They can declare all they want, but they're pathetically inept at execution. Houthi missiles have gotten through US Navy and IDF defenses about three times since the whole thing started, their UAVs a few more times than that. As wars go, they’re much better at waking up Israelis in the middle of the night because the warning sirens went off than they are at actually reaching the country, never mind hitting anything other than deserts, seas, and open fields. Some foreign airlines have fled the field, which just mean s more business for the braver ones, and of course the Israeli companies.
[Breitbart] The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen declared a “maritime blockade” of Israel’s Haifa port on Monday – a blockade they presumably intend to enforce with missile and drone attacks on shipping.
“All companies with ships present in or heading to this port are hereby notified that, as of the time of this announcement, the aforementioned port has been included in the list of targets,” said Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree.
Another Houthi spokesman, Ahmed Salah, said that civilian vessels are now “prohibited” from loading or unloading cargo at Haifa, which is Israel’s largest seaport. Ships which defy the order will be considered “military targets” by the Houthis.
“The presence of any vessels heading to the Port of Haifa, or having any indirect connection thereto, will expose your company and its fleet to sanctions,” Salah said.
“In the event that your company is listed on the sanctions list, its fleet will be prohibited from transiting the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Moreover, it will be subject to targeting by the Yemeni Armed Forces wherever reachable,” he said.
Neither Houthi spokesman mentioned whether Israel’s other ports would be included in the “blockade.”
The Houthis have been attacking civilian ships in the Red Sea ever since Hamas launched the Gaza War by attacking Israel on October 7, 2023. The Yemeni insurgents, who drove the legitimate government out of the national capital in 2014 and control much of Yemen’s coastline, have a habit of declaring escalated attacks or “blockades” whenever Israel escalates its military activity in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a new operation in Gaza after Hamas refused to release the remaining hostages it kidnapped on October 7. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Tuesday that Hamas will “pay the price for its refusal” by losing more of its territory and “terror infrastructure.”
“Hamas has one option, and that is to release our hostages. If there is an agreement, the IDF will know how to adjust its activity accordingly,” Zamir said.
The Houthis declared a “blockade” of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in early May, after slipping a lone ballistic missile past Israeli and U.S. defenses and blowing up a grove of trees near the airport. Ben Gurion resumed normal operations soon after the attack, although the threat of more missile strikes has not been taken lightly.
The Houthis threatened to attack Ben Gurion again on Monday, causing some airlines to suspend flights to the airport.
The Houthi declaration of a “naval blockade” against Haifa, and the new threat against Ben Gurion Airport, were probably intended as direct responses to IDF Arabic-language spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee warning Yemeni civilians to avoid three “seaports controlled by the terrorist Houthi regime,” including the major port of Hodeidah, because they could face Israeli military action.
“Due to the terrorist Houthi regime’s use of seaports for its terrorist activities, we urge all those present at these locations to leave and stay away for your own safety. Evacuating these ports will keep you safe,” Adraee said last Wednesday.
The Houthis announced last week they had agreed to “pause” attacks on Red Sea shipping after the U.S. and Israel took action against Houthi piracy. The ostensible “pause” did not exclude the possibility of renewed attacks based on Israeli military action in Gaza.
“Yemen’s position on the Palestinian issue and its support for Gaza will not change. We received requests from the U.S. through the Sultanate of Oman, and what changed was the U.S. position, while our stance remains unchanged,” a Houthi spokesman said last Wednesday.
”How dare Israel defend itself! We will accept nothing less than that they lay down and die while apologizing for bleeding on their murderers.”
[IsraelTimes] Foreign Ministry says rift with fourth largest trading partner ‘will not divert’ Israel’s war plans; EU also reviewing ties with Jerusalem in response to aid shortage
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced Tuesday that the United Kingdom is suspending free trade agreement negotiations with Israel and taking other punitive measures, including the imposition of sanctions on West Bank settlers, in response to Israel’s wartime policies during its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
It’s not the gorgeous fruits so much as Israel’s advanced technology products that the UK will have to learn to do without, becoming ever more a Third World society to match their abject surrender to their Moslem colonists.
The announcement followed comments by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier on Tuesday, saying he was “horrified” by Israel’s expanded ground campaign in Gaza.
No doubt.
“While the UK government remains committed to the existing trade agreement in force, it is not possible to advance discussions on a new, upgraded FTA with a Netanyahu government that is pursuing egregious policies in the West Bank and Gaza,” the British government wrote in a statement.
What vile people. And they’ve surrendered to Brussels, too, completely overturning Brexit.
Speaking to parliament, Lammy accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “planning to drive Gazans from their homes into a corner of the Strip to the south and permit them a fraction of the aid that they need.”
“The Israeli government has a responsibility to intervene and halt these aggressive actions,” Lammy said in a furious speech. “Their consistent failure to act is putting Palestinian communities and the two-state solution in peril.”
The two state plan was over long before Hamas invaded on 10/7. Not that dear Lammy would understand that — his party likes having been invaded.
“Despite the glimmer of hope from January’s ceasefire, the suffering from this conflict has worsened,” Lammy said. “But January showed another path was possible. We urge Netanyahu’s government to choose this path. The world is judging. History will judge them. Blocking aid, expanding the war, dismissing the concerns of your friends and partners. This is indefensible and it must stop.”
Why don’t any of them make any demands on Hamas? They’re the ones who started the war, took hostages, surround themselves with human shields, forbade Gazan civilians from escaping the Strip…
He said Britain would be “reviewing cooperation” with Israel under its so-called 2030 roadmap for UK-Israel relations, and noted: “The Netanyahu government’s actions have made this necessary.”
More for Israel to sell in new markets — there are a bunch of Arab countries that want to benefit from improved relations…
“I say now to the people of Israel: we want, I want, a strong friendship with you based on our shared values, with flourishing ties between our people and societies. We are unwavering in our commitment to your security and to your future, to countering the very real threat from Iran, the scourge of terrorism and the evils of antisemitism,” Lammy stressed.
Such fine sounding lies. Stick a sock in it, Sir Keir — your hypocrisy is sickening.
“But the conduct of the war in Gaza is damaging our relationship with your government.
Under the circumstances, that’s quite a compliment to Israel. Carry on damaging it, Bibi.
And, as the prime minister has said, if Israel pursues this military offensive as it has threatened, failing to ensure the unhindered provision of aid, we will take further actions in response.”
Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer also summoned Israel’s Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in response to “the wholly disproportionate” expansion of military activity in Gaza.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem retorted: “The British Mandate ended exactly 77 years ago. External pressure will not divert Israel from its path in the struggle for its existence and security against enemies seeking its destruction.”
“Even before today’s announcement, the matter had not been advanced at all by the current British government,” said the ministry, adding that the trade agreement “is mutually beneficial” and if, “due to anti-Israel obsession and domestic political considerations, the British government is willing to harm the British economy — that is its decision.”
[IsraelTimes] Israel rejects a European Union decision to review the bloc’s cooperation deal in a bid to pressure Israel over its intensified offensive in Gaza.
“We completely reject the direction taken in the statement, which reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein says in a message on X.
[ZERO] From Portland to Washington, D.C., and across Europe, the far-left extremist movement known as Antifa has unleashed years of orchestrated chaos driven by a radical, anti-capitalist agenda aimed at destabilizing the West. Now, for the first time, explosive undercover footage reveals life inside an illegal Antifa headquarters.
YouTuber The Urban Legend has released 30 minutes of explosive footage captured inside a secret and illegal Antifa headquarters in Manchester, United Kingdom.
The video reveals what appears to be a fully operational base—complete with stockpiles of food, racks of clothing, a sleeping area, and what looks like a makeshift revolutionary workshop for rioters.
They only pretend to be anarchists.
The footage offers a rare and disturbing glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of the revolutionary movement that has fueled unrest across the West.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Two of the most violent drugs gangs in Mexico are feared to have joined forces to form a 'super cartel.'
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the 'Los Chapitos' faction of the Sinaloa Cartel are feared to have put aside their differences and joined forces to create a massive syndicate that many fear will make them deadlier than the sum of their individual parts.
New video footage that has been shared across social media apparently shows dozens of heavily armed members of both cartels kneeling together in the dead of night.
The person holding the camera says as it pans, referring to a nickname for members of the Los Chapitos cartel: 'This is just about to get started. The rumours are true, the alliance between the New Generation Cartel and La Chapiza is confirmed.'
The cameraman also refers to the head of the CJNG Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as as El Mencho, and to one of Joaquín Guzmán Loera's sons who have been identified as leaders of the notorious gangs.
As the video ends, the group of men fired their weapons into the air in celebration.
The apparent merger, if confirmed, would be a massive shift in cartel politics.
Los Chapitos is an offshoot of the Sinaloa Cartel that has long been fighting with other factions in the massive crime syndicate. It has long considered CJNG a mortal enemy.
In 2016, Jesús and Iván Salazar, two sons of the infamous Sinaloa leader Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán Loera, were kidnapped by CJNG operatives from a restaurant in an upscale part of Puerto Vallarta, which lies in CJNG territory.
They were later released without harm.
But it appears that Los Chapitos has put aside its hatred for CJNG.
While the exact date of origin of the video is not currently known, it began circulating across the internet just weeks after the American Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) revealed it was worried that CJNG and Los Chapitos were joining forces.
It said in the memo, released earlier this month, that the move may have come about in response to inter-factional warfare within the Sinaloa Cartel.
The report reads: 'CJNG could capitalize on the conflict between the Los Mayos and Los Chapitos factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, essentially by choosing sides in favour of their former rivals, Los Chapitos, against Los Mayos.'
The DEA said that the consequences of this merger would be catastrophic: 'A strategic alliance between CJNG and Los Chapitos has the potential to expand these groups' territories, resources, firepower, and access to corrupt officials, which could result in a significant disruption to the existing balance of criminal power in Mexico and could serve to increase northbound drug flow and southbound weapons trafficking at the US-Mexico border.'
The reports said in its introduction: 'The Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels (CJNG), together with their procurement, distribution, and financial support networks stretching across Latin America, China, and other key global nodes, remain the dominant threats for the trafficking of these and other drugs into the United States.'
In his introduction to the 2025 DEA report, Acting Administrator Robert Murphy wrote that these groups are 'the primary groups oroducing the illicit synthetic drugs driving US drug poisoning deaths and trafficking these drugs into the United States.'
He wrote: 'The cartels are not only fuelling the drug poisoning deaths in the United States, but also committing egregious acts of violence, threatening the security and stability of our partners across the Western Hemisphere.'
#2
Were they kneeling together in prayer to Santa Muerte and Jesus Malverde? The literally unholy religion among the cartels is a very serious and little recognized factor in maintaining their hold on members and controlling the civilians in their areas of influence.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] French President Emmanuel Macron's political party has announced that it wants to ban minors under 15 from wearing the Muslim headscarf in public.
It comes as his government held a security meeting on Wednesday to discuss the spread of 'political Islamism' in France.
The meeting, which included the head of government and key ministers, addressed a report which sounds the alarm about the Muslim Brotherhood and the rising influence of the Islamist movement - which it said poses 'a threat to national cohesion' in France.
After the meeting, the Elysee Palace said measures will be taken, 'some of which will be announced' while others will remain classified.
The report into the movement, which was founded in Egypt in 1928, was commissioned by the government and prepared by two senior civil servants.
It 'clearly establishes the anti-republican and subversive nature of the Muslim Brotherhood' and 'proposes ways to address this threat', said the Elysee Palace.
It comes as Macron's Renaissance party said it would forbid 'minors under 15 from wearing the veil in public spaces,' phrasing that generally means places outside the home like the street, cafes, parks and stores.
It added the hijab 'seriously undermines gender equality and the protection of children'.
The party, led by former prime minister Gabriel Attal, also wants to introduce a 'criminal offence for coercion against parents who force their underage daughters to wear the veil'.
Renaissance is a minority force in the French parliament and works in a minority government alongside a traditional right-wing party.
Critics see the headscarf worn by some Muslim women as a symbol of creeping Islamisation after deadly jihadist attacks in France, while others say they are just practising their religion and should wear what they want.
Jordan Bardella, leader of France's far-right National Rally (RN), accused Attal of making a 'U-turn' on the issue, sharing a video on his social media from a 2022 debate in which the former prime minister warned against the potential persecution of veiled women under a Marine Le Pen presidency.
During her unsuccessful 2022 presidential campaign, Le Pen had evoked banning the wearing of the hijab by everyone in all public spaces in France.
Under current French legislation, civil servants, teachers and pupils cannot wear any obvious religious symbols such as a Christian cross, Jewish kippa, Sikh turban or Muslim hijab in government buildings, which includes public schools.
The government is also pushing for a new law to ban the headscarf in domestic sports competitions, a move critics of the law argue would be just the latest rule discriminating against visibly Muslim women.
Responding to the news and the new government report, critics have condemned what they call the rise of Islamophobia in France.
'Islamophobia has crossed a line,' hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon said on X.
He accused the Defence Council meeting chaired by Macron of endorsing 'the delusional theories' of Le Pen and France's hardline Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau
France's authorities are eager to prevent any spread of extremist Islamist ideas in a country that has been rocked by a string of deadly jihadist attacks.
Religious radicalisation has become a hot-button issue as the far-right is becoming increasingly popular in France, with the new government report sparking heated reactions.
Le Pen accused the government of inaction, saying on X that she has long proposed measures to 'eradicate Islamist fundamentalism'.
Bardella meanwhile said on France Inter radio: 'If we come to power tomorrow, we will ban the Muslim Brotherhood.'
The report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, pointed to the spread of Islamism 'from the bottom up', adding the phenomenon constituted 'a threat in the short to medium term'.
At the same time, the presidency stressed, 'we are all perfectly aligned in saying that we must not lump all Muslims together'.
'We are fighting against Islamism and its radical excesses.'
The report zeroed in on the role of Muslims of France (Musulmans de France), which it identified as 'the national branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in France.'
[IsraelTimes] For the second time in days, Jordan carried out an evacuation of child cancer patients along with their family members from 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... as it works to gradually fulfill a promise King Abdullah made to US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... Six young patients and 19 family members were evacuated by the Jordan Armed Forces from Gaza, a Jordanian official tells The Times of Israel.
Abdullah announced during a February meeting with Trump that Jordan would take in 2,000 child cancer patients and other sick children from Gaza for treatment in the Hashemite kingdom, as Washington sought to push countries in the region to facilitate the emigration of Paleostinians from the war-torn Strip.
The total number of sick Gazook children taken in by Jordan now stands at 39, after four were evacuated last week with 12 of their family members and 29 were evacuated in March along with 44 family members.
The Jordanian official says Amman seeks to evacuate more children from Gaza, but Israeli authorities have "put up hurdles."
"Jordan wanted to evacuate all the children from Gaza by air, but Israeli authorities didn’t agree," the Jordanian official says, adding that the evacuations took place by land, with patients being driven into Israel and then through the West Bank before reaching Jordan for treatment at the King Hussein Cancer Center.
The official notes that Ammn is also seeking to deliver aid into Gaza and has 100 trucks sitting in Jordan that are ready to enter the Strip, but that Israel has not allowed them in.
While Israel has not guaranteed that those who leave Gaza will be able to return, a group of patients who had received treatment in Jordan were allowed back into the Strip on May 13. However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... before they reentered, Israeli authorities seized their belongings, including money, cellphones, and food, the Jordanian official says.
Brilliant insight that anyone paying the least bit of attention has known for at least a decade. But what can Iran do about it if they do? Israel destroyed their anti-aircraft system last year, and there’s no word Russia sold them a replacement — though if they did, Israel can just destroy it again in a single night’s work.
[IsraelTimes] CNN says it’s unclear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision to attack, though one source says likelihood they will do so ‘has gone up significantly in recent months’
New intelligence obtained by the United States suggests that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... reported on Tuesday, citing multiple US officials familiar with the intelligence.
It was not clear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision and there was disagreement within the US government about whether they would ultimately decide to carry out strikes, CNN added, citing the officials.
The report could not immediately be confirmed. The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond, nor did the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, which was contacted after hours.
One source familiar with the intelligence told CNN the likelihood of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility "has gone up significantly in recent months."
The person added that the chance of a strike would be more likely if the US reached a deal with Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... that did not remove all of the country’s uranium, CNN added.
US President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... ’s administration has been conducting negotiations with Iran aimed at achieving a diplomatic deal over its nuclear program, and the CNN report quoted US officials as saying that an Israeli strike would mark a major break with Trump.
The new intelligence was based on the public and private communications from senior Israeli officials as well as intercepted Israeli communications and observations of Israeli military movements that could suggest an imminent strike, CNN reported.
CNN cited two sources saying that among the military preparations the US had observed were the movement of air munitions and the completion of an air exercise, though the report noted the moves could be part of an Israeli pressure campaign against Iran rather than an indicator of a possible strike.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> said US demands that Tehran stop enriching uranium are "excessive and outrageous," state media reported, voicing doubts over whether talks on a new nuclear deal will succeed.
With the negotiations ongoing, a source that CNN described as familiar with the Trump administration’s thinking said the US is unlikely to assist Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear program right now, while an American official said intelligence efforts were ramping up to help if Israeli leaders decide to attack.
The report also cited a source familiar with the matter saying that Israel does not have the means to take out Iran’s nuclear program without US help, though an Israeli source said Israel was ready to act alone if Washington negotiates a "bad deal" with Tehran that is unacceptable to Jerusalem.
"I think it’s more likely they strike to try and get the deal to fall apart if they think Trump is going to settle for a ’bad deal,’" a person familiar with US intelligence told CNN. "The Israelis have not been shy about signaling that to us... both publicly and privately."
CNN’s reporting follows a report in The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... last month on how Trump "waved off" a planned Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program that would require US military support.
While backing nuclear diplomacy, he has also warned of potential military action if it fails. Iran and the United States so far have held four rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between the two foes since Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear accord during his first term in office..
They had confirmed plans to hold another round of discussions during their last meeting on May 11, which Iran described as "difficult but useful," while a US official said Washington was "encouraged."
Trump has said he presented Iran’s leadership with an "olive branch," adding that it was an offer that would not last forever.
He further threatened to impose "massive maximum pressure," including driving Iranian oil exports to zero if talks failed.
Trump later doubled down on his warning, saying that "something bad is going to happen" unless the Iranians "move quickly" toward a deal. CNN reported that s senior Western diplomat who met with Trump said the US president indicated he would give the talks weeks before turning to a military option if no diplomatic breakthrough is reached.
[IsraelTimes] Crude prices surge following a report that US intelligence suggested Israel is planning a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, which would send geopolitical tensions into overdrive and fuel regional conflict fears.
While safe haven gold pushes almost two percent higher, the news from CNN appears to be having little detrimental effect on Asian equities in early trade, with most extending the previous day’s rally.
Both main crude contracts jump almost two percent after CNN reported multiple US officials as saying the government had received intelligence indicating Israel was preparing to target Iranian atomic facilities.
There are fears that such a sharp escalation could tip the Middle East into a war.
[IsraelTimes] Zamir tells Gazan civilians that their leaders, not Israel, ‘brought destruction’ upon them, as hostage talks appear to once more reach an impasse in Doha
The Israeli military is prepared to capture more territory 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 if Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... does not agree to release the remaining hostages it is keeping in captivity, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned in a video statement on Tuesday.
He issued the ultimatum following a situational assessment and field tour in Gaza, days into a major new offensive dubbed "Gideon’s Chariots," through which Israel seeks to attack Hamas and seize and retain territory, while relocating Paleostinians from the north of the Strip to its south.
The offensive was launched amid negotiations in 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... for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, which started back up again last week following the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.
Israel had previously warned that it would launch the offensive should no agreement be reached following the end of US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... ’s visit to the region last week. While reports initially indicated that the new talks were moving in the right direction, they hit a wall in recent days.
Zamir said "Hamas will pay a price for its refusal" to release the hostages.
"It will face intense firepower," he said. "We will expand the ground maneuver, conquer additional territory, clear and destroy the terror infrastructure until its defeat."
"Hamas only has one option, and that is to release our hostages," Zamir continued, adding that should an agreement be reached, "the IDF will know how to adjust its activity accordingly."
"Our objectives are clear: the return of the hostages to their homes, the defeat of Hamas and the dismantling of its rule," he continued. "We are defending ourselves, and for that we must attack. We cannot defend ourselves only on the defense, without clearly removing the threat from the other side of the border."
At several points during his remarks, Zamir recalled that Israel had not been the one to start the war in Gaza, but that it erupted when Hamas launched its deadly cross-border invasion on October 7, 2023.
"This was not a military assault, but a horrifying crime against innocent civilians, and act of terror against the State of Israel and the Jewish people," he said of the attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were seized as hostages, of whom 58 are still awaiting release.
"Since that dreadful day, the IDF has acted with force and determination in a multi-front campaign against enemies whose goal is to destroy us," said Zamir.
Turning to the Paleostinian civilians in Gaza, he added: "We are not the ones who brought this destruction upon you."
"We did not start the war. We did not rob you of food, shelter, or money. We are not the ones hiding in hospitals or schools. We are not the ones staying in luxury hotels while you live in hardship," he said.
"This is your leadership, those who are holding our hostages. Hamas is responsible for starting the war. It is responsible for the dire situation of the population. It destroyed, and it will not be the one to rebuild."
This is who Hamas is. This is who all the jihadis are.
[IsraelTimes] According to reported testimony from ex-hostage Edan Alexander, Matan Zangauker suffers from muscular atrophy, is held in cages and has been severely tortured.
Released hostage Yarden Bibas says he encountered Yahya Sinwar in tunnel
[IsraelTimes] Released hostage Yarden Bibas describes meeting Yahya Sinwar while in captivity, when the former Hamas leader allowed him to remain with his best friend, David Cunio, who is still held captive in Gaza, for around two weeks before they were separated.
“David is my best friend, he has been with me my whole life,” Bibas tells Channel 12 news.
Bibas says he met Cunio on the day his wife, Sharon Aloni Cunio, and their twin daughters were released from captivity on November 27, 2023, as part of a temporary ceasefire deal.
“He was moved to me in the tunnel. When he saw me for the first time, he was in shock. He thought he saw a ghost. I hugged him, and then he continued to the next place,” Bibas says.
“When Sinwar arrived at the tunnel, I said to him that this is my best friend and I want to stay with him. He said there was no problem, you can stay with him. After around two weeks, they separated us. I don’t know why,” Bibas says.
Asked by the former Likud lawmaker how he held onto hope in captivity, Alexander reportedly answered: “I knew that my friends from Golani were fighting above for me and I had a duty to survive for them.”
“My captivity was difficult. We moved between dozens of places, we slept in apartments, mosques, and even on the street. One of the times we didn’t stop moving from place to place, and then we slept on Basmata Street — without anyone noticing. And now we must do everything to release everyone,” he said, Channel 12 reports.
Channel 12 also says that Alexander was held alongside senior Hamas officials, including its former leader and October 7, 2023, massacre mastermind, Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by IDF troops in October.
According to Alexander’s reported testimony, food cans would explode in the tunnels due to the intense summer heat.
Separately, Channel 12 reports on a meeting between Alexander and the family of hostage Nimrod Cohen, with whom he was held in captivity.
Alexander reportedly told them Cohen supported him during their time together, but was very depressed and traumatized due to his experiences of the October 7 massacre, when he saw his friends murdered.
[IsraelTimes] Source involved in talks disputes Netanyahu’s claim that Israel accepted Witkoff’s proposal; hostage families accuse government of having ‘no real plan to return the last hostage’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday evening that after a week of "intensive" hostage talks in Doha, high-level members of Israel’s negotiating team have been recalled to Israel, while a number of working-level representatives will remain in the 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... i capital.
The announcement followed reports that the renewed ceasefire and hostage deal talks in Qatar, which began last week following the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, had yet to make any progress.
In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu said that the high-level delegation members would be returning to Israel for consultations, "after about a week of intensive talks in Doha."
The Prime Minister’s Office reiterated that "Israel agrees to the American proposal for the return of the hostages, which is based on the Witkoff framework."
"This proposal was recently conveyed to Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... via the mediators, but so far, it continues to cling to its refusal," it said.
The framework in question, presented by US special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, calls for a short-term ceasefire 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 in exchange for the release of roughly half of the living hostages.
Earlier this week, the Axios news site reported that Witkoff was pressuring both Israel and Hamas to accept a proposal for the release of 10 living hostages in exchange for a 45-60 day truce, and the release of an unspecified number of Paleostinian security prisoners.
The report also said that US offer included modified language aimed at providing Hamas with guarantees that the temporary ceasefire could lead to a permanent one.
It was unclear whether the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office was referring to Witkoff’s original proposal or one with modified language.
Disputing Netanyahu’s claims regarding Israel’s willingness and Hamas’s refusal to accept the Witkoff proposal, a source involved in the negotiations told the Times of Israel that the premier mischaracterized the current status of the talks.
According to the source, mediators were still working to coax both sides, not just Hamas, to compromise on a number of issues.
"This is not a matter of just waiting for Hamas to say ’yes,'" the source said.
The source explained that negotiators were trying to come up with a temporary hostage deal that allows Hamas to claim the agreement will lead to the eventual end of the war, while also allowing Israel to continue claiming that it has not committed to doing so.
Given the lack of trust between the sides, this has been a difficult task to accomplish, the source said, while insisting that a deal is still possible.
The source noted that the senior members of Israel’s negotiating team called back from Qatar from the get-go did not play an integral role in the current round of talks, as Witkoff — who is also not in Doha — has been in continued contact with Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
At the same time, Paleostinian-American political activist Bishara Bahbah has continued to operate a backchannel between the US and Hamas leaders in Qatar, where he arrived on Monday.
Netanyahu’s decision to recall the senior negotiators was nevertheless met with fury by the families of the hostages, who accused the government of having "no real plan to return the last hostage," despite frequently stating that it is working to do so.
"A majority of the nation supports the return of all the hostages, even at the price of ending the war," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. "Only the return of everyone, in one stage, will allow a process of rehabilitation and renewal for the country and the army."
"Hamas will not be defeated without the return of the last hostage," it added. "Until then, there will be no victory, nor even the appearance of victory."
Expressing a similar distaste for a deal which would free some captives while others remain in Gaza, bigwigs in the defense establishment were said on Tuesday to have informed Netanyahu that they are not willing to compile a partial list of hostages for release.
According to Channel 12 news, high-ranking Mosssd ...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end... officials informed Mossad chief David Barnea that there was "no reasonable way" to create such a list, in which some living hostages would be freed while others remain behind for an unknown length of time, as all the captives are in equal need of being released.
In addition, a senior defense official was said to tell Netanyahu directly that they "will not compile a partial list."
"If it comes to that, I will give the data to Ron Dermer, let him decide, or let the prime minister decide," the official was said to have told the premier. "Or they’ll decide not to decide, and leave it to Hamas to determine the list."
"In any case, I made it clear that I will not be the one to decide who is released in a partial deal like this and who is not," the network quoted the official as saying.
The reported refusal to select which hostages will be freed and which will remain in Gaza differs from the latest ceasefire early this year, for which the list of those eligible for release was drawn up in the middle of 2024.
That list was based partly on information provided by the hostages’ families regarding their loved ones’ health conditions.
This time, however, Channel 12 cited a security bigshot as saying that they have asked "several times to convene a special discussion" to present decision-makers with available data on the hostages, but the request has not been accepted.
"They don’t want to," the official said. "They run away from it like fire. It’s clear to everyone that this is a highly explosive issue."
Netanyahu’s office denied the report and dismissed it as "another piece of fake news from an anonymous and irresponsible source on Channel 12."
"Prime Minister Netanyahu is fully and continuously updated on the condition of the hostages, according to the information available to Israel," the premier’s office added.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 58 hostages, including 57 of the 251 kidnapped by Hamas-led bully boyz on October 7, 2023.
They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of three others, Israeli officials have said.
Hamas released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire between January and March, and one additional hostage, a dual American-Israeli citizen, in May as a "gesture" to the United States.
The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war. In exchange, Israel has freed some 2,000 placed in durance vile Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! Paleostinian terrorists, security prisoners, and Gazook terror suspects detained during the war.
Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.
The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas, and is counted among the 58 hostages.
[IsraelTimes] UN says aid distributed through ‘existing systems’ though new US-Israeli mechanism set to begin in coming weeks; UN official claims 14,000 babies on verge of death in ’48 hours’
The United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... received permission from Israel for 93 more aid trucks to enter 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 on Tuesday, a spokesperson for its humanitarian office and Israeli authorities said, as international pressure mounted on the government to take immediate steps to alleviate the effects of an 11-week blockade that ended Monday.
Israel had blocked all aid from entering Gaza since March 2, arguing that sufficient humanitarian assistance had entered the Strip during a six-week ceasefire and that Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... was stealing aid, with the blockade necessary to pressure the terror group to release the dozens of hostages it is holding. In recent weeks, however, some officials in the IDF have begun warning the politicianship that the enclave was on the brink of starvation.
Five trucks of humanitarian aid, including baby food, entered the Gaza Strip Monday via the Kerem Shalom Crossing, Israel said, marking the first such delivery since the blockade began.
"We have requested and received approval for more trucks to enter today, many more than were approved yesterday," Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office told a Geneva press briefing on Tuesday.
Later Tuesday, the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced that 93 UN trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza.
COGAT said the aid delivery came "following the recommendation of professional IDF officials and in accordance with the directive of the political echelon."
The trucks included "flour for bakeries, food for babies, medical equipment and pharmaceutical drugs," COGAT said. The aid underwent an inspection first by Israeli authorities before entering Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cleared nine aid trucks on Monday to enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, although just five of those actually entered the territory.
"The next step is to collect them, and then they will be distributed through the existing system, the one that has proven itself," said Laerke.
The "existing system" for aid distribution that Laerke referred to is based on several international organizations, including the UN World Food Programme and the World Central Kitchen, which have taken on the task of distribution for much of the 19-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza.
This system is in contrast to a new US- and Israel-backed mechanism, known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is set to begin operating later this month.
Through the GHF, aid will only be distributed from a small number of sites in southern Gaza that are secured by American contractors.
Aid organizations currently operating in Gaza have come out strongly against the GHF plan, arguing that it violates humanitarian principles, forces mass displacement of Paleostinians who aren’t currently living near the humanitarian zone, ignores vulnerable populations, and doesn’t adequately address the humanitarian crisis.
Members of the American company that will distribute aid in the Gaza Strip were photographed during media briefings in Israel armed and wearing bullet-proof vests.
According to a Tuesday report by the Ynet news outlet, the American GHF contractors, which it referred to as "elite combat veterans," have arrived in Israel and are undergoing training for their expected deployment in the Strip.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir slammed the large-scale resumption of aid trucks to the Strip on Tuesday, complaining that the aid is entering Gaza "while our hostages continue to be dragged through the tunnels" and that "there is no way to guarantee [that the supplies] will not end up in the hands of Hamas murderers."
"This is a serious mistake, which is delaying our victory. I call once again on the prime minister to explain to our friends in the White House the implications of this ’aid,’ which only prolongs the war and delays our victory and the return of all our hostages," he said.
Ben Gvir also condemned the decision to allow even five aid trucks to enter Gaza on Monday, asserting that "the prime minister is making a grave mistake with this move, which doesn’t even have a majority."
"We must crush Hamas and not simultaneously give it oxygen," Ben Gvir said in a statement, as other hawkish politicians and groups joined in pillorying the step.
HIGH COURT DEMANDS GOVERNMENT RESPOND TO AID PETITION
Also on Tuesday, the High Court of Justice told the government to respond by May 27 to a petition demanding the immediate facilitation of large supplies of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. group Gisha and others argued in a petition filed this week that the blockade of Gaza since March 2 constitutes a violation of the government’s obligations under Israeli and international law to enable the provision of humanitarian supplies to Gaza’s civilian population.
In response to the petition, Justice Yosef Elron asked the government to update it within a week whether "a change in factual circumstances justifies rejecting the petition."
In the petition filed on Sunday, the human rights groups asserted that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is the worst it has been since the beginning of the war, and pointed to a sharp increase in the cases of child malnutrition as recorded by humanitarian organizations working in Gaza between March and April.
It also pointed out that in the state’s response to a 2024 petition by Gisha on the same issue — which was ultimately dismissed by the court — the government did not deny it had an obligation to provide for the humanitarian needs of Gaza’s civilian population and the court affirmed this obligation in its decision, despite ruling against the motion.
Gisha asserted in its petition that the government’s decision to prohibit the entry of all aid into Gaza violated the orders of the International Court of Justice in the genocide case brought by South Africa.
The organization also pointed out that the Israeli ad hoc judge on the ICJ panel, Aharon Barak, voted in favor of that specific order, despite voting against most of the other court orders against Israel.
"The government’s decision [to block aid] is using a protected civilian population to exert pressure on Hamas and therefore amounts to prohibited collective punishment and even using starvation as a tool of war," alleged Gisha in its petition.
’14,000 BABIES COULD DIE IN NEXT 48 HOURS’ IF NO AID
A top UN official said Tuesday that some 14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours if aid does not reach them in time.
"I want to save as many as these 14,000 babies as we can in the next 48 hours," Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told BBC Radio.
He said that "we need to flood the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid."
When the program’s host, Anna Foster, said that 14,000 is "an extraordinary figure," Fletcher replied that it is an "utterly chilling" figure.
Asked how the UN arrived at these figures, Fletcher did not specify how the figure was calculated or what it was based on.
"We have strong teams on the ground, and of course many of them have been killed," he said.
He went on, "We still have lots of people on the ground — they’re at the medical centers, they’re at the schools... trying to assess needs."
"But this is what we do, we keep going. It will be frustrating, we will be impeded and run huge risks. But I don’t see a better idea than getting that baby food in," he said.
There was no immediate comment on his claims from the Israeli government or military.
The war in Gaza began with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel, in which Lions of Islam killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251, who were taken as hostages to Gaza. Since then, more than 53,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. That toll includes hundreds of Gazooks killed in strikes since Israel initiated a fresh intensive operation on Friday.
The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January, and another 1,600 Lions of Islam inside the country during the October 7 onslaught.
[IsraelTimes] US, Palestinian officials quash speculation that aid to Gaza stemmed from US deal with Hamas; Huckabee says report that Trump will ‘abandon’ Israel if war continues is ‘nonsense’
The White House stressed Monday that US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... wants the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... to end, as American officials denied reports that Washington was threatening to "abandon" Israel if it didn’t follow suit.
Trump "has made it very clear he wants to see this conflict in the region end," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to a question during a briefing about whether Washington supports Netanyahu’s comments from earlier in the day that Israel will take over all of Gaza as it massively expands its military campaign in the Strip.
"The president is moving as quickly as he possibly can and working overtime to end these conflicts in both Israel and Gaza and also the Russia-Ukraine war," Leavitt added. "The president made it very clear to Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... that he wanted to see all hostages released."
Netanyahu does appear to be responding to the mounting US desire to end the war, saying Monday that he’d be willing to end the conflict "if the remaining hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled and Gaza is demilitarized."
But Hamas has said it will only release the hostages if Israel fully withdraws from Gaza — something Netanyahu has said won’t happen, insisting that the IDF will control the Strip for the foreseeable future.
Separately Monday, The Washington Post published a report citing an an unnamed source, who claimed the Trump administration would abandon Israel if it kept the war going in Gaza.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee dismissed the claim, telling the Ynet news site, "Their reporting is nonsense. They need to listen to what the President says — not what some uninformed ’source’ pretends to know."
A senior US official chimed in, telling The Times of Israel that while there may be disagreements between the Trump administration and Israel, "the idea that we would abandon Israel is preposterous."
The official also denied reports in American and Israeli press that Israel’s agreement to allow a small amount of aid into Gaza on Monday after a 78-day blockade was part of a secret deal with Hamas that saw the terror group release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander last week.
"This was a goodwill gesture. The release was unconditional," the US official told The Times of Israel.
Hamas did hope that the move would lead to the US coaxing Israel to end the war and allow aid into Gaza, but that was not a condition of his release, according to the Paleostinian official.
Also on Monday, the Axios news site reported that US Vice President JD Vance considered traveling to Israel this week but ultimately decided against it in order to avoid signaling Washington’s approval of Israel’s expanding military operation in Gaza.
Vance later insisted, though, that the decision not to make the trip had to do with logistics, not politics.
#1
Trump had better not, Or AIPAC will primary every Republican in Congress.
Just like they did AOC.
Threats to the existence of Israel will not be tolerated.
[IsraelTimes] Papers found in neighborhood that endured 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting include quotes cherry-picked from the Talmud that aim to show Jewish discrimination against non-Jews
Fliers denigrating Jews were strewn around Squirrel Hill, and residents were reportedly targeted with antisemitic epithets, the latest antisemitic incident in the neighborhood that suffered the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting.
The fliers were reportedly thrown from a moving vehicle, according to Pittsburgh Police. Police said the fliers were in clear bags weighed with corn kernels so that they could be thrown effectively.
One of the fliers read, "Every single aspect of the Jewish Talmud is satanic," according to a photo shared by Corey O’Connor, the county comptroller and a candidate for Pittsburgh mayor.
The flier included quotes cherry-picked from the Talmud — a vast compendium of ancient rabbinic debates over Jewish law and tradition — that aim to show Jewish discrimination against non-Jews. Pulling quotes from the Talmud to depict Jews in a negative light is an age-old antisemitic mainstay.
"Despicable antisemitic acts like those taking place in Squirrel Hill today have no place in our city," O’Connor tweeted.
The suspects were not immediately identified by police, but the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh attributed the actions to the Goyim Defense League, a white supremacist group. The federation also said the driver hurled antisemitic slurs at local Jews.
"This kind of hate has no place in our neighborhoods," said Laura Cherner, director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council, in a statement. "Our community is strong, united and we will stand together to oppose these vile actions."
A recent report from the Anti-Defamation League found that the Goyim Defense League was one of three white supremacist groups that were collectively responsible for 94% of all antisemitic propaganda in 2024.
An overachieving few? That’s comforting.
"Antisemitic materials that were distributed in parts of Squirrel Hill today are reprehensible and have no place in Pittsburgh," said Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey in a statement. "We will not stand for such hateful acts meant to intimidate our neighbors."
Distributing fliers has been a common tactic of antisemitic groups in recent years. Shortly after the synagogue shooting in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history, Squirrel Hill was hit with antisemitic fliers.
More recently, last July, an inverted red triangle, a symbol used by Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... that has been adopted by pro-Paleostinian protesters, was painted on the neighborhood Chabad center, close to the site of the shooting.
Last week, several Jewish organizations in Las Vegas also received threatening, antisemitic letters, sparking safety concerns. The local Jewish federation responded to the letters in a post on instagram, calling for community members to "stay vigilant with incoming mail."
One organization that received a letter, Friendship Circle Las Vegas, is a Jewish program that connects volunteers with children and young adults with special needs.
Its executive director, Rabbi Levi Harlig, posted a photo of the letter on Instagram. It read: "To all Zionist Jews stay out of our valley. We will destroy your synagogues Hamas lives on you all burn in hell."
"The irony of this hateful letter? It was sent to our nonprofit—an organization built on inclusion, love, and friendship," wrote Harlig in the caption next to the photo. "But we’re not afraid. We won’t be silenced, and we won’t back down. We will double our efforts to spread light, kindness, and unity. Goodness will always be louder than hate. Am Yisrael Chai."
[IsraelTimes] During interview one year after Iranian president died in chopper collision, foreign minister says ‘Thank God’ it became clear that Israel was not involved.
Foolish Iranians! If Mossad did not do it, then it was entirely Allah’s will. He does not seem to like y’all anymore.
#1
"...The Foreign Minister went on to clarify, "This was NOT fiendish Zionist sabotage and murder; this was one hundred and ten percent, home-grown Iranian incompetence!"
[IsraelTimes] After Israel announced recovery of archive in ‘covert and complex Mossad operation,’ sources tell Reuters that Sharaa okayed its return to ease Israeli hostility and as gesture to Trump
Syria’s leadership approved the handover of the belongings of long-dead spy Eli Cohen to Israel in a bid to ease Israeli hostility and show goodwill to US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... , three sources told Rooters.
Israel announced its recovery of the trove of documents, photographs and personal possessions relating to Cohen on Sunday, saying its spy agency Mosssd ...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end... had worked with an unnamed foreign intelligence agency to secure the material.
However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... a Syrian security source, an adviser to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and a person familiar with backchannel talks between the countries said the archive of material was in fact offered to Israel as an indirect gesture by Sharaa as he seeks to cool tensions and build Trump’s confidence.
Cohen, who was hanged in 1965 in a downtown Damascus square after infiltrating Syria’s political elite, is still regarded as a hero in Israel and Mossad’s most celebrated spy for uncovering military secrets that aided its lightning victory in the 1967 Six Day War.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Cohen on Sunday as a legend and "the greatest intelligence agent in the annals of the state."
While Israel has long sought to recover his body for reburial at home, the return of his archive held for 60 years by Syrian intelligence was hailed by Mossad as "an achievement of the highest moral order."
Israel has not publicly revealed how the archive came into its possession, saying only that it was the result of "a covert and complex Mossad operation, in cooperation with an allied foreign intelligence service."
Netanyahu’s office, Syrian officials and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Syria’s role in Israel’s recovery of the Cohen archive.
COHEN DOSSIER
After rebels led by Sharaa suddenly ousted President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... in December, ending his family’s 54-year-long rule, they found the Cohen dossier in a state security building, according to the Syrian security source.
Sharaa and his foreign advisers quickly decided to use the material as leverage, the source added.
The Syrian security source said Sharaa had realized that the Cohen archive was important to the Israelis and that its return could amount to a significant diplomatic gesture.
Ending Israeli attacks on Syria and improving relations with the United States and other Western countries are vital for Sharaa as he seeks to revive his shattered country after 14 years of civil war.
Israel regards Sharaa and his ex-insurgents, who once formed the al Qaeda faction in Syria, as unreconstructed jihadists. Israeli forces have been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Assad — mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries — and have repeatedly bombed targets in support of Syria’s minority Druze sect.
This month, Rooters reported that the United Arab Emirates had set up a backchannel for talks between Israel and Syria that included efforts to build confidence between the sides.
There have also been other indirect channels for talks, according to two people familiar with the matter.
In the talks, Syria agreed to measures including returning the remains of Cohen as well as three Israeli soldiers killed while fighting Syrian forces in 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?... in the early 1980s, a person familiar with those talks said. The body of one of those soldiers, Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman, has been returned, Israel said last week.
The return of the Cohen archive came in the context of those confidence-building measures and was done with Sharaa’s direct approval, the person said.
Last week, Trump held a surprise meeting with Sharaa in 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... where he urged him to normalize ties with Israel and announced that he would lift sanctions on Syria.
Syrian officials have said they want peace with all states in the region, and Sharaa confirmed this month that Damascus had carried out indirect talks with Israel via states it has ties with in order to calm the situation.
[IsraelTimes] Ayatollah says American negotiators should ‘refrain from speaking nonsense’ after Witkoff says Tehran will not be allowed to enrich uranium
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> said Tuesday that nuclear talks with the United States were unlikely to yield any results, amid a diplomatic standoff over the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s enrichment activities.
"We don’t think it will lead to any outcome. We don’t know what will happen," said Khamenei during a speech, adding that denying Iran’s right to enrich uranium was "a big mistake."
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and the United States have held four rounds of Omani-mediated nuclear talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington abandoned the 2015 nuclear accord.
They had confirmed plans to hold another round of discussions during their last meeting on May 11, which Iran described as "difficult but useful," while a US official said Washington was "encouraged."
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 deal and a technical step away from the 90% needed for a nuclear warhead. Western countries, including the United States and Israel, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Iran has repeatedly insisted its right to maintain uranium enrichment was "nonnegotiable," while chief US negotiator Steve Witkoff has called it a "red line."
On Sunday, Witkoff reiterated that the United States "cannot allow even one percent of an enrichment capability."
Khamenei said Tuesday that "the American side involved in these indirect negotiations should refrain from speaking nonsense."
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister and lead negotiator Abbas Araghchi said "enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal."
"If the US is interested in ensuring that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, a deal is within reach, and we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome," he wrote in a post on X.
Iranian diplomats have said Tehran would be open to temporary restrictions on how much uranium it enriches and to what level.
Since returning to office in January, US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... has revived his "maximum pressure" approach against Iran. While backing nuclear diplomacy, he also warned of potential military action if it fails.
Trump has said he presented Iran’s leadership with an "olive branch," adding that it was an offer that would not last forever. He further threatened to impose "massive maximum pressure," including driving Iranian oil exports to zero if talks failed.
Trump later doubled down on his warning, saying that "something bad is going to happen" unless the Iranians "move quickly" toward a deal.
Iranian officials, however, criticized what they described as "contradictory" positions by US officials along with the continued imposition of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry and nuclear program despite the talks.
On Sunday, Araghchi said Iran has been observing "dissonance... between what our US interlocutors say in public and in private."
On Friday, Iran held parallel talks with the Britannia, La Belle France, and Germany — all parties to the 2015 deal. They are currently weighing the reimposition of UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance. The option to trigger the sanctions mechanism expires in October.
Araghchi said Iran was willing to "begin a new chapter" with Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... and urged it to play a role in the nuclear negotiations.
[NAHARNET] al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... Movement's former Beirut coordinator Mahmoud al-Jamal, a retired brigadier general, has managed to clench a seat on Beirut's new municipal council, preventing a list comprising most political parties from winning all 24 seats.
Al-Jamal's win came at the expense of Elie Andrea, a Greek Orthodox member of the rival list who was backed by Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Audi.
Andrea was the subject of ''dismay, especially among Greek Orthodox voters, which led to the redaction of his name by voters due to his bad performance as a member of the outgoing municipal council,'' the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Andrea had also faced a social media campaign against him prior to the elections against the backdrop of his dispute with outgoing municipal chief Jamal Itani, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported.
This is the first time in decades that sees Moslems outnumbering Christians in the municipal council. The country's rival political parties had formed an electoral alliance in Beirut under the excuse of preserving Christian-Moslem parity.
Political rivals such as Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... came together to form the list, which also comprised the Amal Movement, the Kataeb Party, the Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... , 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... , the Hunchak Party, the Progressive Socialist Party and MP Fouad Makhzoumi.
Al-Jamal's list was backed by MP Nabil Bader and the Jamaa Islamiya and apparently received votes from Mustaqbal supporters.
Four other lists were also formed in the capital, including one by the Beirut Madinati civil society group, which won one third of the capital's votes in the 2016 polls.
Voter turnout reached only 21% in Beirut, which has historically witnessed similar low turnout levels.
[NAHARNET] 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?... still has "more" to do in disarming Hezbollah following the war between the Iran-backed group and Israel, Deputy U.S. Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday.
As part of a deal agreed to end 14 months of fighting last November, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River, while Israel was to pull all its forces from south Lebanon.
The Lebanese Army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.
U.N. peacekeepers are also present in the area and play a role in supervising the ceasefire.
Lebanese authorities "have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years," Ortagus said at the 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... Economic Forum referring to efforts to disarm Hezbollah.
"However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... there's a lot more to go," she added.
"We in the United States have called for the full disarmament of Hezbollah. And so that doesn't mean just south of the Litani. That means in the whole country," Ortagus said at the Qatar conference calling on Lebanese politicians "to make a decision."
Israel has continued to launch raids on Lebanon despite the ceasefire.
Last month, President Joseph Aoun said the army was deployed in more than 85 percent of Lebanon's south, and that the sole obstacle to full control across the frontier area was "Israel's occupation of five border positions".
In defiance of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli military continues to occupy five positions close to the border that it has declared to be strategic.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/21/2025 00:30 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[27 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[NAHARNET] The issue of Paleostinian arms in Leb ...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... might be the ''last'' topic on the agenda of 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....> during his visit to Lebanon this week, a Beirut-based Paleostinian official said on Tuesday.
''This topic is new and is not the priority for the Lebanese and Paleostinians,'' Haitham Zuaiter, a member of the Paleostinian central and national councils, told al-Jadeed television.
''There is no proposal for removing Paleostinian arms in Lebanon,'' Zuaiter said, reminding that the national dialogue sessions chaired by Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians... had called for ''removing Paleostinian arms outside the camps and controlling them inside the camps'' and that ''President Joseph Aoun has called for the removal of heavy-caliber arms.''
''We support bringing Paleostinian arms under control inside the Paleostinian camps within the framework of serious discussions and a drastic solution,'' Zuaiter went on to say.
He added: ''Honestly we cannot talk about the issue of Paleostinian arms without resolving the Paleostinian issue in the Lebanese arena in a comprehensive way.''
Warning that Israel might target Paleostinian camps in Lebanon the same it has targeted refugee camps in the Paleostinian territories, Zuaiter said Abbas will tell Lebanese officials that ''the Lebanese Army should not enter the Paleostinian camps by force.''
''Paleostinian security forces are in charge of security inside the camps and would coordinate with Lebanese authorities,'' the Paleostinian officials added, noting that ''arms must be under the authority of the Lebanese state.''
''What's needed is to prevent a repetition of the (1982) Sabra and Shatila massacre and had there been light weapons (in the hands of the Paleostinians at the time), this massacre would not have happened,'' Zuaiter added.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The European Union has decided to completely lift economic sanctions against Syria. This was announced on May 20 by the head of EU diplomacy Kaja Kallas.
"Today we have decided to lift our economic sanctions on Syria. We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new and peaceful Syria," she wrote on the social network X.
According to the European diplomat, the ministers intend to help the Syrian people "rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria", and the EU plans to continue to support Damascus.
Before that, in January 2025, the US temporarily eased sanctions against Syria. Washington allowed some financial transactions with the new Syrian authorities, as well as transactions related to energy resources within the republic.
Talk of lifting decades-old sanctions on Damascus began after President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in the country. On May 13, US President Donald Trump promised to lift restrictions on Syria and “give it a second chance.”
As reported by the Regnum news agency, in December 2024, armed groups of the Syrian opposition launched a large-scale offensive against government forces. On December 8, the Syrian army left Damascus, and the militants announced the transfer of power into their hands. Assad resigned and left the country, receiving political asylum in Russia. Ahmed al-Sharaa became the head of the interim government.
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®,...
...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end...
..always the voice of sweet reason...
..always the voice of sweet reason...
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...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?...
...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
