[FoxNews] Operation Desert Guardian will combat drug smuggling and human trafficking
Arizona's Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs plans to expand border security operations along the state’s four border counties, placing added focus on disrupting transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).
Hobbs signed an executive order Tuesday to establish Operation Desert Guardian, a joint task force in which the state partners with local law enforcement, sheriffs and the federal government to disrupt TCO operations in the counties of Yuma, Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise.
"I’m proud to launch Operation Desert Guardian to combat the cartels, stop drug smuggling and human trafficking and secure Arizona’s border," Hobbs said. "My administration has been in contact with the federal government and local sheriffs about the Operation, its critical objectives and our shared commitment to keeping criminals and drugs out of Arizona’s communities."
Hobbs added that the operation’s objectives will include identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities along Arizona’s southern border, which stretches about 370 miles, while also combating border-related crimes committed by TCOs. To do so, Hobbs said, the joint task force plans to dismantle TCO supply chains and operating networks.
Operation Desert Guardian’s funding will come from a portion of the state’s Border Security Fund, which has a balance of $28 million.
The operation will also build on the efforts of Task Force SAFE (Stopping Arizona’s Fentanyl Epidemic), a joint operation between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Arizona National Guard to stop drugs from entering Arizona at ports of entry.
Since its launch in July 2024, Task Force SAFE has intercepted 19 million fentanyl pills, 6,598 pounds of illicit drugs and 237 weapons at the border.
"I have worked productively with the federal government on Task Force SAFE and partnered with local law enforcement to deliver critical border security support, and I look forward to continued partnership on our shared border security priorities," Hobbs said. "With Operation Desert Guardian, I’m confident we can take an important next step in our ongoing work to secure the border."
After President Donald Trump was re-elected to a second term in November, Hobbs said Arizona would not be aiding the incoming administration with its "misguided" plan to launch a mass deportation operation.
She was asked by ABC News whether the Trump administration would bring a reset on the border, and she responded by focusing on current partnerships with the federal government to secure the border.
"I am very hopeful that that partnership can continue, and that the incoming administration will listen to, not only my administration, but the experts here on the ground, the people that are doing the work, about what is most needed, and what we can continue to do that will be most helpful in securing our border," she said.
"What I will unequivocally say is that, as governor, I will not tolerate efforts that are part of misguided policies that harm our communities, that threaten our communities, that terrorize our communities, and Arizona will not take part in those."
State Republicans have a different plan, and, in January, state Senate President Warren Petersen, a Republican, introduced the "AZ ICE Act," which would require sheriff’s departments and the Arizona Department of Corrections to enter into cooperative agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The agreements are based on 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers certain immigration functions, including identifying and detaining suspected illegal immigrants.
Petersen’s bill would also require law enforcement to comply with ICE detainers, which are requests that ICE be notified when an illegal immigrant is being released from state or local custody. "Sanctuary" jurisdictions do not comply with detainers.
After Trump was sworn into office Jan. 20, he immediately signed a number of executive orders to tackle border security and illegal immigration.
Some local jurisdictions have pledged their support for the measures, but other officials have promised to either resist or not comply with any planned deportation operations.
[SUDANTRIBUNE] 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... 's National Umma Party (NUP) dismissed its acting leader late on Monday after he signed a pact with groups aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to establish a parallel government, a party leadership body said.
Fadlallah Burma Nasir, along with representatives of other armed, political, and civil organizations, signed the founding charter on Feb. 22. The agreement endorsed the formation of a parallel government, the establishment of a secular state, and the right to self-determination if secularism is not enshrined in a transitional or permanent constitution.
In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune, the NUP's Presidential Institution said it had ''decided to withdraw the mandate'' of retired Major General Fadlallah Burma Nasir as party president. Mohammed Abdallah al-Douma will replace him, ''exercising the powers of the elected president and making decisions through the Presidential Institution,'' it added.
Rift widens in Sudan’s Umma Party as acting leader rejects ouster, dissolves key body
[SUDANTRIBUNE] A power struggle within Sudan’s National Umma Party (NUP) intensified on Tuesday after the party’s acting leader rejected a move to oust him and dissolved the body that initiated his removal, escalating a dispute over a pact with RSF-aligned groups.
Late on Monday, the NUP’s Presidential Institution withdrew confidence from acting party president Fadlallah Burma Nasir for signing an agreement with groups aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to establish a parallel government. The institution appointed Mohamed Abdullah Al-Douma as his replacement.
On Feb. 22, Burma Nasir, representing the NUP, signed a founding charter alongside other armed, political, and civil organizations. The charter endorsed the establishment of a parallel government, a secular state, and the right to self-determination if secularism is not enshrined in a transitional or permanent constitution.
In a move threatening the unity of the long-established party, Burma Nasir issued a decision Tuesday evening terminating the mandates of the vice presidents, presidential assistants, and advisors, effectively dissolving the Presidential Institution. He also announced plans to reconstitute the Presidential Institution on “new foundations” and to consult with the head of the Political Bureau and the Secretary-General on convening an extraordinary general congress.
Burma Nasir stated that the actions taken in the name of the Presidential Institution were contrary to the party’s constitution and did not represent the institutions stipulated within it.
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Not sure if this is the same Burma Nasir who was an early 1985 Minister of Defense in the Islamist Government. Whether it is he, or a son, the split is important because the elder Burma Nasir was a major figure within the Missiriya (Arab cattle nomads) of Darfur. If the Umma, the powerful party of deceased Sadiq al-Mahdi, is now split with the Darfur element going its own way, the Sudan is ripe for yet another secession.
[GEO.TV] Bangladesh's army chief on Tuesday blamed infighting for deteriorating law and order, warning that the gains of the student-led revolution that toppled the government last August were at risk.
The South Asian nation has been struggling to stem a surge in violent mostly peaceful crime, with the security forces arresting thousands this month targeting gangs allegedly connected to the party of ousted prime minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and now exiled former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She was President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia showed such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums. That is probably because Khaleda's late husband was the Pak tool who had Mujib assassinated... "If you can't move beyond your differences and continue meddling and fighting among yourselves, the independence and integrity of the country will be at risk — I warn you," said General Waker-Uz-Zaman, without singling out any group by name.
"Since stakeholders are busy accusing each other, miscreants find the situation favourable. They believe they can get away with anything," he said at an army memorial event.
Bangladesh has been riven by a surge of crime, as well as protests this month where crowds smashed buildings connected to Hasina's family.
Last week rival student factions clashed at a university campus, a sign of serious discord between groups instrumental in driving the uprising against Hasina.
Security forces have arrested more than 8,600 people since it launched "Operation Devil Hunt" on February 8, which the government has accused of being Hasina loyalists and of wanting to "destabilise" the country.
"The anarchy we have witnessed is manufactured by us," Waker said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2025 00:00 ||
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[JPost] The followup
Twenty-six-year-old nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh
… Ms Abu Lebdeh is a hijabi of Palestinian extraction who reacted viciously to unexpectedly finding herself Facetiming handsome Israeli Max Veifer, much to the shock of Bankstown Hospital management, despite the fact that a whistleblower had reported after 10/7 that the hospital was rife with the nastiest kind of anti-Jewish sentiment….
was arrested on Tuesday and charged with threatening violence, using a carriage service to threaten to kill, and using a carriage service to menace.
A Sydney area nurse was charged for threatening to kill Israeli patients in a viral video that created a massive uproar around the world, the New South Wales Police Force announced on Wednesday.
Twenty-six-year-old Bankstown Hospital nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh was arrested on Tuesday and charged with threatening violence to a group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill, and using a carriage service to menace.
The Condell Park woman was granted conditional bail and is set to appear at the Downing Centre Local Court on March 19.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said in a statement that the antisemitic task force had exhaustively investigated the incident, in which Abu Lebdeh wished a harsh death on Israeli influencer Max Veifer that she wouldn't treat Israeli patients but instead would "kill them."
"Strike Force Pearl detectives must be commended for acting swiftly under enormous pressure and public expectation," Webb said of the antisemitism task force established in December to address rising antisemitic incidents in New South Wales. "These charges have been laid following a lot of hard work and legal advice, received yesterday from the Commonwealth DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions]."
[IsraelTimes] A trial begins today in Germany for four alleged Hamas members suspected of organizing weapons caches across Europe.
They are accused of seeking out and setting up weapons depots for the terror group across Europe so terrorists could later use the firearms and ammunition for attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets on the continent, prosecutors said when filing charges last year.
The weapons were allegedly moved around Europe in preparation for Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack against Israel, prosecutors said.
Hamas also considered targeting the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, the area around Tempelhof Airport in the capital and the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany, authorities said.
Abdelhamid Al A., Mohamed B., Nazih R. and Ibrahim El-R. were arrested in December 2023. Prosecutors identified them only by their first name and last initial in line with German privacy laws.
All four had important positions within Hamas, prosecutors asserted.
The men allegedly set up a weapons cache in Bulgaria in 2019 and in Denmark later that year. They sought to find a spot in Poland but were unsuccessful, prosecutors said.
[FoxNews] Migrants were pictured sleeping on floors at the airport last year
The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee is subpoenaing the Massachusetts Port Authority for documents requested last year related to the sheltering of migrants in Boston Logan International Airport, calling the practice "reckless and offensive."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, intends to subpoena Massport for documents Republicans on the committee requested last year about the use of facilities to allow migrants to shelter at the airport.
"Donald Trump put a stop to Biden’s open border policy, but a full investigation of this scandal is vital to both prevent its future reemergence and hold accountable those complicit in Biden’s lawless immigration orders," Cruz told Fox News Digital.
In a letter in March last year, lawmakers pointed to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grants Logan had received, and said that one of the obligations of such funding was that facilities be available for public use. They argued that the use of facilities to house migrants violated that condition.
Migrants were camped out at the airport on a daily basis on the floors of Terminal E at the airport at the height of the migrant crisis, which quickly saw migrants travel to "sanctuary" cities that limit cooperation with ICE.
"Frankly, what you’ve seen at Logan has been the situation, and this is why I said months ago that we are reaching capacity here," Gov. Maura Healey said in January 2024.
In July, migrants were barred from using the airport as a shelter, and instead were offered taxpayer-funded accommodation elsewhere.
"As of July 9, 2024, there was a policy change announced by the state that migrant families could no longer stay overnight at Logan, and no families have stayed at Logan since then," a spokesperson for Massport told Fox News Digital on Monday.
Lawmakers on the Commerce Committee wanted to know how many migrants were housed, the related costs, the impact on capacity, screening information and how the port authority was reimbursed, if at all. But the committee says it did not receive a response.
A committee aide told Fox News Digital that the committee is subpoenaing documents and communications related to the house of illegal immigrants at Logan, including communications with government agencies, nonprofits and healthcare providers. It will also seek documents about security incidents involving migrants, and documents identifying those involved in housing them.
"As the investigation has already shown, Massport clearly violated FAA grant requirements when it used Logan International Airport as ‘free’ housing for illegal aliens," Cruz told Fox.
"Massport has repeatedly refused the Committee’s request for information, including on potential security incidents. As Chairman of the Committee with jurisdiction over civil aviation and aviation security, I plan to issue a subpoena to compel Massport to turn over the information and communications we’ve been seeking for almost a year," he said.
"Using a federally-funded public airport to house illegal aliens was reckless and offensive to airline passengers and American taxpayers alike," he said.
The subpoena comes as the Trump administration has taken an aggressive approach to cracking down on illegal immigration. It has increased interior enforcement, including in sanctuary cities like Boston, while limiting the ability to release migrants into the interior. It has also deployed the military to the border and ended the Biden-era use of humanitarian parole to release migrants.
Interior arrests have gone up, while border crossings have dropped sharply, which the administration is putting down to the impact of the new policies.
[IsraelTimes] President rescinds National Security Memorandum-20, which had required reports to Congress on how weapons being used, as part of progressive bid to curb military aid to Jerusalem
The Trump administration has rescinded a Biden-era order aimed at Israel that required the government to report potential violations of international law involving US-supplied weapons by allies, two US officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Monday.
Signed by Biden last year, National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM-20) required all countries that receive weapons from the US to commit in writing that they will not use them to target civilians or restrict humanitarian aid.
Countries were already required to commit to using the arms in line with international law, but the concept of a written commitment was new as was the memo’s directive for the State Department to report to Congress on the mater.
Biden agreed to sign the memo amid pressure from progressive Democrats who specifically were looking to curb US military assistance to Israel, arguing that it was being used to harm civilians in Gaza.
The State Department report issued several months after the memo avoided reaching a determination that Israel was indeed misusing US security assistance, infuriating the progressive lawmakers behind NSM-20.
The May 2024 report said Israel may have breached international humanitarian law but that US officials were unable to identify specific instances of breaches that harmed civilians due to the chaos of war.
The Trump administration would have been required in the coming months to report to Congress its own assessment of Israel’s conduct.
The Washington Post cited an order issued by White House national security adviser Michael Waltz on February 21 repealing NSM-20. Reuters was not able to independently confirm the existence of the order, but two US officials and a source familiar with the move said they had been told the directive was revoked.
The State Department referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a key proponent of congressional oversight of US arms sales, said the decision to revoke the memo was “shameful.”
“It’s a disservice to our national security, to global human rights and to our standing around the world,” Van Hollen said in a statement.
After returning to office on January 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that called for a review of all national security memoranda issued under Biden.
He also reversed a decision by Biden to freeze a shipment of 2,000-lbs bombs to Israel, which had been in place since last spring due to concerns that the IDF would use them in densely populated areas and cause unnecessary civilian harm.
[IsraelTimes] A Trump administration move to suspend funding to the World Health Organization has frozen $46 million for its operations in Gaza, a top WHO official in the region says.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for the Palestinian territories, says the “freezing” will leave six areas underfunded, including EMT operations, rehabilitation of health facilities, coordination with partner organizations and medical evacuation operations.
Speaking from Gaza to reporters at a UN briefing in Geneva, Peeperkorn says money for such operations remains in WHO’s funding pipeline and “we’re still going full steam ahead” with activities.
Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesman, says he does not have figures about how the US funding cuts affect the entirety of its operations worldwide.
#2
Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesman, says he does not have figures about how the US funding cuts affect the entirety of its operations worldwide.
"Our tentacles are long, and we have fingers in many pies. It would take an army of nerds armed with computers to untangle it all. Suffice it to say, our beaks will remain moist."
[IsraelTimes] Defense Minister Israel Katz issues sanctions against freed security prisoners and their family members who received payments from the Palestinian Authority during their time in prison.
According to Katz’s office, the order applies to citizens and residents of the State of Israel. Israeli forces raided a number of homes and seized property and cash amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels under the sanctions, his office adds.
Katz says that the seized funds will be transferred to victims of terror and their families.
[IsraelTimes] Hamas rails against the Israeli security establishment’s recommendation to restrict Muslim prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, which begins this Friday. "The Hooooooly Month of Ramadan!"
In a Telegram statement, Hamas calls on Palestinian Muslims in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well as Arab Israelis to travel to the Temple Mount in large numbers and oppose attempts by Israel to “desecrate and control” the site, “by any means.”
The statement comes in the wake of Hebrew media reports claiming that Israel’s security establishment plans to allow only 10,000 West Bank Palestinians to enter the al-Aqsa compound for Friday prayer, given they submit a request in advance. Ex-prisoners released under the current ceasefire deal will not be permitted to enter the compound.
On the final Friday of Ramadan last year, some 120,000 worshippers prayed at Al-Aqsa — under heavy security — without major incidents, despite heightened tensions related to the war in Gaza. However, the site is a flashpoint, having seen frequent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces over the years.
Security officials also recommended allowing entry only to younger children and older adults, namely children younger than 12, men older than 55, or women over the age of 50, per the reports. The IDF issued similar age restrictions for West Bank Palestinians last year.
The recommendation followed a series of discussions between the IDF, Defense Ministry, Israel Police, Shin Bet and Israel Prison Service. Security forces have yet to announce an official policy regarding Muslim access to the site.
The Kan public broadcaster reports that 3,000 security personnel will be deployed at checkpoints each day of the fast-approaching holy month.
[IsraelTimes] A leaked IDF probe into the October 7, 2023, attack on the Nahal Oz military outpost reveals that there was only one soldier on guard duty that morning, and he was stationed at the entrance to the base, Channel 12 reports.
More than 50 soldiers were killed and 10 were taken hostage from the Nahal Oz outpost, situated less than one kilometer from the Gaza border.
On the morning of October 7, 162 soldiers were present in the outpost, of whom 81 were armed combat soldiers and another 9 were armed but not trained for combat, Channel 12 reports, meaning that half of all soldiers on the base at the time of the attack were non-combatants.
Hamas had studied Nahal Oz from afar for years prior to launching the deadly assault and was intimately familiar with the layout of the base, including “where every room was,” the report says. It adds that the terror group knew that the base would be operating at a reduced capacity due to the Jewish holiday of Simhat Torah, which fell on a Saturday that year.
The IDF investigation found that Hamas began its final preparations for the attack on the evening of October 6, roughly 12 hours before the first air-raid sirens would blare in southern Israel, Channel 12 says. However, senior officers alerted to the unusual movement concluded that there was no need to send troops down to the border.
Had troops been instructed to take up their positions, “the battle picture would have looked different,” the report says.
The probe also reportedly addresses the impact that the incessant rocket fire had on the devastation inside the military outpost, as terrorists were able to easily kill large groups of soldiers who had gathered in bomb shelters.
The official findings of the probe are to be presented to relevant families on Thursday and then made available to the public.
[IsraelTimes] Successful rescue mission of four captives in June led Hamas captors to tie abductees together in chains to obstruct future operations, says ex-hostage Eliya Cohen
Comments made by far-right MK Itamar Ben Gvir about Paleostinian prisoners during his tenure as national security minister led Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... to worsen the conditions of the hostages 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... , according to reported comments by a recently released captive.
The testimony was given by an unnamed former hostage, who was among the six released on Saturday, to Channel 13 news in a Monday evening report.
Upon becoming national security minister two years ago, Ben Gvir repeatedly railed against so-called luxury items in prisons, moving to ban fresh pita bread being served behind bars as well as to limit shower times for inmates. In the wake of the October 7, 2023, attack, he ordered new restrictions on security prisoners, including overcrowding and removal of beds. His policies have led civil rights organizations to petition the High Court of Justice.
Ben Gvir, alongside the rest of his ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, resigned from the government last month in protest of the hostage-ceasefire deal. He said his party would rejoin the government should fighting in Gaza resume.
Responding to the report, Ben Gvir wrote on X: "Channel 13 decided this evening to grant legitimacy to the horrors that Hamas committed against the hostages, with a report claiming that because of a change in prisoner conditions that I led, Hamas abused our hostages.
"It seems they forgot that the bully boyz killed, raped and massacred Jews long before the [prison] reform. They don’t need any excuse to do that besides the fact that we exist," Ben Gvir wrote.
"The essence of the conception is that if we just tolerate, bend over before the bully boyz and lower our heads, they’ll do us the courtesy of stopping to kill Jews," he continued. "The conception" is an umbrella term referring to the erroneous presumptions regarding Hamas’s intentions that enabled the October 7, 2023 massacre.
TIED TOGETHER WITH CHAINS
The Channel 13 report also featured testimony from Eliya Cohen, who was among the six hostages released on Saturday, alongside Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert and Hisham al-Sayed.
Cohen said that after a rescue mission that freed four hostages — Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv — Hamas bully boyz worsened the hostages’ conditions.
Cohen recalled that in order to obstruct future Israeli efforts to rescue hostages, the captors chained the abductees together.
Cohen also said he was separated on Tuesday from hostage Alon Ohel, who remains in captivity.
The families of the six released hostages held a presser on Monday to tell of the dire conditions in which they were held during their captivity. The hostages said they were chained, starved and denied necessary medical treatment.
[IsraelTimes] Agreement confirmed by Israeli official, who says the captives’ remains will be returned on Wednesday; ToI told that if no further hostages released by March 8, ceasefire will end
Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... and Israel reached an agreement for the release of four Israeli hostages’ bodies and 602 Paleostinian security prisoners, the terror group and an Israeli official said late Tuesday, which would an end to an impasse that risked collapsing the multiphase ceasefire agreement before its first stage was even completed.
"An agreement was reached to resolve the issue of the delayed release of Paleostinian prisoners who were supposed to be freed in the last batch," Hamas said in a statement. "They will be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners agreed upon for transfer during the first phase, in addition to an equivalent number of Paleostinian women and kiddies."
The Israeli official who confirmed the deal said the release will be carried out through Egypt on Wednesday, though other reports said it would not take place until some time on Thursday.
Israel was supposed to release the Paleostinian prisoners on Saturday but has been refusing to do so, citing Hamas violations of the deal during the return of the three Bibas family members’ remains as well as the propaganda ceremonies it has been putting on throughout the hostage releases so far in phase one.
Earlier Tuesday, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Hamas has agreed not to hold such ceremonies during the release of the four slain hostages, but similar assurances were given ahead of the release of the Bibas family and body of Oded Lifshitz that were not upheld, leading Jerusalem to refuse to release the Paleostinian prisoners before the hostages are freed.
According to Hamas, the agreement was reached during meetings that its delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya held in Cairo with Egyptian officials.
"The Hamas leadership delegation reaffirmed its clear position on the need for full and precise adherence to all its terms and stages," the terrorist organization’s statement added.
Despite the announcement of the deal, the future of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement remained uncertain.
The three-stage deal, reached last month, halted some 15 months of fighting triggered by the group’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, when Hamas-led bandidosturbans killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
The deal requires Hamas to release all its hostages, Israel to release thousands of Paleostinian security prisoners — including hundreds serving life sentences — and a halt to fighting in the Strip, followed by negotiations for a "sustainable calm" and IDF withdrawal from the enclave.
Once the final release of hostages envisioned in the first phase happens, said an Israeli official, Hamas has three choices. It can agree to Israel’s terms — that it disarm, that its leaders go into exile, and that it give up any civil control over Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... — and then Israel will move to the second phase of the deal, which would see all hostages released and the war come to an end.
Hamas can also continue releasing hostages and extend the ceasefire.
Or, the official told The Times of Israel, Hamas can choose the end of the ceasefire, which would mean a return to all-out war.
"It would be different" from the past fighting during the previous Biden administration in Washington, said the official. "A new defense minister, a new chief of staff, all the weapons we need, and full legitimacy, one hundred percent, from the Trump administration."
"The gates of hell will be opened, as they say," the official said using a threat that both Israel and Hamas often level at each other.
The first phase of the deal, which includes the ongoing ceasefire, ends on Saturday.
After the release of the bodies on Thursday, Israel will give Hamas some time to decide what it wants to do, the official said. But if there isn’t another release of hostages by next Saturday, March 8, — indicating continuation of the first phase — Israel will consider the ceasefire over.
Israel expects US special envoy Steve Witkoff to come to Israel in the coming days, after he postponed a trip scheduled to begin Wednesday. "He is waiting for things to be a bit more ripe," the official asserted.
Witkoff, speaking at an event in Washington held by the American Jewish Committee, said Wednesday that Israeli negotiators would travel to 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... or Egypt this week for talks on the deal moving forward.
"We’re making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak," Witkoff said.
Witkoff said the focus of the new talks will be to "put phase two on track and have some additional hostage release — and we think that’s a real possibility."
Witkoff said that "maybe" he will join the negotiations on Sunday "if it goes well." He earlier spoke of traveling to the region this week, a trip that the Axios news site reported that he delayed to focus on US-led efforts to find a negotiated end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Witkoff had said on Sunday morning news shows that he could be coming to the region Wednesday to talk about extending the first phase of the deal between Israel and Hamas, and to discuss a second phase.
Witkoff met with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a top confidante of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Washington in recent days to discuss the talks.
[IsraelTimes] Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismisses the possibility of direct negotiations with the United States on his country’s nuclear program.
“There will be no possibility of direct talks between us and the United States on the nuclear issue as long as the maximum pressure is applied in this way,” Araghchi says during a joint press conference with his visiting Russian counterpart, referring to US President Donald Trump’s hardline approach to Tehran.
[IsraelTimes] Britain’s Telegraph quotes an Iranian source who says ‘everything has been on high alert’; Iran says it will not compromise with US on nuclear issues under pressure, sanctions
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has placed its nuclear facilities on high alert bracing for a potential attack by Israel and the United States, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.
According to a report in the British Telegraph, Tehran has deployed additional air defense system launches around key nuclear and missile sites.
"They [Iranian authorities] are just waiting for the attack and are anticipating it every night and everything has been on high alert — even in sites that no one knows about," a source was quoted telling the news outlet, saying that concerns have heightened with rhetoric from new US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... An official told the newspaper that there was an understanding in Tehran that Iran’s already-weakened air defenses "may not be effective in the event of a large-scale strike."
Last year, Israel carried out a wave of retaliatory Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on Iran after Tehran carried out a second missile attack on Israel.
Israeli jets targeted Iranian air defenses as well as its ballistic missile program, striking factories, storage sites, launchers and research facilities, and targeting one facility believed to be used for the regime’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s nuclear sites are also widely seen as more vulnerable with many of Tehran’s proxies weakened.
In November, after over a year of rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah, Israel decimated the Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel... -based terror group’s leadership, fighters and weapons stores.
Days later, Sunni rebels took advantage of Israel’s successes and swept southward from Idlib, ending the Assad family’s half-century of rule in Syria and breaking the land bridge between Iran and Hezbollah.
Earlier this month The Washington Post reported that US intelligence assessments showed Israel is considering strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, and that the attacks could come as soon as mid-year.
Iran, whose leaders are sworn to Israel’s destruction, has formally rejected nuclear weapons. However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... it has continued to advance its nuclear program, accelerating the enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90% needed to assemble a nuclear warhead. Critics say there are no civilian purposes for such highly enriched uranium.
Responding to the report, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran’s enemies may be able to strike the country’s nuclear centers but cannot deprive it of its ability to build new ones.
"WE WILL NOT NEGOTIATE UNDER PRESSURE AND SANCTIONS’
Amid the threats, Iran on Tuesday also vowed to resist US sanctions and said they will not compromise on the nuclear issue.
During a one-day trip to Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed regional and bilateral topics with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, state media reported.
The visit comes a day after the United States imposed a fresh round of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry, the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s main source of income.
Trump earlier this month restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran that includes efforts to drive the country’s oil exports to zero, reimposing a tough policy on Iran that was practiced throughout his first term.
"Iran’s position regarding nuclear talks is clear and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions," Araqchi said during a televised joint presser with Lavrov.
"There is no possibility of direct negotiations with the US as long as maximum pressure is being applied in this way."
While Trump had said he would "love to make a deal" with Iran’s holy manal rulers, Iran’s utmost authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> said this month that talks with the United States were "not smart, wise, or honorable."
However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... he stopped short of renewing a ban on direct talks with Washington decreed during the first Trump administration.
In 2018, during his previous term in office, Trump pulled the US out of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.
Tehran has since breached the pact’s nuclear limitations and efforts to revive the pact under the Biden administration failed.
Lavrov said he was sure that diplomatic measures were still on the table when it came to resolving issues around Iran’s nuclear program.
Moscow and Tehran have angered the West by developing stronger defense ties since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.
"Our cooperation will be in various fields, including energy, trade, tourism and many other areas," Araqchi said.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Less than a couple of months have passed since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, as anti-government sentiments have risen in the south of the country. This time, the focus was on the Druze from the Military Council of Es-Suwayda, who proclaimed the autonomy of the province of the same name.
The Military Council's position is still rather shaky, and it will not be able to fully oppose Damascus. However, other participants in the crisis are already trying to turn the turmoil around the Druze to their advantage - and any miscalculation by the authorities could be fatal.
So the formation of the “New Syria” continues – but clearly not in the form that the Transitional Government would like.
POWER TO THE COUNCIL
Despite the fact that the As-Suwayda Military Council was established back in December 2024, the hype around it only began a couple of days ago, following statements about the province’s transition to “political self-sufficiency.”
The reason for the declaration of autonomy (in the context of the Syrian conflict, de facto meaning complete disobedience to the central authorities) was, according to the Druze activists themselves, the inability of the central authorities to ensure the security of religious and national minorities in Syria.
The popularity of the new structure, at a quick glance, is growing quite rapidly: in a few days, dozens of small groups and former pro-government Druze units have joined the Military Council. However, upon closer analysis, it is noticeable that the accession is of a very formal nature - there is no talk yet of a mass transition of large forces to the side of the autonomy.
Unlike the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Druze militias cannot boast of having armored vehicles or serious weapons - the basis of the arsenal of the militias being formed, judging by the footage from the field, is small arms. However, the Druze do not plan to engage in combat with the new Syrian army yet, and explain the formation of units by "self-defense considerations."
It is noteworthy that individual SDF commanders have already announced the imminent formation of an alliance with the Druze in order to “jointly confront” Damascus. Although just a week ago, at a trilateral meeting, Kurdish leaders agreed to gradually integrate their units into the ranks of the new Syrian army.
ISRAEL'S INTEREST
Israel responded positively to the news about the emergence of an “alternative force” in southern Syria.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu almost immediately promised the Druze "protection from the militants' encroachments," while legitimizing the indefinite preservation of the IDF presence in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa, and As-Suwayda. The Israelis clearly do not plan to allow supporters of al-Sharaa anywhere near the Druze.
It is noteworthy that back in December 2024, the head of Israel's military intelligence (AMAN), Shlomi Binder, arrived in southern Syria. The head of AMAN not only investigated cases of Druze involvement in espionage against Israel (the "Safadi case"), but also worked on forming an Israeli proxy network for possible counteraction to Iran and its allies. Apparently, Binder managed to "pick the keys" to some Druze figures - or at least create the appearance of their turning towards Tel Aviv.
Of course, for now the turnaround is very conditional - control by the Military Council is clearly insufficient to ensure the forceful protection of Israel's interests in Syria in the long term.
On the other hand, such a task is not set: the IDF clearly does not plan to delegate part of the powers to the new Druze formations. Moreover, during the three months of presence, the Israelis have laid down at least nine military facilities that are planned to become permanent bases.
It is important for official Tel Aviv to keep the Syrian-Lebanese border under control in order to uncover Hezbollah caravan routes in real time.
Indeed. Also, the ceasefire does not permit Hezbollah rearming, so they ought not be doing that.
And protecting the Druze in this context looks not only convenient, but also a noble motive.
DIVIDE AND HOLD
The new Syrian authorities are doing everything they can to avoid secession.
Hours after Prime Minister Netanyahu's provocative statements and the news of the creation of the As-Suwayda Military Council, transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa urgently convened a meeting of Druze leaders from the provinces of Quneitra and Daraa.
Official Damascus is counting on the fact that, unlike Es-Suwayda, where anti-government sentiments have traditionally been strong (since the time of the Assad dynasty), other provinces will prefer not to get into trouble. Especially since only diplomatic methods are being used to stop the crisis.
The calculation of the Syrian authorities is quite justified - the positions of the Military Council of Es-Suwayda in the province are still quite shaky, and the militias fully control barely half of the newly-minted autonomy (mainly its southern part). Their contacts with official Tel Aviv - at least public ones - have not been established.
The Druze opposition does not have an established leader, although former army officer Tariq Ash-Shufi is a contender for that title.
Their activities are not understood by their own religious authorities.
Thus, the leader of the Druze community in As-Suwayda, Sheikh Hikmet al-Hijri, did not support the creation of the Military Council. On the contrary, he called those who spoke out against Damascus separatists and "servants" of Tel Aviv, noting that they have no authority to represent the interests of all Druze.
In time with al-Hijri's statements, mass anti-Israeli protests have swept across southern Syria, including the Druze of Es-Suwayda. The demonstrators are advocating for the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and are also criticizing the Israeli military presence, which essentially arose without the consent of official Damascus.
However, the Druze elders who attended the audience with al-Sharaa are trying to maintain relative neutrality for now. They do not express any obvious disagreement with Damascus's position. But they are also in no hurry to criticize the rebellious community too vehemently, in case some "hotheads" in the Syrian government try to force the Druze autonomy into obedience.
Among the supporters of President al-Sharaa are many who advocate tough measures against minorities - mainly former field commanders of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)*, who are used to solving problems radically. So far, al-Sharaa has managed to restrain their impulses, but at the cost of some loss of support.
However, on the opposite side of the scale there is a “stake” of a different level – the loyalty of the entire Druze community in Syria. A quick (but bloody) option to stop the crisis in As-Suwayda risks alienating the population of southern Syria from the new government.
Not to mention that taking up the sword against one minority will greatly trouble the many other minorities within Syria’s borders.
And the Military Council, for lack of alternatives, will overnight turn from a political fiction into a “point of attraction” for those dissatisfied with Damascus.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The negotiation process regarding the preservation of Russian military bases in Syria is ongoing. This was reported by the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov.
"We continue our contacts with the Syrian authorities, the Syrian issue is on the agenda of all our international contacts. Let's say the work process is ongoing," he noted.
The Kremlin spokesman added that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was recently in Ankara, where this issue was also raised during other contacts.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov noted in December 2024 that Russia expects to maintain military bases in Syria, since they play an important role in the fight against international terrorism.
On February 7, Syrian Defense Minister Marhaf Abu Kasra said that the country could agree to retain Russian military bases if it would be beneficial to Damascus.
[IsraelTimes] Organization run by Hezbollah backers has failed to realize its goal of having IDF troops arrested abroad, but may be making inroads in the court of public opinion
In countries around the world, former and current Israeli soldiers, from lowly grunts to top generals, are being hunted by a shadowy organization that claims to have thousands of volunteers around the world seeking justice for Gazooks.
Launched in September, the Hind Rajab Foundation has used social media posts by Israeli soldiers, officers, and reservists, in an attempt to have them arrested for alleged war crimes when they travel abroad.
Though the group has been largely unsuccessful in court, it has managed nonetheless to win widespread media exposure, allegedly caused a cabinet minister to rethink a trip abroad, and even prompted the Israeli military to create new rules to better protect troops’ privacy and keep them from being victims of doxxing — the practice of publishing someone’s personal information online to expose them.
"We have never before witnessed [an organized effort] on this scale or scope, and that has to do with the unprecedented scale of the war, the number of troops who were in Leb ...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... and 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... , the age of social media, the virality of things, and how things are all connected," a military source said. "It’s a new challenge, but we are handling it with the right seriousness."
The foundation was started by Lebanese-Belgian nationals Dyab Abou Jahjah and Karim Hassoun, a former Hezbollah member and supporter respectively, who say they are seeking justice for Paleostinians.
The Brussels-based pair claim to have thousands of volunteers around the world who scour social media posts uploaded by IDF soldiers, eyewitness testimonies, documentation by journalists, and reports by the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... to support their claims of war crimes and other types of wrongdoing.
"We turn, you know, social media posts, basically, into legal cases," Abou Jahjah recently told the Democracy Now TV news program.
The organization is named after 6-year-old Paleostinian Hind Rajab, who was allegedly killed by the IDF in the Gaza City neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa, on January 29, 2024.
The IDF denies being behind an apparent strike on the Rajab family’s car, though reports about her death nonetheless helped catalyze already potent protests in North America and Europe.
Israeli troops fought in Gaza for over 15 months following the October 7, 2023 massacre, which saw thousands of Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... -led bandidosturbans rampage across southern Israel, slaughtering some 1,200 people, taking 251 hostages, and sparking a war that has completely devastated the Gaza Strip and left Israel shaken to its core. Fighting has been paused since mid-January, though it is unclear whether the truce will extend beyond its early March expiration date.
HRF uses social media both to find evidence of alleged crimes in cases where soldiers post content from inside Gaza or southern Lebanon, and to find out about soldiers who travel abroad and post about it online, allowing the group to file complaints in the relevant jurisdiction.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in January that it knew of 28 claims filed in eight different countries against Israelis linked to the war, with HRF thought to be behind many of them.
Separately, the group also filed complaints against 1,000 IDF soldiers, officers, and commanders at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Abou Jahjah said in October.
Allegations against the troops include the use of inhumane warfare tactics, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide against Paleostinians in the Gaza Strip since war erupted in October 2023.
In January, the organization boasted that a complaint against Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli for allegedly "making terrorist threats" had forced him to cancel a planned visit to the European Parliament in Brussels.
Belgian officials said Chikli’s planned travel was not a state visit and so he would not have diplomatic immunity, should groups seek a warrant for his arrest.
HRF also recently asked Italia to arrest Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian, who heads the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories, the Defense Ministry unit that oversees aid shipments into Gaza, among other roles. Alian, who was in Italia on an official visit, maintained his original schedule for the trip, despite HRF’s attempt to pin him on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Israeli officials say many of the organization’s claims of taking legal action against soldiers are overblown.
The IDF closely follows the activism of HRF and similar groups, but does not consider it a major threat, The Times of Israel has learned. The army has signaled that it believes most claims against individual soldiers have petered out before reaching prosecution, due to a lack sufficient or substantiated evidence. Nonetheless, steps have been taken to lower the risk of legal action against troops and reservists who travel abroad.
There is no explicit directive for troops not to travel abroad due to the threat posed by HRF. But the Israeli military recently announced that it would no longer allow soldiers to be identified by name in the media and the Foreign Ministry issued a public warning that social media posts could be used to bring legal action against them in other countries.
"Hind Rajab Foundation is very good at generating headlines," said Michael Freilich, a Belgian politician with the Phlegmish nationalist and conservative New Phlegmish Alliance party. "They try to make themselves bigger than they are. They are the darlings of the press, mainly because of their extreme rhetoric."
ANTI ASSIMILATION, PRO NASRALLAH
Abou Jahjah and Hassoun have been activists together since at least 2000, when they founded the Arab European League, a Belgium-based political organization resisting societal integration for Moslem immigrants colonists, which Abou Jahjah has described as "cultural rape."
The group, which also has a branch in The Netherlands, has been accused of stoking antisemitism and supporting terror.
In 2001, Abou Jahjah met His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> , the leader of the Lebanese Shiite terror group Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group committed to Israel’s destruction.
"We spoke for only an hour, but his aura, smile, brilliance, and kindness are unforgettable. I am fortunate to have lived in his era and witnessed his leadership," Abou Jahjah recalled on X, after Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... in September.
Abou Jahjah also took Hezbollah officials on tours in Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... to meet politicians for the Arab European League in 2009.
In a 2003 New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... interview, Abou Jahjah proclaimed his Hezbollah membership and said "he was still very proud" of the military training he received from the terror group.
Hassoun is also on record supporting Hezbollah and Hamas, though he has kept a lower profile than Abou Jahjah.
Just days after the October 7 atrocities, Hassoun wrote on his X account, "I condemn Hamas for not having taken 500 or 1,000 hostages instead of just 200."
According to Freilich, modern Belgium’s first-ever Orthodox Jewish politician, Abou Jahjah and Hassoun are fringe figures in Belgium, even if they have the support of some pro-Paleostinian movements, as well as that of some extreme-left Israeli organizations.
"The majority of the people, including the Moslem population, do not support them," he said, noting that both had made unsuccessful forays into local politics.
"Abou Jahjah tried several times to be elected to office, but was unsuccessful. He was also fired from De Standaard, where he was a columnist, after he praised a car-ramming attack in Jerusalem where several Israeli soldiers were killed," Freilich continued.
In the Belgian city of Willebroek, the Iedereen 2830 party was forced to boot Hassoun last month, after the mayor said he would not form a coalition with Death Eaters.
Last month, Haroon Raza, an HRF attorney was dropped from a panel at the European Paleostinian Network Conference held in Copenhagen. HRF claimed in a statement on X that his participation was canceled after information was "disseminated in the Israeli press, falsely linking us to resistance movements in Lebanon and Paleostine" and that other invitees refused to participate in the same panel as Raza.
Nevertheless, HRF and its founders have still managed to tap into a wellspring of anti-Israel sentiment prevalent in Europe since the October 7 attack.
"The war has hardened public opposition to Israel’s treatment of the Paleostinians and even turned many supporters of Israel into critics," Khaled Diab, a Belgian-Egyptian journalist and author, told The Times of Israel. He described the conflict in Gaza as "the most unpopular war Israel has ever been involved in."
Diab said that even if unsuccessful in court, the work of HRF can act as a "deterrent" to troops who "know they can potentially be pursued."
Robert Neufeld, a post-doctoral fellow at the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions at the University of Haifa, told The Times of Israel that while no cases filed by HRF prove clear crimes of humanity or war crimes, the group "is a real threat and it should be dealt with as such. They are not something to dismiss."
Neufeld, who served in numerous positions in the Military Advocate General Corps and the office of the Military Ombudsman, stressed that winning on the battlefield in Gaza is not the end of the story, as every case that they file and make public helps to damage Israel.
"They are trying to achieve much more than the specific person that they are after. They are trying to hurt or damage the IDF in general and they want to stop people from serving as combatants. They want to portray Israel as a criminal state and the IDF as criminals," Neufeld said.
"We need to understand that wars are not only fought on the battlefield, but on social media, in the courts, and it affects Jewish communities abroad," he added.
Anne Hertzberg, a legal adviser with the Israel-based NGO Monitor who has tracked the group since it emerged in September, said that she believes the main purpose of HRF is not to file lawsuits against soldiers, but "to deter, and harass, Israelis and Jews across the globe. That’s their purpose."
"They are trying to disrupt Western security cooperation and cause trouble with Israel’s relationship with other countries. There are lots of things we don’t know about it, and we have to look into it. Every country where they are operating in, they need to be investigated," she said.
Though the foundation is registered with Belgian authorities, little is known about how its activities are being funded.
"We don’t know who they are working with, what kind of occupational support is behind them," said Hertzberg.
Both she and Freilich called on governments to examine who may secretly stand behind the effort. "This is not something they can do on their own, this isn’t cheap," Hertzberg added.
Israel, meanwhile, is attempting to fight back in the court of public opinion. Right now, when one googles the name of the organization, the first result is a sponsored link that takes users to an Israeli government page with a report claiming to "unmask" HRF’s terror-backing founders.
"Israel should make it clear that Abou Jahjah and Hassoun are linked to Hezbollah," Freilich said. "I hope that Europe will not stand for it, but it doesn’t seem to be a priority for the police or government at the moment. They don’t want to antagonize the largest Paleostinian community in Europe."
Neufeld cautioned that even if Israel manages to tear down Abou Jahjah and Hassoun, it would not solve the larger issue of groups seeking to prosecute Israelis abroad on war crimes allegations, trumped up or not.
#1
(a) IDF soldiers shouldn't use social media on matters relating to their service.
(b) Israelis shouldn't travel to the lands of Amalek.
(c) Mossad should start hunting Hind Rajab functionaries.
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.
...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...
[JPost] 
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
