Thursday, January 02, 2025

01/02 Links Pt1: From college campuses to Afghanistan, we let Islamic terrorism rise again; The ‘intifada’ comes to New Orleans

From Ian:

Douglas Murray: From college campuses to Afghanistan, we let Islamic terrorism rise again
Let’s all give a big shout-out to the “Globalize the intifada” crowd. You got your way! Congratulations. Hope it feels good.

For years, citizens of Israel have had maniac jihadists driving at them and trying to mow them down on their streets. But this got only cheers from the dolts on US college campuses and New York street protesters.

Then, just before Christmas, Germany again got a taste of this “intifada.” That was when a Saudi immigrant decided to plow a vehicle through a previously happy Christmas market. He killed five people and injured almost 200.

Then, on New Year’s, it was America’s turn again.

This time, the wishes of the students at Columbia and other college campuses arrived on the streets of New Orleans. A man carrying an ISIS flag drove a pickup through New Year’s revelers, killing 14 people and seriously injuring dozens more. The FBI is looking into his network of contacts.

There are several things to say about all this.

The first is that although many people hoped the threat of jihadist violence had diminished, it has not gone away. With jihadist groups running Afghanistan and Syria, among other countries, they are back in control of vast areas, as they were before 9/11.

After the 2001 attacks on this city, America vowed there should be no safe havens for terrorists. That included ungoverned or Islamist-governed spaces abroad where terrorists can be trained and then come to the United States and other Western countries and carry out attacks.

Such spaces were indeed reduced by US and allied forces in the years that followed. But they have come back. Today Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen (to name just three countries) are places where jihadists can train and learn battlefield tactics. Our intelligence agencies and military need to keep a close eye on these places and strike when needed.

The second thing is that it is obvious that a considerable campaign of recruitment inside the United States is still ongoing. The New Orleans terrorist appears to have been radicalized while in the United States. Whether that was online or via a network within the US will soon be learned.

But we should hope that the full force of the law — and law enforcement agencies — comes down on any and all such groupings.

Many in the intelligence community and the police are indeed working hard on such cases. But there is a societal torpor about this work.

If the New Year´s Eve attack had not been jihadist, but had — for instance — been some far-right white supremacist, every corner of our media and politics would be rightly lining up to demand answers. We would be asking who the people were who had put such a person up to such an attack. Who had helped him? Who had encouraged him? Who had said it was all right — in fact good — to do such a thing?
Melanie Phillips: America’s Islamist problem
This political interpretation of Islam is called Islamism. It’s important to acknowledge that many Muslims living in the West are entirely signed up to Western values. However, the aggressive literalist interpretation is dominant among the faithful.

Polling has shown that 52% of British Muslims want to make it illegal to display a picture of Islam’s founder, Mohammed; almost half say Jews have too much power over government policy; and one-third favor implementing Sharia law and declaring Islam as the national religion.

In the United States, a survey by the Heritage Foundation found that 39% of American Muslims believe “Hamas did not commit murder and rape in Israel on Oct. 7” while 43% said: “Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish homeland.”

Islamism is spread throughout the world by the Muslim Brotherhood. While this has been banned by several Islamic states, neither London nor Washington has proscribed it.

Western nations also refuse to acknowledge that the Palestinian cause is an Islamist front not just against Israel but also against them. The hostility of the Palestinian Arabs to the existence of a Jewish state has always been at the core a jihadi cause. That’s why the Palestinians persistently make the false and hysterical claim that Israel intends to destroy the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Hamas and Hezbollah say openly that the war against Israel is part of their war against the west. In New York and elsewhere last month, anti-Israel demonstrators attacked Christmas trees. Hours after the New Orleans atrocity, a mob chanted in Times Square: “There is only one solution—intifada revolution!” “Resistance is glorious, we will be victorious!” and “Gaza, you make us proud.”

Israel and the west are umbilically linked as the targets of Islamic jihadi conquest. Yet for decades, it has been impossible to say any of this without being denounced as “Islamophobic” and singled out for attack.

Islamists have taken full advantage of the West’s refusal to defend an identity it no longer understands while telling itself it’s not worth defending. This myopia has extended across the political spectrum.

During Trump’s first administration, although he banned Muslims from certain countries from entering America, he didn’t recognize the full extent of the threat.

As Sam Westrop pointed out on the Middle East Forum in 2021, his administration handed out more federal money to domestic Islamic organizations than any previous administration, with more than half going to groups with some degree of Islamist influence. “In other words,” he wrote, “under Trump, America has served as a leading state sponsor of nonviolent Islamism.”

Americans have told themselves that the war between Jews and Palestinian Arabs is over the division of the land. They’ve told themselves that ISIS has been defeated, that leaving Afghanistan and Iraq has meant that the United States is no longer a target, and that Iran is a threat solely to Israel. They’ve told themselves that the Islamic world is not their problem.

As New Orleans has so horribly demonstrated, they couldn’t be more wrong.
Brendan O'Neill: The ‘intifada’ comes to New Orleans
The New Orleans massacre follows more than a year of noisy Islamo-apologism in educated circles in the West. Since Hamas’s pogrom of 7 October 2023, sympathy for Islamism has been all the rage among the right-on. ‘Long live the intifada’, they cried. Even ‘Globalise the intifada’. This gushing over ‘intifada’ in the weeks and months following an ‘intifada’ that involved the slaughter of more than a thousand Jews by an army of fanatical Islamists dragged us to ever greater depths of ethical delirium and moral depravity. Some even hailed the Islamist butchery of 7 October as ‘exhilarating’ and ‘energising’. Imagine if someone said that about New Orleans. Imagine if they said they felt elated upon hearing of this barbarous slaying of the young. Perhaps someone will. It is a testament to the slow, deadly corrosion of our civilisational values that it would not be wholly surprising if someone did.

For the truth is that something very like the New Orleans massacre happened on 7 October, only on a far larger scale, and back then the activist class celebrated it. The 364 young men and women butchered at the Nova music festival by the invading Islamists from Gaza were every bit as innocent as the slain of Bourbon Street. They were every bit as ‘full of life’. Yet their extermination was downplayed. In some cases it was outright cheered. That Islamist assault was a ‘day of celebration’, some said. ‘Glory to our martyrs’, said student agitators days after those ‘martyrs’ raped and murdered hundreds of revellers who were indistinguishable, in their spirit and their liberty, from the revellers of New Orleans.

The case was made, whether implicitly or explicitly, that the Nova partygoers weren’t all that innocent. They were citizens of a ‘settler-colonial’ regime. They were inhabitants of the ‘Zionist entity’. They had the gall to live free, untroubled lives in a ‘genocidal state’. If it turns out that the butcher of Bourbon Street thought similarly – that no one in America is truly innocent because America commits ‘war crimes’ and sponsors Israel’s ‘genocide’ – what will we say? What can we say? After all, our elites have fully embraced the poisonous ideology of collective guilt and punishment, where if you live in a state that does ‘bad’ things, then you have no right to be surprised if Islamist vengeance comes your way.

No, this is not to say the suspect in the New Year’s Day massacre was directly inspired by the past year’s depraved cries of ‘Bring the intifada home’. The bored rich kids of the West who unforgivably made light of the Islamist slaughter in Israel are not responsible for what that man allegedly did. But we do need to talk about the creepy empathy for the Islamist ideology that has spread like a pox through our institutions. For years, the West failed to take seriously the threat posed by the Islamist menace. Even as hundreds were massacred by Islamists in Britain, France, Germany, Spain and elsewhere, we said ‘Don’t look back in anger’, don’t get too het up, don’t say or do anything that might stir up ‘Islamophobia’. Over the past year, this lethal insouciance in the face of the Islamist derangement morphed into something even worse: active sympathy for Islamism. They call it ‘intifada’ but we all know what they mean: the killing of citizens by Islamist ideologues with a grievance. Like what happened on Bourbon Street.

The attack on New Orleans was an attack on America itself. On its young, its workers, its openness, its freedoms. We should mourn the victims and then confront, head-on, the unsettling rapport with such neo-fascism that has bubbled up in our very own societies in recent years.


In New Orleans, the FBI’s Jihadism Blind Spot Was Once again on Display
Yesterday, in the wee hours of the morning, Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a car into a crowd of revelers on New Orleans’s Bourbon Street, and then opened fire, killing fifteen people and injuring more. He also recorded videos beforehand expressing his allegiance to Islamic State, and had an Islamic State flag in is car. Writing shortly after the news broke, before some of the details had become clear, Andrew C. McCarthy comments on the FBI’s initial statements, and what they reveal:

Alethea Duncan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office, stated at a press conference . . . that the bureau does not consider the mass-murder attack a “terrorist event” at this point. . . . This is maddening, but in the FBI, as it has “evolved” since the Obama era, it is standard operating procedure.

There should be no problem stating that one is investigating what is manifestly a terrorist attack as a terrorist attack. One investigates based on educated suspicion—there is no requirement that one must be able prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt in order to investigate it on the assumption that it is what it appears to be. That is common sense.

But the FBI long ago retired common sense out of fear of being perceived—by its “partners” in the Muslim community and its superiors in Washington—as equating terrorism with Islam. Ergo, the FBI is reluctant to use the T-word in the absence of solid evidence establishing “operational ties” between the suspect in an attack and a known terrorist organization.

Of course, this obscures the very real possibility that the suspect may be “inspired” by jihadist doctrine, even if he is not a member of a known jihadist organization. But the FBI can’t acknowledge that. This is due to Obama-Biden guidance that has transmogrified counterterrorism, which tends to be ideologically driven, into “countering violent extremism,” in which investigators are instructed to blind themselves to ideology and focus only on violence. An acknowledgment by the bureau that an attacker may have been “radicalized” by fundamentalist Islam would implicitly concede that there is something about that ideology that inspires violent attacks against infidels. Can’t have that.


Commentary PodCast: Terrorism, Islamism, and the Democrats
The first podcast of 2025 reckons with the horror in New Orleans and the attempted horror in Las Vegas before discussing the damage done to the Democratic Party by its own ideological blinders and its decision to gaslight America about the president's condition and his family's financial shenanigans.


Erin Molan: Take a bow Hamas cheer squad… your role in the New Orleans terror attack…
In this powerful and urgent video, Erin Molan, known for her candid commentary on national security, addresses the recent terror attack in New Orleans, where 15 lives were tragically lost. Molan delves into the implications of this attack, linking it directly to the broader issue of Islamic terrorism in the United States and its supporters.

Join Erin as she unpacks the details of the New Orleans attack, explores what led to this attacks and issues a stern warning for the future. Watch and comment down below.


Aspiring nurse, football star, and single mother among victims of New Orleans attack
An 18-year-old girl dreaming of becoming a nurse, a single mother, a father of two and a former Princeton football star suffered fatal injuries when the driver of a white pickup truck sped down Bourbon Street, packed with holiday revelers.

Officials have not yet released the names of the 14 people killed in the New Orleans New Year’s Day truck attack, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories. New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna said in a statement late Wednesday that they will release the names of the dead once autopsies are complete and they’ve talked with the next of kin. About 30 people were injured.

Matthew Tenedorio
The parents of Matthew Tenedorio told NBC News that their son was one of the people killed in the attack.

“He was 25 years old. He was just starting life. He had the job of his dreams,” Cathy Tenedorio said. “It’s just very sad.”

A GoFundMe page created by a cousin says he was an audiovisual technician at the Superdome.

“He was a wonderful kid,” Louis Tenedorio added. “He loved people. He loved animals. He always had a smile. So many friends. He had so many friends.”

Cathy Tenedorio said she had spent New Year’s Eve with Matthew and another one of her sons.

“We had dinner and we did fireworks outside, and just laughing and hugging each other and telling each other we loved each other,” she said. She added that they had tried to dissuade him from going into the city.

“They don’t think about risk,” she said.


Barriers intended to block terror attacks on Bourbon Street were removed for overhaul in November
Protective barriers intended to prevent terrorist attacks along New Orleans’ Bourbon Street were being replaced and were not set up when a truck fatally plowed into New Year’s revelers early Wednesday.

The stainless-steel bollards were removed in November as part of an overhaul of the security system, Nola.com reported.

That overhaul was due to take three months, and was brought on by what French Quarter Management District head Bob Simms called an “ineffective” old system.

“The track was always full of crap, beads and doubloons and God knows what else. Not the best idea,” Simms told Nola.com. “Eventually everybody realized the need to replace them. They’re in the process of doing that, but the new ones are not yet operational.”

Authorities said a police SUV was parked at the intersection where Shamsud Din Jabbar started the attack — but surveillance video showed he was able to drive around it by mounting the sidewalk.
Questions if the West should have done ‘more’ to counter terrorism threats
Sky News host Danica De Giorgio questions if the West should have done “more” to counter terror threats since October 7.

“Since October 7, there have been calls for intifada, resistance, uprising,” Ms De Giorgio said.

“Have we seen this coming for some time? Should more have been done to counter the threat in the first place?”


FBI probing if blast outside Trump hotel in Vegas tied to New Orleans attack
The FBI and Las Vegas police are investigating whether a deadly explosion outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is tied to the car ramming in New Orleans, in which a man drove a pickup truck through a crowd, killing 15 and injuring 35 early in the morning on New Year’s Day.

“We’re tracking the explosion of a Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas. Law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating this as well, including whether there is any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in remarks that ran just over four minutes, which the White House broadcast live from Camp David, Md.

“Thus far, there is nothing to report on that score at this time,” Biden said.

“At approximately 8:40 a.m., reports were received of a vehicle explosion. One person inside the Cyber Truck was killed and seven others were injured,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department stated. “Authorities have confirmed there is no further threat to the community.”

“Obviously a Cybertruck … the Trump hotel—there’s lots of questions that we have to answer as we move forward with that,” said Sheriff Kevin McMahill, of the Vegas police department.

“Cybertrucks are made by Elon Musk’s company, Tesla. Musk is part of President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “That has prompted concerns on social media that it was a politically motivated attack.”

Multiple new outlets reported that the explosion in Las Vegas is being investigated as a possible terror attack.

“The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards,” Musk wrote. “Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken.”

In another post, Musk wrote that the Vegas explosion “appears likely to be an act of terrorism” and that “both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way.”


Inside terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s squalid home, where sheep and goats roam his yard — after his financial ruin
The terrorist who killed 15 people when he plowed his truck down crowded Bourbon Street in New Orleans was an American-born military veteran who was living in a run-down trailer park where he kept sheep and goats in the yard — just blocks from the local mosque.

Authorities say Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, from Houston, had an ISIS flag strapped to the rented Ford F-150 Lightning EV truck he used to carry out an act of premeditated terror on New Year’s Day.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar was a US-born military veteran who went from success to a squalid Houston trailer park where sheep roamed his yard.

He served in the Army for more than a decade and deployed to Afghanistan before he carried out his ISIS-inspired attack on Wednesday, according to his service record.

Working as an IT specialist, he was stationed in Afghanistan from February 2009 until January 2010, the service branch said in a summary of military experience.

Jabbar served active duty from March 2007 until January 2015 and was a reservist from January 2015 until July 2020.

He left the service at the rank of staff sergeant, according to the Army.

In a YouTube video he posted in 2020 for his real estate business, a clean-cut Jabbar described himself as a reliable, trustworthy native Texan who spent 10 years in the military, which taught him “the meaning of great service.”

But when he carried out the terror attack — one of the deadliest since 9/11 — Jabbar lived in a squalid trailer park on the outskirts of Houston that is home to mostly Muslim immigrants.

Geese, chickens and sheep roamed freely in Jabbar’s yard when The Post visited hours after the attack.

One neighbor told The Post she spoke only Urdu, Pakistan’s national language.

The neighborhood is also within walking distance of the local mosque, Masjid Bilal — where no one answered the telephone on Wednesday.

Law enforcement sources told The Post that they found videos Jabbar made where he referenced the Quran — Islam’s holy text.

Jabbar traveled to Egypt for 10 days last year, officials told The Post.

By mid-afternoon, the feds swooped in — kicking The Post and other journalists out of the area and cordoning it off.
Refer FBI to CAIR, New Orleans attacker’s local mosque tells members
Masjid Bilal, the local Houston mosque near the home of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, has been receiving a good deal of unwanted press attention since the 42-year-old drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, killing 15 and injuring 35.

In a statement posted as a Facebook story, a temporary post that expires, JazakAllahu Khairun, who is identified as part of the mosque’s management, wrote that everyone is aware of the New Orleans “tragic events.”

“I want to emphasize the importance of everyone to stay very vigilant and aware of your surroundings,” per the post. “The safety of our community is the most important thing.”

“If anyone is contacted by the media, it is very important that you do not respond,” the post added. “If approached by the FBI and a response is necessary, please refer to CAIR and ISGH. It is crucial that we stay united at this time as we condemn these terrible acts. Please stay safe.” (JNS sought comment from the mosque. ISGH appears to be a reference to the Islamic Society Greater Houston.)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is an umbrella group that initially was a partner on the White House’s national strategy on combating Jew-hatred. Shortly after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, CAIR blamed Israel for being attacked. At some point in December 2023, the White House scrubbed CAIR from the Jew-hatred strategy.

A CAIR spokesperson told Newsweek that it was aware of the post but hadn’t talked about it with the mosque.

Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told JNS that “the Muslim murderer’s mosque ordering its members to refuse to speak to U.S. authorities about a horrific anti-American, Islamist terrorist attack forces me to question this mosque’s loyalty to America and its concern about stopping anti-American Islamist terrorism.”

“Moreover, it is deeply troubling and wrong for this local Houston mosque to refer all questions to CAIR, a Jew-hating group, which praised other Islamist terrorist attacks such as the Oct. 7 Muslim Hamas atrocities against Jews,” Klein said. “CAIR’s history of supporting and showing sympathy for Islamist terrorism makes them wholly unqualified to give advice or information on any Islamist terrorist attack.”


Kassy Akiva: New Orleans Terrorist’s Hometown Mosque Tells Members To Refer Inquiries To CAIR
The Houston Masjid Bilal, which is affiliated with the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH), posted to social media encouraging its members to not respond to inquiries from the media and “if approached by the FBI and a response is necessary, please refer to CAIR and ISGH.”

The statement instructed members to remain vigilant and added that it is “crucial that we stay united at this time as we condemn these terrible acts.”

The Middle East Media Research Institute shared a video on Thursday of Masjid Bilal’s Imam, Eiad Soudan, going on an anti-Semitic tirade where he explains why he thinks Hitler killed Jews.

“Why does the whole world want them to stay in Palestine? Because if they don’t stay in Palestine, they will go back to their countries,” and “they like to take control of the economy, everywhere they go…That is why the other countries don’t want them back.”

“Until this guy Hitler, with the nice moustache, came to power, he became empowered and we all know what he did. By the way, Hitler hated the Israelites so bad because of the economy thing they were in control of the economy.”

An FBI spokesperson on Thursday said that Jabbar posted five videos online about his terrorism plans and his support for ISIS.

“Jabbar explains that he originally planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the quote ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers,’” the FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said. “He states that he joined ISIS before this summer.”


NYC anti-Israel protesters call for ‘intifada revolution’ hours after ISIS-flag-wielding terrorist killed at least 15 in New Orleans
Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters gathered in Times Square on New Year’s Day, waving Palestinian flags and calling for “intifada revolution” on the same day a terrorist carried out a deadly car attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

The protest — organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the People’s Forum — was led in a chant of “There is only one solution: intifada revolution.”

“We’re sending you back to Europe, you white b–ches,” one female demonstrator wearing a keffiyeh shouted at counter-protesters outside the event, video posted to social media shows. “Go back to Europe! Go back to Europe,” she repeated.

“2024 was a year of struggle against the crime of Zionism,” one speaker shouts through a megaphone in the heart of the Big Apple.

“We will be here every single year for generation after generation until total liberation and return,” they said, according to Times of Israel.

Protesters carried signs with messages like “End All US aid to Israel,” “End Zionism” and “No War on Iran.”

The crowd also chanted, “We will honor all our martyrs.”

The demonstration happened just hours after a suspected terrorist, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, plowed a pickup truck bearing an ISIS flag into New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 14 people.
‘Hatred for US, Israel far exceeds hatred for actual terror,’ Torres says of pro-Hamas NYC march
Hours after a man drove a pickup truck with an ISIS flag into a crowd in New Orleans, killing 15 and injuring 35, in the wee hours of the morning on New Year’s Day, hundreds of anti-Israel protesters supported Palestinian terror in a march in New York City.

“These protesters in New York City are marching not to condemn the ISIS terrorist attack against their own country but to falsely accuse their own country, as well as Israel, of terrorism,” wrote Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.).

“The hatred for America and Israel far exceeds the hatred for actual terror, apartheid and genocide in the world,” the pro-Israel congressman added. “For an ideologue, ideology has more reality than reality itself.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) wrote that “hours after a jihadist sympathizer killed 10 Americans, pro-Hamas agitators are marching through New York City calling for a global intifada.” (New Orleans police first said that 10 people had been killed, but authorities now say at least 15 are dead.)

“The governor and the mayor must put an end to this nonsense—now,” he wrote. “Silence is not an option.”

The New York Post reported that hundreds of anti-Israel protesters, many with Palestinian flags, chanted “there is only one solution: intifada revolution” as they marched in New York City on New Year’s Day. Many Jewish organizations and scholars have long said that language calls for violence against Jews.

There was also a chant of “we will honor all our martyrs,” per the Post.

Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) called the protesters “the enemy among us.”

Earlier in the day, Jessica Sarah, the Jewish commissioner of the New York City Police Department, wrote that investigations hadn’t turned up any ties between the New Orleans attack and New York City.

“However, in an abundance of caution, the NYPD will continue to enhance presence across the city at relevant locations as warranted,” she stated. She had not commented publicly at press time about the anti-Israel protest.

“There’s little distinction between the actions of Shamsud Jabbar in New Orleans, who used a truck as a weapon and terrorist attacks in the West Bank where cars are used to run over Israelis,” wrote Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of its Long War Journal.

“It’s terrorism, yet there are people in this country who support ‘resistance’ and ‘intifada,'” he wrote.
‘Global intifada’: TV host reacts to New Orleans terrorist attack
Sky News host Danica De Giorgio reacts to the shocking terrorist attack which occurred in New Orleans in the US.

“Are we witnessing a global intifada?” Ms De Giorgio said.

“The same global intifada, the same uprising, which we have heard preached across the globe for the last 14 months by terrorist sympathisers who want the West to fall.

“Overnight at least 15 people were killed when they were mowed down at high speed by a man who drove his truck into crowds in New Orleans.”




Netanyahu approves delegation to resume hostage talks in Doha
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Thursday the approval of a new Israeli delegation to continue hostage negotiations in Doha, Qatar.

Delegation participants will include members of the Mossad, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency.

Recent reports about the negotiations state that Hamas has misled mediators, refused to provide lists of hostages and withdrawn from previous agreements.

“It is because of Hamas throwing up obstacles or refusing to move on any of these details that we are still not at a conclusion,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, on Dec. 29.

“But we’re very, very close, and so we’re not going to give up,” he continued.

Netanyahu said at a recent closed meeting that “if there is a deal—and I hope there will be—Israel will return to fighting afterward,” Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Monday.

“There’s no reason to obscure or conceal this because resuming fighting is intended to complete the war’s objectives,” the prime minister continued.


Hamas forces are making a substantial comeback in the Gaza Strip
June heralded the first reports of a large Hamas comeback on the heels of the IDF withdrawal from northern Gaza in January-February, and the later withdrawal from Khan Yunis on April 7.

If the Channel 12 report is correct, it would put 9,000 Hamas forces split between northern and southern Gaza, PIJ with another 4,000, and another 7,000-10,000 disorganized fighters spread out throughout the enclave.

These figures would seem to contradict those presented in recent military briefings to reporters, which indicated that much of northern Gaza has been cleared of fighters.

Alternatively, it could be that the Hamas numbers are closer to 12,000, with more fighters in southern Gaza than in northern Gaza. However, sources on Wednesday night backed up Channel 12’s numbers.

Still, even Channel 12’s numbers had a significant gap and spectrum, such that IDF estimates may simply be more limited in a period when most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are displaced, have evacuated and moved around several times in this war, and are clustered in a few small humanitarian areas, with little ability to distinguish between terrorist and civilian.

A source told the Post on Wednesday night that the total numbers remain unclear, but that the quality of new Hamas fighters receiving weapons is far inferior to the state it was in earlier in the war, given that many of them are untrained minors.
Israeli intel lapses? Seized documents show Hamas's tactical depth, experts warn
Hamas's growth
“From 2005 until October 7, with the absence of Israeli presence on the ground, there was an exponential growth of Hamas’ abilities, including its intelligence capabilities,” said Avivi. “They developed very advanced surveillance systems which are akin to systems the Israeli intelligence holds and also operated human intelligence operations, while significantly hindering Israel’s ability to use human sources to gather intelligence.”

These circumstances demonstrate the complexity of Israel’s relationship with Gaza and the Palestinians.

Gaza residents have entered Israel to work since 1967. More work opportunities and higher wages made Israel a lucrative work destination for Palestinians. This trend continued even when Israel disengaged from the territory. This arrangement, together with Israel’s hold on most of Gaza’s borders, meant Israel and the Gaza Strip were still deeply connected, both dependent on each other.

For Israel, Palestinians provided cheap labor in certain fields, such as agriculture, in which most Israelis no longer work. For Palestinians, employment in Israel was the key to improving their standard of living in one of the world’s most impoverished territories. Over the decades, the number of work permits fluctuated, often symbiotic with the rise and ease of tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

One clear example of this fluctuation was in the days leading up to Hamas’s stunning attack. Days before the war, Gaza residents approached the security fence with Israel, demonstrating against the blockade. In response, Israel barred the entrance of Gaza laborers into the country for a short period. In an attempt to diffuse the tension, Israel then lifted the sanction, allowing Palestinian workers in. However, tensions were not diffused. Instead, war broke out that would change the face of the region.

The economic interdependence also exists in the West Bank, territories which Israel also captured in 1967 and refers to as Judea and Samaria. Some of the territories are fully controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA), others are fully controlled by Israel, and some are under Palestinian civil control and Israeli military hold.

In response to the war in Gaza, Israel also drastically reduced the number of Palestinian workers allowed to enter from the West Bank. From over 100,000 workers a day, the number has been lowered to a few thousand, citing Israeli security concerns and the potential for further tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. From Gaza, where the war is ongoing, there has been no entrance of workers since the fighting began.

Before Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli defense establishment and much of the political echelon believed that the entrance of Palestinians to work in Israel, both from Gaza and the West Bank, defused tensions and decreased motivation to engage in terrorism while creating an incentive to maintain the quiet between Israel and the Palestinians.

“This presumption was wrong,” said Michael. “In Gaza, it didn’t cause Hamas to change its ideology or reduce its motivation to carry out such an attack; it didn’t create a positive impact but also created an intelligence platform for Hamas.”

According to Avivi, “It was clear that work permits for Palestinians would create extensive intelligence for Hamas.”

Throughout Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank are Palestinians who share familial connections, another vulnerability that is believed to have been used by Hamas in Gaza to collect intelligence in and on Israel.

Israeli forces carry out daily raids in the West Bank against terrorist activity, detaining tens of suspects every day, making for a clearer intelligence outlook. Consequently, Israel’s ability to thwart attacks from those territories has been consistently better, and the chances of an attack similar to Oct. 7 being carried out from the West Bank are slimmer, though not non-existent. This is due to the existing familial connections and the current flow of workers into Israel.

“One cannot rely on technology alone for intelligence, and in the disengagement, Israel lost the critical ability to gather intelligence through human sources,” Avivi said. “While in Judea and Samaria, Israel has complete freedom to operate and control the arena through massive settlements, in Gaza, this was not possible, making the ability to generate quality intelligence non-existent.

Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 made it almost impossible for Israel’s secret service to recruit Palestinian agents. The withdrawal also saw an Israeli commando unit charged with recruiting agents unable to operate from within Gaza. While Israel’s security grip on the West Bank is much stronger than it has been in Gaza, it is not immune from a similar Oct. 7 scenario.

“Israel must presume that the Palestinians are capable of gathering such intelligence on Israel from the West Bank as they did from Gaza, even though Hamas’s capabilities there are much more limited,” said Michael. “But in the end, geography has little significance in such cases where surveillance cameras can be accessed remotely.”


Israel: State of a Nation: Inside Gaza | Special Forces Soldier Reveals Realities of Modern Warfare
In this compelling episode of State of a Nation, former Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy engages in a riveting conversation with Special Forces reservist Stav Cohen. Broadcasting from our new set in Mindspace LaGuardia, Tel Aviv, Stav shares his extraordinary journey as a lawyer-in-training, NGO leader, and front-line soldier.

Discover first-hand accounts of Stav’s experiences in Gaza, from navigating Hamas’s use of human shields to the complexities of urban warfare. Learn about the critical role international public opinion plays in Israel’s military and diplomatic strategy, and the psychological toll of combat. Stav also sheds light on the humanitarian efforts of Israeli soldiers and his personal mission to counter misinformation about the IDF. Join us for an eye-opening exploration of the moral dilemmas and challenges faced by Israeli forces as they confront an enemy entrenched within civilian spaces. Like, comment, and subscribe to stay informed on stories that challenge narratives and deepen understanding.

0:00 - Coming up
0:15 - Monologue
1:57 - Welcome
5:48 - 2014 war in Gaza
9:12 - Does the information war matter?
13:52 - The IDF's mission in Gaza
17:50 - Hamas fighting from civilian areas
22:17 - The rules of engagement
27:40 - Hamas human shield strategy
31:52 - Stav's injuries
33:30 - The IDF's reputation
38:14 - Finishing the job in Gaza
40:25 - The hostage crisis
43:29 - Citizen Spokesperson


120 commandos deep inside Syria: IDF reveals daring raid on Iranian missile factory
The Israeli Air Force on Thursday revealed details and footage from one of its most daring and complex commando operations ever, in which 120 members of special forces units raided and destroyed an underground Iranian missile manufacturing plant deep in Syria in September.

At the time, the regime of Bashar al-Assad was still in power in Syria, and Israel had not yet launched its devastating campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Some of the details of the September 8 operation previously reported by foreign media outlets — including the name of the raid — are now known to have been wrong, or slightly incorrect.

The raid — dubbed internally by the Israel Defense Forces “Operation Many Ways” — was aimed at destroying an underground facility used by Iranian forces to manufacture precision missiles for Hezbollah in Lebanon and for the Assad regime in Syria.

The facility, codenamed by the military “Deep Layer,” was dug into a mountain at the Scientific Studies and Research Center, known as CERS or SSRC, in the Masyaf area of Syria, west of Hama. The site lies more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the Israeli border, and some 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Syria’s western coastline.

The IDF said the site was Iran’s “flagship project” in its effort to arm Hezbollah.

The military said the raid was carried out successfully by the IAF’s elite Shaldag unit, along with the search and rescue Unit 669. No soldiers were injured during the entire operation.

The revelation of the raid comes weeks after the fall of the Assad regime, which was closely aligned with Iran. Assad allowed Iran to use Syria to manufacture and deliver weapons to Hezbollah. Iranian forces have since withdrawn from Syria after losing their close ally.


IDF airstrikes hit Assad army headquarters near Damascus
Israeli Air Force jets on Thursday struck a military headquarters of the former Assad regime in Sasa, southwest of Damascus, near the Golan Heights, according to unconfirmed reports.

Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya claimed that the IAF strikes targeted the headquarters of the Syrian Army’s 90th Brigade, which had often been used by Iran and its terrorist proxies, including Lebanese Hezbollah.

Al Arabiya noted that the base of the 90th Brigade, which it described as one of the most important armored brigades of the former Syrian Arab Armed Forces, housed electronic warfare and jamming systems, anti-aircraft systems, Iranian “Shahab” missiles and rocket launchers.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based war monitor that was opposed to the Assad regime, reported that “violent explosions” were heard in a “military area” southwest of the Syrian capital.

Also on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces’ 202nd Paratroopers Battalion serving on the border with Syria, according to reports in Israeli media.

“The operations on the border are very important to prevent a threat to the communities [in the Israeli Golan Heights] and the establishment of hostile elements near the border. The reality is very dynamic, and we do not yet know how and when it will stabilize,” Sa’ar said during the visit.

Sa’ar also visited a base of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force, which monitors the implementation of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement that ended the 1973 Yom Kippur War with Syria.

“I heard praise there for the cooperation with Israel in general and the IDF in particular. I also learned about their activities since the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement until today,” the diplomat said.
IAF jets destroy Hezbollah launch pads posing threat to Israeli civilians, soldiers
Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck rocket launchers belonging to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization in Southern Lebanon on Thursday night, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

The aerial raids were launched after the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) failed to process a request from Jerusalem to confiscate the launch pads that “posed a threat to the Israeli home front and our forces,” noted the Israel Defense Forces.

IAF jets were said to have targeted at least two Hezbollah “military” sites that housed medium-range projectiles, including in the Nabatieh area.

“The IDF will continue to act to remove any threat to the State of Israel, in accordance with the understandings of the ceasefire agreement,” the statement concluded, referring to the Nov. 26 truce deal with Beirut.


Israel kills Hamas Internal Security chief in Khan Yunis
Overnight Wednesday, the Israeli Air Force conducted a targeted strike in Khan Yunis, killing Hassam Shahwan, the head of Hamas’s Internal Security Force in southern Gaza.

“The Hamas Internal Security Force has conducted violent interrogations of the Gazan population, violating human rights and suppressing dissent within the organization,” the Israel Defense Forces noted on Thursday, adding that Shahwan was responsible for coordinating intelligence assessments with Hamas’s “military” wing to plan and execute attacks on the IDF in the Gaza Strip.

The airstrike on the terrorist operating in the humanitarian zone was carried out with careful measures to minimize civilian harm, including precise munitions and aerial surveillance, the IDF said.

On Thursday afternoon, the IAF struck Hamas terrorists operating in a command and control center that was embedded inside the Khan Yunis Municipality building in the humanitarian zone.

According to the IDF, the terrorists used the command and control center to plan and execute attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel.

The IDF emphasized its commitment to defending Israeli citizens while continuing operations against terrorist organizations such as Hamas, which violates international law and uses civilians as human shields.


Khaled Abu Toameh: How 'Pro-Palestinian' Protestors Actually Harm Palestinians
Is there a free media in "Palestine?" No. Is there a functioning parliament? No. Are there general elections? No. Are there no consequences for protesting against the leaders' abuses?

The "pro-Palestinian" activists just keep showing that all they have to offer is hatred for Jews and Israel. The real "pro-Palestinian" advocates are those who want to see a good life for the Palestinians, not those who encourage them to embrace a brutal and corrupt Hamas. Would they encourage the Iranian people to submit to the ayatollahs, or the Uyghurs to embrace the Communist Chinese Party?

Instead of sitting in a comfortable campus where no one will arrest, torture or kill them for speaking out, these activists should be urging Hamas to release the 100 Israeli hostages it has been holding in the Gaza Strip since the atrocities of October 7, 2023. That would be the best and fastest way to end the current war in the Gaza Strip. The real message is: if you do not want your people killed, do not start a war.

If these protestors in the West really want to help Palestinians, instead of offering messages of hate, they could offer good salaries and jobs.

Sadly, "pro-Palestinian" protests have shown themselves to be nothing more than a backdoor way of spreading hate, delegitimizing Israel and demonizing Jews.




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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