station, we are talking about the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, this is the Krasnodar region, on January 11… was carried out on a tip from Washington,” she said at a briefing.
The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the United States and Ukraine are working together to stop the supply of Russian blue fuel to Europe and clear the way for expensive American liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Zakharova added that Moscow and Ankara will take measures to prevent other similar attacks.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, on January 13, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on January 11, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to attack the Russkaya compressor station using nine unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which were shot down by Russian air defense forces.
When fragments from one of the destroyed drones fell, the building and equipment of the gas measuring station were slightly damaged. Specialists were able to quickly restore the damaged equipment. Failures in the station's operation were avoided.
On January 14, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the United States was giving the go-ahead for terrorist attacks against energy infrastructure. He added that Washington had plans to destroy Turkish Stream.
Residents of the EU and NATO countries should start learning Russian now. This was stated at a briefing on January 16 by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commenting on the words of the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, who threatened to study Russian in the EU in case of refusal to increase defense spending.
"You can [study] for free, or for a percentage of your countries' GDP, as you wish <…> He (Rutte. - Ed.) did say the right thing: learn Russian. It's a wonderful language," the diplomat noted.
At the same time, the representative of the Foreign Ministry emphasized that learning Russian "should not be out of fear, but for self-enrichment." Zakharova recalled that this language is one of the official languages of the UN, and works that are an integral part of world artistic classics are written in it. The diplomat noted that Russia will help everyone who wants to learn the language and the Foreign Ministry will assist everyone in this matter.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Rutte said on January 14 that residents of European countries will be forced to learn Russian if they refuse to increase defense spending above the current 2% of GDP. According to him, if this is not done, then in 4-5 years they will have to take Russian language courses or go to New Zealand.
According to the alliance's secretary general, security "cannot be free". He called on MEPs to use their influence and play a key role in the debate on the urgent need to increase military spending at the expense of cutting social benefits.
On March 6, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov advised foreigners to study Russian and Russian history. According to him, this will help them understand what is happening in the country. The Kremlin spokesman recalled that Russian is one of the most difficult languages in the world because it has a huge number of exceptions, and foreigners find it difficult.
#1
the United States and Ukraine are working together to stop the supply of Russian blue fuel to Europe and clear the way for expensive American liquefied natural gas (LNG)
[PostMillennial] The report doesn’t break down the number by country but the Biden previously increased the refugee cap from 18,000 set in the last year of the Trump administration to 125,000.
According to DHS reports, the number is much higher than the 2,085 in FY 2023. That year was higher than the 603 waivers distributed in FY 2022, 191 in FY 2021, and 361 in FY 2020.
Foreign nationals can be deemed inadmissible from entry into the US and for immigration benefits if they have associated with, supported, or worked with terrorist organizations, but the DHS secretary can exempt certain foreign nationals if they provided support under duress, provided medical care, or meet other standards for exemptions.
This doesn’t mean they all are terrorists, of course, but it is concerning.
[IsraelTimes] Justice Julia Sebutinde of Uganda is set to be appointed president of the International Court of Justice, according to media reports, after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun summoned Nawaf Salam, the head of the ICJ, to designate him prime minister earlier this week.
An ICJ statement released on Tuesday announcing Salam’s resignation does not mention Sebutinde, but as the court’s current vice president, she is expected to be promoted to the top spot.
Sebutinde was the only judge on the 17-member ICJ panel to vote against all six measures adopted by the court last year in a ruling ordering Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide as it fought Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
She was also one of only two judges to oppose the court’s assertion that some Israeli actions in the war against Hamas may violate the Genocide Convention. The other was Israeli Justice Aharon Barak.
#Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought #US forces and fired rockets and drones at #Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein says.https://t.co/TbKmFNrqGE
[IsraelTimes] Moscow expresses hope that Russian-Israeli Sasha Trufanov will be among those freed in an emerging hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... "We hope the agreement’s implementation will lead to long-term stability 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... , allow displaced persons to return, and facilitate reconstruction of what was destroyed during the conflict," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says in a statement.
"Additionally, we expect Israeli hostages and Paleostinian detainees exchanged under this accord to reunite with their families. It is our hope that Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov, presently in Gaza, will be among those freed."
Trufanov, 27, was among 251 Israelis taken hostage in Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023 massacre. He was kidnapped along with three members of his family from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His mother Yelena Trufanova, 50, and her mother Irena Tati, 73, were released by Hamas on November 29 at Putin’s request. His girlfriend Sapir Cohen was among 105 hostages released in a week-long truce in November.
The Kremlin says it "welcomes" the deal, but also expresses a degree of caution after Israeli accusations that Hamas is backtracking on the fragile agreement.
"Any settlement that leads to a ceasefire, an end to the suffering of the people of Gaza and increases Israel’s security can only be welcomed," Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... ’s front man Dmitry Peskov tells news hounds.
"But let’s wait for the finalization of the process."
[IsraelTimes] A pair of IDF airstrikes in the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp earlier this week set back negotiations that were on the verge of a truce agreement between the Palestinian Authority and armed terror groups in the northern West Bank city that would have seen the latter hand over their weapons to the PA in exchange for immunity, two Palestinian officials familiar with the matter tell The Times of Israel.
The Tuesday and Wednesday strikes targeted some of the terror leaders that the PA has been operating against for over a month. Six people were killed in each strike, including civilians, according to Palestinian media reports.
The Palestinian officials who spoke with The Times of Israel lambasted the IDF for the airstrikes, saying that they undermined Ramallah’s efforts to crack down on lawlessness in the northern West Bank.
The PA has been carrying out an unprecedented counterterrorism raid, largely targeting the refugee camp’s so-called Jenin Battalion, whose fighters are largely affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
Israel has urged the PA to crack down on these armed factions for years, explaining that it would limit raids in West Bank cities where Ramallah is operating against terror elements.
The IDF held off on conducting any strikes or raids in Jenin when the PA began its raid there last month but ended that policy this week.
One of the Palestinian officials speculated that the decision was pushed by far-right elements in Israel who don’t want the PA to succeed in its effort, which also comes as Ramallah works to get off on the right foot with US President-elect Donald Trump.
The official says the strikes may have also been designed to scuttle the brewing agreement between the PA and the armed groups that would have seen them hand over all of their weapons in exchange for immunity — something that Ramallah believes would significantly calm tensions in the northern West Bank.
The second Palestinian official says that negotiations with the Jenin Brigade are ongoing and the PA still hopes an agreement can be reached in the coming days. The PA is hoping that the deal can coincide with the ceasefire in Gaza, the official says.
[IsraelTimes] 3 billion required in first year, says envoy; UN agency chief says fewer than half of Gaza’s hospitals functional, urges Israel, Hamas to start ceasefire now
Next times don’t start a war, O Hamas. At least don’t start one with Israel. Feel free to fight with anyone else — the damage will be significantly less, and if it’s the PA you might even win.
At least $10 billion will likely be needed to rebuild 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... ’s devastated health system over the next five to seven years, the World Health Organization said in an initial assessment Thursday.
"The needs are massive," said Rick Peeperkorn, the UN health agency’s representative in the Paleostinian territories, in a virtual presser.
The call to scale up international aid to Gaza comes amid humanitarian’ efforts to assess the damage there, a day after negotiators in Doha said they’d struck a deal between Israel and Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... that would end 15 months of fighting in the Strip.
Peeperkorn said his team’s initial estimate of the cost to rebuild just the health sector was "even more than $3 billion for the first 1.5 years and then actually $10 billion for the five to seven years."
"In Gaza, we all know the destruction is so massive. I have never seen that anywhere else in my life," he said.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "less than half of Gaza hospitals are functional."
He said Wednesday’s agreement was "just about the best news," adding that he hoped "this agreement marks the end of the darkest chapter in the history of the relationship between the Israelis and the Paleostinians."
[IsraelTimes] Laws barring Israeli cooperation with UN’s Palestinian relief agency set to come into effect in two weeks, with no clear alternative in place
The US is leading talks at 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... to find a replacement for the global body’s Paleostinian refugee aid agency, as a deadline fast approaches when Israeli laws banning cooperation with the body come into effect, the Haaretz newspaper reported Thursday.
Legislation passed by the Knesset on October 28 bars the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in Israeli territory and prevents Israeli authorities from holding any contact with the agency. The laws were to go into effect at the conclusion of a 90-day grace period from their passage, which expires in two weeks.
The law is expected to effectively cripple the agency’s ability to operate, as its operations are dependent on contact with Israeli authorities.
With no replacement set up, Israel is under pressure to find an alternative for institutes and services operated by UNRWA that are expected to collapse, the report said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... is refusing to even speak directly with Israel about a replacement, several unnamed sources familiar with the situation told Haaretz (Hebrew link).
The poor, suffering darling.
Senior UNRWA officials said they were open to talk with Israel but no solution has been presented so far.
An emerging ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... 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... is not likely to make a significant impact on the situation, with the legislation coming after long years of adversarial relations between UNRWA and Jerusalem.
The Foreign Ministry is in talks with senior United Nations officials, as well as the US, on the possibility of transferring UNRWA responsibilities to other UN agencies, the report said, adding that the Israel Defense Forces, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), and the Shin Bet are all interested in working with the UN on a solution. Discussions are looking at temporary measures to enable continued humanitarian operations in Gaza during a transitional period.
Israel notes that currently only 13 percent of aid entering Gaza is provided by UNRWA, but international groups say the agency remains a key element in providing aid to residents.
A security source told Haaretz, "If the other bodies see that Israel is serious [in its ban], they will slowly step in and replace UNRWA." That process is already happening, the source argued.
"Until the war, UNRWA had a monopoly on municipal services in Gaza," the official said. "Now other organizations will take on more responsibility for them, because UNRWA is disintegrating."
Fuel deliveries to bakeries and hospitals have already been taken over by the United Nations Office for Project Services, the report said.
While Israel’s defense establishment believes such agencies could provide a solution, a European diplomat told Haaretz that even Jerusalem realizes there are limitations to this. Humanitarian aid operations and health services could be taken over by other UN bodies but Israel also understands that UNRWA’s provision of shelter for war-displaced Gazooks would be more of a challenge.
One option being discussed is to replace UNRWA’s international directors but leave in place Paleostinian employees on the ground, who would be transferred to another UN agency, such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the report said. A senior security source told Haaretz that Israel’s security officials don’t oppose the idea in principle since UN agencies share employee lists.
However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... there are obstacles. Israel accuses many of those employees of being tied to Gaza terror groups. Also, the UN asserts that UNRWA’s mandate cannot be moved to another agency.
Israel has long had an adversarial relationship with UNRWA, accusing it of promoting hatred of Israel through its education system and perpetuating Paleostinian victimhood, as it allows Paleostinians to maintain refugee status for generations both in and outside the Paleostinian territories — a policy not afforded to any other refugees by global agencies. But Jerusalem’s campaign against UNRWA intensified significantly following Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, which killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians.
Over a dozen UNRWA staffers were found to have participated in the attack, and there has been a series of revelations since then 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 central to 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.
UNRWA Director in the West Bank Ronald Friedrich told Haaretz, "In Gaza and the West Bank, we provide education to more than half a million children, and we integrate tolerance education into our programs. If this collapses, the risk of radicalization will increase."
The agency also operates in East Jerusalem, where it has six schools with a total of 750 students, as well as two clinics.
Two rights groups on Thursday filed petitions to the High Court of Justice against the UNRWA laws, Ynet reported.
The Adalah Center and the Gisha Center filed a petition on behalf of 10 Paleostinian residents of East Jerusalem. In it, they argue the laws harm basic human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... and the state’s obligations under international law.
Petitioners asked that the court order a delay in implementing the laws.
One Paleostinian said in the petition that ending operations means "I won’t be able to buy drugs for a chronic disease that would ensure my survival."
Another said that without the supplementary income he receives from UNRWA, he will be forced to choose between buying medicine and food, the report said.
#1
From the relatively unknown UNOPS:
"UNOPS works hand-in-hand with the State of Palestine, the donor community, UN organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to improve the rule of law, justice and human rights. We support the government and civil societies efforts to strengthen capacities of people, systems and policies.
Our work supports the achievement of Palestinian national objectives in adherence to the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2014-2017. UNOPS leads UNDAF Outcome 6, which focuses on urban development, natural resource management and infrastructure."
Through our work, UNOPS supports the State of Palestine in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
#3
After drinking a pack of Bud Light and waking up in the middle of the night to finish the left out Taco Bell chili burrito, his bed was turned into a complete state of palestine.
[IsraelTimes] National security adviser pick Mike Waltz praises hostage-ceasefire deal but says Hamas must be destroyed, claims all hostages would have died if not for incoming US president
US President-elect Donald Trump ...The man who was so stupid he beat fourteen professional politicians, a former tech CEO, and a brain surgeon for the Republican nomination in 2016, then beat The Smartest Woman in the World in the general election. Then he beat Kamala while dodging bullets... ’s top national security nominee has said the US will back Israel if it needs to reenter 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... , while speaking out in support of a ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... and crediting his future boss with its apparent success.
Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, who is in line to become the White House’s national security adviser, also said Washington would not impose curbs on arms supplies to Israel, while criticizing the outgoing administration for trying to hold Israel back.
Speaking to Fox News Wednesday evening, Waltz praised the announcement of a deal between Israel and Hamas that will gradually end fighting in Gaza and see the remaining hostages released in exchange for Paleostinian prisoners, while seeking to assuage fears that the terror group could reconstitute and rearm.
"We’ve made it very clear to the Israelis, and I want the people of Israel to hear me on this: If they need to go back in, we’re with them," he said. "If Hamas doesn’t live up to the terms of this agreement, we are with them."
While Hamas has demanded a complete end to the war, Israel says it must retain the ability to ensure Hamas does not become a major threat again. The staged nature of the deal will leave Israeli troops in parts of Gaza for the first month and a half, and fighting could resume if no agreement is reached on implementing the second and third phases.
"Hamas is not going to continue as a military entity and it’s certainly not going to govern Gaza," Waltz promised.
He said he understood that "about 25" of the 33 hostages to be released in the first tranche were still alive.
"I’m convinced they all would have died if President Trump didn’t come in and say ’get them out,'" Waltz said, crediting a "Trump effect" with getting the deal done.
"Clearly, the entire world recognizes that this was the Trump effect. We’re hearing that from Arab leaders that were involved, we’re hearing that from the Israelis that were involved," he said.
"Hamas knew... they had no choice and they believed President Trump when he said there would be all hell to pay, and any deal that was on the table would just get worse once he was in office," he added, noting the terror group had also been isolated by the loss of fellow Iranian allies like Hezbollah.
The Republican predicted that hostages would likely first be released on January 20, comparing the timing to American hostages held in 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... released moments after former US president Ronald Reagan replaced Jimmy Malaise Carter
...only the second worst president ever. Now the third worst, after Obama and Biden... at the White House in 1980.
"We will see hostages walking out and hugging their families as President Trump is being sworn in as the next president of the United States," he said. "This is in my view, and the world’s view, a Reagan moment because they understood the consequences if they didn’t get this done."
After being elected, Trump repeatedly threatened that there would be "hell to pay" if no deal was reached by the time he took office. While he never elaborated on the threat, many assumed it would involve the removal of US demands to curb fighting in certain areas and the end of US pressure for Israel to increase humanitarian aid flowing into the Strip.
Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Sleazy Dem machine politician, paterfamilias of the Biden Crime Family... ’s administration played a major role in helping shepherd talks and nearly got to a deal several times, but was unable to reach a final agreement. While Biden officials publicly cited the removal of Hezbollah from the battlefield in autumn 2024 as a needle-mover, privately, some have pointed to the fact that Trump had more leverage over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than did Biden.
Officials familiar with the matter reported that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff leaned heavily on the Israeli premier to pave the way for the breakthrough in talks.
Waltz, a Trump loyalist and hawk on Israel and Iran, indicated in a December interview that the US under Trump would not be willing to negotiate for the release of Americans held captive, while also indicating that Hamas could survive under the terms of a hostage release deal, a position that contradicts Israel’s stance.
"Hamas has every exit blocked except one, and that’s to release our hostages if you want to live," he said at the time.
Several dual American-Israeli citizens are believed to be among the hostages set to be freed in the first stage of the deal.
In a podcast interview Tuesday, Waltz said the incoming administration’s relationship with Israel would be much more supportive than the Biden administration.
"I think we’re in a very good place because the Israeli government didn’t listen sometimes to the not-so-good advice coming out of this administration," Waltz told Dan Senor.
"And now we are where we are, where Iran is in the worst position it’s been. And that’s not to say this administration didn’t help with shooting down the missiles, [or that] they didn’t help with arms, but they also tapped the brakes as well in a way that I just did not find rational," Waltz added.
Asked if the US will stop restricting weapons supplies as the Biden administration did by withholding the supply of 2,000-pound bombs, Waltz replied: "You’re not going to see this administration tapping the brakes to make sure Israel can arm itself."
According to Waltz, the US will begin pushing for Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... to normalize ties with Israel once the war ends. He told Senor jumpstarting the process was a "huge priority."
The politician alleged that previous bids to broker a deal had been sabotaged by Iran, which he said "lit the fuse" for Hamas to carry out the October 7, 2023, massacre once it saw Jerusalem and Riyadh moving closer to a treaty.
"But where is Iran today? Hezbollah is decimated, its sword of Damocles over Israel, Hamas, is decimated, Assad has fallen, one of Iran’s biggest proxies, and Iran, the regime, is literally naked militarily with its air defenses down," he told Fox News. "That is a very different situation that we are now going to get back to."
"We needed to get our people out, we need to destroy Hamas as a military terrorist organization and we 100 percent support that," he said, "and then we can get back to crafting peace deals in the Middle East."
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. This was reported on January 16 by the Al Arabiya TV channel.
"All parties have signed the agreement. It is designed for six weeks and will come into force on Sunday, January 19," the journalists said.
It is noted that the document was concluded after the final amendments were made. The deal was on the verge of collapse, and the intervention of mediators helped to achieve the signing of the agreement. After the disagreements were resolved, the Israeli delegation left the capital of Qatar, Doha.
The agreement will be implemented in three stages. First, the IDF will gradually begin to withdraw its troops from the enclave. In turn, Hamas will release 33 hostages. The second stage should see the release of the remaining Israeli prisoners and a permanent ceasefire. Israel will completely withdraw its troops and release more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners. The third stage involves an exchange of bodies. Then, reconstruction work will begin in the Gaza Strip under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the UN.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on January 15, during negotiations between Israel and Hamas with the participation of mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States, an agreement was reached on a temporary truce in the Gaza Strip. It is assumed that the truce will be in effect from January 19 for 42 days.
Russia will welcome any settlement that leads to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on January 16. The Kremlin representative called for not rushing to congratulate the parties and to wait until the process is finalized. Peskov also clarified that Russia did not take part in the negotiation process.
Russia expects that the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will create conditions for sustainable stabilization, noted the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. The diplomat also expressed hope that this agreement will lead to an "improvement" of the overall situation in the Middle East, including not only Palestine, but also Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
The difference is that the Egyptians, like most humans, have self-interest while the Paleos will go out of their way to make things worse for themselves.
#8
It is claimed that Gaza was a troublesome city-state during Roman empire times, which would make them part-time Egyptians whenever the kingdom expanded north to the Mediterranean coast.
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.
[IsraelTimes] A mysterious airstrip being built on a remote island in Yemen is nearing completion, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show, one of several built in a nation mired in a stalemated war threatening to reignite.
The nonprofit organization "Jewish Voice for Peace" is neither pro-Israel nor an advocate for peace. Rather, it is an anti-Zionist, pro-Paleostinian group founded by several undergraduate students at the University of 
When an investigation found that JVP was primarily engaged in political activities, JVP maintained that “any misstatements in this application were inadvertent” as opposed to being knowingly fraudulent. Because the government was not able to prove the claims were made willfully, JVP was only ordered to pay back double the original loan amount – $677,634 – to settle the allegations..jpg)
..always the voice of sweet reason...
The Tuesday and Wednesday strikes targeted some of the terror leaders that the PA has been operating against for over a month. Six people were killed in each strike, including civilians, according to Palestinian media reports.
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
US President-elect 
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
