[GEO.TV] President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... has announced the US will stop bombing the Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... s in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... , saying that the Iran-aligned group had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.
After Trump made the announcement, Oman said it had mediated a ceasefire deal between the Houthis and the US, marking a major shift in the Iran-aligned group's policy since the start of Israel's 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... in October 2023.
Under the agreement, neither the US nor the Houthis would target the other, including US vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, Oman said in a statement.
That’s nice. Does this mean the US Navy will no longer shoot down missiles aimed at Israel? What about the Houthis shooting at Israel, not to mention at all the ships passing Yemen that the Houthis claim are Israel-connected but actually aren’t? Or is this to get the US Navy out of the way so that the IDF can be weapons free in the AO? They did so beautifully yesterday… The Times of Israel underlines that point:
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US would stop bombing Yemen’s Houthis after the Iran-backed group had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.
The announcement did not mention the ongoing Houthi attacks on Israel, and a spokesman for the Yemeni rebel group pledged that such strikes would continue. Israeli officials told Hebrew media outlets that Washington did not give Jerusalem advance notice of the announcement, and that Israel was surprised by it.
CNN cited people familiar with the matter as saying Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff had worked with the Omanis over the past week to broker the US-Houthi ceasefire. The sources said the ceasefire was also meant to help build momentum in the Omani-mediated Iran nuclear talks, which Witkoff has also been leading on behalf of the Trump administration.
“They said please don’t bomb us any more and we’re not going to attack your ships,” said Trump. “And I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately.”
Trump, who is set to visit the Middle East this month, also said he had a “very, very, very big announcement to make… like as big as it gets… and it’s really positive.”
The president said the announcement could come Thursday, Friday or Monday, before he departs for Saudi Arabia. He declined to say what the announcement would be about.
Trump’s administration has been negotiating trade deals with a number of countries, and has been reported to be planning a $100-billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Speaking to Time magazine last month, Trump also predicted Saudi-Israel normalization could come “very quickly.”
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[IsraelTimes] Musicians Jonny Greenwood and Dudu Tassa, along with their ensemble, post a lengthy response on social media to a decision to cancel their June 23 and June 25 shows in Bristol and London.
The Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement had claimed the cancellations as a victory, while Greenwood and Tassa say that they canceled the shows due to credible threats against their performance venues and audiences.
The musicians say that the organizers of the BDS campaign who claim that stopping the concerts isn’t censorship “can’t have it both ways.”
“Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship and silencing,” write Tassa and Greenwood. “Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves.”
The duo point out that their latest tour features singers from Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq, who have ancestral and musical roots from across the Middle East, including Yemen and Turkey, and a shared love of Arabic song.
Greenwood, who is married to Israeli artist Sharona Katan, has often partnered with Tassa, along with artists throughout the Middle East.
Tassa and Greenwood add that art exists above and beyond politics, and art that seeks to establish a common identity of musicians across borders should be encouraged, not decried.
“This project has always had a difficult, narrow channel to navigate,” they write. “We find ourselves in the odd position of being condemned by both ends of the political spectrum.”
The artists also refer to Irish hip-hop band Kneecap, which received support from fellow artists amid an ongoing police investigation. Some of the band’s shows were canceled following provocative statements made by band members that supported the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups and called for the murder of Conservative Party lawmakers.
“We have no judgement to pass on Kneecap but note how sad it is that those supporting their freedom of expression are the same ones most determined to restrict ours,” they write.
“We agree completely with people who ask: ‘how can this be more important than what’s happening in Gaza and Israel?’ They’re right — it isn’t. How could it be? What, in anyone’s upcoming cultural life, is?” write Greenwood and Tassa.
They express admiration for the performers in the band, particularly the Arab musicians and singers, for showing “amazing bravery and conviction in contributing to their first record and touring with them.”
[FoxNews] State Department urging Americans to reconsider travel to Central American country because of high levels of crime
Americans in Honduras were being warned about a potential mass shooting on Tuesday and on May 16 at several locations in the Central American nation's capital, Tegucigalpa.
The U.S. Embassy issued a security alert on Tuesday, saying it had received information about a mass shooting threat for Tuesday and next week.
"The U.S. Embassy in Honduras has received information of a threat of a mass shooting to take place today, May 6, in Tegucigalpa," the alert states. "The source also threatened such an event on May 16. The three target locations mentioned are the Elliot Dover Christian School in Tegucigalpa, the Centro Civico in Tegucigalpa, and an unnamed mall in Tegucigalpa."
The Elliot Dover Christian School is a bilingual school in the capital and the Centro Civico is a government complex of office towers.
U.S. Embassy personnel were warned to avoid the locations. The embassy said the threat didn't specifically appear to target U.S. citizens.
Honduran authorities are investigating.
U.S. Embassy personnel were warned to avoid the locations. The embassy said the threat didn't specifically appear to target U.S. citizens.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The attack in Makhachkala and other recent armed incidents in Dagestan are only indirectly connected, although they stem from common premises that the authorities have not eliminated over the years of fighting the underground - social injustice and legal problems.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", on May 5 there was an attack on a traffic police unit in Makhachkala. The police stopped a car to check documents and were shot at with machine guns. In the shootout, two police officers were killed, two more security officers and three civilians were wounded, including a woman and a 17-year-old girl. There were two attackers, both were killed, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said, refuting the previously disseminated information about four participants in the attack. Today, the Investigative Committee announced that one of the attackers survived and is in the hospital, and also admitted guilt.
The attack on security forces in Makhachkala was at least the third armed incident in Dagestan in two months. Since May 2022, seven similar incidents have occurred in the republic: two were recorded in 2024, one more in May 2023 and one in May 2022. "Caucasian Knot" maintains an updated chronicle " Dagestan: Chronicle of Terror (1996-2025) ".
The attack in Makhachkala in the context of recent incidents in Dagestan that preceded it was commented on to the "Caucasian Knot" by retired police colonel Amir Kolov, representative of the republic's Public Monitoring Commission Shamil Khadulaev, journalist Milrad Fatullaev and his colleague, who wished to speak on condition of anonymity.
THE MOTIVES FOR THE ATTACK ARE STILL UNCLEAR.
The armed incidents that have occurred in Dagestan since the beginning of the year do not yet allow us to say that some kind of systemic underground movement is being revived in the republic, believes a journalist from the Makhachkala publication, who wished to speak on condition of anonymity.
"The motives of the attackers are unknown, there is no information that they swore allegiance to any movement or that they themselves held extreme views. So far, these events do not appear to be part of some systematic underground work," he emphasized.
He trusts the correction of the Interior Ministry's report that there were not four but two attackers. "This is confirmed by the analysis of video recordings and the chronology of events. The appearance of information about four militants is a consequence of the fact that there was a little confusion associated with the flow of disparate information from unofficial resources, and the official ones were slow in working," the journalist explained.
He added that videos from the scene of the incident showed a rare case - a wounded and unarmed policeman was able to defeat his opponent in hand-to-hand combat. "The video shows that the militant was walking towards him with a large knife and clearly posed a threat," the journalist noted.
The previous armed incident involving law enforcement officers occurred on April 23 in Derbent, where a car driver refused to stop at the request of law enforcement officers, ran over one of them and opened fire, wounding one of the police officers. Law enforcement officers shot the driver. It was later announced that the victim was preparing a terrorist attack on the Ministry of Internal Affairs department together with other residents of the republic, and four suspects were detained.
Milrad Fatullayev also doubts that the various attacks could indicate some kind of revival of a single armed underground. "I think that to some extent this underground continued to exist, it was not completely eradicated. It is no secret that some part was ready and could, under certain conditions, take up arms, which happens before and during holidays. If we talk about whether these crimes are connected, I think not. Even if they have common curators, they are external, and they led these people separately. These were underground sleeper cells that woke up at a certain signal or instruction from their curators," he said.
The journalist agrees that a terrorist attack took place in Derbent. "What happened in Derbent, where a policeman also tried to stop a car and the driver opened fire, and then two or three of his associates were detained, I am sure that it was a terrorist attack. The weapons they had were not intended to resolve any criminal issues. They were traveling with some other political goals and objectives," Fatulaev believes.
LAWYER CALLS FOR LEAVING MILITANTS ALIVE
In order to save the lives of police officers in the future, the Dagestani authorities should move away from the usual methods of counter-terrorism and "try as hard as possible to keep alive" the participants in attacks, believes lawyer and public figure Arsen Magomedov.
"Their murder (neutralization) hides many secrets that could help society better understand this problem and take measures to solve it. After all, without understanding the motives of the criminals, the details of their preparation and other aspects, it is impossible to effectively protect ourselves in the future. If the criminals acted out of religious hatred, then it is necessary to urgently develop a plan of measures to increase the loyalty of the religious community to the police (...) Of course, it is important to exclude the involvement of the police in actions that the religious community perceives as an infringement of their rights," Magomedov wrote on his Telegram channel, noting that there is experience of such measures in foreign practice.
On June 23, 2024, on Trinity Day, which is one of the main Christian holidays, militants attacked synagogues and Orthodox churches in Derbent and Makhachkala. As a result, at least 22 people were killed and 46 were injured. Investigators believe that the group whose members carried out the attacks was created by the son of the head of the Sergokalinsky district, Magomed Omarov. "Caucasian Knot" has prepared reports " The Main Thing About the Participants in the Attacks in Makhachkala and Derbent " and " Attacks on the Church, Synagogues, and Security Forces in Dagestan ".
SOCIAL TENSION REMAINS A PREREQUISITE FOR EXTREMISM
There is an indirect connection between the May 5 attack and the terrorist attack in the summer of 2024, when militants attacked police officers in Makhachkala in almost the same place, believes Shamil Khadulaev.
"After last year's terrorist attack, I knew that we would have more emergencies. Watching what was happening and understanding the trend of where we were going, this was to be expected. After the terrorist attack in June last year, I said that this, unfortunately, will not stop. Wherever you go, there is one continuous problem: corruption, problems with human rights, the gap between the poor majority and the rich, other problems," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
In order to prevent such terrorist attacks, it is important to work in this direction among young people." According to Khadulaev, the "airport case" also played a significant role in increasing public discontent. "These are flaws in the judicial system: we see how trials are conducted, where all the indictments are carbon copies and everyone gets roughly the same sentences, 8-10 years. Even for murder they don't give that much, no matter where the trial takes place. But we understand that this cannot be," he said.
[IsraelTimesj French President Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting with Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Paris on Wednesday, the French presidency says.
First European government to invite him over for tea…
During the meeting, Macron will reaffirm France’s support for the construction of a “free, stable and sovereign Syria that respects all the components of the Syrian society,” the statement says.
That doesn’t sound anything like HTS’s planned caliphate…
The visit, the first for Sharaa to a European country since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, is expected to address several security challenges faced by the new Syrian government, with particular emphasis on the repeated Israeli attacks on Syria’s sovereignty, according to the state-run Syrian news agency SANA.
France has no influence over Israel, but the two can whine at each other, I guess.
Sharaa, in February, received an invitation from Macron to visit France.
[KhaamaPress] The Swiss plan to deport Pashtuns to Afghanistan has sparked widespread criticism, with many calling it discriminatory and unjust.
A recent report by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung has revealed a controversial proposal by Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... ’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) to deport certain Afghan asylum seekers, particularly those of Pashtun ethnicity, back to Afghanistan. The plan suggests that Pashtuns may face less risk upon return due to their ethnic ties with the Taliban ...Arabic for students... , who currently control Afghanistan. This proposal has ignited widespread criticism from human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. activists and social media users, who argue that it discriminates based on ethnicity and violates international refugee laws.
Critics contend that associating all Pashtuns with the Taliban is a flawed and dangerous generalization. Many Pashtuns have been victims of Taliban violence and have fled Afghanistan seeking safety. Activists emphasize that deporting individuals solely based on their ethnic background undermines the principles of non-discrimination enshrined in international human rights conventions.
The SEM’s proposal is based on assessments that suggest improved security and socio-economic conditions in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021. However,
ars longa, vita brevis... many international observers and human rights organizations dispute these assessments, citing ongoing human rights abuses and economic instability in the country. They argue that returning asylum seekers to such conditions could expose them to significant harm.
The Afghan community in Switzerland, along with various human rights groups, has called on the Swiss government to reconsider the deportation plan. They urge authorities to assess asylum applications on an individual basis, considering the specific risks each person may face upon return, rather than making decisions based on broad ethnic categorizations.
In response to the backlash, Swiss officials have stated that deportations would only occur under "particularly favorable" conditions and in individual cases. They maintain that the overall policy remains to avoid deportations to Afghanistan due to the general security situation. However,
ars longa, vita brevis... the controversy highlights the challenges governments face in balancing immigration control with human rights obligations.
[Rudaw] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... ’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) expects the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to dissolve itself and lay down arms within days, the party’s spokesperson said on Monday.
Speaking to journalists in Ankara, Omer Celik said they closely follow the developments regarding the peace talks between the state and the PKK, adding that "We expect the process of the terrorist organization dissolving itself and laying down arms to materialize within days."
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[GEO.TV] Distancing himself from the 'enemies of the state', Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur stressed on Tuesday that neither he nor Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) founder Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... ever ruled out talks with the establishment.
"Imran Khan has always talked about negotiations," the CM said while addressing a seminar, adding that no talks whatsoever were currently underway but hinted it may take time before the next round of parleys.
These remarks contrast with PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan's statement last month that the placed in durance vile Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! party founder had not authorised any leader to engage in talks with the establishment.
Gohar said this after PTI leader Azam Swati claimed receiving Khan's go-ahead to contact the establishment to resolve political issues for bringing political stability to the country, indicating the party is not on the same page.
In another damage-control bid in April, party mouthpiece Sheikh Waqas Akram clarified that ex-PM Khan had never closed the door on negotiations, adding that talks could only be held in the national interest and must cover core issues, including the supremacy of law and the Constitution.
[IsraelTimes] Malta’s government says it will carry out repairs in international waters on a humanitarian aid ship which was reportedly bombed by two drones early on Friday.
The “Conscience” is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international NGO which says it wants to use the ship to break the siege of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.
The drone attack happened as the ship waited to board an international group of activists just outside Malta’s waters, causing a loss of power and communications, Freedom Flotilla said on Friday.
It said Israel, which has blockaded Gaza in its war against Palestinian Hamas terrorists, was to blame for the incident. Israel did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The Malta government says a surveyor had inspected the vessel and found it needed minor repairs to sail to its next destination.
“The ship’s hull and engine room were found in good or satisfactory condition and free from water ingress. Most of the important equipment on the vessel, such as the two main engines, the two generators, the bow thrust and the fire extinguishers were operational.”
The survey found only food and drink for crew members for about 30 days, the government says. “The captain indicated that a limited part of the food and drink supplies were for humanitarian purposes.”
Fuel storage of around 32 tons was also found.
“The government will be carrying out repairs which require immediate attention so that the vessel sails to its next destination,” the government says.
#6
I was considering, since it appears to be superficial damage, it was self inflicted to gin up a story.
But Skid's comment and this tidbit:
The drone attack happened as the ship waited to board an international group of activists just outside Malta’s waters, causing a loss of power and communications, Freedom Flotilla said on Friday.
I wonder if the story may not have been what is on board, but who.
[NAHARNET] United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... Special Coordinator for Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert has commenced an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... , her office said on Tuesday.
The trip is part of the Special Coordinator's ''ongoing consultations with regional and international stakeholders which focus, among other issues, on opportunities for the international community to support Lebanon in its efforts to advance the centrality and role of the State and to implement United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 (2006),'' the office added in a statement.
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05/07/2025 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] US Office of Palestinian Affairs will be merged fully back into US Embassy in Jerusalem, effectively downgrading ties with Palestinians after brief boost during Biden administration
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... decided to fully merge the US Office of Paleostinian Affairs (OPA) back into the US Embassy in Jerusalem, the State Department announced on Tuesday.
The OPA was established in 2022 by then-president Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Joe's wife and daughter weren't killed by a drunk driver. He didn't graduate with three or even two degrees, wasn't in the top half of his law class, and his daddy didn't come home from a hard day's work in the mines and play football with the guys. The NAACP hasn't endorsed him every time he's run.... as something of a consolation for not reopening the US Consulate in Jerusalem, which served as Washington’s de facto mission to the Paleostinians for decades.
The consulate was shuttered by the Trump administration in 2019, and its staff was merged into the US Embassy in Jerusalem where they reported directly to the US ambassador.
The Biden administration wanted to reopen the consulate two years later but needed Israeli approval, which it was unable to secure.
Instead, Biden sufficed with establishing the OPA, which remained within the embassy, but an independent reporting channel was re-established so that its diplomats could send cables directly to Washington.
Supporters of OPA said the Paleostinian viewpoint was often marginalized by the Israeli one when cables filtered through the US ambassador. Opponents argued that the separate systems led to a lack of unity in US messaging back to Washington.
The merger "will restore the first Trump term framework of a unified US diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that reports to the US Ambassador to Israel [Mike] Huckabee, [who] will take the steps necessary to implement the merger over the coming weeks," said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce during a briefing.
"The United States remains committed to its historic relationship with Israel, bolstering Israel’s security and securing peace to create a better life for the entire region," Bruce said, making no mention of the US relationship with the Paleostinians, which appeared to be further downgraded by the merger.
US President Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons... ’s administration has had a very minimal relationship with the Paleostinian Authority thus far. Trump held a phone call with PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> shortly after he was elected in November, but the two have spoken since. Rubio visited the region in February, but did not make a stop in the West Bank.
The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported that Huckabee has recently told staff at the embassy that he wants to meet with senior PA officials in Ramallah. It is unclear whether Paleostinian officials will agree to meet the new US ambassador, who is a major proponent of Israel’s settlement movement. When the US closed its consulate in Jerusalem during Trump’s first term, PA officials refused to meet with diplomats from the then-recently-downgraded Paleostinian Affairs Bureau.
Last week, The Times of Israel reported that the State Department is planning to eliminate the office of the US Security Coordinator (USSC) in Jerusalem, which helps bolster security coordination between Israel and the PA.
The cut is part of a broader reorganization of the State Department that Rubio is advancing, which will see the shuttering of dozens of offices around the globe, the sources said.
A congressional aide speaking to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity warned that the move could have destabilizing implications for the West Bank, as the USSC post has played a critical role in bolstering the PA security forces.
The Trump administration did welcome Abbas’s February decision to reform the PA’s controversial welfare system that includes payments to the families of Death Eaters and slain attackers. However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... Washington has sharpened its rhetoric as the reform has taken time to implement. Last month, though, the PA invited US officials to come to Ramallah to certify that the new welfare system is in place so that the Authority can come into compliance with congressional legislation that bars US aid that directly benefits the PA over its so-called pay-to-slay scheme.
In Trump’s first term, the US closed the Paleostinians’ diplomatic mission in Washington and cut aid to the Paleostinians. Abbas severed contact with Washington after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
[IsraelTimes] Ramallah-based think tank finds majorities in Gaza and West Bank oppose Hamas disarmament, unconvinced IDF will withdraw if Israel’s demands met
Almost half of Gazooks may be willing to apply to Israel to help them leave to other countries, according to a survey released Tuesday that also showed that support for anti-Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... protests is much higher in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip than in the West Bank.
The poll also showed that for the first time since the Gaza war was sparked by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, more Gazooks thought Israel rather than Hamas would emerge victorious, though a plurality thought the war would end in a stalemate. Gazooks were also more likely to support concessions from Hamas, but a majority still thought these would not make Israel withdraw from the Strip.
The survey by the Paleostinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), which is based in Ramallah and funded by Western donors, was based on polling of people across the Gaza Strip and West Bank on May 1-4, some six weeks after Israel resumed hostilities in Gaza.
The survey found that 49 percent of respondents would be willing to apply to Israel to help them emigrate via Israeli ports and airports, versus 50% who said they would not be willing to do so.
Israeli ministers have made little secret of their wish to see a large part of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents moved out of the enclave, in line with the plan announced by US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... in February to take control of the Strip and rebuild it as a coastal resort. Asked about Trump’s plan, 56% of Gazooks said they would be unwilling to emigrate after the war, and 43% said they would.
Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble in the war sparked on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led holy warriors stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages. However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... many Gazooks believe leaving would mean surrendering their home, and Israel has made little headway persuading other countries to accept them.
Asked if Hamas’s decision to launch the onslaught had been a correct one, 37% of Gazooks said yes, 58% said no, and 5% said they didn’t know. In the West Bank, 59% of respondents said yes, 29% said no, and 13% said they didn’t know. In total, 50% of respondents said yes, 40% said no and 10% said they didn’t know. Paleostinian support for the onslaught was at its lowest in both territories since the start of the war.
The overwhelming majority of respondents, 87%, denied that Hamas had committed "the atrocities seen in the videos shown by international media," such as murdering women and kiddies in their homes, PCPSR said, adding that just 9% believed Hamas had committed atrocities. The firm did not provide a breakdown between Gaza and the West Bank for the question.
A majority of Paleostinians, 56%, said they expected that Israel and Hamas would reach a ceasefire-hostage release deal in the coming days, as opposed to 41% who did not expect an agreement soon. The majority that expects a deal soon included 65% of West Bank respondents and 42% of Gazook respondents, PCPSR said. The firm did not say if the latter constituted a plurality of respondents in Gaza.
Israel announced on Monday that it would expand operations in Gaza and begin seizing territory there until Hamas is defeated and the remaining 59 hostages are released.
However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... 69% of Gazook respondents and 88% of West Bank respondents said they believe the Gaza war will not end if Hamas disarms. Sixty percent of Gazook and 82% of West Bank respondents also disagreed that the war would end if Hamas releases the hostages.
PCPSR speculated that those results were the reason "why the overwhelming majority is opposed to a Hamas disarmament or the departure of its military leadership from the Gaza Strip." According to the polling firm, 85% of respondents in the West Bank, and 64% in Gaza, were opposed to the disarmament of Hamas; overall, just 18% of Paleostinians supported it, including 33% of respondents in Gaza and 9% in the West Bank.
Seventy-four percent of West Bank respondents also said they were opposed to the expulsion of Hamas leaders as a condition to ending the Gaza war, while 20% said they supported the move. In Gaza, the results were close, with 51% saying they support expulsion as a condition for a ceasefire, and 47% saying they oppose it.
Just 23% of Gazooks think Hamas will win the war with Israel — the lowest figure since the start of the war. It was also the first time the figure was lower than the number of Gazooks who thought Israel would emerge victorious, which stood at 29%. Forty percent of Gazooks thought neither Israel nor Hamas would win.
The PCPSR survey also found that 48% of Paleostinians in Gaza supported the series of anti-Hamas demonstrations that began in various places around the enclave in March. The figure was just 14% in the West Bank, whose Paleostinian Authority is dominated by Hamas’s secularist rival Fatah.
At the same time, 54% of Gazooks also thought the protests, which Hamas said were set up by Israeli intelligence services, were steered by outside hands. Just 20% said they expressed the real opinion of the population.
The protests in Gaza were a rare public show of opposition to Hamas, which has ruled the Strip since 2007. The terror group has reportedly executed at least one man for taking part in the protests.
Israel has previously published what it said were documents seized in Gaza that showed Hamas had inflated its support rates in surveys undertaken by PCPSR. Prominent Paleostinian pollster Khalil Shikaki, who runs PCPSR, told The Times of Israel at the time that it was "highly unlikely" that the terror group had duped the think tank.
The Strip has also grown increasingly short on food after Israel cut off the flow of aid to Gaza on March 2. The aid halt began hours after the Gaza ceasefire-hostage release deal’s first phase expired amid Israel’s refusal to negotiate the second, which would have required a full IDF withdrawal from the Strip. Israel accuses Hamas of hoarding the aid.
According to PCPSR, 53% of Gazooks said they had enough food for a day or two, while 48% said they did not even have that much. Seven months ago, by contrast, 69% said they had enough food for a day or two, the polling firm said.
Israel, which renewed hostilities in Gaza on March 18, on Monday announced it would expand operations in Gaza and begin seizing areas of the Strip until Hamas is defeated and the remaining 59 captives are released. An Israeli official said the expansion would also see Israel renew the flow of aid to the Strip under a new mechanism.
Gaza’s Hamas-led health ministry says more than 52,000 Gazooks have been killed since the terror group invaded Israel. The figure, which cannot be independently verified, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 fighters in Gaza as of January and another 1,600 holy warriors inside Israel during the Hamas onslaught.
According to PCPSR, 52% of Gazooks said they had lost one or more family members during the current war.
The think tank said the survey’s sample was 1,270 with a margin of error of 3.5%.
[GEO.TV] The senior Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... leader has spoken to Drop Site News about the group's position 18 months into the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war, discussing prospects for a truce, Israeli demands for disarmament, and the future governance of Gaza, reported Al Jazeera.
Key points from the interview:
Hamas rejects any short-term truce that does not include firm commitments to a full Israeli retreat and an end to the war.
The group refuses to disarm, as doing so would leave Paleostinians defenceless against displacement. ''You can't talk about de-weaponising the nation who is under occupation, while they are occupied by the most powerful army in the region,'' said Osama Hamdan. He added that Paleostinians have a legal right to armed resistance.
Hamas will only surrender its weapons if the war ends and an independent Paleostinian state is established. ''If there was a Paleostinian state, those weapons would be handed to the Paleostinian government,'' he said.
The movement is open to a long-term truce — lasting five to seven years — which could help ''build trust'' and bring ''stability''.
After the war, Hamas is prepared to step down in favour of an independent or technocratic authority that prioritises Gaza's interests ahead of general elections.
[IsraelTimes] Terror group official urges international community to pressure Netanyahu to end ‘crimes’ in Strip; France and China pan coming military offensive expected to displace masses
A senior Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... official said Tuesday the terror group was no longer interested in truce talks with Israel and urged the international community to halt Israel’s "hunger war" against 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... His remarks came as La Belle France and China both condemned Israel’s plans for a major offensive in Gaza that would see the displacement of masses of people and the seizure of territory for an unspecified period.
Internationally mediated talks for a ceasefire in the war triggered by the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel have stalled, with both sides digging in on mutually unacceptable terms.
"There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip," former Gaza health minister Basem Naim, the Hamas official, told AFP.
He said the world must pressure the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the "crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings" in Gaza.
The comments by Naim, a Hamas political bureau member who is based in Istanbul, came a day after the Israel Defense Forces said expanded operations in Gaza would include moving "most" of its population out of combat areas and to locations where Hamas is not present.
Nevertheless, 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... , which has helped mediate previous temporary ceasefires during the war, said Tuesday that talks for a fresh truce are ongoing.
Qatar remains in "continuous" contact with all parties, foreign ministry front man Majed al-Ansari said, despite major obstacles to a new accord.
[GEO.TV] Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed that a victory for Israel in Gaza means that the Palestinian territory will be "entirely destroyed" before its inhabitants depart for other countries.
"Gaza will be entirely destroyed, civilians will be sent to... the south to a humanitarian zone without Hamas or terrorism, and from there they will start to leave in great numbers to third countries," the far-right firebrand said at a conference.
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[NAHARNET] Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> will visit Leb ...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... on May 21 to discuss extending Beirut's authority to Paleostinian camps, a Lebanese government official said Tuesday, as Abbas's office confirmed the date.
The visit comes after President Joseph Aoun said late last month authorities were working to "withdraw (unauthorized) heavy and medium weapons from all Lebanese territory", and that he would raise disarmament of the camps with Abbas.
The government official, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media, said Abbas and Lebanese leaders would discuss "extending state authority to all Lebanese territory, including the Paleostinian camps".
By long-standing convention, Lebanon's army stays out of the Paleostinian camps -- where Abbas's Fatah movement, holy warrior group Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... and other gangs are present -- and leaves the factions to handle security.
Hamas claimed attacks on Israel from Lebanon during more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Paleostinian group's Lebanese ally Hezbollah that erupted over the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war.
A November ceasefire largely halted hostilities, but Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanon, mainly targeting Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure but occasionally also Hamas members or other allies.
After unclaimed rocket fire towards Israel from Lebanon on March 22 and 28, Israel responded by bombing south Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs, strongholds of the Iran-backed Hezbollah which denied involvement in the launches.
Lebanon's top security body the Higher Defense Council has warned Hamas against using the country for attacks on Israel.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also said illegal weapons must be handed over and that Hamas and other factions must not "undermine security and national stability".
Since then, Lebanon's army has said that Hamas has handed over three people suspected of involvement in the March rocket launches.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2025 00:00 ||
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[NAHARNET] The country's main political parties have agreed on forming a unified electoral list for Beirut's municipal vote, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.
''A meeting was held yesterday at MP Fouad Makhzoumi's home in the presence of representatives of parties and Beiruti figures, which resulted in an agreement on forming a coalition list in Beirut,'' the daily said.
The list will comprise candidates nominated by Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... , the Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... , the Kataeb Party, al-Ahbash, the Tashnag Party Socialist party representing the Armenian diaspora in Leb. They're Christians, but they try to remain neutral, which means they get shot at without shooting back... and the Hunchak Party, the newspaper added. MP Nabil Bader and the Jamaa Islamiya meanwhile stayed outside the coalition, al-Akhbar said.
''Over the past hours, Bader contacted a number of figures trying to convince them to join a list that he intends to form in the face of the political forces' list, but he is facing difficulty in convincing these figures, who believe that it will be a lost battle,'' the daily added.
The Beirut Madinati civil society coalition, which garnered one third of the votes in 2016, is meanwhile expected to form a third list.
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05/07/2025 00:00 ||
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[NAHARNET] There are U.S. pressures on Israel to withdraw from the five border points and fully implement the ceasefire agreement to enable the Lebanese Army to extend its control over the whole of the South, informed sources said.
This is aimed at allowing President Joseph Aoun to ''move forward in his negotiations with Hezbollah over the issue of restricting arms to the hands of the state,'' the sources told the al-Anbaa news portal of the Progressive Socialist Party.
''U.S. envoy to Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel... Morgan Ortagus is seriously working on finalizing this agreement prior to her return to Lebanon next month after the municipal elections to kickstart negotiations with Israel over the demarcation of the land border,'' the sources added.
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[NAHARNET] The Druze are a prominent religious community of more than a million people spread mainly across Syria, Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... and Israel, who for centuries have sought to preserve a distinct identity.
In Syria, Druze fighters recently clashed with forces loyal to the country's new Islamist rulers, highlighting the struggles they and other minority groups have faced with shifts in regional power dynamics.
"The Druze are a kind of an ultra-tribe which transcends space and geography," said Makram Rabah, assistant professor of history at the American University of Beirut.
Despite being a minority in a majority Sunni Moslem region, the Middle East's Druze have played "a very important role", Rabah said.
Here is a look at the community:
- RELIGION AND CUSTOMS -
The Druze emerged in Egypt in the early 11th century as a branch of the Ismaili sect of Shiite Islam.
They are monotheistic and call themselves "muwahhidun", or unitarians.
The sect is highly secretive and includes mystical elements like reincarnation.
It does not allow new converts and marriage outside the community is strongly discouraged.
A source familiar with Druze rituals, requesting anonymity to discuss matters considered sensitive, said the faith's emergence was influenced by other religious and philosophical teachings, including those of Greek philosopher Plato.
Some Druze religious occasions align with those of other Islamic sects.
Traditional Druze garb is black, with men wearing white caps or turbans and women covering their heads and part of their faces with a flowing white scarf.
- WHERE ARE THEY? -
"The Druze don't really recognize borders," Rabah said.
"You have marriages and you have standing relationships between the Druze across the region," he said, adding that "holy men play a very important role in keeping this relationship alive."
Before Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, the community was estimated at around 700,000 people.
According to "The Druze Faith" by historian Sami Makarem, Druze have been migrating to southern Syria since the 16th century, to an area now known as Jabal al-Druze, meaning Druze Mountain, in Sweida province.
Syria's Druze are now mainly concentrated in their Sweida heartland, as well as nearby Quneitra province, with smaller pockets in the Damascus suburbs, notably Jaramana and Sahnaya, which recently saw sectarian violence.
In Lebanon, an estimated 200,000 Druze are concentrated in the mountainous center as well as in the south near Israel and Syria.
In Israel, some 153,000 Druze are Israeli citizens, living mainly in the north. Unlike other Arab Israelis, Druze serve in the Israeli army.
In the Israeli-annexed Syrian Golan Heights, more than 22,000 Druze hold permanent resident status. Only around 1,600 have become Israeli citizens, while others remain attached to their Syrian identity.
Israel seized much of the Golan from Syria in 1967, annexing the area in 1981 in a move largely unrecognized internationally. The move separated extended families, though Druze in the annexed Golan were often able to cross into Syria to study, attend weddings or sell produce.
[AnNahar] Some Druze from southern Syria also settled in neighboring Jordan, where the community is estimated at 15,000 to 20,000.
Two delegations of Syrian Druze holy men have made pilgrimages to a holy site in Israel this year, even though the two countries are technically at war with each other.
Outside the Middle East, Druze have migrated to regions including the Americas and Australia.
Well-known Druze include prominent human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
- LEADING ROLE -
Despite their minority status, Druze "have filled an important and sometimes a leading role in the political and social life" of the Middle East, according to historian Makarem.
In Syria, Druze Sultan Pasha al-Atrash led a nationalist revolt against the French mandatory power which had established a Druze statelet in southern Syria during the 1920s and 1930s.
In Lebanon, Druze leader Kamal Jumblat played a key role in politics from the 1950s until his 1977 liquidation, and his son Walid is a powerful politician.
Jumblat last month urged Syria's Druze to reject "Israeli interference", after Israel warned the Islamist authorities who ousted president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... against harming the minority.
Druze leaders have declared their loyalty to a united Syria, though some have called for international protection following recent sectarian violence.
Israeli Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif has urged Israel to protect Syria's Druze.
Rabah said there was a Druze "power struggle across three states", adding that he believes Syria's community does not aspire to statehood.
The Druze largely stayed on the sidelines of Syria's war after it erupted in 2011, focusing on defending their heartland.
Most Druze gangs have yet to reach a settlement with the new authorities.
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 Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
...Arabic for 
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
...aka 
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...46th president of the U.S. Joe's wife and daughter weren't killed by a drunk driver. He didn't graduate with three or even two degrees, wasn't in the top half of his law class, and his daddy didn't come home from a hard day's work in the mines and play football with the guys. The NAACP hasn't endorsed him every time he's run....
..always the voice of sweet reason...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
