[ShabelleMedia] Two U.S. politicians are accusing the U.S. Agency for International Development of providing financial support to al-Shabaab ... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them... , Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , and the Taliban ...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan... , alleging that taxpayer money is being funneled to terrorist organizations in Somalia, Paleostine, and Afghanistan.
Reps. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., claimed during a press briefing that USAID sends funds to Afghanistan weekly, with the money ultimately reaching the Taliban. The politicians further alleged that the agency collaborates with chartered flights to deliver cash to the Taliban and al-Qaeda, asserting that these actions undermine U.S. national security.
The accusations come amid ongoing scrutiny of U.S. humanitarian aid following the military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. The Biden administration has defended its assistance as critical for supporting Afghan civilians. Still, oversight agencies and some members of Congress have warned that the Taliban, now in control of the country, maybe diverting these funds.
Burchett and Greene also pointed to $2.1 billion in USAID aid directed to regions controlled by al-Shabaab and Hamas, labeling it a "betrayal" of American taxpayers. "This is our money funding activities that threaten us," Burchett said.
No direct evidence has surfaced linking USAID to support for al-Shabaab, the Taliban, al-Qaeda, or Hamas. The agency, with an annual budget exceeding $40 billion, remains a cornerstone of U.S. efforts to combat poverty and promote democracy worldwide, including in Somalia, a major recipient of its humanitarian aid focused on health, education, and economic development.
USAID has faced criticism before. Former President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... shuttered parts of the agency’s operations during his tenure, aligning foreign aid with his "America First" agenda.
Democratic politicians have pushed back against the latest accusations, calling them "illegal and unconstitutional." Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., argued that scaling back aid would harm vulnerable populations and weaken U.S. global leadership.
[IsraelTimes] Culture secretary says she wants ‘assurances no stone will be left unturned’ in review of decision to air film that featured son of Hamas minister
The government is embarrassed — that kind of thing rolls downhill.
The British government called an urgent meeting with the BBC on Friday over the making of a documentary about children’s lives 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... that was narrated by the 13-year-old son of a deputy minister in the Paleostinian enclave’s Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... government.
The BBC said on Thursday there had been "serious flaws" in "Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone," made by an independent production company, and removed it from its online platform, days after it was first broadcast on television.
Which they only noticed a week after the thing aired and the appalled protests spread.
Hamas is deemed a terrorist organization by Britannia, the United States and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... The BBC’s decision followed criticism by online commentators who said the narrator was the son of Ayman al-Yazouri, deputy minister of agriculture in Gaza.
Independent producer Jamie Roberts produced something too good to check, so the BBC didn’t demand answers, even though Mr. Roberts is known in certain circles for, among others, the 2016 release of The Jihadis Next Door
(also in our archives as The Jihadist Next Door) for Channel 4, about a group of London followers of Anjem Choudary’s dawa (outreach) group al-Muhajiroun, some of whom ended up killing and dying — in this case for ISIS, though since the 1990s al Muhajiroun has fed killers to various branches of both ISIS and Al Qaeda — following the path laid down by half the British jihadis at home and abroad.Britannia’s publicly funded BBC has faced criticism over its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza by external commentators and some staff members. Some critics accuse it of bias toward the Paleostinians, others of bias toward Israel.
Did the producer get USAID money to help make the thing? Did the BBC for its production?
BBC Director General Tim Davie, when quizzed by politicians, said last year the BBC was overall "doing a good job in terms of delivering impartial coverage amidst enormous pressure."
No doubt that’s what it looks like from his perspective, given their coverage ranges from far left to slightly less far left despite the criticism from the actual right.
The BBC said in a statement that an internal review had found that the corporation had asked Hoyo Films — the production company it commissioned — several times in writing whether the family in the documentary had any connection to Hamas.
Several times? Why would they ask such a thing, and why would they need reassurance about the answer?
The BBC said Hoyo Films acknowledged the connection only after the documentary was broadcast.
Possibly a mistake.
The production company also revealed that they paid the boy’s mother "a limited sum of money" for the narration.
The BBC is seeking additional assurance that no money was paid directly or indirectly to Hamas.
The lad’s mother is married to a Hamas big turban. What odds she said nothing to her husband?
Announcing Friday’s meeting with BBC Chair Samir Shah, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "I want assurances that no stone will be left unturned." She was referring to a BBC pledge to undertake a full fact-finding review and refer the issue to its editorial complaints unit.
The broadcaster apologized for the documentary late on Thursday, saying the processes and execution around its production fell short of its expectations.
It said the production company and the BBC had made unacceptable errors and that the BBC took full responsibility for the mistakes and their impact on the corporation’s reputation.
The production company could not immediately be reached for comment. Hamas did not immediately comment.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said it was "utterly disgraceful" that the BBC had decided to air a "Hamas propaganda film" in the week that the bodies of hostage Shiri Bibas and her two sons were returned from Gaza. She called for a thorough investigation.
The revelations sparked an angry response and led to protests outside the BBC’s London headquarters.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said: "The BBC’s bias and lack of accountability have led it to a new low, where it is a mouthpiece for murderous Moslems and their supporters."
The Telegraph also reported Tuesday that the Arabic words for "Jew" and "Jews" were translated to "Israelis" or "Israeli forces," and all mentions of "Jihad" were translated to "battle" or "resistance."
The work of the producer or of the BBC? It matters who dunnit….
The broadcaster is now working to determine whether any disciplinary action is warranted "in relation to shortcomings in the making of this program."
"This will include issues around the use of language, translation and continuity that have also been raised with the BBC," it said.
The BBC’s decision to remove the documentary from its catch-up service also led to criticism, with more than 500 TV and film workers — including former England soccer player Gary Lineker — sending an open letter calling the move "politically-motivated censorship."
"This film is an essential piece of journalism, offering an all-too-rare perspective on the lived experiences of Paleostinian children living in unimaginable circumstances, which amplifies voices so often silenced," said the letter.
The documentary was initially broadcast on February 17.
[IsraelTimes] The US State Department has told Congress that it plans to sell nearly $3 billion in weapons to Israel, including thousands of bombs and $295 million worth of armored bulldozers.
According to the State Department, three separate sales were sent to Congress for approval.
One is for $2.04 billion for 35,529 MK 84 or BLU-117 heavy bombs and 4,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads. Deliveries are expected next year.
The second is $675.7 million for 201 MK 83 1,000-pound bombs, 4,799 BLU-110A/B 1,000-pound bombs, and 5,000 JDAM guidance kits. Deliveries are expected in 2028.
The third sale, estimated at $295 million, includes D9 Caterpillar bulldozers and related equipment. The deliveries of the bulldozers, which the Israeli military uses, are expected to begin in 2027.
In November it was reported that the former US administration was holding up the sale of the D9 bulldozers over the use of the machinery to destroy homes in the Gaza Strip, which the IDF says are used by Hamas.
The proposed sales “will improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serve as a deterrent to regional threats,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency says in a statement.
[NYPOST] A narco mob kingpin, known as the US Drug Enforcement Administration's top target for his role in the killing of a DEA agent, was moved from Mexico to New York City on Thursday and is expected to face a judge on Friday, according to officials and sources.
Rafael Caro Quintero was among 29 cartel members the Mexican government released into US custody as President Trump has threatened to slap imports from Mexico with a 25% tariff on March 4 if the country doesn't do more to crackdown on illegal immigration drug smuggling.
''Obviously, this is one of the biggest days in decades for DEA agents,'' Ray Donovan, the former head of New York's DEA office, told The Post. ''This is very near and dear to every DEA agent.''
DEA Acting Administrator Derek Maltz said there is ''one name'' in the group of 29 cartel members ''that stands above the rest for the men and women'' of his agency — Quintero.
Quintero, 72, arrived in the Big Apple Thursday night and will likely be moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Donovan said. "Welcome to America. Bitch"
The cartel kingpin is expected to arraigned on Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court on drug-trafficking charges, sources said.
Quintero was convicted in Mexico for being the criminal mastermind of the 1985 killing of US DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena and for the last two years has been sitting in a Guadalajara prison, sources said.
He was sent to New York while some of the other cartel members were flown to other US cities.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2025 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
He was sent to New York while some of the other cartel members were flown to other US cities.
[IsraelTimes] US aid cuts have forced the UN children’s agency UNICEF to suspend or scale back many programs in Lebanon, with more than half of children under the age of two experiencing severe food poverty in the country’s east, an official says.
“We have been forced to suspend or cut back or drastically reduce many of our programs and that includes nutrition programs,” UNICEF’s deputy representative in Lebanon, Ettie Higgins, tells reporters in Geneva via video link from Beirut.
#6
I would call for Soros to step in to make up for the lack of Deep State funding but that’s like discovering that the Circle K pump is empty and rolling up 10 feet to try the next pumping station. USAID appears to be the tank for every sketchy NGO out there.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/01/2025 10:31 Comments ||
Top||
#7
It's a lot more fun when you start thinking in code words, like "Nutritional Programs" = "Combat First Aid Kits".
[IsraelTimes] Eli Sharabi, whose wife and daughters were slain on Oct. 7, says he’s ‘not angry’; he ‘adopted’ Alon Ohel, who was inconsolable ahead of Sharabi’s release; Hamas worsened abuse based on Israeli leaders’ remarks
Recently freed hostage Eli Sharabi has described being chained, beaten and starved by Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... murderous Moslems throughout his 16 months of captivity, with the abuse getting worse when his captors perceived Israel to be worsening the conditions of captured Hamas operatives, in a lengthy TV interview broadcast Thursday.
Sharabi said he was "not angry" while talking about losing his wife and two daughters, whom he only learned upon his release were murdered in the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.
The 53-year-old, who lost 40 percent of his body weight, also recounted close relationships he formed in captivity with now-released Or Levy and Eliya Cohen, with whom he was held for more than a year, and particularly with Alon Ohel, who remains in captivity — as well as a few days he spent with Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino and Almog Sarusi, who were later murdered by their captors.
"You could tell what was happening in the news just by [the captors’] behavior," Sharabi told the network’s "Uvda" program. And so, he cautioned, the responsibility that lies with leaders, in terms of how they express themselves in the media, is very powerful.
"Every irresponsible statement — we’re the first ones to suffer [the consequences]," he continued. "They come to us and tell us, ’They aren’t giving our prisoners food — you won’t eat. They’re beating our prisoners — we’ll beat you. They aren’t letting them shower — you won’t get to shower.'"
Sharabi’s comments echoed ones made earlier this week by another recently released hostage — Eliya Cohen — who said public remarks made by then-national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir boasting of efforts to significantly deteriorate the conditions of Paleostinian prisoners in Israeli jails led Hamas to worsen the treatment of Israeli 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... Over the course of the hour-long interview, which aired Thursday night, Sharabi recounted being held for 52 days in a private home, alongside a Thai hostage. Then, he was taken to a tunnel, he said, where he developed a close relationship with 24-year-old Alon Ohel, with whom he was held alongside two other Israelis in cramped, painful conditions.
"I adopted him from the first minute," Sharabi said of Ohel. "24/7 together. I know everything about him and his family."
Sharabi said the men were able to draw strength from one another. But Ohel took it very hard when he learned that Sharabi and the two others, Or Levy and Eliya Cohen, were being released, the returnee said.
When Sharabi was released with Levy on February 8, Ohel grabbed him and refused to let go until their guard tore him away, he recalled, adding there were "moments of hysteria" and that it took about 15 minutes to calm him down.
"It was a very difficult moment," he said. "He said he was happy for me. I promised him I wouldn’t leave him there. I will fight for him." Cohen was released two weeks later, leaving Ohel alone.
"I can’t imagine that moment," said Sharabi of Cohen’s departure. "I can’t imagine it."
Sharabi said he was giving the in-depth interview for the sake of those still captive, to ensure they come home — particularly Ohel. "We cannot leave anyone behind," he said.
SHARABI LOST 40% OF HIS BODY WEIGHT
Sharabi recalled one day, when a particularly cruel guard whom the hostages called "the garbage" — they’d invented nicknames for their different captors in order to speak about them without being understood — learned that his home had been destroyed by an Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... "As it happened, I slept closest to the threshold, so I was the first one to get it. Kicks, punches, to the ribs," he said, recalling that Ohel managed to shield Sharabi from some of the blows with his body.
Sharabi, who lost over 30 kilograms (66 pounds) in captivity — some 40% of his body weight — and weighed just 44 kg (97 lbs) upon his release, said murderous Moslems held the four hostages in iron chains and sometimes beat or humiliated them, and that they subsisted for months on a single plate of pasta each day.
"We talk about everything. About the loss, about the captivity — about anything we want"
He is the first among the released hostages in the current deal to sit down in front of a camera for an interview.
"If it happens for a day or two, it’s not terrible. But for six months, that’s what we ate, every day."
He said the hunger pains were unbearable and that getting his captors to give them a dried-out date or a quarter of a piece of bread felt like a victory.
"People should really think when they open a fridge at home, it’s everything. It’s everything to open a fridge," he said.
"That’s what you dream of every day. You don’t care about the beatings you get, and they beat you, they’re breaking my ribs and I don’t care, give me another half-pita."
Sharabi described what it was like to receive a pita, saying the four would break it into equal parts, keeping it until 10 p.m. and then eating it bite-by-bite over 10-15 minutes, "so you can get through the night."
RESCUE OPS IN TUNNELS ’IMPOSSIBLE’
Asked if he ever had fantasies of a rescue operation to save him, Sharabi responded that "in the first period, for the first 52 days, when I was in a house, I could have done it myself," explaining that he could have taken his captor’s gun at night and shot him — but determined the odds of making it to safety after doing so as near-zero.
He said he constantly imagined some rescue operation during this period, but that "once you’re in a tunnel, you just pray it won’t happen," explaining: "You know that before they even get to the threshold of the tunnel, you’ll get a bullet in your head. So anyone with thoughts of heroic rescues inside the tunnels — the chance to bring people out of there alive is zero. That’s why people are bound by the legs."
On November 27, 2023, he was first taken into the tunnel network, from which he did not emerge until his release, he said.
MEMORIES OF MURDERED YOUNG HOSTAGES
When he was first taken to the tunnels, he spent three days alongside Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino and Almog Sarusi, who were murdered by their captors in August 2024, while the IDF operated nearby.
"Hersh told us a sentence that stayed with us, and gave us strength, and didn’t allow us to lose hope — I knew him for two days and he gave me a sentence that stayed with me — he said: ’When there’s a why, you can always find the how’."
When the three young hostages were taken elsewhere, Sharabi said, he and his fellow captives were certain they were set for release. "I told them, you’re on your way home. I remember Ori Danino told me: See you in Israel. We had no idea they were moving them to another tunnel."
Sharabi was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri. He said he had no access to the news and only learned after his release that his wife and two daughters were killed in the Hamas-led onslaught.
His brother, Yossi Sharabi, was kidnapped alive and was killed in captivity, likely inadvertently as the result of an airstrike.
Despite the pain, Eli said that he feels lucky to be alive and fortunate for the time he spent with his wife Lianne, and daughters, Noiya and Yahel, who were Israeli-British nationals.
"I’m not angry," he said. "I was lucky I had Lianne for 30 years, I was lucky I had those amazing daughters for years."
KEITH SIEGEL WAS HELD IN TWO TUNNELS, TWO SCHOOLS
Also speaking out has been Israeli-American Keith Siegel, 65, who was released on February 1 after 484 days of captivity.
He attended meetings this week with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, telling each about his time in captivity and urging the release of those still held in Gaza.
"As far as I’m concerned, the story is not over," Siegel told Netanyahu, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, recalling the meeting the freed hostage and his wife and daughter had with the prime minister and his wife.
"Although I returned, it is my and your responsibility to return everyone. Our friends are there and it is difficult for me to return, knowing that they are still there. I know that you are doing a lot and continue to show courage and leadership," Siegel said.
"I am constantly working for the release of the remaining hostages," responded Netanyahu. "I do not intend to give up on anyone."
Speaking to Goldknopf, Siegel recalled being moved from place to place no fewer than 33 times over the course of his almost 15 months in captivity, including between two tunnels and two schools.
On October 7, 2023 — when thousands of Hamas-led murderous Moslems invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, starting the war — Siegel said he was taken from his home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza in his own car, then was transferred to a local vehicle upon crossing the border, and moved to another car again after some time. During this time, his eyes were covered, he said.
"We arrived at a house, and from inside [the house] we went down into a tunnel. They held us in that tunnel for three days. After that, we went out for a period of some two or three weeks, and then they took us down to a tunnel again," he recalled, of his first weeks in captivity.
The second tunnel "was especially deep — they told us 40 meters (44 yards) beneath the ground," he said. "We had to walk 15 steps to arrive at the bathrooms, without any air. It was living with shortness of breath, with pain and with pressure in the chest.
"They left us there alone from about 5 p.m. until the next day at 8 a.m. If something were to happen to us there, there was no one to speak to," recalled Siegel. "The captors "told us: ’If there’s a problem, come to the stairs, call on us to come.'"
"One night, when they were holding me with my wife" — Aviva Siegel, released in November 2023 during a previous hostage-ceasefire deal — "other hostages who were with us didn’t feel well, they needed medicine," he said.
"We went over, we called out to them, but no one came, and we gave up. We went back and only the next morning the murderous Moslems came. Leaving that tunnel was a whole other story. Part of the way we went up makeshift stairs, and for another part we climbed to the exit.
"We got out of the tunnel by a miracle, after the three of us were exhausted and dehydrated. We received very little water and food," he said.
The three-phase ceasefire’s first stage is set to end on Saturday, with 59 hostages — including at least 35 confirmed dead by the military — still in the Strip. The future of the deal is uncertain, and Israeli officials have repeatedly said they are willing to resume fighting, if necessary to remove Hamas from power.
GADI MOZES TO PM: ’EVERY DAY IS CRITICAL’
Gadi Mozes, 80, who was freed on January 30 after 482 days of captivity, also urged action to secure the release of those still in Gaza, in a video statement posted by the Haim Forum of hostage families.
"I returned alive; but everyone who is left there, each additional day, we’re raising the chance that they won’t return or that they’ll die," he said. "I suffered there. I suffered hardships of all kinds, mental and physical abuses."
"I turn to you, Mr. Prime Minister, every day is critical here," Mozes said. He went on to thank Israeli soldiers, both the fallen — whose families he acknowledged and said he wanted to "share in the pain" with — and the maimed, "who also risked their lives to save me and my friends and our entire nation."
Mozes said he was committed to the campaign to secure the release of all those still captive, and also to the rebuilding of Kibbutz Nir Oz.
[IsraelTimes] The Israeli negotiating team is returning from Gaza as a result of Hamas opposing Israel’s proposal to extend the ongoing first phase of the hostage-ceasefire by an additional 42 days, Channel 12 reports.
The Channel 12 report comes soon after it is said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold consultations this evening with senior ministers and defense officials on the subject of the hostage-ceasefire deal. It is rare for the premier to hold such discussions on a Friday evening, the Jewish Sabbath.
An Israeli delegation dispatched to Cairo yesterday for “intensive” talks on the future of the Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas was said to have proposed the first phase extension.
Hamas reportedly opposes the extension and insists on proceeding to the second phase of the deal as originally agreed. The second phase is meant to include steps leading to a permanent end to the war, including a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip.
A diplomatic source said the Israeli delegation was to return from Cairo Friday night.
[IsraelTimes] Palestinian peace activist Samer Sinjilawi pays condolence visits to the families of slain hostages Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz.
“As I gave [former hostage] Yarden [Bibas] and [Lifshitz’s daughter] Sharon my condolences, I struggled to hold back my tears, but when they hugged me I couldn’t stop the tears,” Sinjilawi writes on X.
“Yarden told me how much it meant to him that a Palestinian had come to visit.”
Sinjilawi adds: “I feel it is our duty as Palestinians to share the pain and grief of these families, to say loud and clear that we condemn these murders, and to apologize and ask for forgiveness.”
“I think both Yarden and Sharon needed to hear these words from me. I can only hope I have done something, however small and fleeting, to ease their pain,” he continues.
After spending several years in Israeli prison for violence committed as a teen during the Second Intifada, Sinjilawi has worked to advance reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Over the past year, he has worked to advance a joint plan from former prime minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Authority foreign minister Nasser al-Kidwa for a two-state solution.
[IsraelTimes] Security personnel and Palestinian worshipers in Jerusalem prepare for the holy month amid Israel’s tenuous ceasefire with Hamas and ongoing operations in the West Bank
Every year during Ramadan, 32-year-old Paleostinian journalist Rahma Ali joins thousands of worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the month-long Moslem holiday. But last year, a few months after the October 7, 2023, Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... invasion and amid Israel’s subsequent 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... , Ali was denied entry for the first time.
"They saw that I was from Shuafat and said no. That’s never happened before," she recalls.
A resident of the Shuafat refugee camp on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Ali says that Ramadan last year was a somber affair: "It was very sad because of the war, especially seeing what was happening in Gaza; nobody was celebrating."
On the eve of Ramadan this year, about a month into Israel’s fragile ceasefire with Hamas, Ali says that the holiday will be better.
"Things are quieter now in Jerusalem since the ceasefire started," she says. It’s not like it was even a few months ago. It feels like more businesses have reopened and just a lot more normal."
In recent years, Ramadan has often served as a flashpoint for existing tensions between Israelis and Paleostinians, sometimes leading to violent mostly peaceful escalations, most notably in 2021 during the previous Israel-Hamas war, Operation Guardian of the Walls. With Ramadan likely to begin at sundown on Friday, there is great worry regarding the potential for violence.
Nivine, a Paleostinian peace activist from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat (not to be confused with the Shuafat camp), is very concerned about the rising tensions.
"Last year there were still feelings of hope, but not this year. The economic situation is so bad, the war in the West Bank is still going on, and we have fatigue from all of the deaths we’ve seen in Gaza. There’s anger mixed with a sense of helplessness," says Nivine, who requested that her last name be withheld for her security.
With Israel’s ongoing operation in the West Bank, rising settler violence, the economic crisis, and lack of faith in domestic and international leadership for a long-term solution, there is ample tinder to ignite a wider escalation.
If that weren’t enough, US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... is expected to soon announce his support for full or partial annexation of the West Bank — an event that Dr. Michael Milshtein, a senior analyst at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center and former head of the Department of Paleostinian Affairs for the Israeli Military Intelligence (AMAN), warns will "add more fuel to the broader crisis."
"I’m really afraid that we are reaching a point of implosion. If something dramatic takes place at the Temple Mount, it could trigger it," Milshtein says.
Sensitivities regarding the Temple Mount, known as the Haram al-Sharif to Moslems, and specifically the al-Aqsa Mosque, have historically served as a trigger for violence. Amid concerns over terror threats, Channel 12 reported that Israeli security services including the Shin Bet, Israel Police and the Defense Ministry have recommended limiting access to the Temple Mount during Ramadan to men over the age of 55, women over 50, and children under 12, and that a maximum of 10,000 people be admitted for Friday prayers. The government has yet to approve these measures.
In response, Hamas issued a Telegram statement urging Paleostinian Moslems in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as Arab Israelis, to flock to the Temple Mount and resist Israeli attempts to "desecrate and control" the site "by any means."
The Israel Police said via their spokesperson’s unit that they are expecting thousands of worshipers and visitors to Jerusalem to visit the Old City, the Temple Mount and other holy sites. They would not comment on planned restrictions on worshipers or concerns about violence but said that "additional reinforcements" would be deployed across the Old City, the Temple Mount, surrounding neighborhoods and routes leading to worship sites, with "special attention... to areas connecting East and West Jerusalem and paths taken by worshippers." Police deployments will be further bolstered on Fridays, particularly during the midday prayer.
Nivine says that the reportedly planned restrictions on worshipers and the added police presence at al-Aqsa are akin to "pouring oil over a fire."
"Every single time there is violence across the city, it usually goes back to the al-Aqsa Mosque. You’re asking for trouble by limiting the numbers," she says. "People are very angry, so any small trigger could have a larger effect."
Prof. Mustafa Abu Sway, a member of the Islamic Waqf council that oversees the administration of Islamic holy sites including the al-Aqsa Mosque, says that planned restrictions on worshipers constitute "a direct violation of the freedom of worship" as well as of the unwritten status quo agreement on the administration of shared religious sites.
The Jordanian-administered Waqf is responsible for managing Islamic holy sites in the city, most notably the Haram al-Sharif, where the al-Aqsa Mosque sits. When Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War, the government decided to maintain the Jordanian Waqf’s control over Moslem holy sites.
"The Waqf is responsible for administering inside of the [Al-Aqsa] mosque and Israel is responsible for outside of it," says Abu Sway, who also serves as the Dean of the College of Islamic Studies at al-Quds University and Chair for the Study of Imam Ghazali’s Work at the al-Aqsa Mosque.
But Abu Sway claims that Israel has violated this agreement over the years, including by restricting the number of worshipers, especially — but not exclusively — during Ramadan.
"Youngsters are prevented from accessing al-Aqsa regularly, even though there hasn’t been an incident [of violence] for 16 months," says Abu Sway.
Despite the proposed restrictions, Abu Sway says that the Waqf’s preparations will continue as usual. These include providing medical teams for worshipers, prepping facilities, and study sessions that Abu Sway will help lead for the "thousands" of worshipers he expects to make their way to al-Aqsa over Ramadan.
DUELING NARRATIVES OF SAFETY AND SECURITY
Ramadan is a stark reminder of the vast gulf in perceptions between Israelis and Paleostinians. For Paleostinian Moslems, it is an extremely sacred month. "All we want is to be left to pray and fast," says Nivine. For many Israelis, however, Ramadan is often synonymous with violence and heightened security threats. For both peoples, it has become a time of extreme tension and fear, exacerbated by war and unrest.
"Ramadan is always a sensitive period of time," says Brig. General (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, and former director-general of the Strategic Affairs Ministry.
"Especially now, with the ceasefire, which many Paleostinians see as a Hamas victory due to the release of so many prisoners, we have to be prepared for an escalation," Kuperwasser says.
Milshtein echoes this concern: "This will be one of the tensest Ramadans in years. I’m extremely concerned about the situation in Jerusalem and the West Bank."
But for Abu Sway, it is the added police presence and potential restrictions on worshipers that are the impetus for, rather than a safeguard against, violence.
"I don’t accept the narrative that al-Aqsa is inherently a hostile place or that Ramadan is a period of violence," he says. "We used to host 400,000-500,000 people on Fridays during Ramadan and there were practically no restrictions or a single incident."
For Paleostinians, Jerusalem itself is central to fueling wider conflict. "Jerusalem triggers conflict in the West Bank," says Nivine, "not the other way around."
But for Israeli security analysts, violence in the West Bank is just as likely to trigger violence in Jerusalem, especially this year amid Israel’s ongoing offensive in the West Bank, known as Operation Iron Wall.
The operation was launched amid a wave of Paleostinian terror attacks inside Israel and the West Bank in which 48 people have been killed. Another eight members of security forces have been killed in festivities with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Launched on January 21, the operation has included the recent deployment of tanks to the area for the first time in over 20 years. The army says it has killed more than 60 Paleostinian terror operatives and arrested over 210 suspects. Meanwhile,
...back at the argument, Livia grabbed for Jane's hair to make her point. Jane elbowed her in the face in rebuttal... Defense Minister Israel Katz said that 40,000 Paleostinians had been "evacuated" from West Bank refugee camps since the start of the operation. The military has also admitted to unintended civilian casualties during the operation, at least two of which are under investigation.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have arrested around 6,000 Paleostinians in the West Bank, including more than 2,350 linked to Hamas. The Paleostinian Authority Health Ministry reports that over 900 Paleostinians in the West Bank have been killed during this period. The military says that the vast majority of these casualties were combatants killed in firefights, rioters clashing with troops, or snuffies carrying out attacks.
Kuperwasser notes that while the operation has seen a high number of arrests made and weapons confiscated, it hasn’t succeeded in halting terror attacks coming from the West Bank.
"The attack on the buses took place just last week, so in that sense [the operation] hasn’t been effective," he says, referencing the blowing up of three buses in Bat Yam and Holon and the attempted bombings of at least one more. Nobody was injured. "The attack was carried out by snuffies from Tulkarem, where the army has been very active."
Beyond these heightened security concerns, both Paleostinians and Israelis are quick to point out that the Paleostinian economic crisis is just as significant in triggering unrest. Unemployment in the West Bank has soared from 12 percent before the war to over 30%, with around 300,000 people losing jobs — more than half of whom worked in Israel. Today, approximately 20,000-25,000 Paleostinians work in Israel, mostly in the settlements, according to Milshtein.
"It is a long-held belief among the security establishment that higher employment, including through granting more permits to Paleostinians to work in Israel, lowers the potential for violence," says Milshtein, adding that security officials have urged Israel to grant more permits ahead of Ramadan. "But right now the government is in no mood to make gestures towards the Paleostinians."
Nivine says that much of this discourse reflects the widespread absence, and great need, for introspection.
"Sometimes it’s good to hold up a mirror to ourselves and think about what we are doing to trigger the other side," she says.
However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... this is a challenge due to the massive alienation felt between Paleostinians and Israelis in the wake of October 7.
"Before, I felt like things were moving in a positive direction in Jerusalem, that we were normalizing having a shared city. People understood that with a lack of political horizons, we needed to find a way to share," Nivine says. "That’s all been broken in the last 16 months."
#4
Two moonlit Mohammedan bruisers
Muse:
"Truly, our tomes are all snoozers."
"And although, by Allah,
We head-shot Malala,
It sometimes feels hollow
To slavishly follow That fellow."
"So, are we... the losers, even?"
"Exit stage left!"
[IsraelTimes] Lebanon’s Beirut airport authorities seize $2.5 million in cash destined for terror group Hezbollah, concealed with a man arriving from Turkey, three sources say.
One of the sources says it is the first time such a seizure has been made. There is no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
[NY Post] A Washington-based Muslim nonprofit, which is one of the largest operating across the US, agreed this week to settle a case brought by a former board member and employee rather than open its books to reveal sources of foreign funding, The Post has learned.
Evidence in past court proceedings has shown links between The Council on American-Islamic Relations Foundation Inc. and both Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Links??? CAIR is the original branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in America, while Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood in the Palestinian Territories.
CAIR Inc. settled with Lori Saroya Thursday, months after US Magistrate Judge David Schultz ruled any assets owned by the group are all within the "scope of permissible discovery" as part of the former Minnesota chapter leader’s lawsuit against the controversial Muslim rights group.
Saroya filed her federal defamation complaint against CAIR last year after the group dropped a lawsuit against her, which accused her of embarking on a "defamation campaign" against the organization.
CALL FOR FEDERAL PROBE
Lawmakers are demanding a federal investigation into the nonprofit,
Yes, please. Guys, the Rantburg archives date back to 9/11/2001 and have references to articles and events even older. Y’all are welcome to search using all related key words, if that will get you up and running more quickly. Lots, for instance, on the Holy Land Foundation, among a great many others…
which took in more than $5.3 million in contributions and grants in 2022, the last year for which public filings are available.
Grants? Any connections to USAID?
"CAIR’s leadership has a long history of spewing vile antisemitism and anti-Zionist rhetoric, including openly praising the Hamas terrorists that brutally attacked Israel, murdering, raping, and kidnapping more than 1,200 people on October. 7 [2023]," said Josh Gottheimer, a Democratic Congressman from New Jersey.
Referring to court proceedings which showed the links, he added: “The allegations that CAIR receives funding from Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, if true, are deeply concerning and require an immediate investigation.”
From? Maybe. To, however, most definitely.
CAIR, which was founded in 1993, was linked to Hamas in 2008 when US authorities successfully prosecuted five leaders at the Holy Land Foundation For Relief and Development, a now-defunct Texas-based nonprofit, for giving more than $12 million from the US to the terror group.
Once the HLF was compromised, a new group with no obvious ties to Hamas had to become the funnel for cash; US Authorities concluded that was CAIR during its prosecution of the earlier group, as cited in a report by The Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
Evidence in the trial against HLF showed that Ghassan Elashi, the treasurer of the charity, became the founding board member of CAIR’s Texas chapter and that HLF transferred funds to CAIR for “consulting services.”
The prosecution also presented evidence that Hamas provided “seed money” for CAIR, according to a congressional hearing.
UNDISCLOSED AMOUNT
“The history is very clear,” said Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Program on Extremism at GWU.
“CAIR was created by this core group of Hamas leaders in the US in the early 1990s. There are FBI wiretaps of a workshop given by the group’s leaders on how to deal with the media and create a veneer of respectability and use the language of civil rights.”
CAIR is the now the largest Muslim civil rights group in the country, and includes 33 chapters, including two in California.
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.
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
[IsraelTimes] The US State Department has told Congress that it plans to sell nearly $3 billion in weapons to Israel, including thousands of bombs and $295 million worth of armored bulldozers.
[NYPOST] A 
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
[NY Post] A Washington-based Muslim nonprofit, which is one of the largest operating across the US, agreed this week to settle a case brought by a former board member and employee rather than open its books to reveal sources of foreign funding, The Post has learned. 
