[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council, issued a stern warning to former US President Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons... on Friday, cautioning that 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... ’s military power would unleash an unprecedented response if Trump proceeds with plans to forcibly displace the people of 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...
So sorry dudes, he is also the current president, and will be for the next four years. Enjoy!
Speaking during mass rallies in Saada province held in solidarity with Paleostine and in defiance of US-Israeli threats, al-Iran's Houthi sockpuppets ...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... directly addressed Trump, stating: "Your missiles, fighter jets, tanks, and all the weapons you have supplied to the temporary occupying Zionist entity have failed to displace the people of Gaza, and your statements will not succeed either."
He further warned, "If you attempt to forcefully displace the people of Gaza, our Armed Forces are on high alert and ready to respond. Our strikes will be more painful than ever before, and you will witness Yemen’s strength, resilience, and unwavering faith in action."
Al-Houthi also referenced the recent collision of the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman with a commercial vessel, attributing the incident to the heightened anxiety among American sailors.
He underscored that Yemen’s growing military capabilities—ranging from ballistic and cruise missiles to drone technology and naval forces—are a serious force to reckon with.
He stressed that Yemen’s military arsenal has been revitalized and is fully prepared, awaiting orders from the leadership.
"All options are on the table for the Ministry of Defense, and following the leader’s directive yesterday, our forces are at the highest level of readiness."
Al-Houthi reminded that for the past 15 months, the Yemeni people have stood in unwavering support of Paleostine and continue to endorse military actions taken by Yemen’s armed forces.
"The Yemeni people remain steadfast in their backing of the Paleostinian cause and will not waver in their support," he affirmed.
In his address, al-Houthi urged 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... , the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states to take a firm stand against Israeli aggression. "Arab national security requires real support—let your missiles, air forces, and armies refuse the displacement of our brothers in Gaza and instead direct their fire at the occupying entity."
He called on Saudi Arabia and other nations to halt their aggression against Yemen and to put an end to side conflicts, such as those in 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... , in order to shift focus toward the true enemy of the Arab world.
"We are not concerned about the past hostilities you waged against us, but today we urge you to stand with your brothers against the real enemy of the nation," he said.
Additionally, he urged Arab nations that have labeled Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... as a terrorist organization to reconsider their stance and remove the movement from terrorism lists.
He asserted that the true bandidosgunnies are those who betray the Paleostinian cause and fail to confront Israeli and American aggression.
Al-Houthi concluded his speech with a stark message: "If you do not act to stop the terrorism being inflicted upon your Paleostinian brothers, then you yourselves are enabling Arab terrorism."
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[KhaamaPress] The German federal government has stated that deporting Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan before the upcoming parliamentary elections on February 23 is "unlikely" due to the "difficult agreement with the Taliban ...Arabic for students... ." A government spokesperson clarified that Berlin is working on plans to address this issue.
Speaking on February 14, Stefan Hebstreit, the spokesperson for the German government, said he could not "raise undue expectations" regarding deportation flights before the elections. However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... he emphasized that Germany continues to prepare for this process.
He also mentioned that Germany does not have a diplomatic presence in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, making deportations particularly challenging. He added that Berlin is engaging in discussions with international partners, although the timeline for deportations remains uncertain.
A German Foreign Ministry official also stressed that the government cannot predict the timing of deportations, as announcing such actions in advance could jeopardize their execution and potentially alert the individuals involved. Germany remains committed to facilitating deportations to Afghanistan, despite the ongoing difficulties.
The situation surrounding the deportation of Afghan refugees has become more complex following the recent car attack in Munich. The attack, committed by an Afghan refugee, has sparked renewed calls for stricter measures on Afghan deportations. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser affirmed that deportations to Afghanistan would continue despite the growing concerns.
The car attack in Munich, which injured 36 people, has heightened tensions around immigration policies. The attack, carried out by an Afghan asylum seeker, has prompted political debates on the safety of allowing refugees from Afghanistan to remain in Germany. The incident has added fuel to the ongoing discussions about asylum and deportation.
[Rudaw] Some 10,000 asylum seekers from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region are at risk of deportation from Germany as political parties increasingly blame immigrants colonists for the country’s problems ahead of elections, a member of an Iraqi refugee union said on Saturday.
"Political parties want to blame their political crisis on refugees. While in recent years, due to the corona [virus] and the war in Ukraine, an economic crisis has emerged in Germany," Irfan Karim from the Iraqi Refugees Union in Germany told Rudaw, adding that 10,000 asylum seekers from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region are at risk of being deported.
According to Karim, around five to six thousand people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region go to Germany annually seeking refugee status.
Germany hosts one of the largest refugee populations worldwide. As of September, nearly 175,000 asylum claims were made in the country in 2024, according to figures from the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... German parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on February 23. Support is at an all-time high for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right party that opposes migration. The party has also publicly condoned mass deportations.
In late January, the German parliament passed a motion that tightens migration rules. It contains five points: preventing illegal immigration, deporting illegal immigrants colonists, deporting foreign criminals, imprisoning immigrants colonists who must leave Germany, and ending family reunification.
Tens of thousands of mostly young people leave Iraq and the Kurdistan Region for Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... annually in search of a better life, using smuggling routes. Many hope to settle in Germany.
[KhaamaPress] On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... announced that the United States would extradite a suspect involved in the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks to India for trial.
Ten terrorists rampaged through to the city and kept many hostage in various hotels and a Chabad House before killing 166, including the rabbi, his wife, and several of their children. The horror lasted nearly 60 hours before Mumbai police gunned down the bad guys. The lone surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab sang like a canary, was found guilty and subsequently hanged a few years later at a jail in Pune.
Trump did not disclose the identity of the suspect but Rooters reported that the individual is a Canadian-Pak citizen. The U.S. president made the announcement after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House.
In a joint presser, Trump expressed his satisfaction in confirming the extradition of one of the criminal masterminds behind the horrific Mumbai terror attacks, stating that this person would face justice in India.
The 2008 Mumbai attacks, carried out by four gangs, targeted luxury hotels, train stations, and a Jewish center. The attack resulted in 166 deaths and over 300 injuries, lasting three days.
India has stated that the attacks were carried out by the Pakistain-based Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...> group, though Pakistain denied involvement at the time. Reports indicate that the suspect being extradited is Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian-Pak businessman who was previously sentenced to 14 years in prison in the U.S. for supporting Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Mr. Rana is accused by the Indian government of participating in the planning and execution of the Lashkar terrorist attacks in Mumbai by collaborating with his childhood friend David Coleman Headley, also known as "Daood Gilani," and others. He was convicted in 2011 of providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the Mumbai terror attack and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed (PTUI!) in 2005. Specifically, he was accused of allowing David Coleman Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law business in Mumbai as a cover story and to travel as a representative of the company in Denmark. So now, upon finishing his sentence here, he will get to trade the luxurious accommodations of an American federal prison for an Indian one.
This move strengthens the U.S.-India relationship as both countries work together to combat terrorism. The extradition is a significant step in holding individuals accountable for their involvement in international terrorism, demonstrating a shared commitment to justice and security.
[Rudaw] Families of Peshmerga who disappeared a decade ago are hoping that they may finally get some closure after Iraqi forensic officials uncovered the remains of 17 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters killed by the 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.... (ISIS).
Mohammed Mahdi has been looking for his son Barzan for 10 years.
"All our days are bad because whatever news or calls we get late at night makes our hearts jump. I would be proud to get his body back, do you understand? His martyrdom is a source of pride. If my other three sons and I were killed for this land, we would be proud," he told Rudaw on Thursday.
He is hoping that his son will be identified in a mass grave discovered in Kirkuk’s western Hawija district.
"The remains found belong to 17 members of the Peshmerga," confirmed Yasmine Mounther, head of the Mass Graves Department - an affiliate of Iraq’s Department of Forensic Medicine - in a press briefing on Thursday.
For Sherwan Qadir, whose brother is another missing Peshmerga, it will be a relief to be able to mourn properly.
"Thank God, we are very hopeful that these bodies have been found. We hope that they are the bodies of our sons because we all hope for a body, a grave that we can visit to get comfort. Their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, all want to have the remains of their sons. We ask the government to bring the bodies back to us as soon as possible," he said.
In an effort to identify the remains, Mounther explained that a two-day campaign was held in the Kurdistan Region’s capital, Erbil, to collect blood samples from families who may be related to the Peshmerga fighters. Additional samples will be collected from potential relatives in the coming week.
ISIS captured large swathes of territory in Iraq’s north and west in 2014. The Kurdish Peshmerga forces fought on numerous fronts against ISIS to prevent the group’s advance into regions administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Baghdad announced the group’s defeat in 2017.
The Hawija district, where the mass grave was discovered, had long been a stronghold for ISIS and was one of the last jihadist-controlled territories in Iraq.
Over 2,000 Peshmerga fighters were killed and more than 10,000 others were maimed in the years-long war against ISIS, according to KRG figures.
[RUDAW] The Iraqi Forensic Medicine Department announced on Thursday that it has successfully identified 53 victims killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) and buried in mass graves in northern Iraq.
The director general of the department, Zaid Ali Abbas, confirmed that 32 of the victims were Yazidis killed by ISIS and buried en masse in the predominantly Yazidi district of Shingal (Sinjar). With the new identifications, the total number of identified Yazidi victims has reached 275, according to Abbas.
Since 2019, the Forensic Medicine Department has uncovered numerous mass graves in Nineveh province, especially in and around Shingal.
Moreover, the identities of 21 Iraqis from the Arab-majority district of Hamam Al-Alil in Nineveh were also determined.
All that oil money and you can’t be bothered to bring back your ISIS citizens from prison camp where the Kurds have been supporting your citizens on a shoestring budget? Shameful.
[Rudaw] Baghdad is considering putting a halt to its repatriation of Iraqi nationals linked to the 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.... (ISIS) from al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) due to a lack of funds after Washington suspended foreign aid, a ministry official told Rudaw on Saturday.
Migration and displaced ministry spokesperson Ali Abbas said they lack funds at al-Jada camp in Nineveh province, where repatriated individuals are taken to be prepared for reintegration into their communities.
The "budget issues" arose because organizations operating in Jada rely on funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Abbas said.
US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... has temporarily suspended funding for the agency as part of his plan to reorganize the government.
The migration and displaced ministry also does not have the necessary funds to run the camp, Abbas said, but added discussions are underway to possibly transfer funds from other government sectors.
According to the latest statistics from the ministry, more than 20,000 Iraqis, including women and kiddies, remain in al-Hol camp. Baghdad had set 2027 as the deadline to finish returning all its citizens from the camp.
Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the 40,000 ISIS-linked people being held at the camp, which has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism.
The repatriation of ISIS-linked citizens has sparked opposition in Iraq. Some tribes and communities are unwilling to accept people associated with the group that committed heinous human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... abuses and war crimes from 2014 to 2017, when they controlled vast swathes of the country.
On Sunday, Iraq repatriated 155 families from al-Hol.
[Rudaw] A Yazidi woman from Shingal (Sinjar) kidnapped 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.... (ISIS) murderous Moslems in 2014 has been reunited with her family in Duhok province after she was rescued from an undisclosed location, a source affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency said on Saturday.
The 34-year-old woman identified only by her initials F.S, was "kidnapped by ISIS in 2014" and "was living with an ISIS family," Hussein Qaidi, head of the Office of Rescuing Abducted Yazidis, told Rudaw. The office is affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
She was rescued on Saturday, ending more than 10 years of captivity, and "reunited with her family who lives in one of the camps in Duhok," Qaidi said, noting that her family requested that the location where she had been held not be disclosed.
She is the third Yazidi woman to be rescued from ISIS captivity in the past two months. A 30-year old was rescued on January 5 and a 29-year-old on December 9 - both were located in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province.
In its assault on Shingal in 2014, ISIS murderous Moslems kidnapped 6,417 Yazidi women and kiddies, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. Although the group was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, it continues to pose a security risk.
To date, 2,590 individuals are still missing, according to statistics provided by Qaidi.
Many Yazidi women and kiddies have been rescued from al-Hol, the notorious camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) that houses tens of thousands of ISIS families and supporters. Others have been found in areas of Syria controlled by rebels or Ottoman Turkish-backed gangs, and some have been located in third countries.
[IsraelTimes] 1,800 munitions weighing 2,000 lbs apiece unloaded at Ashdod Port, taken by trucks to Israeli airbases, weeks after Trump lifts hold on delivery
A shipment of some 1,800 heavy bombs from the United States that had been held up by the previous American administration arrived in Israel overnight, the Defense Ministry announced on Sunday.
A ship carrying the MK-84 2,000-lb munitions docked at Ashdod Port and was unloaded onto dozens of trucks and taken to Israeli airbases, the ministry said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz hailed the arrival of the bombs, saying in a statement: "The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States."
"I thank President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... and the US administration for their unwavering support of the State of Israel. We will continue working together to strengthen our security," Katz added.
According to the ministry, since the beginning of the war in October 2023, over 76,000 tons of military equipment have arrived in Israel on 678 transport planes and 129 ships, the vast majority from the US.
The US rushed billions of dollars in military aid to Israel throughout the past 16 months of 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... , sparked by the Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... terror group’s October 7, 2023, assault in southern Israel.
But the Biden administration acknowledged that it stopped fast-tracking weapons to Israel later in the war, and instead required each transfer to go through the usual approval process, as is the case for other countries.
In May, the White House announced a decision to withhold a shipment of 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700 500-lb bombs, with then-US president Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing... threatening to freeze additional offensive weaponry if Israel launched a major military offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where over one million Paleostinians were sheltering at the time.
In July, the 500-lb bombs were eventually released by the Biden administration after the IDF entered Rafah. The Paleostinian civilian population in the Strip’s southernmost city had largely evacuated by then.
The Biden administration had asserted that only the 2,000-pound bombs were withheld, over concerns that Israel would use them in densely populated parts of Gaza, and that all other shipments had been processed.
In October, the US warned Israel in a letter that it had a month to significantly alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by the war or risk the US withholding weapons shipments. But the threat never materialized, and the Biden administration acknowledged in November that Israel had taken some — though not all — of the steps demanded of it.
Last month, shortly after becoming president, Trump announced that he had lifted the hold put in place by Biden on the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs for Israel.
[IsraelTimes] After enduring decades of isolation amid border disputes, residents of Ghajar are focused on their Syrian kin, who face retribution for belonging to sect of deposed leader Assad.
On a recent morning in the Alawite village of Ghajar, straddling the border between Israel, Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... , and Syria, children played in the school playground, a woman hung her laundry on the clothesline and another lit incense to bring blessings to the day.
It could have been a morning like any other. But in reality, the hilltop village was open to visitors for the first time since October 8, 2023, when the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah began near-daily cross-border attacks on northern Israel.
Although their businesses are reopening and tourists are slowly returning, the 2,900 residents of Ghajar, all Alawites, have other, more pressing concerns as members of the same religious minority as the recently deposed Syrian president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... The new acting head of Syria, Jihadi rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, has reassured Syrians and the international community that he will respect the rights of minorities. Still, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported last Monday that fighters affiliated with the new leaders carried out 35 summary executions to "settle old scores" with members of the Alawite minority.
The residents of Ghajar deeply fear for the lives of their Alawite relatives across the border.
In Syria, "it’s an extreme government," said Mohammed Shemali, owner of Besan Restaurant in the center of the village. "Our relatives say they are okay, but from what they are not saying, we know that they are in danger."
Israel Defense Forces troops operating in a buffer zone in southern Syria came under fire on Friday evening, the military said, in the first such incident since Israeli forces deployed to the buffer zone on the border between Israel and Syria, following the fall of the Assad regime last month. The IDF said soldiers returned fire toward the source of the shooting.
On January 23, local officials welcomed this Times of Israel news hound as one of the first outsiders to walk around the village. Still, they cautioned that they did not want to discuss the situation of Alawites in Syria.
"We don’t want to jeopardize anyone on the other side," one official said on condition of anonymity.
SHAKY CEASEFIRE
No signs mark the way to Ghajar (pronounced RA-zhar) except for a warning that surrounding areas contain minefields. The road unfurls and then stops at a dead-end where a flowing fountain marks the entrance to the village.
The village promenade overlooks a steep drop into Lebanon, with clear views of the Hasbani River and an abandoned United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... guard post.
During the war, Hezbollah’s rocket fire caused extensive damage to buildings in Ghajar. Several residents were maimed, one seriously.
A ceasefire agreement in Lebanon in late November ended two months of full-scale war that followed months of lower-intensity exchanges.
The fragile ceasefire has generally held thus far, even as the warring sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating it, and was extended this week until mid-February.
On January 23, the village — with its houses painted in bright shades of pink, blue, and green — seemed peaceful. Then a kaboom shattered the silence.
"They’re putting on a show," a female Israeli soldier on duty in the village quipped about Hezbollah, underscoring the shaky ceasefire between the terror group and Israel.
On Sunday, Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend the deadline for Israeli troops to depart southern Lebanon until February 18.
The extension followed on the heels of festivities in southern Lebanon earlier that day, when hundreds of Lebanese, among them Hezbollah operatives, tried to reach villages close to the Israeli border by force, according to Israeli military officials.
The Lebanese health ministry said 22 people were killed, including a Lebanese soldier, and some 124 maimed by IDF fire, with another two killed on Monday.
Hezbollah has reportedly rejected the extension and is urging south Lebanese residents to continue confrontations with the IDF.
GHAJAR’S WAR-TORN HISTORY
Although Ghajar straddles the current border between Israel and Lebanon, the village belonged to Syria until Israel captured it along with the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War. It officially annexed the village in 1981.
In the 1980s and 1990s, as Ghajar’s population grew, the village expanded north on lands belonging to the residents.
When Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, the United Nations split the village into two sections, one Lebanese and one Israeli. However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... the residents objected to the potential division of the village and the UN’s decision to annex its northern half to Lebanon.
"We have nothing to do with Lebanon," said one Ghajar resident who wished to remain anonymous.
Ghajar remained closed to outside visitors for years until the IDF lifted restrictions on September 8, 2022. All at once, the village was packed with visitors who could come from 8 a.m. and stay until 8 p.m. Now that the town is open again, that rule is still in place.
Ghajar opens to visitors on January 23, 2025. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)
A WALK THROUGH THE PASTORAL VILLAGE
"We love art, order and cleanliness," said Ali Shemali, Mohammed Shemali’s brother, who led this news hound on an informal walk through the village where residents exchanged friendly greetings.
Ali stopped at the carpentry shop of his cousin, Gamel Wnos, 60, who took a break from work to serve strong black coffee to his visitors.
Wnos said he has work again, now that some of the 60,000 people who had been evacuated from 32 communities in the north during the war have trickled back into the area.
Wnos, a carpenter for the past 20 years, has hands to show for it: The top joint of one finger is missing. After he took a sip of coffee, he said that he thought the new Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, "would be okay."
"I feel peace is coming," Wnos said optimistically, adding that he hoped that one day he could visit his Alawite relatives in Syria.
However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... because the Alawites fought for Assad’s government against the Sunni Moslem majority, some are now victims of retribution killings.
The Alawites also fear persecution by radical Islamists who view them as heretics for their split with Islam in the ninth century.
Since coming to power in December, Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, has preached religious coexistence, promising not to enforce strict adherence to Islamic fundamental principles.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in early December that Israel has signaled its desire to have "correct ties" with the new regime. Yet some Israeli leaders cautioned against readily believing in the transformation of Sharaa, who created the jihadist al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front to fight Assad.
Wnos said he heard from people in Syria that food was entering the country and they were more satisfied. But his voice dropped when he spoke about the country’s new leader.
"He is okay but the people around him aren’t good," Wnos said.
THE MYSTERIOUS ALAWITE RELIGION
There are approximately 2.1 million Alawites in the world, but most are found in Syria, where they make up 10% of the population. They believe in Jesus, Mary and the prophet Elijah in a unique blend of faiths. They also believe in Moses, Ali said, "the prophet mentioned the most in the Koran."
Their religious doctrine and rituals remain secretive, and guarded by male followers. The ceremonies are often unknown even to the sect’s women, who dress modestly but do not cover their hair, and are mostly camera-shy.
Village residents, who are highly educated, Ali said, hold Israeli passports.
"My parents were born in Syria," said Ali’s wife, Magday. "I was born in Israel. I’m Israeli."
The villagers do not serve in the Israeli army but some residents do national service.
"Everyone can believe what they want. We respect all religions and beliefs," Ali said, pointing out the Path of Coexistence in the lovely park in the village’s center lined with rose bushes and featuring a statue of an Alawite sword, a menorah, the Koran and a statue of the Virgin Mary.
A few streets away, Mohammed Shemali said he was looking forward to "finally" opening his restaurant, which serves traditional Alawite cuisine, after it had been closed for more than a year because of the conflict.
"War is tragic for everyone," he said.
"My dream and that of my friends is for peace," Ali said. "But I have mixed feelings because of the unstable situation in our region."
"I don’t want to talk about al-Julani," Mohammed said, using Sharaa’s former name. "The people now in power in Syria hate the Alawites. It’s dangerous for our relatives there. They work and try to stay out of harm’s way."
He looked around the restaurant that he hoped to open in the next few days.
"We’re not scared for ourselves here in Israel," he said. "We speak to our relatives daily in Syria. We are scared for them."
And then we saw the condition of those returned, and listened to their reports of their treatment. Every word emitted by the Hamas spokesman is a vicious lie.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The military front man for the al-Quds Brigades, Abu Hamza, stated on Saturday that releasing the Israeli enemy's prisoners by the Paleostinian resistance highlights its humane treatment toward them.
In a statement, Abu Hamza criticized the Israeli enemy for oppressing and torturing Paleostinian prisoners, even stripping away their joy of freedom at the moment of release.
He noted that forcing released prisoners to wear clothing with hostile messages and exposing their poor health reflects the enemy's brutality.
''What is required of all countries of the world, especially America, which demands the Paleostinian resistance to release all enemy prisoners, is to demand the same from the enemy,'' Abu Hamza said.
He stressed that America should not ignore the horrific scenes of suffering, abuse, and systematic killing of Paleostinian prisoners who are subjected to all kinds of torture in the enemy's prisons.
Unlike those kidnapped by Hamas&Friends, those held in Israeli jails have been visited by the Red Cross and others to check on their treatment. Stop lying.
All three of the hostages freed today endured “very harsh captivity, including physical abuse.”
All three were very hungry when released. All three have learned Arabic in captivity.
Sagui Dekel-Chen and Iair Horn were held together, and with other hostages, in recent days. For most of their captivity, they were in tunnels.
They were held with other hostages and have returned with signs of life regarding at least three.
Both men were wounded when they were abducted and suffered abuse that exacerbated their injuries.
Sasha Troufanov was held alone.
All three were held in Khan Younis, from where they were freed today, mere hundreds of meters from their homes on Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Iair Horn has told his family that he and his brother Eitan were held together early in their captivity, but not recently. He has said Eitan is injured in the leg. He was compelled by his captors to film a video in which he talks about Eitan, Kan reports.
He has lost tens of kilograms in weight, and received almost no medical treatment.
His captors gave Horn an hourglass with a picture of Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage, which the IDF intends to give to her, according to Kan.
Dekel-Chen was “tortured during interrogations” by his captors, Channel 12 reports. He has scars on his body, the report says.
He was held in a Gaza hospital for the first few weeks of his captivity along with other hostages, Kan reports. One of them was Itzik Elgarat.
The report says that Dekel-Chen knew nothing about what had become of his family for the entire time he was held hostage. He was completely cut off from all media. “He both mourned and cried” for his family, and also “held out hope for them and was optimistic.”
He only found out two days ago that he was going to be released.
Kan says Dekel-Chen’s captors told him, apparently shortly before his release, that he had a daughter born while he was in captivity, and gave him earrings for his wife. Dekel-Chen didn’t believe what they told him, and asked the IDF representatives he met on his release to confirm it.
Dekel-Chen was wounded in his shoulder on October 7, 2023, but told the IDF representatives it was not important, and that “the most important thing is that I meet my family already.”
In recent hours, he reunited with his daughters, the Channel 12 report says.
Sasha Troufanov did not know that his father was killed on October 7 and burst into tears when told today by IDF representatives.
He barely saw TV or heard the radio in captivity. He did not know that his family was struggling to get him released. But he did hear the radio at the time of the first truce in November 2023 and learned that his mother and girlfriend had been freed.
Palestinian media report that some Hamas terrorists arrived at Khan Younis for the handover wearing IDF uniforms and military vests, carrying weapons seized on October 7.
The source adds that Hamas presented hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen with a gold coin as a “gift” for the birth of his daughter, who was born four months after he was taken captive.
[X]
تغطية صحفية | مقاتلون من يحملون أسلحة اغتنمت من جيش الاحتلال في يوم العبور إلى مستوطنات "غلاف غزة" بالسابع من أكتوبر. pic.twitter.com/xNJFptPlO3
[IsraelTimes] IDF investigators reportedly moved to tears by testimony of Brig. Gen. Yisrael Shomer, a resident of Kfar Aza
As Israel Defense Forces Sherlocks in past months delved into its failures surrounding the October 7, 2023 Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... attacks, Brig. Gen. Yisrael Shomer, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza who set out to defend his home armed with just a knife, testified about his experiences that day.
According to a report Monday by the Walla news site, published as the IDF finalizes parts of its investigations, Shomer choked up at times while explaining what had occurred, and the details he recounted caused some of the generals present to well up with tears.
Shomer has spoken publicly in the past about his experiences on October 7, when he found his kibbutz under attack by more than 100 armed Hamas terrorists, who slaughtered 62 people and took another 19 as hostages.
He told the Israel Hayom daily that he had woken up a few minutes before the attack began to go on a morning run, and was drinking water in his kitchen at 6:29 a.m. when the sirens started blaring and the rockets began flying overhead.
After the first few minutes of sirens, he peeked outside to see what was going on, and saw two paragliders flying toward the kibbutz. He understood immediately what was happening.
"I didn’t understand the magnitude, but I understood that this was an invasion of Kfar Aza," he told Channel 13 news in December 2023, when returning to his home for the first time since the attack.
Without a firearm at home, he left his wife and three children in their reinforced saferoom, told them to lock the door, and set out armed with only a knife, clad in sportswear.
He headed outside, took photos of the two paragliders that had been used to invade the kibbutz, and called a number of IDF generals, including chief of staff Herzi Halevi, Shomer told Israel Hayom.
For about three hours, he fought back against Hamas button men with just the knife until he picked up a weapon from a maimed member of the local security squad, he said. For hours, he fired at gunnies he encountered inside the kibbutz, carefully preserving his ammo, estimating that he killed around 20 invaders.
"I was constantly on the move," he said, "searching, jumping out, firing two bullets and moving on."
A few hours after the attack began, he said he began to understand that this was not only an attack on Kfar Aza. As soldiers began to arrive in the kibbutz as reinforcements and told him about the attacks on almost every community along 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... border, the magnitude of the catastrophe was becoming clear.
When still more troops, including units from the Golani, Paratroopers and Givati Brigades, arrived, "I felt for the first time that day that we were turning the tables," Shomer said.
At around 6 p.m., his wife contacted him and said that there were gunnies in the house and that she could hear gunshots, but by the time Shomer got there, the gunnies had left.
"I only realized it then, when we got there, how close it was," he added. "What a miracle."
Once he knew his family was safe and that the IDF had started to regain control of most of the kibbutz, Shomer decided it was time to meet up with his own IDF unit, which had been charged with deterring Hezbollah at the northern border.
"It wasn’t an easy decision because there were still gunnies on the kibbutz and my family was still there, but I knew there were already a lot of soldiers and commanders, so I thought that I should go and join my division," he said.
He then got in his car, which was riddled with bullet holes, loaded his rifle, and headed north to join his unit.
His wife’s younger brother Yuval Salomon was murdered that day in Kfar Aza. Shomer told Israel Hayom that Salomon fought back against the gunnies and succeeded in stabbing one of them. He then called Shomer, who recalled: "I spoke to him on the phone, and then they [the terrorists] came back and he didn’t survive. He was 29."
At the time of the October 7 attack, Shomer was serving as the commander of the 146th Division, the IDF’s largest reserve division. In June 2024 he took up the position as head of the IDF’s Operations Division.
In December 2024, Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to wrap up its investigations into October 7 by the end of January, though it has yet to complete them.
When IDF chief Herzi Halevi announced last month that he was stepping down from his role on March 6, he promised to complete the IDF’s investigations into the October 7 onslaught by his resignation date.
"Upon completing the IDF’s investigations, we will better understand what happened to us, why it happened and how to fix it," he said at the time, calling to also appoint an external committee to investigate the army’s failures.
The IDF’s investigations at the General Staff level include four main subjects: the development of the IDF’s perception of Gaza, with an emphasis on the border, starting in 2018; the IDF’s intelligence assessments of Hamas from 2018 until the outbreak of the war; the intelligence and decision-making process on the eve of October 7, as well as the days leading up to it; and the command and control, formations, and orders given during battles between October 7 and 10, when troops restored control over all communities and army bases in southern Israel that had been invaded by Hamas.
The investigations have been carried out by units seen as having had a role in the failure to notice Hamas preparations or adequately prepare for the terror group’s October 7 onslaught. In addition, the IDF is investigating 41 separate battles and major incidents that took place during the October 7 attack.
[IsraelTimes] Unexploded bombs and shells buried in the ruins of Gaza could kill or injure thousands of people in the future, an aid organization warns.
The volume of ordnance dropped on Gaza during 15 months of conflict between Israel and Hamas is “mind-boggling,” says Simon Elmont, a demining expert with Handicap International – Humanity & Inclusion.
“The amount of ordnance that has been fired is an enormous quantity,” Elmont tells AFP, adding that between nine and 13 percent of munitions fail to explode on initial impact.
“It is going to be tens of thousands of unexploded ordnance, that’s for sure,” he adds.
And that is in addition to the all the IEDs Hamas, et al wired in to buildings and tunnels, aiming to blow up incoming IDF troops. Requiring Gazans to remain in this environment is unconscionable.
He says that the contamination level in Gaza is massive, and much of the ordnance “lies mainly within the rubble and underneath the surface.”
Hamas and Israel have agreed on a ceasefire, which came into effect on January 19 and ushered in a fragile calm.
Elmont warns of the risk of multiple deaths and injuries as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians return home to recover their belongings and try to rebuild.
Citing recent video footage, the expert says a Gazan child was hospitalized after another child threw a grenade at him, “believing it was a toy.”
Just think, habibis: had Hamas & Friends not crashed out through the security fence on 10/7, you wouldn’t have driven Israel to take action, resulting in this second Nakhba.
[IsraelTimes] In an interview with “Meet the Press” on Channel 12, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that Israel is actively in touch with Washington to discuss the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan to move residents of the Gaza Strip abroad.
“The process of emigration from Gaza will begin in the coming weeks,” Smotrich states.
“Gazans will have nothing to look for in Gaza in the next 10-15 years. After we return to fighting and all of Gaza looks like Jabalia — they will have nothing to look for there at all.”
In a joint appearance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump last week called to permanently relocate the entire population of the Gaza Strip, insisting the Palestinians “have no alternative” but to leave the “big pile of rubble” that is Gaza after over 15 months of Israeli bombardment targeting Hamas.
Afterward, Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare a plan that would enable Gazans seeking to leave the Strip voluntarily to do so.
In January, Smotrich said that he was working to turn Trump’s ideas about Gaza into an actionable policy. He has previously stated that Israel should occupy Gaza and “encourage” half of the Strip’s 2.2 million Palestinians to emigrate within two years.
Smotrich has threatened to quit the government if it doesn’t resume fighting after the ongoing first phase of the ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.
#1
"Palestinian Cause" is a part of worldwide Jihad. The only difference between "Palestinians" and Muslim colonists in the rest of the world is that "Palestinians" started earlier - and can act more openly because most of "the World" doesn't really believe Jews are entitled to country of their own.
[IsraelTimes] As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds security consultations tonight on the future of the hostage-ceasefire deal, a Channel 12 report says Netanyahu wants to expedite the release of the six more living hostages who are currently scheduled for release on the coming two Saturdays.
Beyond that, the report says, the premier wants to extend the current first phase of the deal beyond the designated 42 days, which are set to end on March 1, and secure the freedom of more hostages as part of phase one, including more hostages Israel now knows are in poor health.
He wants Israel’s negotiators to explain to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators, with US support, that it’s also in the interests of Hamas to extend phase one since this would ensure the ceasefire remains in place for longer.
The prime minister is hoping to secure what the report says are being called “Ramadan releases” — additional phase one releases of hostages coinciding with next month’s Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Israel’s negotiators, however, are warning that unless Israel begins serious negotiations on phase two, which were required under the deal to start almost two weeks ago, it risks jeopardizing the rest of the scheduled phase one releases.
Israel’s negotiators really need to learn to shut up.
Participating in tonight’s consultations are Defense Minister Israel Katz, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, IDF Chief Herzi Halevi and his imminent successor Eyal Zamir, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar and IDF hostage talks negotiator Nitzan Alon.
#2
While President Trump is all for that idea, Seeking Cure, the Arab countries ‘aiding’ negotiations are not willing to push Hamas to let go of the remaining human shields they believe are all that is keeping Israel from ArcLighting them.
🚨 Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad's Saraya Al-Quds handed over three Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Khan Younis as part of the sixth phase of the prisoner exchange deal https://t.co/Gs3K3z0k6fpic.twitter.com/ckb9Y64loR
[AA.COM.TR] 'The only place where 1.5M refugees living in Gaza should return to is their cities, villages from which they were displaced in 1948,' says Mahmoud Abbas.
From which they displaced themselves in the hope of collecting booty and concubines when they returned on the heels of the five victorious Arab armies. Unfortunately, the Arab armies were not victorious, a situation they repeated in each of the wars that followed. The problem with losing wars is that the losers don’t get back what they fled from.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/16/2025 00:00 ||
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#1
The problem with losing wars is that the losers don’t get back what they fled from.
Former Prussian Germans understand that. They only lost theirs 3 years before.
How much more in losses will Israel inflict when Hezbollah erupts again?
[Rudaw] The recent war between Israel and Hezbollah has inflicted an estimated $25-30 billion in economic losses on Leb ...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade.... , Beirut’s former economy minister said on Tuesday.
Amin Salam told Rudaw’s Hawar Abdulrazaq on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai that field assessments indicate that Lebanon faces "somewhere between $25-30 billion worth of destruction and indirect negative effects on the economy."
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began on October 8, a day after the eruption 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... between Israel and Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... , when Hezbollah launched a "back-up front" from the Lebanese side to ease pressure on its Paleostinian allies in Gaza.
The Hezbollah-Israel war intensified after Tel Aviv in mid-September carried out the "Pagers Operation," remotely detonating communication devices used by members of the Lebanese group, and later killed Hezbollah's secretary-general His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> in an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... on a residential neighbourhood in Beirut.
The war continued until November 27 when the two sides reached a ceasefire deal that was central to United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... Security Council resolution 1701, which requires the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon and the disarmament of all Lebanese gangs - including Hezbollah. However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt... Lebanon has repeatedly accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal by continuing to launch sporadic strikes on Lebanese territories and maintain its forces in south Lebanon border villages.
Salam asserted to Rudaw Lebanon’s "main international commitment" to uphold UN resolution 1701 in the coming months, hoping that the war would end soon following "the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces" from southern Lebanon by February 18.
The ex-minister further highlighted that the Hezbollah-Israel war erupted at a time when Lebanon had already been grappling with the stifling economic crisis that began five years ago and saw Lebanon's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decline by more than 38 percent, according to the World Bank.
The Lebanese Presidency announced on Saturday the formation of a new government consisting of 24 ministers, following weeks of intensive consultations amid changes in the political balance of power after Hezbollah was weakened by the devastating war with Israel.
According to Salam, the newly-formed Lebanese government has "a major economic project and agenda" to implement. While Lebanon is receiving "a lot of international support" from its "allies and friends in Iraq, 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... , the United Arab Emirates, 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... , the United States and other European countries to get back on its feet," Beirut "has a lot of work it needs to do," Salam explained.
Outrage in Syria after photos show commercial ads inside Sednaya Prison, infamous for mass atrocities under the previous regime. Activists call it a desecration of victims’ suffering. #Syria#HumanRights#Sednaya#Justicehttps://t.co/gM3RdBrVeG
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.
...Arabic for 
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania...
...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 
...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 
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...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...
