[Breitbart] Reports indicate that family members of the imprisoned Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán fled from Mexico to the United States for protection from warring cartel factions.
One hopes that if we accept them, we’ll make them sing the entire opera to pay for the privilege.
Although U.S. officials have not confirmed reports of Griselda López, El Chapo’s ex-wife, arriving in the United States with her family, posts on X and various web sources mentioned rumors earlier this week that Griselda López and at least 16 members of her immediate family had turned themselves over to Customs and Border Protection authorities at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
More Arab Spring stuff, even though it started over a decade ago. We no longer have a category for it, because it’s a chronic condition that will continue until a new Strong Man fights his way to the top.
[REGNUM] There is unrest in Libya again. A large-scale shootout took place in the capital's Abu Salim district, as a result of which one of the country's major military and political figures, Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, was killed.
Winnowed out of the competition. Incidentally, the Libya Observer has spelt it al-Kikly.
Al-Kikli's death not only set opposing forces in motion, but also revealed some unpleasant details of the shadowy political life of modern Libya.
A TROUBLED COUNTRY
Constant shootings and armed clashes are nothing new for modern Libya. Even after the end of the active phase of the civil war, the country is oversaturated with armed elements, whose activity is impossible to control.
The Libyan capital, Tripoli, is suffering the most. Constant clashes have earned it the slang name of "bee city" - a reference to the fact that the city is divided into sectors ("honeycombs"), each of which is secretly controlled by one of the armed groups that inherited the war.
The Libyan authorities try to re-educate yesterday's militias from time to time. Some of them have even been integrated into the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, turning them into "brigades", but such a consensus is usually limited to a formal assignment.
The groups control the shadow business sector - smuggling, illegal migration, drug trafficking, and engage in kidnapping.
Others, however, skillfully combine robbery with big political games, converting shadow influence into public influence.
Among these was one of yesterday’s field commanders, and now the head of the apparatus for supporting stability under the Libyan presidential council, Abdel Ghani al-Kikli.
THE ALMIGHTY "GANIVA"
Al-Kikli, known by the nickname Ghaniwa, had an extremely controversial reputation among his fellow citizens. A man with a criminal past, he managed to build a career during the civil war and put together a small personal army,
…known as the Central Security Brigade, a.k.a. the Ghaniwa Brigade, organizationally under the Interior Ministry in Tripoli of the Government of National Unity. The GNU is the one approved by the UN and supported by Turkey that controls little beyond a few square blocks of downtown Tripoli, not the one where Khalifa Haftar rules the eastern part of the country.
eventually achieving the status of one of the most influential security officials in the coastal part of the country.
Not the least important role in al-Kikli's rise was played by his entry into the inner circle of the current Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah. Ghaniva enjoyed his patronage, which allowed him to promote his own creature to various ministries and departments, keep financial flows under control, and even influence the central bank's rate.
In addition, al-Kikli did the current authorities a great service by drawing under his wing most of the youth gangs of northwestern Libya, who, after the end of the fighting, were looking for a permanent strong leader.
This later helped Dbeibeh in 2022 to thwart former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha's plans to carry out a "bloodless coup" (with the support of paramilitary youth) and retain power in his own hands.
Ghaniva managed to strengthen his personal army with new recruits, turning it into a formidable argument in the division of spheres of influence in post-war Libya.
UNSTABLE ALLY
However, over time, Dbeibah considered his former ally too unstable and began to distance himself from him more and more. Moreover, in pursuit of profit, Ghaniva increasingly came into conflict with officials in his office and commanders of other groups.
He sabotaged the reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and even, according to some reports, “threatened to turn weapons” against his former partner, threatening him with the fate of Muammar Gaddafi.
It is noteworthy that shortly before the high-profile murder, one of the major local newspapers, controlled by Dbeibah loyalists, published a devastating article dedicated to al-Kikli.
It reported that Ganiva aimed to gain control over the country's oil sector, and in the future, to take the prime minister's seat. And for these purposes, he intends to "sow discord" in the ranks of the militias stationed in Tripoli.
It is difficult to judge whether the deceased al-Kikli actually had such aspirations. It is also difficult to say whether Dbeibah's agents were involved in the case. Although the command of the 444th Brigade, at whose headquarters the murder took place, is part of the prime minister's "personal army", he clearly did not give a direct order.
The attack was more likely a revenge attack on al-Kikli by the commanders of a rival brigade, which Ghaniva had tried to disperse several times, but to no avail.
Now, with his death and the subsequent flight from the capital of his two closest associates, it is unlikely that his personal army will be restored to its former glory. The assets left without a master will go to other, more accommodating groups.
DOMINO EFFECT
Although the unrest in Tripoli was relatively quickly suppressed by the army and police, and the situation, according to local officials, was “returned to a peaceful course,” the negative momentum managed to spread beyond the capital.
Numerous militias considered the unrest that had begun as a signal for a new redistribution of spheres of influence.
Among other places, the clashes affected the city of Tajura, east of the capital, where during intense fighting between loyalists of different groups near the Al-Judaydah prison, part of the protective structures were destroyed and prisoners fled.
The incident is interesting because a significant portion of the prison's "residents" were convicted of serious crimes, including working for terrorist organizations. Some field commanders who lost the "backroom war" with the Libyan government were also held there.
The situation is made even more piquant by the fact that law enforcement officials cannot yet determine exactly how many prisoners have left prison and who should be caught first - after the start of the civil war in the country, "prisoner lists" were kept unsystematically, and the casemates often contained more people than were listed on paper.
Against the backdrop of unrest in the capital, representatives of the alternative center of power, the Libyan House of Representatives, which controls the east of the country, have predictably come into motion.
Columns of armored vehicles of the Libyan National Army (LNA), controlled by the House, left Benghazi and moved towards Tripoli. According to Libyan publications, by May 14, the LNA's advance forces reached the city of Sirte, which is 450 km from the capital.
However, commanders from the east are in no hurry to proclaim a new “liberation campaign” on Tripoli, fearing to repeat the mistakes of 2019. Then, the arrogance of the LNA command led to the offensive on the capital stalling, and after the entry of the Turkish contingent into the country, it failed.
This time, Tripoli's opponents will prefer to wait until it exhausts itself in endless strife and skirmishes and can no longer offer serious resistance to the fresh forces of the LNA.
How it was reported locally by the Libya Observer:
GNU forces seize Tripoli stronghold after deadly clashes
The Government of National Unity (GNU) says it has taken full control of Abu Salim, a key district in the capital Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , following a military operation launched amid fierce festivities with gangs. Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah announced late Monday that the operation had "ended successfully," praising security forces for what he called a "major achievement" in restoring order and asserting state authority.
Writing on social media, Dbeibah commended the Ministries of Defence and Interior, as well as the army and police, saying: "This is a decisive step toward ending irregular gangs and reinforcing the principle that there is no place in Libya except for state institutions and the rule of law." The Ministry of Defence later confirmed the end of operations, saying a long-term plan to stabilise the area would now be implemented.
Abu Salim is a stronghold of the Stability Support Apparatus, a powerful militia led by Abdul Ghani al-Kikli — widely known as "Ghnewa." Fighting erupted after reports circulated claiming Ghnewa had been killed, although the circumstances remain unclear. Armed festivities spread rapidly across parts of the capital, forcing the closure of roads and businesses and sparking panic among residents.
On Tuesday, the Emergency Medicine and Support Centre confirmed the recovery of six bodies from areas surrounding Abu Salim after the fighting subsided.
The United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed "grave concern" over the escalating violence, particularly the use of heavy weapons in densely populated civilian areas. It called on all parties to exercise restraint and protect civilians. Local emergency services declared a state of alert and urged residents near conflict zones to remain indoors.
The GNU’s Interior Ministry said it was "closely monitoring" developments and working to restore calm in Tripoli’s southern and western suburbs. Social media footage appeared to show government-aligned forces capturing key buildings formerly occupied by the Stability Support Apparatus and the affiliated Internal Security Agency.
GNU's Ministry of Defense declares truce and ceasefire in Tripoli
[LibyaObserver] The Ministry of Defense of the Government of National Unity (GNU) has announced the beginning of a ceasefire implementation across all conflict areas within the capital, Tripoli.
The Ministry clarified that what it described as regular forces, in coordination with the relevant security agencies, have begun taking the necessary steps to ensure deescalation, including deploying neutral units at several flashpoints.
The Ministry called on all parties to fully adhere to the ceasefire and refrain from provocative statements or any field movements that could reignite tensions.
The statement emphasized that their response to recent developments was part of their national duty, aimed at maintaining public order and preventing any exploitation of the situation to pursue agendas that conflict with the path of the state and its legitimate institutions.
The Ministry also stressed that unity, the reinforcement of the rule of law, and the dismantling of random armed manifestations remain top priorities, and that no reality will be allowed to be imposed by force of arms or outside official frameworks.
The capital Tripoli witnessed a dangerous security escalation on Tuesday night and early Wednesday, marked by intense armed clashes in the city center. This prompted the declaration of a state of emergency, the suspension of classes and exams, and the rerouting of flights from Mitiga Airport to Misrata Airport.
Several neighborhoods across the city—from east to west and south—experienced heavy armed clashes involving medium and heavy weaponry, causing panic among residents in densely populated areas.
[IsraelTimes] Agreements signed by US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will “generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion,” the White House says in a fact sheet summarizing some of the deals’ details.
The agreements include a $96 billion deal with Qatar Airways to buy up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X airplanes with GE Aerospace engines, the fact sheet says. They also include a statement of intent that could lead to $38 billion in investments at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base and other air defense and maritime security capabilities, it says.
#1
Given, Boeing was contracted in 2018 to build the AF-1 Replacements and has failed to still deliver in 2025. Plus, now we read some MSM sources are saying, it maybe even 2029 now. Note: Which suspiciously is after Trump leaves office. 🤔
So, how can Qatar, expect Boeing to deliver 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X Jets?
[IsraelTimes] The United States says it will pursue sanctions against any country, group or person that provides fuel, war material or other resources to Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s 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... rebels.
Last week, Trump announced that the US would halt its strikes on the Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that agreed to stop its attacks on American vessels in the Red Sea.
Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea tells a UN Security Council meeting that Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has enabled Houthi attacks "with military, logistical and intelligence support."
"This council must not tolerate Iranian defiance of its resolutions and should impose consequences on sanctions violators using the tools at its disposal," she says.
#2
Does that include the Chinese satellite co. that shared the location of the US Carrier strike group many times, which resulted in emergency maneuvers, losing that jet? No, I didn't think so!
Sorry — I forgot to add the scare quotes last night. That’s “rights”. They’re actually “wrongs” groups.
— tw at 11:40 a.m. ET.
[IsraelTimes] Challenge to High Court claims London’s decision to supply fighter jet components makes it complicit in alleged crimes against Palestinians in Gaza
Human rights groups launched a court fight Tuesday challenging the UK government’s decision to supply parts for F-35 fighter jets, saying they are being used by Israel 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 violation of international law.
The legal challenge in the High Court in London alleges that the government is breaking domestic and international law and is complicit in atrocities against Paleostinians by allowing essential components for the warplanes to be supplied to Israel.
Paleostinian human rights organization al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network, which brought the legal challenge, say the components are indirectly supplied to Israel through the global spare parts supply chain.
"There’s such clear evidence of the use of weapons parts from the UK being used in war crimes, including in genocide," Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said at a rally outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. "Until this case reaches its judgment, right now as we speak, there are significant human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... violations being delivered by British-made weapons and bombs."
The government said in September that it was suspending about 30 of 350 existing export licenses for equipment deemed to be for use in the conflict in Gaza because of a "clear risk" that the items could be used to "commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law." Equipment included parts for helicopters and drones.
But an exemption was made for some licenses related to components of F-35 fighter jets, which have been linked to Israel’s bombardment campaign against Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... in the Gaza Strip.
Rights groups argue that the United Kingdom shouldn’t continue to export parts through what they call a "deliberate loophole," given the government’s own assessment of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.
Paleostinian human rights organization al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network, which brought the legal challenge, say the components are indirectly supplied to Israel through the global spare parts supply chain.
Al-Haq had its offices in Ramallah shuttered by Israel in 2022, 10 months after the Defense Ministry designated al-Haq and several other Paleostinian groups as terrorist organizations over their alleged links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine (PFLP), a leftist terror group. The international community has said Israel has failed to provide convincing evidence to back up its claims.
Said by those who are determined not to be convinced by any amount of the truth. But y’all do you — we know what you are.
UK officials have argued that stopping the export of F-35 fighter jet components would endanger international peace and security.
Compared to major arms suppliers such as the US and Germany, British firms sell a relatively small amount of weapons and components to Israel.
The Campaign Against Arms Trade nonprofit group estimates that the UK supplies about 15 percent of the components in the F-35 stealth combat aircraft, including its laser targeting system.
"British-made F-35s are dropping multi-ton bombs on the people of Gaza, which the UN secretary-general has described as a ’killing field,'" said Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe, a lawyer for the Global Legal Action Network.
"The UK government has expressly departed from its own domestic law in order to keep arming Israel. This decision is of continuing and catastrophic effect," she added.
The hearing is expected to last four days, and a decision is expected at a later date.
#1
A definite disincentive for those multi-national 'alliance wide' weapons contracts where the parts are parceled out to many countries. One crank lawfare judgement in one country can bring the entire supply chain to a stop.
The elite left of Britain thinks going after Jews is a righteous act, so why should not the loony idiot contingent agree? The elite Progressive left prides themselves in creating the zeitgeist, after all. In theory even the nutters should be nudged into alignment by it..
[IsraelTimes] Three British right-wing extremists are convicted of planning to carry out a terrorist attack at mosques or synagogues as part of a “race war,” British police say.
Brogan Stewart and Marco Pitzettu, both 25, and Christopher Ringrose, 34, were preparing an act of terrorism when they were arrested in February 2024, prosecutors said at the start of their trial in March.
The trio were also each charged with two counts of collecting information which may be useful to someone preparing an act of terrorism, while Ringrose was charged with manufacturing a component for a 3D-printed FGC9 firearm.
They pleaded not guilty but jurors at Sheffield Crown Court today convict them of all charges.
A nice change for the court. Usually they get the Rotherham grooming gang cases, to whom they give grossly inadequate sentences — where adequate would include castration with a rusty butter knife, followed by drawing and quartering, then the body parts pinned to the city wall by the gates as a lesson to passers by.
They will be sentenced on July 17.
“Stewart, Pitzettu, and Ringrose have today been rightfully convicted of multiple terrorism offenses,” Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, says in a statement.
“They were a group that espoused vile racist views and advocated for violence, all to support their extreme right-wing mindset.
“Some of their defense in court was that it was all fantasy or just part of harmless chat, however all three took real-world steps to plan and prepare for carrying out an attack on innocent citizens.”
Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford had told jurors that the three defendants expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and perpetrators of notorious terrorist attacks, as well as hatred for non-white people, especially Muslims and immigrants.
“It was their belief that there must soon come a time when there would be a race war between the white and other races,” Sandiford says.
[IsraelTimes] Gary Lineker apologizes ‘unreservedly’ for reposting Instagram story titled ‘Zionism explained in two minutes’ that was illustrated with a picture of a rat
Gary Lineker, the former England soccer star who became a leading sports broadcaster on the BBC, has "apologized unreservedly" for reposting an Instagram story about Zionism which featured a picture of a rat.
A repeating pattern for him. He is one of England’s most beloved Jew haters, as far as I can tell, always excused and excusing himself until he is forced to admit it.
In a statement Wednesday, Lineker, 64, said he reposted material which he has since subsequently learned contained "offensive references," adding that he withdrew the post as soon as he became aware of the issue.
"I take full responsibility for this mistake," said Lineker. "I would never knowingly share anything antisemitic. It goes against everything I believe in."
Lineker came under criticism on Tuesday after he shared a post from the group, Paleostine Lobby, illustrated with a picture of a rat, titled: "Zionism explained in two minutes."
Rats, linked to disease and dirt, have been used to represent Jews in antisemitic propaganda throughout history, including by the Nazis in 1930s Germany.
Lineker, who steps down as the main presenter of the BBC’s flagship soccer highlights program "Match of the Day" later this month after more than 25 years at the helm, is no stranger to controversy.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona striker has been reprimanded on prior occasions over his activities on social media. Most notably, he was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticizing the then Conservative government’s new asylum policy, comparing MPs’ rhetoric to Nazi Germany.
He was among 500 other high-profile figures who signed an open letter in February urging the BBC to re-broadcast a documentary, "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... : How to Survive a War Zone," to its streaming service, BBC iPlayer. The documentary was pulled after it emerged that its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a senior Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... official.
"Whilst I strongly believe in the importance of speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, I also know that how we do so matters," he said in his apology Wednesday.
Though Lineker is leaving his role at "Match of the Day," he has signed a contract extension that will see him host the national broadcaster’s coverage of the FA Cup through to 2026 as well as next year’s World Cup tournament in North America. He has for years been the BBC’s highest-paid star.
Prior to Lineker’s apology, the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie said the broadcaster’s reputation is "held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us."
He added: "And I think we absolutely need people to be the exemplars of BBC values and follow our social media policies, simple as that."
The Campaign Against Antisemitism has urged Davie to sack Lineker, who is also the co-founder of the hugely successful "Goalhanger" podcasts, makers of the popular "The Rest is History" series and its spin-offs about politics, football, entertainment and money.
"As the BBC’s highest-paid presenter and owner of a major media enterprise, maybe he knows exactly what he’s doing," a spokesperson for the organization said. "Having looked the other way until now, at this point, it is clear that Mr. Lineker’s continued association with the BBC is untenable. He must go.”
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kamran Gasanov
[REGNUM] While the world press is following the preparations for negotiations on Ukraine and Donald Trump's tour of the Middle East, a historic event has taken place nearby, which in its scale could give a head start to both the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Trump's multi-billion dollar deals.
Formally, the matter concerns the internal situation in Turkey, but it has significance at least for Iraq, Iran and Syria, and for the general situation in the entire region. We are talking about the project of the so-called "Turkish Kurdistan".
For almost 40 years, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been waging an armed struggle against the Turkish authorities and army. The struggle of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been serving a life sentence in prison on the island of Imrali in the Sea of Marmara since 1999, began long before the group was created.
As a student at Ankara University in the early 1970s, Öcalan joined leftist groups and parties that defended the rights of the Kurds and fought against their assimilation and repression by the military that seized power in a coup.
For his political views and organizing rallies, he was sent to prison at the age of 23, which became a "school of political struggle" for him. Ocalan read a lot, studied Russian literature and Marxism. He especially liked Lenin's teaching on the right of peoples to self-determination, which successfully formed the basis of separatism and "Kurdish autonomy."
After his release and until the end of the 1970s, the future leader of the PKK tried to engage in political activity, collaborated with the left, conducted propaganda among the Alawite and Kurdish poor, held rallies, but did not resort to violence.
Two factors forced him to take up arms.
The Turkish left was not very happy to accept the Kurds into its ranks, and in 1977, his closest associate, Haki Karer, was killed in the eastern city of Gaziantep, which became Ocalan's "first bloodshed."
And exactly the following year, he created the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Initially created as a political organization, it immediately turned into a militant, guerrilla and terrorist organization. Throughout the 1980s, Ocalan, who fled to Syria due to yet another military coup, waged war and committed terrorist attacks against Turkey and Turkish officials.
The goal of the further struggle was no longer simply the recognition of the rights of the Kurds, their language and culture in Turkey, but the creation of a “Turkish Kurdistan”.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, there were at least three attempts by Ankara and the PKK to reach an agreement. But each time, the process broke down almost before it began.
The first attempt was made in 1993 by the former President of Turkey, Turgut Ozal, who combined an explosive mixture of pan-Turkism and the politics of Kurdish roots. Exactly one month after the start of negotiations, Ozal died. Presumably, he was poisoned by the Turkish secret services precisely because of the upcoming reconciliation with the Kurds.
A second attempt to find common ground fell through two years later due to a terrorist attack carried out by the PKK.
The third attempt at reconciliation was made by Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “spiritual father,” Necmettin Erbakan, and failed due to the arrest of Ocalan himself.
The last event probably deserves a separate story, but in short it is worth saying that the detention of the Kurdish leader became a whole special operation. In search of refuge, he rushed between Greece, Italy, Russia, Belarus and the Netherlands.
But under pressure from the US, Israel and Britain, the Greeks who were sheltering him in their embassy in Kenya were forced to hand Ocalan over to Turkish special forces.
Israel, really? Why on Earth would they care?
On February 15, 1999, a plane took him to Ankara and from there to the prison island of Imrali, which put an end to reconciliation between the Kurds and the Turkish authorities for a long time.
Erdogan, who came to power, wanted to solve the problem of separatism in eastern Turkey. By uniting his party on the foundation of Islamism, the new Turkish prime minister was able to attract national minorities to his side.
In 2009, Erdogan announced plans to end the three-decade conflict, including increasing the use of the Kurdish language in media and political campaigns and restoring Kurdish names to towns in the east. Two years later, the Turkish leader apologized for the massacres of Zaza and Alevi Kurds in the 1930s.
In a meeting with Iraqi Kurdistan leader Masoud Barzani, who has excellent relations with Ankara and trades oil with it, Erdogan declared that “the rejection, denial and assimilation (of the Kurds) is over” and that together with the Turks they form one nation united by faith in Allah.
While Erdogan was winning over ordinary Kurds, he was still unable to achieve full reconciliation. While he was delivering his latest loud speeches, Turkish aircraft were operating in the mountains of Iraq, searching for PKK militants who had moved there after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
In 2013, against the backdrop of a common threat from ISIS*, Turkey and the PKK reached a truce, but two years later Erdogan realized that with the defeat of ISIS*, the capabilities of the Syrian branch of the PKK (the YPG and PYD groups) were growing stronger and now it was necessary to deal with the defeat of “Syrian Kurdistan.”
Then followed three military operations to divide the Kurdish cantons and then completely destroy them. In response, there were major terrorist attacks in the megacities of Istanbul and Ankara.
From that time until today, there have been no serious hints of compromise. Erdogan's administration and his ministers have placed great emphasis on the need for a complete defeat of the PKK terrorists. Moreover, these accents were heard not only in the domestic, but also in the foreign policy agenda.
This became especially noticeable during the presidency of Joe Biden, who was not very fond of Erdogan's domestic policies and criticized him for his attitude towards the Kurds in Syria. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu went so far as to essentially blame the US for the 2022 terrorist attack carried out by the PKK in Istanbul: "It seems to me that the condolences expressed to the US today can be assessed as if the killer was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the terrorist attack."
Former Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also complained that the US could have known about the planned terrorist attack and asked its European partners to close their consulates, but did not pass the information on to its Turkish allies.
The Kurdish issue also came up during the latest NATO expansion. Erdogan did not give Sweden the go-ahead for about a year and kept it on edge, demanding the extradition of Kurdish fighters who had settled there.
The fight against the PKK in Syria was quite successful until 2019. In Operation Peace Spring, the Turkish armed forces, together with the opposition Syrian National Army, occupied hundreds of kilometers of the border, and Erdogan agreed with Russia to withdraw YPG formations 30 km to the south.
By that time, the Turks had driven the Kurdish forces east of the Euphrates and taken the city of Afrin from them in the west.
Although Russia criticized the continuation of Turkish operations until the Euphrates region was completely cleared, and NATO countries put pressure on Ankara not only with words but also with sanctions, the status quo that remained until December 2024 rather suited Turkey.
Moscow, Tehran and Ankara condemned any form of separatism within the framework of the “Astana format,” and the emerging rapprochement between former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Erdogan left the Kurds in a dead end. When the rebels and militants moving from Idlib overthrew Assad, the Kurdish groups found themselves in an even worse position.
Turkey is now the main sponsor and supporter of the Syrian regime, although it is no longer Damascus's only ally. Of the foreigners, only Turkish soldiers can freely roam the territories controlled by Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Turkey builds military bases, irritating Israel. Donald Trump praises Erdogan for his strength, intelligence and “taking over Syria,” while the Turkish president demands that the Kurds lay down their arms and give up their autonomy.
With such influence and the support of the United States as the main sponsor of the Syrian Kurds, Turkey has gained real trump cards in the fight against the PKK. And, as a result, on May 12, almost half a century after its inception, the Kurdistan Workers' Party announced its self-dissolution.
This historic event took place not only because there was a change of power in Syria and the “Kurdish project” suffered a painful blow.
Long before the events in Damascus, in October last year, Erdogan's closest ally in the ruling coalition and leader of the nationalist MHP party, Devlet Bahceli, called on Ocalan to speak in the Turkish parliament and disband his organization.
Bahçeli assigned the role of mediator to deputies from the legally operating pro-Kurdish People's Unity and Democracy Party (DEM), who were supposed to conduct negotiations with Ocalan.
In the end, this is what happened. On October 24 last year, the PKK leader met with DEM MP and his nephew Rihi Omer Ocalan. At the end of December, a DEM delegation went to the prison again, and the PKK leader expressed his readiness to “make the necessary positive contribution to the new paradigm” of relations with the Kurds, promoted by Erdogan and Bahceli.
In February, Öcalan had already addressed his supporters, calling on them to lay down their arms. The key decision had been made, but it was necessary to wait for the response of the PKK members: during the years of Öcalan's imprisonment, they had gained a certain autonomy. But their reaction was approving: disband ourselves.
The significance of the self-dissolution of the RPK is difficult to overestimate.
This is the end of the armed struggle of the organization that defended the interests of Turkey's largest national minority, which, according to various estimates, numbers between 15 and 30 million people out of the republic's 80 million population.
This is the end of terror and guerrilla warfare that threatened the integrity of a key NATO country and the Middle East.
Of all the threats to Turkish statehood, the Kurdish one was the most dangerous. After all, the struggle between the secular Imamoglu and Erdogan is a struggle of ideologies, a dispute over the form of government and the vector of development, and in the confrontation with the PKK there were only two paths: either Türkiye remains whole or disintegrates.
Erdogan and his ministers are jubilant (although they are still using rather modest assessments like “Türkiye without terror”), because they have done what no Turkish leader has managed to do in 50 years.
In terms of scale, this victory is probably comparable to the merits of Ataturk, who managed to prevent the dismemberment of Turkey in his time. And yet another reason to cement his name in the history of the country and justify the extension of his power.
Situationally, Erdogan can use the victory over Ocalan as an argument to earn points in the confrontation with Imamoglu and Ozel. Like, look, your party failed, but we did. If we add the recent death of Gulen, then Erdogan managed to deal with almost all of his enemies.
If we talk about the influence on Turkish foreign policy, then the self-dissolution of the PKK, the fight against which both in Syria and in Turkey took a lot of effort and resources, will allow Ankara to act in the international arena much more confidently. At least in the same Syria.
Despite the desire of the YPG members to join the army of al-Sha'ar, they did not give up their autonomy. Erdogan made it clear that the dissolution of the PKK also applies to their members in Syria, i.e. the YPG. So the pressure on the Syrian Kurds from the tandem of al-Sha'ar and Erdogan will only increase.
After Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, his meeting with Al-Sharaa and the lifting of US sanctions, the pair feels even more confident. After all, according to Trump, he made the decision about the meeting and sanctions after a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart.
The plans of the head of the White House to withdraw troops from the Euphrates region may accelerate the liquidation of the YPG. The preservation of the PKK was a sore point that Turkey's rivals, even within NATO, could press on at any moment. Now the Democrats in the US or Emmanuel Macron no longer have such an advantage.
The trigger for the dissolution of the PKK was the events in Syria - both the change of power itself and the operations of the Turkish troops.
At the same time, Bahçeli's influence on this process should not be underestimated.
Although he represents the most intransigent party on the Kurdish issue, Bahçeli knows how to be pragmatic and flexible, which he demonstrated during the protests over the arrest of Imamoglu. The head of the MHP asked Erdogan not to delay the “resolution of the issue” of the mayor of Istanbul: “If guilty, then to prison, if acquitted, to fulfill his duties, and a trial without detention and a trial on television.”
Other factors can also be noted as a motive for the PKK's self-dissolution: continuing the fight against Turkey, which was gaining strength in Syria and strengthening its army, was becoming an increasingly difficult task.
What will be the future fate of the many thousands of PKK members and activists?
They can migrate to politics, join the ranks of legal parties, first of all DEM. Haven't former soldiers and mafiosi become politicians? And who knows, maybe in politics the ex-RPK members will achieve greater success in defending the rights of the Kurds than in the Qandil Mountains?
Good move. They went after everybody but the murderous Moslem set, and had the shooters who were "known" somewhere toward the bottom of the list, below the Antifa set. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard says the Biden-era mentality of treating conservatives and citizens with dissenting views like domestic gunnies was an "abuse of power," signaling that a 2021 memo that empowered the FBI to probe Americans for "concerning non-criminal behavior" is no longer operative.
Gabbard told Just the News in a statement Monday that she has ended the domestic terrorism approach of the Biden administration that was used to justify the targeting of conservative Catholics, gun enthusiasts and parents who protested school board policies.
In fact, officials said, domestic terrorism was recently removed as a top threat from the intelligence community’s national threat assessment as a first step in that transition.
Gabbard’s statement came after Just the News reported last week that a June 2021 domestic terrorism policy memo empowered federal agencies like the FBI and Homeland Security Department to open probes on Americans solely if an agent believed they had been involved in "concerning non-criminal behavior."
[IsraelTimes] Eric Adams cites need for ‘decisive action’ as he announces Office to Combat Antisemitism, 1st of its kind in a major US city, amid upsurge in anti-Jewish hate crimes
New York City Mayor Eric Adams ...Hizonner da Mare of Noo Yawk. As a Manchurian candidate, Hizonner was all in favor of law and order and that kind of stuff. Once in office, a bunch of his friends found cushy jobs with the city, the windows kept getting broken, and Soros-funded DA Alvin Bragg remained right where he was. Most people comfort themselves with the thought that he's not Bill di Blasio but that's pretty small comfort with kids who actually go to school getting bumped off while standing in front of them. But he's a Dem, so the rubes will vote for him next election too, so he's what they deserve... on Monday announced a new office aimed at combating antisemitism, amid a sustained surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes following the October 2023 invasion of Israel.
Talk about a turnaround! Compare the man now to what he was like during the Biden-Harris/BLM era.He had a serious Come-to-Jesus moment when the Progressives turned on him as soon as he spoke up because the illegal aliens Florida and Texas were bussing to him had become a serious, serious problem for his little city.
The Office to Combat Antisemitism, a citywide bureau under the mayor’s purview, is the first of its kind in a major US city.
The office will establish an inter-agency task force for fighting antisemitism, the mayor’s office told The Times of Israel. Its activities will include monitoring court cases related to anti-Jewish crimes, giving advice on executive orders and legislation, and liaising with the New York City Law Department, the department that handles most of the city’s legal affairs.
The antisemitism bureau will also have the authority to enforce a ban on antisemitism at city-funded agencies. Recent incidents at city agencies include a New York City Department of Education office sending out a toolkit with antisemitic language, and a city parks office booking Kehlani, an anti-Israel singer who has called for an intifada and the destruction of Israel. Kehlani’s Central Park concert was canceled amid pressure from the mayor’s office.
Adams appointed Moshe Davis, his Jewish liaison since 2022, to head the new office. Davis will start by forming a commission of New York City Jewish leaders to advise the new bureau. Davis will report to Randy Mastro, the city’s first deputy mayor.
"This office will be a sledgehammer: deliberate, coordinated and unapologetic," Davis said at a Tuesday press briefing. "We’re all in the same boat. This isn’t a Jewish issue, this is a New York issue." Like most street crime
The mayor’s office cited the high rate of antisemitism as a reason for establishing the office. Last year, 54% of all hate crimes in New York City targeted Jews, and during the first quarter of this year, that figure climbed to 62%, according to NYPD data. Jews represent around 10% of the city population.
"This moment calls for decisive action," Adams said in a statement. "Antisemitism is an attack not only on Jewish New Yorkers, but on the very idea of New York City as a place where people from all backgrounds can live together."
It’s such a downer when the police keep having to going over to the neighbours’ and then question me again, just because those other idiots think they’re entitled to come here and cause trouble.
Adams announced the task force at a Monday briefing in City Hall, flanked by Hasidic, Orthodox, and secular community leaders, including representatives of the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, and the UJA-Federation of New York.
Adams, a former NYPD officer and Brooklyn borough president, has strong ties to New York Jewish communities, particularly in Brooklyn, and is a vocal supporter of Israel and the Jewish community. He announced the task force while standing next to Devorah Halberstam, whose son, Ari, was murdered in an antisemitic attack in 1994. Adams and Halberstam have been close since then.
In 2023, Adams formed the city’s first Jewish Advisory Council, a group charged with improving Jewish life in the city. Another program, called Breaking Bread, Building Bonds, is aimed at combating hatred more generally.
The Trump administration established a federal antisemitism task force in February.
Adams’s predecessor Comrade Bill de Blasio
...cryptocommie former mayor of New York and for some reason a Dem candidate for president in 2020. Corrupt and incompetent, his qualifications for office seem to consist of being married to a black woman, with whom he honeymooned in Cuba. He has a preppy-looking son named Dante, whose Divine Comedy involved getting his back hair up when a police car drove past him slowly. New Yorkers voted for him, so they deserved him... opened the city’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes in 2019, largely in response to antisemitism. Adams said the new task force will complement the hate crimes unit.
The new office’s scope extends beyond hate crimes with its oversight of city agencies.
"There are many rivers that feed the sea of antisemitism," Adams said, citing rhetoric at schools and colleges. "We have to proactively monitor what is leaving our agencies. We cannot be the feeder of hate."
The broader focus could cause conflicts as the office navigates the line between anti-Israel speech and antisemitism. Jewish New Yorkers have been unnerved by hundreds of anti-Israel protests on city streets since October 7, including in Jewish neighborhoods. Adams has defended the right to protest and criticize Israel, including on Tuesday.
"You have a right to free speech and you have a right to have your opinion," he said. "We want to make sure that free speech does not cross the line into hate."
The details of the task force’s oversight of city agencies remain unclear. Davis declined to confirm whether the new office will adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which covers some forms of Israel criticism. There will be further details available about the task force’s protocols in the coming weeks, he said.
Adams said that advocating for Paleostinians does not constitute antisemitism, but indicated he personally views anti-Zionism as antisemitic.
"If you’re saying, ’Eradicate Israel, destroy Israel,’ I mean, who lives in Israel?" Adams said. "If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, call it a duck."
Adams has been battered over corruption allegations and his ties to the Trump administration in the past year.
He is up for reelection in November. The city’s Democratic Party primary, which typically decides who will win the general election in the mostly Democratic city, will take place next month. Adams announced last month that he will run as an independent.
Former New York governor Andrew Sonny Cuomo has a commanding lead in polls for the primary, and has also been pitching to Jewish voters and prioritizing the fight against antisemitism, making several stops at synagogues in recent weeks.
Adams has reportedly petitioned to run in the mayoral race on an "EndAntiSemitism" ballot line.
Jews have been disproportionately targeted in hate crimes in New York for years, including before the October 2023 Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... attack. When de Blasio announced the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, Jews were also targeted in 60% of hate crimes. Adams said the task force was starting this week, despite that history, as part of a long "evolution" in his approach to combating hate.
Lots of satellite photos at the link so you can draw your own conclusions, dear Reader. Not super high whatchamacallam, but in colour and helpfully labelled.
[KhaamaPress] Satellite imagery shows that despite bold claims from both India and Pakistain, the actual damage from their military clash was limited.
In a recent report by The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , Agnes Chang, Pablo Robles, and Mujib Mashal revealed that the four-day military clash between India and Pakistain, described as the largest conflict in half a century between the nuclear-armed neighbors, was not as devastating as initially claimed. Both nations employed drones and missiles to target military facilities, and both sides claimed substantial damage. However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... satellite imagery from May 14, 2025, shows that the actual destruction was more limited and mainly inflicted by India on Pakistain’s military assets.
The New York Times report indicates that while the conflict caused widespread attacks, the damage to infrastructure was surprisingly contained, especially considering the scale of military engagement. Despite both sides boasting about their offensives, high-resolution satellite imagery reveals that the strikes were precise and targeted, undermining the dramatic claims from both governments. In a modern era of high-tech warfare, it’s apparent that the fighting was highly coordinated, with both sides focusing on military installations.
Both countries reported casualties among their armed forces during the conflict. India acknowledged the loss of five soldiers, while Pakistain reported eleven. A particularly significant blow to India appeared to be the loss of aircraft. Though the Indian government has not confirmed the exact number, at least two aircraft are believed to have been downed, with speculation that the total may be higher. These losses suggest the intensity of the aerial combat during the brief but intense festivities.
One area where India appeared to have an advantage was in its targeting of Pakistain’s military airbases. The conflict shifted from symbolic gestures of power to precise military strikes aimed at crippling Pakistain’s defense capabilities. Satellite imagery from before and after the strikes shows clear damage to Pak facilities, confirming India’s claims of successful targeting.
India’s precision strikes were focused on several key locations in Pakistain. Notably, Bholari Air Base, located near Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , was struck, with clear damage visible to an aircraft hangar. Another major target was the Nur Khan Air Base, located near Pakistain’s army headquarters and nuclear command. India’s military specifically targeted runways and other vital facilities at these airbases. Satellite images from the aftermath reveal significant damage to the infrastructure.
Despite India’s precision strikes, Pakistain’s counterattacks were reported with less clarity. Pakistain claimed to have destroyed several Indian military bases, including the Udhampur Air Base. However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... satellite images from May 12 did not show visible damage at the claimed target, calling into question the extent of Pakistain’s reported successes.
The findings of The New York Times suggest that the nature of modern warfare has shifted, with both India and Pakistain utilizing advanced technology to carry out highly targeted strikes. Despite the dramatic rhetoric from both sides, the actual damage appears to be more limited and calculated, suggesting that both countries were mindful of avoiding broader destruction. However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... the human toll, with casualties on both sides, reflects the ongoing volatility in the region.
The impact of these festivities will likely have long-term implications for the strategic calculus in South Asia. As both nations continue to test each other’s defense capabilities, the risk of further escalation remains high. The precise nature of the strikes, as shown by satellite imagery, could become a defining feature of future military engagements between nuclear-armed states, where damage control and targeting accuracy will play pivotal roles in shaping conflict outcomes.
[KhaamaPress] In 2024, global displacement surged to a record 83.4 million, driven by war, natural disasters, and climate change impacts.
A new report reveals that over 83.4 million people were internally displaced in 2024 due to conflicts, natural disasters, and climate change. This staggering figure is equivalent to the population of Germany.
According to La Belle France 24, the data was compiled by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), marking a historic global record for internal displacement.
The report highlights that internal displacement has doubled over the past six years, reaching its highest level ever recorded. The convergence of war, poverty, and climate change has disproportionately affected the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Alexandra Bilak, head of IDMC, emphasized that internal displacement reflects the point where multiple crises meet, making recovery and protection more difficult for affected individuals.
Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... currently tops the global displacement list, with over 11.6 million internally displaced people, registering a new record for the country in 2024.
These findings emerge as international humanitarian agencies face mounting challenges, particularly after U.S. foreign aid reductions under President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... ’s administration.
[IsraelTimes] Jordan carried out a medical evacuation of four child cancer patients and 12 of their family members from Gaza to the Hashemite kingdom earlier today, a Jordanian official tells The Times of Israel.
This follows King Abdullah’s announcement during a February meeting with US President Donald Trump that Jordan would take in 2,000 child cancer patients from Gaza, as Washington sought to push countries in the region to facilitate the emigration of Palestinians from the war-torn Strip.
The total number of cancer patients taken in by Jordan now stands at 33, after 29 were medically evacuated in March along with 44 family members.
The slow pace and small number of evacuations have reportedly been a point of tension for US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and Democratic House Representative Nancy Pelosi, who have both raised their frustration with Jordanian counterparts.
Politico reported that Jordanian officials in response noted that Israel was refusing to commit to allowing those who leave to return upon completion of their treatment, leaving family members unable to reunite with their loved ones.
The Israeli stance has significantly hampered efforts to find countries to take Gazans, particularly given increasing comments from government officials in Jerusalem about plans to permanently occupy the Strip and build settlements in places where Palestinians once lived.
The Jordanian official tells The Times of Israel that Amman is still committed to meeting Abdullah’s pledge to Trump, despite the challenges.
“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.
The transport through Israel ostensibly required the cooperation of Israeli authorities, but a separate Jordanian statement only mentions cooperation with the World Health Organization.
[IsraelTimesJ Freed hostage’s aunt says he received more food following US election, while a report claims dual citizen was also moved to a nicer tunnel alongside senior Hamas officials
Freed hostage Edan Alexander’s conditions in captivity improved following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... in January, according to a family member.
Alexander’s aunt, Sharon Senyor, told the Ynet news site on Wednesday that "he said that since Trump took power his conditions improved. From the moment they started to talk about him, they gave him more food so that he would gain weight."
Ynet also reported, citing conversations Alexander had with others since his release on Monday, that following Trump’s inauguration, the freed hostage was moved to a "VIP tunnel" with senior Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... officials in order to both serve as a human shield and provide him with further protection due to his American citizenship.
This echoes comments Alexander reportedly made during his phone conversation with Trump on Tuesday. According to Channel 12 news, Alexander, when asked by the US president how Hamas had treated him, answered: "Since you got elected, my conditions improved dramatically. There are tons of cameras and people around me right now — I can’t share much at the moment. We’ll talk in private."
Although reports had circulated that Alexander might fly to Doha on Wednesday to meet with Trump, his family said following his release that he required further medical treatment before leaving the country, and expects to meet the US president in Washington in the future.
Alexander, 21, the last living hostage with American citizenship, was freed 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... on Monday, after 584 days in captivity, following indirect talks between the US and Hamas. The negotiations sidelined Israeli officials, who were updated only after the deal was struck.
A dual citizen who grew up in New Jersey, Alexander was serving in the IDF’s Golani Brigade at the time of his abduction. Hamas kidnapped him from his base near the Gaza border community of Nirim, known as the White House post, during its October 7 onslaught.
He is the first male IDF soldier to be freed by Hamas since the start of the war. The other hostages with US citizenship still remaining in the Strip have all been declared dead by Israeli officials — soldiers Itay Chen and Omer Neutra and married couple Judith Weinstein and Gadi Haggai.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressed heavily on Hamas and Israel to agree to a January ceasefire that went into effect even before Trump took office. Pressure and threats from Trump are considered to have played a significant role in ultimately bringing the deal to fruition after more than a year of stalled talks.
During that deal, Hamas freed 30 hostages, including five Thai nationals, and returned the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives. Two of those freed, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel, also had US citizenship, and Siegel met with Trump in the White House in March.
In March, Hamas offered to free only Alexander and the bodies of the other hostages with US citizenship, a move rejected by Israel and later also rejected by Witkoff.
Alexander told soldiers who received him in the Strip that Hamas subjected him to harsh torture for weeks on end and kept him in a cage over a long period of time with his hands and feet bound, the Kan public broadcaster reported.
In remarks to news hounds on Tuesday evening, his parents, Yael and Adi, spoke of Edan’s suffering during more than 19 months of captivity.
Yael said her son suffered from a lack of water, food and other aid. He also described the terror he experienced when the IDF would strike Gaza, destroying buildings.
"The strikes and bombs made him think that every moment was about to be his last one," she said. "Edan, my hero, you returned from the horror. But other hostages are still living through that threat, they are still living in that hell. My heart has returned to beating, but they still need to return home."
According to the Channel 12 news network, Alexander was severely beaten during the early period of his captivity, and he returned to Israel with flea bites and bruises all over his body.
Channel 12 also reports that Alexander, on his release yesterday, immediately told Israeli officials and Witkoff that Matan Zangauker must be urgently returned. He was held with Zangauker for the past eight months, the report says.
Zangauker’s mother, Einav, has said they were held together in the same tunnel, with no other hostages.
Edan Alexander has told his family that he endured torture and was bound some of the time he was held in captivity in Gaza, with his head covered so he couldn’t see, the Ynet news site reports.
The hostage has reportedly said his first days of captivity were “hell,” with Israeli strikes making him fear for his life. On one occasion, a tunnel where he was being held collapsed, but he managed to escape unscathed.
Alexander was held by senior Hamas officials and was regarded as an “asset” due to his American citizenship, the report says, adding that he was periodically updated about developments in the war and watched many interviews his parents gave on TV.
Most of the time, he ate rice, pita bread and beans, but the menu also included meat during ceasefires, Ynet reports, saying Alexander returned with bruises and many flea bites.
#1
He got moved to a nicer tunnel - humanitarian outreach
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/15/2025 1:05 Comments ||
Top||
#2
By having hid Biden's Serious Mental decline and played Puppet Master with this nation and its citizens. The Liberals, Socialists and Democrats (LSD's) and their MSM propaganda arms are directly responsible for the voter fraud, needless deaths, sufferings and the massive $ Trillion Financial rip-off incurred during their 4-Year Coup.
If the Trump administration can withhold funding for unacceptable academic behaviour, so can the Bibi government.
[IsraelTimes] Education Minister Yoav Kisch threatens to revoke funding for universities holding events to commemorate the Palestinian “Nakba,” or catastrophe, after student groups begin their annual demonstrations.
“Academia is not a platform for incitement under the guise of freedom of expression,” Kisch writes in a post on X.
He says he has appealed to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to revoke funding for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University following events that took place on their campuses with their support.
Smotrich later says in a statement that he supports the move and will “instruct the professional authorities to immediately act on revoking the funding.”
Tension around marking the Nakba, which refers to the flight or displacement of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians around when Israel was created in 1948, are nothing new. Many Israelis view the commemorations as a veiled attempt to undermine the state’s existence.
Arab student groups at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem said yesterday that commemorating Nakba Day, traditionally marked on May 15, is even more essential this year “as the genocide against our people in Gaza continues.”
“Let us raise our voices against this genocide and displacement,” a statement from the groups said, adding that they would pass the day reading letters and poems from people in the war-torn territory.
Both Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University say in statements that they support their students’ rights to mark the day and call the minister’s threats illegal.
“Tel Aviv University categorically rejects the education minister’s appalling threats to take illegal action and withhold funding from the university,” Tel Aviv University says in a statement, adding that under Israeli law, “demonstrations initiated by students on Nakba Day, which is held at most Israeli universities, are protected by the freedom of expression and protest.”
The Hebrew University responds similarly, saying that Kisch’s “directive is without any legal foundation or statutory support.”
“The Hebrew University is committed to fostering coexistence across all sectors of Israeli society,” the statement says. “As part of its dedication to freedom of expression, the university ensures that diverse voices can be heard — embracing complexity in dialogue and encouraging mutual respect.”
Kisch responds on X that embracing such events “prevents academic freedom,” and that “any students who think that Nakba Day is a national day of mourning are invited to study at Birzeit University and not at the university of the first Zionist city in Israel.” Birzeit is a university in the West Bank.
Kisch says that under the law, institutions supporting Nakba Day activities should expect to have their budgets denied.
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a meeting with wounded IDF reservists last night that Israel may agree to a short-term ceasefire for the release of hostages, but will not end the war under any circumstances until Hamas is defeated, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
“The situation has changed. In the coming days, we will go in [to Gaza] with full force to complete the operation. Completing the operation means subduing Hamas. It means destroying Hamas,” the premier tells the reservists, in a video shared by the PMO.
“Eliminating Hamas and freeing all our hostages — these go hand in hand. That’s how we’re doing this,” continues Netanyahu.
As Israel sends a delegation to Doha for final efforts at reaching a ceasefire-hostage deal before US President Donald Trump concludes his Middle East visit, Netanyahu says: “Maybe Hamas will say, ‘Wait — we want to release 10 more [hostages].’ Fine, bring them. We’ll take them. And then we’ll go in. But there will be no situation where we stop the war.”
“A temporary ceasefire — fine. But we’re going all the way,” the premier says.
“We’ve already set up a governing body that will allow [civilians] to exit, but the main issue is this — we need host countries willing to absorb them. That’s what we’re working on right now,” he adds.
“If we give them a way out, I’m telling you — more than 50% will leave. In my opinion, many more. But Hamas will not remain there,” he says.
The reservists, who are members of the “Wounded Soldiers for Victory” forum, “expressed support for Netanyahu’s leadership in pursuing victory and achieving all the war’s objectives, and urged him to decisively defeat the terrorist organization Hamas,” the PMO says.
“You are an example and an inspiration, and with your spirit, we are heading toward total victory,” he tells the group.
[IsraelTimes] Organization says Israel will establish more distribution sites throughout Strip after initially only agreeing to 4 in the south; US still working to secure key backing from other NGOs
A US-backed aid organization established to manage a new model for distributing humanitarian assistance 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... announced Wednesday that it would begin operating in the enclave by the end of the month and that Israel would lift its over two-month blockade in the interim.
There was no Israeli confirmation of the latter announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), but an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that one would be made in the coming days.
GHF is an organization established earlier this year in close coordination with Israel to oversee the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza in a manner that does not allow its diversion by Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... amid mounting mistrust between Jerusalem and UN-backed aid groups who have been operating in the Strip to date.
GHF is backed by the Trump administration, but it’s rollout has been rocky, with many international organizations refusing to cooperate due to the strict conditions Israel is placing on its operations.
Among those restrictions was a limit on aid distribution sites to just four all located in southern Gaza. Even GHF acknowledged in a memo earlier this month that this would only be enough to at best feed 60% of Gaza’s population.
Accordingly, GHF said in its inaugural Wednesday statement that it asked and received Israeli approval for additional "Safe Distribution Sites" (SDSs) to be established throughout Gaza. The statement doesn’t say how many SDSs Israel agreed to build. As of last week, only one SDS was in the process of construction by the IDF.
GHF said it would launch operations by the end of May, but acknowledged that it would take time before it would take time before it would be fully operational. Accordingly, the foundation said Israel has agreed "to allow the flow of transitional aid into Gaza under existing mechanisms" until the construction of SDSs is complete.
GHF said it secured the concession from Israel after it sent a letter to the Israeli government that outlined the organization’s requirements for operation. The letter was sent by Jake Wood, the founder and former CEO of the Team Rubicon disaster relief group, who has agreed to come on as GHF’s executive director.
"There is no time to wait for ideal conditions. We have a responsibility to act and to do it without compromising our values," Wood said in a statement.
"Today we are one step closer to doing just that. GHF’s neutral, cooperative, and secure model will allow NGOs and humanitarian groups to operate safely, with minimized aid interdiction, resulting in maximum life-saving impact," he added.
It is unclear which aid organizations will cooperate with GHF, though. UN-backed aid organizations currently operating in Gaza issued a joint statement earlier this month saying they would not join the effort, arguing that Israel’s conditions on GHF would leave vulnerable populations without humanitarian assistance.
Humanitarian workers criticized the initial plan to have just four distribution sites in Gaza, along with other criteria only allowing one family representative chosen by Israel to pick up a roughly 40-lb box of assistance once every two weeks. They also argued that the requirement to then carry the box of aid long distances still exposed recipients to Hamas looting.
However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... the GHF statement said it was in the "final stages" of securing enough food from aid organizations already operating in Gaza to box 300 million meals within the first 90 days of operation.
Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, a triangular dorsal fin appeared in the water. Then another... Trump officials have been meetings in recent days with representatives from UN agencies and other international aid organizations, pressuring them to cooperate with the plan and — in at least one case — threatening to cut funding from groups that refuse.
Two organizations that have agreed to join the effort are American security firms UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions, who will be tasked with running logistics and security at the SDSs so that the IDF does not need to be directly involved, the Israeli official told The Times of Israel, adding that the military will only secure the perimeter of a still-being-built humanitarian zone where the SDSs will be located.
Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza since March 2, arguing that enough assistance entered Gaza during a six-week ceasefire and that Hamas was diverting aid from civilians. Nonetheless, the IDF has warned the political echelon that the Strip is on the brink of starvation, the Israeli official told The Times of Israel.
In his letter to the Israeli government, Wood sought to address some of the concerns. He said the foundation would not share any personally identifiable information of aid recipients with Israel.
Wood also asked in the letter for the IDF to "identify and deconflict sufficient locations in northern Gaza capable of hosting GHF-operated secure distribution sites that can be made operational within thirty days."
Israel is planning to launch a massive military operation as early as Friday that aims to reoccupy and permanently hold onto the entire Strip, while squeezing the entire population into a small humanitarian zone in the southern Strip that makes up less than a quarter of the enclave’s territory.
Wood asked Israel to facilitate the flow of enough aid "using existing modalities" now until GHF’s infrastructure is fully operational, saying this is essential to "alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure, as well as decrease the pressure on the distribution sites during our first days of operation."
The GHF statement identified several US military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors that it said would lead the delivery effort. However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... a GHF memo distributed to potential donor countries and organizations included names of several individuals it claimed would sit on its board, even though they had never agreed to do so, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The GHF statement did not all of the criticism and unanswered questions that the international community has about the group, including who would fund the work and how much involvement the US, Israel or any other government or military would have in controlling life-saving aid for Paleostinian civilians.
Last week, the UAE turned down a request to bankroll GHF, a bigwig familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
The rejection marked a major blow to the initiative, as Israel hoped that Emirati support would help convince other countries and international organizations to follow suit.
Emirati officials told their Israeli counterparts that the UAE would not be able to provide such financial support because the GHF initiative — as it currently stands — does not properly address the humanitarian crisis, the official said, confirming an Axios report.
The official stressed that Abu Dhabi’s position could change if the initiative is adapted to properly meet the moment. It was not immediately clear if the changes Wood said he had secured would be enough to convince the UAE to change its mind.
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05/15/2025 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Police in Antwerp looking for rabbis conducting the religious rite without medical license; Jewish group says raids part of larger campaign of intimidation against Jews in Belgium
They’re going to lose their famous Diamond District in Antwerp, populated primarily by Orthodox Jews and their returned Israeli cousins who kept up stone cutting trade in their new refuge. The small sprinkling of Indians offering cut price products will not be able maintain standards after the Jews all join the rest of the community in Israel
Belgium police conducted a series of raids on Wednesday in Jewish homes in Antwerp looking for people illegally conducting ritual Jewish circumcisions, local officials said.
Police conducted raids on three locations in Antwerp’s Jewish Quarter and nearby Green Quarter seeking knives and other equipment used in circumcisions, according to local reports. No one was arrested.
Police are concerned that the brit milah ritual is being performed on Jewish baby boys by unlicensed mohels (people who perform circumcision) instead of professional doctors. The ritual is commonly done in a synagogue, not a medical institution, by people who may not have undergone receive comprehensive medical training.
"The problem is that there is no clear law regarding circumcision at the moment," Belgian MP Michael Freilich, the country’s only Orthodox Jewish politician, told The Times of Israel.
While there are no laws specifically regulating Jewish ritual circumcision, Belgium has laws mandating that all medical procedures must be performed by a licensed doctor.
While this is driven by Jew hate, how hard could it be for a trained mohel to get a medical degree in order to forestall exactly this kind of problem? Or vice versa, for a nice Jewish doctor to go through mohel training to make the Orthodox Jews happy? Judaism has no philosophical problem with traditional Western medicine.
Freilich, who works with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... on Jewish matters in his position as the European Jewish Association’s diplomatic envoy for issues of antisemitism and Holocaust remembrance, is working on developing EU certification for mohels, but that is likely years away, he noted.
Until then, the situation is precarious for Jews looking to perform the biblically prescribed religious ritual with a traditional mohel.
"This is a very sad day. On one hand, Jews must obviously respect the laws of their countries," Freilich said. "On the other hand, there has been a policy until now of the government turning a blind eye to this issue. The problem is not that brit milah is not allowed; it’s that there needs to be a clearer law about who can perform the procedure. We need to work together to find a solution."
European Jewish Association chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin condemned the raids, calling them part of a larger campaign of intimidation against Jewish religious figures in Belgium.
"Following the ban on ritual slaughter [in a 2019 law that requires that animals be stunned before they can be slaughtered for food], the harassment of mohels represents a further red line and a clear warning sign to Belgian Jews and the Belgian government," Margolin said. "Any restriction on circumcision in Belgium would send a clear message to Belgian Jews that they are not welcome in the country."
CUTTING UNDER SHARP SCRUTINY
Prosecutors in Antwerp, where most of Belgium’s approximately 30,000 Jews live, have been investigating illegal circumcisions since a renegade member of the Jewish community filed a series of complaints.
In November 2023, Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Friedman, an anti-Zionist activist from New York living in Antwerp, complained to police that six mohels were endangering children by using a controversial custom known as metzitzah b’peh in the circumcision process.
The practice involves mohels using their lips to suck blood from the penises of babies on whom they’d performed the Jewish ritual.
The controversial custom is thought to have caused the death of at least one child in New York in 2012 from herpes. Another outbreak among infants of Haredi families in New York occurred in 2017 and was attributed to metzitzah b’peh.
Then, in September 2024, Friedman informed police that circumcisions were being performed without legal approvals, and a local television station reported on the issue, stoking local concern.
"The only reason this is happening now is because of Friedman," Freilich said. "That doesn’t mean it would never have happened, but he made it go much faster."
Unlicensed circumcisions are under increased scrutiny in Europe. Last summer, authorities in Ireland arrested a rabbi from London for allegedly performing circumcision without required medical credentials in what may be the first case in modern Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... of a rabbi arrested in connection with a brit milah.
Circumcision is relatively uncommon among the general population of Europe, with only 10-20% of males having gone under the knife, compared to over 70% in the United States.
”We don’t cut our boys, unlike both Jews and Moslems. Then all we need do is pull down their pants to find them hiding among us.” Never mind the health benefits — it’s cruel to deprive men of the primal satisfaction of the pop, the fanatics proclaim indignantly.
Muslims generally undergo circumcision at a hospital, not in a religious ceremony, so the legislation is primarily a Jewish issue.
Most countries do not have any specific legislation regarding circumcision, allowing the Jewish ritual to continue as a religious freedom without intervening, Freilich explained. Only Germany has a law specifically allowing non-medical practitioners to conduct the brit milah under appropriate medical and hygienic conditions.
Freilich hopes to work with other European governments to adopt similar legislation allowing circumcision. He is also trying to encourage the EU to recognize certified mohels, he said.
Hoping to play the entire world like a violin — they’re a very different kind of jihadi than either ISIS or the Taliban.
[IsraelTimes] Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh makes a call to global investors to come do business with Syria after US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that he would lift all of Washington’s sanctions on the country.
“Syria today is a land of opportunities, with immense potential across every sector– from agriculture to oil, tourism, infrastructure and transportation,” Barnieh says in an interview with Reuters at the finance ministry in Damascus.
“We envision a central role for the private sector in the new Syrian economy. The finance ministry’s role is not to spend indiscriminately or act as a regulatory enforcer over businesses, but rather to enable and support growth.”
[NAHARNET] Calm returned gradually to the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... after a tense night that witnessed protests and shooting in the air over a delay in the release the results of the municipal elections that were held on Sunday.
The protests lead to the closure of a number of key roads in the city, prompting the army and security forces to send major reinforcements to pursue shooters and restore order.
The developments also pushed Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar and Justice Minister Adel Nassar to visit Tripoli's Justice Palace to oversee the counting of votes and resolve any obstacles.
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[NAHARNET] U.S. President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... said Wednesday at a meeting of leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists... in Riyadh that there is in Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... a new chance for peace and for a future "free from the grip of Hezbollah".
"In Lebanon there is a new chance for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah gunnies if the new president and PM can rebuild an effective Lebanese state," Trump said.
"This is a once in a generation opportunity to forge a Lebanon that is prosperous and at peace with its neighbors," he added.
Trump also told Gulf leaders that he urgently wants "to make 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... to wind down its nuclear program but that Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the region -- Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... 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... , Hezbollah in Lebanon, and 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... -- as part of any potential agreement.
(Iran) "must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons," Trump said.
The U.S. and Iran have engaged in four rounds of talks since early last month focused on Iran's nuclear program. Trump has repeatedly said that he believes brokering a deal is possible, but that the window is closing.
Trump remarks came after he met with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh on the sidelines of the gathering, a day after announcing he was lifting sanctions on the war-battered country.
Hezbollah is severely weakened after its war last year with Israel in which much of its top leadership was killed, and after losing a key ally with the fall of former Syrian President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... , a conduit for Iran to send arms.
What President Trump said in Saudi Arabia on the 13th:
“I want to make a deal with Iran. If I can make a deal with Iran, I’ll be very happy if we’re going to make your region and the world a safer place,” Trump says during a foreign policy speech in Riyadh.
“But if Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure [and] drive Iranian oil exports to zero like I did before,” he says.
“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. But with that said, Iran can have a much brighter future,” he adds.
“This is an offer that will not last forever. The time is right now for them to choose… Things are happening at a very fast pace,” Trump says.
He calls Iran the “most destructive force” in the Middle East, and blames the regime for instability across the region.
Offering what he describes as both a final warning and a potential opening for diplomacy, he says Iran has a choice between continuing its “chaos and terror” or embracing a path toward peace.
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says Tehran would commit to never making nuclear weapons, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium, agree to only enrich uranium to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, NBC reported.
US officials have offered varying statements regarding whether they’ll accept a deal that allows Iran to maintain a limited enrichment program, though, more recently have asserted that they won’t.
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05/15/2025 00:00 ||
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#1
"... Iran says will agree to uranium enrichment cap..."
Like they previously agreed twice before, and violated the agreements anyway.
[NAHARNET] The latest stances of Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... were ''realistic,'' Lebanese Presidency sources said.
''Every now and then some Hezbollah officials issue some stances that do not reflect this pragmatism, but what's certain is that the more they show cooperation, the more things become easier to implement,'' the sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
''The president had repeatedly talked about Hezbollah's cooperation as to the withdrawal of arms south of the Litani River and Qassem's remarks reflect a reassuring atmosphere in terms of the implementation of Resolution 1701 and what stemmed from it in the agreement reached in November 2024 on which Hezbollah agreed,'' the sources added.
As for Qassem's warnings that some want to isolate Hezbollah, the sources said: ''No one wants to isolate them and ignoring them is out of the question. Hezbollah is represented in parliament and government and talking about isolation is not logical.''
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05/15/2025 00:00 ||
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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 
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
Director of National Intelligence 
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
