Caroline Glick: The Unfinished War
The war with Hamas is not over. What we are experiencing today is a temporary cease-fire.Sarah Honig: Mideastern Mirror Mania
The most basic reason the war is not over is because Hamas has no existence outside its war against the Jewish state. Hamas exists to obliterate Israel. The goal of each round of fighting is to soften Israel up for the next round.
Hamas will only stop fighting when it is defeated. And Israel did not defeat Hamas.
Not only did Israel not defeat Hamas, according to Haaretz, senior IDF commanders are now lobbying the government to enable Hamas to credibly claim victory.
According to Amos Harel, senior IDF commanders want Israel to bow to Hamas’s demands for open borders with Israel and for the steady transfer of funds to Hamas’s treasury.
Harel quoted a senior IDF source who said that if Israel doesn’t give in to Hamas’s demands for open borders, Hamas will renew its attacks at the end of September.
The Arab world’s favorite looking-glass is the crazy mirror – a.k.a. the carnival mirror – that lowbrow staple of old-time funfairs. No use expecting verisimilitude here. It’s not sought and it is not welcome. The idea isn’t to reflect reality but to invent its deceptive alternative.Alan Dershowitz: No one should be surprised at ISIS' brutality because the world rewards terrorism
Curved mirrors, both convex and concave, distort shapes weirdly and wickedly and render the factual and the imaginary indistinguishable.
These mirrors are further adroitly shifted and retracted. With a bit of smoke, conjurers can altogether cunningly both obscure and embellish the truth in a spellbinding, hallucinatory extravaganza.
This is why Israelis emerged somewhat downhearted from the latest conflict with Gaza while Hamastan lustily celebrated the triumph it proclaimed absurdly among the ruins.
Both sides here are decidedly loony, but in significantly different ways, and that difference encapsulates the whole story. It reminds us that we don’t share anything close to the same logic and that we don’t think or communicate on the same wavelength. It accounts for why there can never be a meeting of the minds between the self-flagellating objectivity of Jews and the illusory subjectivity of Arabs.
World leaders, such as Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu, demand that we treat Hamas, which is indistinguishable in its overall brutality from ISIS, as a legitimate political organization. The United Nations General Assembly grants statehood to a group that began as a terrorist organization and continues to honor terrorists who murdered children. The Nobel Peace Prize Committee honors Yassir Arafat, the Godfather of terrorism, who persisted in this tactic until the day he died. European countries pay ransom to terrorists. Any many European nations—Italy, Germany, Great Britain and others—have freed terrorists, including mass murderers, who have returned to lives of terror. Even Israel has engaged in prisoner exchanges with terrorist groups.
It is one thing to negotiate—directly or indirectly—with terrorists who hold innocent people as hostages. Such negotiation may be a necessary evil. Democratic nations are sometimes forced to negotiate with the Mafia, the Ku Klux Klan and other criminal gangs. But we should never honor or legitimate them, as we have done with Palestinian terrorists. Nor should the world condemn and place on trial democracies that fight against terrorist organizations which use their own civilians as human shields. The current misguided approach to terrorism is a prescription for emulation and repetition of terrorism as the tactic of choice.
So let’s not be surprised when a group like ISIS learns the tragic lesson of history and emulates success and visibility rather than failure and invisibility. ISIS is doing exactly what the immoral consulting firm would advise it to do. So we shouldn’t be surprised. Instead we should reverse course and develop responses to terrorism that never allow this tactic to succeed. Terrorists must never be allowed to win, as they are, unfortunately, doing today.
IDF blog: The IDF’s Ability to Strike Rockets Before They’re Launched
An interview with a senior commander in the Gaza Division reveals how the IDF strikes down terrorists, in real time, as they attempt to launch rockets at Israel. “Without us, many more rockets would have been fired, endangering millions of Israelis.”Hamas and human sacrifice
Throughout Operation Protective Edge, the IDF struck hundreds of terrorists who were caught firing rockets at Israel. Many of them were struck right before launching, others were targeted after the act. Nevertheless, the IDF’s real-time intelligence and pinpoint striking abilities made it very difficult for terrorists to fire rockets at Israel without being targeted.
The senior commander in the Gaza Division told us about his main objective- “to foil rocket launches before they occur. We do target retroactively, but most of our efforts are channeled towards preventing rockets from being fired,” said a senior commander in the Gaza Division.
“It’s like in James Bond movies, when he takes out the bad guy a minute before the end, and everything goes back to normal. That’s what it’s like here. The public doesn’t know what was going to happen, they only know what actually happened–what they saw.“
So what is really happening here? Why do they continue to fire so many rockets at us? What do they hope to achieve? Either this is the least successful military campaign in the history of mankind, or the human casualty count on the Israeli side is not the primary goal of Hamas' rocket strategy.Mother of Abducted Teen: Terror 'Exploits Democracy'
Today it is clear to the world that Hamas fires rockets from densely populated civilian areas in order to draw Israeli fire upon Palestinian elderly, women and children. Hamas has learned that systematically feeding disturbing photographs of bloody babies to the international press is the most effective weapon in the pursuit of its goals.
The threat of Hamas' blood-photo strategy should not be taken lightly. It has already caused an escalation of anti-Semitic incidents and attacks on Jewish communities around the world. The only way to fight this threat is by systematic and tactical advocacy, not merely in the defensive sense, but in a way that proactively exposes Hamas' strategy to ensnare international public opinion.
Hamas is not using Palestinians as "human shields". These people actually do not effectively protect targets in Gaza, and those who continue to repeat this mantra are not convincing anyone. Hamas is literally using innocent children as human sacrifices. It is doing this purposely in order to win the battle of international public opinion. Anyone who feels that the existence of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel is important should continually reiterate the phrase "Hamas is sacrificing children."
Sha'ar added that the murder, and the legal process which has followed, exploits Israel's democracy.Israel bolstering legal team ahead of UN Gaza probe
"The murderers of our children, who are contemptible and despicable, are exploiting the democratic freedom and human love of our people," she declared. "This is vile and unacceptable, and must end."
"This distorted way of thinking of our enemies is completely different from the principles and beliefs that guide us, and we must remember that without getting confused when we discuss ways to deal with them," she added. "The State of Israel and the entire sane world should know to put an end to terror and grief."
A jittery Israeli military is gearing up for what could become its next big battle: dealing with UN investigations that could result in war-crimes allegations.Israel publishes tender for 283 settlement homes
The army has beefed up its legal staff, is conducting internal investigations of its wartime actions and has prepared a detailed PR campaign of satellite photos and video clips — hoping to persuade the world that its war against Hamas was justified.
“We take our business seriously, and as such we operate within the rules and regulations under the laws of war,” said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman.
The expansion of Elkana, in the northwest of the West Bank, was approved in January and the tenders published Thursday, the Israel Land Authority said on its website.Ariel Residents Warn of Danger Presented by PA Workers
The Jewish state in January said it would advance the construction of some 5,000 new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank, including in Elkana, Haaretz newspaper reported at the time.
Haaretz said that move was aimed at diffusing Israeli public anger over the release of Palestinian prisoners under US-brokered peace talks that later collapsed.
More than one hundred people demonstrated on Thursday evening at the Ariel junction in Samaria, in protest over the danger presented by Palestinian Arab workers who use the subsidized public transportation buses for Jews living in Judea and Samaria.Another Day, Another Ambush
The residents are warning that these Arabs are a security threat since they are being allowed to enter Israel without proper security screening, thus paving the way for potential terrorist acts.
The Samaria Residents Council called on the government and the defense minister to resume the shuttle service that was previously allocated for Palestinian Arab workers but was since cancelled.
Yiska Hetzroni, 24, of Kiryat Arba, had a premonition that something bad was going to happen to her that day. “I knew it was going to happen to me,” she told Arutz Sheva. “I had a feeling before I left the house and I told my husband that I have a bad feeling. I was ready with the telephone to call the hotline.”Furious Gaza-Area Israeli Parents: Our Kindergarten Has Become a Military Installation
"I drove from my home in the direction of Jerusalem,” she recalled. “Just before the Arab village of Halhoul, I saw Palestinian children aged about 12 who were about to throw rocks at me. I immediately pressed down hard on the gas pedal. One rock hit the center of the front windshield and the other hit the left mirror.”
A part of the dashboard of the Toyota she drives effectively stopped the rock from going any further, she said. “It was a real miracle,” she added emotionally.
After the Aug 26th cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, returning families of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, near Gaza, were greeted by an unpleasant surprise: their kindergarten had turned into a gray security fortress, Israel’s Channel 2 News reported Wednesday.Fatah Calls on World to Cancel IDF Dual Citizenship
“We went back just after the war and we were horrified,” kibbutz member Ronit said.
Seven-meter-high reinforced concrete pillars, meant to stop rocket and mortar fire, surrounded the structure, blocking air and light, angry parents complained.
“It not only looks bad, but these concrete barriers are blocking the air and light for children,” she said, arguing that, “It makes no sense to go to such conditions. The garden was crushed and the sandbox was destroyed. These concrete blocks are terrible.”
A senior leader of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction has launched a new international campaign against Israel, calling on nations of the world to cancel the citizenship for IDF soldiers after Operation Protective Edge.Staunch critic of Abbas and the PA leadership escapes assassination attempt
The Fatah leader, Mohammed Shtayyeh, a Member of the Fatah Central Committee and former PA cabinet minister, stated there was no logic to Israeli soldiers who "attack the Palestinian nation" being allowed to keep dual citizenship in a foreign country.
Shtayyeh added that the PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has already turned to several nations requesting that they negate the citizenship of the soldiers.
This is in fact not the first time that Shtayyeh has been a proponent of this particular kind of strategy.
Khraisheh, a staunch critic of Abbas and the PA leadership, said that his car was shot by four bullets during the assassination attempt.Hamas Accuses Palestinian PM of Neglecting Gaza
Khraisheh was not harmed in the incident, which took place shortly after he left his home in the village of Dhanaba in the Tulkarm area.
Khraisheh said that the shooting incident was aimed at killing him and not sending a message of warning.
No group claimed responsibility for the shooting attack and Khraisheh refused to blame any party or individual.
The attack on Khraisheh is the second of its kind in the past few weeks.
Speaking at a symposium held in Gaza City, Bahar urged the government to fulfill its duties in Gaza, particularly the reconstruction of buildings destroyed by Israeli forces and the payment of monthly salaries to civil servants who were employed by the former Hamas-run government.Expert: Hamas May Copy Drug Cartels, Use Submarines to Smuggle Weapons to Gaza
"We still want the national consensus government and we will support it in its work especially the reconstruction of Gaza," he added, but called for the government to carry out its duties in return.
Bahar also called upon Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to deploy PA security officers at Gaza crossings and along the borders with Egypt in order to speed up the promised opening of the Rafah crossing into Egypt.
After the Israeli Air Force depleted upwards of three-quarters of its rocket and mortar stockpile during Operation Protective Edge, Hamas may try to exploit mini-submarines like those used by drug cartels in South America in order to replenish its arsenal, Israel’s NRG News said this week.‘The Show Will Go On’: Actor Who Played Hamas Kids’ TV Bumblebee Character Killed
“Are we likely to see the terrorist organizations in the region using submarines to smuggle arms, money or people? According to the recent discovery of a submarine smuggling cocaine in Guyana last month, it seems that this is a possible scenario,” tech correspondent Ami Rojkes-Dombe said Tuesday.
“The fact that they were building a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) in Guyana means there are other manufacturing points in the Caribbean and now we have fleets of SPSSes,” according to Daurius Figueira, a sociology lecturer at the University of the West Indies, and the author of Cocaine Trafficking in The Caribbean & West Africa in the Era of The Mexican Cartels.
The actor who dressed up as a giant bumblebee on a Hamas children’s television program and cheered Palestinian attacks on Jews was killed in the summer violence with Israel, the program announced.DMV pulls HAMMAS plate
“The show will go on” despite his death, the young girl host of “Pioneers of Tomorrow” said in the newest episode, which was taped in the rubble of Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV station that the Israeli military bombed in July.
The Middle East Media Research Institute posted translated excerpts from the show, which did not detail the circumstances in which the actor, identified as Muhammad Al-’Ar’ir, was killed.
“We are now broadcasting this show from the studios of Al-Aqsa TV, which were destroyed by the enemy,” the host said. “They destroyed every stone and every tree, but they will never destroy our resolute will.”
The girl then – like Hamas supporters often do – vowed to capture Jerusalem and the Al Aqsa Mosque situated in the holy city. (h/t IronyDome)
A car license plate with the letters “HAMMAS” inscribed on it will be revoked and confiscated from its owner, after authorities deemed that the writing may be interpreted as a message of support for the Gaza-based Palestinian terror group Hamas.Al-Nusra threatening to put captive Fiji UN troops on trial under Islamic law
According to New York Magazine, the letters “AL QASSM,” most likely a reference to Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades — which have been responsible for multiple terror attacks on Israeli citizens — were written in red beneath the plate of the car. The car itself, a black Dodge which had been parked in a Brooklyn neighborhood, had a Palestinian flag stretched across its front windshield, witnesses said.
The New York Department of Motor Vehicles stressed it would revoke the “patently offensive” plate as soon as possible, NY1 News reported.
The al-Nusra front is threatening to put the 44 captive Fijian UNDOF troops on trial under Islamic Shari’a law if demands are not met, said the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman to London paper Asharq al-Awsat.‘Where is your mercy?': Slain journalist’s family challenges ISIS to debate on Islam
The UN troops were kidnapped on August 28 from the Golan Heights' UN-patrolled demilitarized zone when terrorists from the al-Qaida-linked group overran a crossing near the abandoned town of Quneitra.
Syrian government troops and rebels had already been engaged in fighting in the area for days when the kidnapping happened. Terrorists also captured 72 UN troops from the Philippines around the same time as the Fijians' kidnapping, though the Filipino troops managed to escape into safety in Israel.
The family of a journalist executed by ISIS terrorists says Steven Sotloff dedicated his life to portraying the suffering of people in war zones, but was “no hero.”The day Steven Sotloff chose to become an Israeli
In a press conference outside the family’s suburban Miami home Wednesday, spokesman Barak Barfi challenged challenged ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, to a debate on the Koran.
“Woe to you,” Barfi said. “You said the month of Ramadan is the month of mercy. Where is your mercy?”
Like everyone who is currently mourning him, I am completely shocked by his absolutely tragic murder.Sotloff died because he symbolized West, democracy, Netanyahu says
I did not want to mention his roots here in Israel throughout the past month for fear that it might somehow negatively affect his life.
Now it is my hope that the picture can speak for itself and the Times of Israel can offer its readers an outlet to understand a moment in time when he made the pro-active decision to make aliyah and to become an Israeli — on September 22, 2005.
May he rest in peace. Baruch Dayan Emet. (Blessed is the True Judge.)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his condolences Thursday night to the family of slain American reporter Steven Sotloff, and said that the young journalist was killed by members of the extremist group Islamic State because he was seen as a symbol of the West.Florida to fly flags at half-mast for Sotloff
“I wish to send my condolences to the family of Steven Sotloff, who was brutally murdered at the hands of Islamic State killers,” Netanyahu said at a police ceremony.
“Steven was killed because he was seen by these murderous terrorists as a symbol of the West, the same culture that extremist Islam wishes to annihilate,” he said.
Flags will fly half-mast Friday in the US state of Florida, where the family of beheaded US journalist Steven Sotloff lives, its governor said.Jewish reporters in Arab world keep heritage off the record
Sotloff, 31, was beheaded by Islamic State militants in a video released Tuesday, two weeks after the similar video of US journalist James Foley was posted online.
“In honor and in memory of Steven Sotloff, I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the state of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the state of Florida,” Governor Rick Scott said in a statement.
Don’t bring it up. If it comes up, change the subject. If you can’t change the subject, consider an outright denial.Ringo Starr takes on IS over Beatles nickname: 'It's bulls**t... We stood for peace and love'
Those are some of the strategies used by Jewish reporters working in the Arab and Muslim Middle East to conceal their religious heritage.
The dangers facing Jewish journalists in the region became evident this week after the beheading of a dual American-Israeli citizen, Steven Sotloff, by the jihadist group Islamic State, or ISIS.
It’s not known whether ISIS was aware that Sotloff was Jewish. Colleagues believe his kidnapping by ISIS-affiliated terrorists in 2013 in Syria was one of opportunity and not a deliberate targeting. James Foley, another journalist kidnapped by ISIS and beheaded last month by the terror group, was Catholic.
Ringo Starr today told of his disgust over British jihadis being given nicknames based on The Beatles.How Islamic State Became ‘The Best-Funded Terrorist Group in History’
The drummer said he was saddened that the fanatics — led by a man dubbed “Jihadi John”, who is suspected of beheading two American journalists — had been labelled with the names of the Fab Four.
Starr, 74, told the Standard: “It’s bullshit. What they are doing out there is against everything The Beatles stood for.”
After months of rampaging through Iraq and stoking international fears that the Islamic State terrorist group could spread, a combination of Iraqi and Kurdish security forces, aided by targeted United States airstrikes, appear to have pushed back the self-proclaimed caliphate’s rampage in the region.Shin Bet sources: 10 Israeli Arabs joined Islamic State
Yet Islamic State’s potential reach and brutal tactics continue to worry lawmakers and analysts. The terrorist group, experts say, has managed to brilliantly leverage its acquisitions—including land grabs, hostages, and oil—in a style that is part mafia tactics, part bureaucratic wile. So far, the group continues to be well-armed, flush with cash, and in possession of American and European captives.
Even with the U.S. Senate in recess, Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a joint letter to Secretary of State John Kerry on Aug. 26, calling for the Obama administration to target all aspects of Islamic State’s operational funding and to have the Treasury Department classify the group as a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO).
Ten Israeli Arabs have joined up with the Islamic State to fight in Iraq and Syria, according to reports based on unnamed Shin Bet sources.How did a few thousand fighters on pickup trucks manage to frighten the world?
According to Israel Hayom, the numbers remain low, but the national security agency is keeping close tabs on those suspected of joining the jihadists for fear they will return to carry out attacks in Israel.
A troubling spike of interest in jihadi groups has been detected, primarily in the al-Nusra Front, but more recently in the Islamic State as well, Israel Hayom reported. (h/t Yoel)
If it wasn’t so disturbing, it probably could have been entertaining: an army in 4×4 Toyota pickup trucks, managing to terrorize not only Middle Eastern Shiites, but also Western and Israeli media.Meet the Israeli analyst who leaked ISIS' execution videos
If an outsider read the newspaper and internet headlines over the past few months, he would think that the Islamic State, and its counterpart/rival in Syria, the al-Nusra Front, were planning a mass invasion of tens of thousands of jihadis into Israel, and from there into Europe and the United States.
Everyone can calm down. IS and al-Nusra are not military forces that can present an actual threat to a functioning conventional army. The IDF, or the Jordanian army for that matter, are not expecting any difficulty dealing with these rising Islamist forces on the battlefield. The big problem with these two groups is that they can cause significant damage through terror attacks. And as is always the case with terrorism, the focus is the fear it engenders among the public.
Shortly after international media got hold of the horrible execution video of American-Israeli journalist Steven Sotloff, the radical terror group behind the beheading, the Islamic State (formerly ISIS), published a bizarre clarification: The video, they explained, was "mistakenly leaked" to the internet. What they didn't know was who was behind the leak – meet Rita Katz, and Israeli expat originally from Bat Yam.Islamic State using leaked Snowden info to evade U.S. intelligence
From an office in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, a small team scans the Web 24 hours a day for jihadi videos often featuring gruesome executions by groups such as Islamic State.
On Tuesday, SITE Intelligence Services grabbed headlines when it found and alerted its subscribers to footage of the beheading of Steven Sotloff, the second American journalist to be put to death by IS in two weeks.
Founded by Katz, SITE has built up more than a decade of experience tracking extremist groups online for clients including government agencies of the United States and other governments, private firms and media outlets. (h/t Yoel)
Chris Inglis was the NSA’s deputy director during Mr. Snowden’s flood of documents to the news media last year. Mr. Snowden disclosed how the agency eavesdrops, including spying on Internet communications such as emails and on the Web’s ubiquitous social media.Report: Iran Approves Joint Military Action With US Against IS
Asked by The Washington Times if the Islamic State has studied Mr. Snowden’s documents and taken action, Mr. Inglis answered, “Clearly.”
The top-secret spill has proven ready-made for the Islamic State (also referred to as ISIL or ISIS). It relies heavily on Internet channels to communicate internally and to spread propaganda.
Mr. Snowden “went way beyond disclosing things that bore on privacy concerns,” said Mr. Inglis, who retired in January. “‘Sources and methods’ is what we say inside the intelligence community — the means and methods we use to hold our adversaries at risk, and ISIL is clearly one of those.
Reports on Friday indicated that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei authorized his army to coordinate joint military operations with the United States against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in Iraq.Expert: Attack ISIS, but Don’t Let Assad Off the Hook
Iranian sources in Tehran told BBC Persian about the development, which comes as the Sunni extremist group that has conquered vast swathes of Iraq and Syria continues to threaten the Shi'ite Islamic regime of Iran.
According to the sources, Khamenei gave the orders to General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the elite Quds force that is a special operations unit of the Revolutionary Guards for international missions.
In an op-ed published in The New York Daily News on Thursday, Matthew Levitt, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), argued that the United States must step up its military attacks against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) if it hopes to defeat the terrorist group.US: Islamic State could get Syrian chemical weapons
While acknowledging that “[t]here are risks” to escalating the war against ISIS, Levitt writes:
"The U.S. cannot rely simply on military advisers to the Iraqi Army, an Iraqi political agreement, and a few air strikes here and there. Nor can it stop at the Iraq-Syria border because ISIS certainly does not. Destroying ISIS will only happen if it is hit hard in both northern Iraq and eastern Syria.
Yet the U.S. should not give Syrian President Bashar Assad a free pass while it takes out his enemies. Officials repeat that in Syria, the enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend. The government needs to stand by that, and it has low-risk options."
The United States is concerned that the Islamic State group and other terrorists could get hold of chemical weapons if Syria is hiding any stockpiles, US Ambassador Samantha Power said Thursday.Lebanese Teens Start ISIS Flag-Burning Campaign
Power spoke to reporters after the Security Council received a briefing from Sigrid Kaag, who heads the international effort to rid Syria of its chemical weapons. (h/t Yoel)
News accounts report that the flag-burning started in a public square in Beruit "and was a response to video of ISIS beheading a Lebanese army sergeant and kidnapping some 20 Lebanese soldiers."Islamic State Coaching Egyptian Militants
The effort has gained some real steam: "hundreds of posters from Lebanon and across the Mideast, Europe and the US have weighed in across social media with videos and photos of their own, along with commentary ranging from high praise to outrage."
A senior commander from the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has killed hundreds of members of the Egyptian security forces over the last year, said Islamic State has provided instructions on how to operate more effectively.Turkey Hosts Internet Forum Despite Its Dismal Web Freedom
“They teach us how to carry out operations. We communicate through the internet,” the commander, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.
“They don’t give us weapons or fighters. But they teach us how to create secret cells, consisting of five people. Only one person has contact with other cells.”
Militant groups and the Egyptian state are old foes. Some of al Qaeda’s most notorious commanders, including its current leader Ayman al-Zawahri, are Egyptian.
The site selected for the United Nations forum on developing Internet policy is generating a great deal of controversy, with critics taking aim at the irony of Turkey's poor record regarding social media, Web sites and press freedom.
Over the past year alone, Turkey has shut down Twitter, blocked YouTube, and jailed journalists and bloggers. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even called Twitter a “menace to society.”
A number of non-governmental organizations and activists are boycotting the four-day event this week over Turkey's Internet freedom record, according to Yaman Akdeniz, an Internet activist and professor of cyber law at Istanbul’s Bilgi University.
"The situation in Turkey has moved from bad to worse. When you have such a problematic approach to Internet governance, then that should not be the host for such a major annual event," said Akdeniz.