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Monday, November 03, 2025

11/03 Links Pt1: Remains of Omer Neutra, Oz Daniel and Asaf Hamami returned to Israel; How the UN Tossed Out Israeli Intel To Downplay UNRWA’s Ties to Hamas; Zohran Mamdani, Third-Worldism, and the Algerian Revolution

From Ian:

How the UN Tossed Out Israeli Intel To Downplay UNRWA’s Ties to Hamas
The United Nations initiated its investigation in January 2024, after the Israeli government published bombshell evidence detailing the involvement of at least 12 UNRWA staffers in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and after Western governments began pulling financial support from the U.N. body. UNRWA fired those 12 and another 9 after further probes, but 10 others Israel flagged did not meet the international organization’s standards.

"In one case," the United Nations noted in an August 2024 public summary, "no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations of the staff member’s involvement [in Oct. 7]. That staff member has rejoined the Agency. In nine other cases, the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support the staff members’ involvement and the OIOS investigation of them is now closed."

Though U.N. investigators acknowledged the evidence often "provide[d] a factual basis to indicate that the subject UNRWA staff member may have engaged in misconduct," they stated the evidence was "not suitable for the usual human resources review and decision on disciplinary process or other measures."

Sources briefed on the confidential investigation believe these results came from the United Nations' abnormal methodology and self-imposed limitations on its investigation. By choosing to consider only what it describes as "clear and convincing evidence" of misconduct, the international organization set an "impossibly high legal standard for a simple administrative action to be taken, let alone criminal prosecution," a former senior U.S. legal official familiar with U.N. operations told the Free Beacon. "It’s exceptionally frustrating that the U.N.’s standards constrain it from firing an employee where the evidence shows that, more likely than not, he was involved in terrorist activities."

The U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG)—a statutory law enforcement agency that continues to operate independently of USAID—has launched its own investigation into UNRWA’s ties to Hamas, sources confirmed to the Free Beacon. This investigation will permit State Department officials to place Hamas-linked UNRWA staff on a publicly available exclusion list, preventing them from recirculating to other U.S.-funded aid organizations, including those seeking to operate in Gaza.

"The USAID IG’s independent investigation is welcomed and warranted," a senior U.S. official responsible for humanitarian assistance in Gaza told the Free Beacon. "The U.N. clearly is unable to investigate itself properly, and the IG’s investigation will protect American taxpayer dollars from funding the salaries of Hamas terrorists shape-shifting as aid workers going forward."

A Western diplomat briefed on the matter told the Free Beacon that shortcomings in the U.N. investigation mean Hamas-tied UNRWA staffers still with the agency could migrate to other U.N. agencies.

"Other U.N. officials have expressed privately that there is no guarantee that UNRWA staff implicated in either the October 7 attacks or members of Hamas will be flagged for hiring officials at subsequent U.N. agencies," the diplomat said. "Nobody wants to become the next UNRWA and onboard individuals linked to Hamas as aid workers, but there are not the systems to protect against such risks."

U.S. government officials are aware of the risk. The USAID inspector general alerted the Biden administration and Congress in June 2024 that U.N. agencies seeking taxpayer assistance are exempt from U.S. vetting procedures.

"It is baffling that the U.N. received a free pass in terms of vetting," a diplomatic official briefed on the USAID OIG's ongoing investigative work told the Free Beacon. "In order to receive one dime of taxpayer-funded aid, any organization, U.N. or otherwise, should be required to undergo extensive vetting of all staff operating in the region."
Khaled Abu Toameh: How Hamas Is Exploiting the Trump Plan to Maintain Control of Gaza
For Hamas, US President Donald J. Trump's peace plan, announced in early October, is evidently nothing but a temporary ceasefire, or hudna, that should be exploited to ensure that the terror group, with the help of Qatar and Turkey, expands its political and military control over the Gaza Strip.

The terror group, however, has not been facing any difficulty in hunting down Palestinians suspected of "collaboration" with Israel or those who dared to criticize Hamas during the war. Hamas, in addition, is not in a hurry because it has a serious problem with phase two of the Trump plan, which requires the terror group to lay down and decommission its weapons.

What we are witnessing is a calculated delay that aims to buy time and exhaust the US administration until Trump abandons the numerous ultimatums he has issued to the terror group. The foot-dragging aims to allow Hamas to reassert control over the Gaza Strip. According to some reports, Hamas has recruited up to 7,000 new fighters....

Hamas's actions and media interviews given by its officials since the beginning of the ceasefire show that the terror group has no intention of disarming or relinquishing security control over the Gaza Strip.

Further evidence of Hamas's total disregard for the Trump plan and ongoing effort to reassert control over the Gaza Strip was provided on November 1 by the US Central Command (CENTCOM): " On Oct. 31, the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) observed suspected Hamas operatives looting an aid truck traveling as part of a humanitarian convoy delivering needed assistance from international partners to Gazans in northern Khan Younis. The coordination center was alerted through video surveillance from a U.S. MQ-9 aerial drone flying overhead to monitor implementation of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Operatives attacked the driver and stole the aid and truck... The driver's current status is unknown."

"There is no lasting stability or peace until Hamas is removed from Gaza, a step that will require the use of force against this fascist militia." — Ahmed Alkhatib, former Gaza native and respected political analyst, X.com, November 1, 2025.

Even if we reach phase two of the Trump plan, Hamas will undoubtedly try to hoodwink everyone, including the Trump administration. Hamas, for instance, might hand over some of its assault rifles to a third party, but keep most of its tunnels and arsenal of weapons, including rockets and explosive devices. It is also possible that Hamas might try to incorporate its members into a new security force that would be deployed in the Gaza Strip, under the pretext that they are not affiliated with the terror group.

It is time for the Trump administration and the international community to realize that what we are currently witnessing is an attempt to rebrand and reproduce Hamas to ensure its continued control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas should not only be removed from power, but from the entire political, economic, social and military arena.
Australian military companies face new Israel ban as Department of Defence quietly tightens trade restrictions
The Nightly has asked the Department of Defence for details of any new restrictions coming into effect this week, but a spokesperson responded saying: “Defence cannot comment on individual permits (and conditions) due to national security and commercial in confidence reasons”.

Last month Defence told Parliament that 22 permits with Israeli end users have been issued since October 2023, five of which have “expired”, while the remaining 17 are “solely for the purpose of Australian Defence Force and Commonwealth capabilities”.

Prior to the October 7 Hamas attacks, 66 permits were issued by Defence and according to the department, a review ordered by the government of all export items has concluded, with 37 of them requiring no further action.

“Australian law stipulates that the defence minister or their delegate must grant an export permit to anything that we would regard to be a defence item,” Defence Deputy Secretary Hugh Jeffery told a Senate estimates hearing on October 9.

“We distinguish between those items that are lethal, non-lethal or dual use. These items are registered on what we called the Defence and Strategic Goods List,” he explained.

During this year’s election Prime Minister Anthony Albanese again insisted “we do not sell arms to Israel” following revelations the country’s military had completed trials of an advanced remote weapons system made by a Canberra-based defence supplier.

In 2024 Israeli company Elbit Systems was awarded a $917 million contract to provide “advanced protection, fighting capabilities and sensors” for the Army’s new Infantry Fighting Vehicles being built in Victoria by Korean-owned company Hanwha.


Remains of Omer Neutra, Oz Daniel and Asaf Hamami returned to Israel
Israeli authorities have confirmed the identities of three further hostages returned from Gaza on Sunday evening; with the remains of Colonel Asaf Hamami, Captain Omer Neutra and Staff Sergeant Oz Daniel conclusively determined on Monday morning.

Oz Daniel, 19, from Kfar Saba, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in his tank on October 7, 2023, while defending Israel. His body was kidnapped into Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum described him as a “talented guitarist and Guns N’ Roses fan, Oz dreamed of a future in music. Sensitive, kind, and full of light, he was known for his optimism and compassion – always looking out for others, especially those who felt unseen.”

Oz Daniel, 19, from Kfar Saba, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in his tank on October 7, 2023, while defending Israel.

His mother, Merav, said she and her son “had many conversations about kidnappings and he told me ‘Mum, I won’t sit in captivity’. He did what he felt was his duty – defence, and also not to sit in captivity. That was a decision he made, he did what he always thought needed to be done in moments like those”

Lt. Col. Asaf Hamami, a fighter and commander of the Southern Brigade, fell in battle on the morning of 7 October.

A resident of Kiryat Ono, he enlisted in 2001 in the Givati Reconnaissance Battalion. He advanced through the ranks and built an impressive military career, during which he also received the Chief of Staff’s commendation. In May 2022, he was appointed commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division.
‘Some sense of relief,’ US, Israeli officials say after liberation of Omer Neutra’s body
U.S. and Israeli officials and American Jewish organizations reflected on Monday on Israel’s bittersweet liberation of the remains of lone soldier Omer Neutra, 21, an Israeli-American serving in the Israeli military whom Hamas killed on Oct. 7.

The terror organization held his body for more than two years before returning his remains, and those of Asaf Hamami Oz Daniel, on Sunday.

“Omer’s loved ones have advocated fiercely for him, and now, his body has finally been returned for proper burial,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote of the Long Island, N.Y. native.

Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, wrote that “Omer’s death is tragic, but his life is a testament to the resolve of the Jewish people,” and that “we will never forget his story, nor the ultimate sacrifice he paid for peace.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) stated that “while this is not the outcome any of us had hoped for, I am relieved that Omer’s body has finally been returned to Israel, allowing his loved ones to lay him to rest with dignity,” CBS News reported.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Neutra a “proud New Yorker” and said that he was returned after “two anguishing years.” He added that he got to know Netura’s family well over the past two years.

“I know nothing will erase the pain of losing their son,” he said. “Finally, after two years, Omer can be laid to rest in proper burial.” He added that Hamas must return all of the eight bodies it continues to hold, “including that of New Yorker, American-Israeli Itay Chen.”

Ofir Akunis, the Israeli consul general in New York, stated that he had the “privilege to get to know Omer’s parents, Ronen and Orna,” and that he “witnessed their incredible strength and resilience over the past two years.”

“The Israeli government will not rest until the remaining hostages are freed and ensure the Hamas terrorist organization adheres to its commitments under the ceasefire agreement,” he said.


Timeline of a scandal: The 17 months of the Sde Teiman abuse and video leak affair
The scandal surrounding the leaking of security camera footage from the Sde Teiman military detention facility by former Israel Defense Forces military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi has roiled the country for days.

Tomer-Yerushalmi admitted last week to leaking the video, which purportedly showed the severe assault and abuse of a Palestinian security detainee by IDF reservists at Sde Teiman in 2024, in an effort to counter right-wing allegations that she was unfairly victimizing soldiers in a time of war.

The affair has generated a clash between the justice minister and the attorney general that is threatening to escalate into a constitutional crisis, spawned outrage and condemnation against the legal system from right-wing politicians, and led to calls to cancel the indictments against the suspects.

The former military advocate general is now suspected of obstruction of justice, fraud and breach of trust, and abuse of office.

Below is a timeline of the major events and developments in the unfolding scandal.
Hamas terrorist central to IDF abuse case was deported to Gaza under ceasefire deal
A Hamas terrorist at the heart of criminal proceedings against five Israel Defense Forces reservists accused of abusing Palestinian inmates has reportedly been deported back to Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal.

Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster reported on Monday afternoon that the alleged victim was released from jail under the U.S.-brokered deal that saw the remaining 20 living hostages freed by Hamas on Oct. 13.

“We have just received the notice that the terrorist is no longer held in an Israeli prison. We therefore call upon the IDF Military Prosecutor’s Office to immediately cancel the indictment,” attorneys for several of the suspects said in a statement cited by Israel National News on Monday.

“From day one, we told the military court that if the terrorist would be brought to testify, the case would collapse,” the defense team said. “It is time to release the soldiers from the heavy burden that has weighed on their shoulders and allow them to return to anonymity and normal life.”

In July 2024, IDF Military Police arrested nine IDF soldiers as part of the probe into an incident of alleged abuse of terrorists imprisoned at the Sde Teiman makeshift detention center, located in the Negev Desert.

“Following a suspicion of serious abuse of a detainee who was held in the prison facility, an investigation by the Military Police was opened by order of the Military Advocate General’s Office,” the IDF said at the time.

In August 2024, a medical opinion submitted to the court suggested the soldiers could be innocent. Professor Alon Pikarsky, director of general surgery at Jerusalem’s Hadassah-University Medical Center, said the terrorist had possibly injured himself by inserting a foreign body.

During the probe, security camera footage allegedly documenting an assault on the terrorist was leaked to Israel’s Channel 12 News outlet.


US looks to build ‘new Gaza’ on half of Strip under IDF control, but faces pushback
One of the main proposals for rebuilding the Gaza Strip that US President Donald Trump’s administration has presented to potential Gulf donor countries envisions the construction of roughly half a dozen residential regions on the eastern half of the Strip, which is currently under Israeli control, two Arab diplomats familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.

The diplomats said that “new Gaza” is the term frequently used by US officials to describe the project that will take place on the eastern side of the Yellow Line — the newly created boundary to which the IDF withdrew on October 10 at the start of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The partial withdrawal left Israel in control of roughly 53 percent of Gaza, but Trump’s plan for ending the war envisions the IDF gradually withdrawing to the other side of the Gaza border and leaving the Strip altogether.

However, that withdrawal is linked to the success of a still-to-be-established International Stabilization Force (ISF) tasked with securing postwar Gaza, along with the disarmament of the Hamas terror group, which has shown no interest in giving up its weapons.

With those two conditions for continued Israeli withdrawal so difficult to meet, the US is not waiting to begin the reconstruction process, and Trump’s top adviser Jared Kushner has indicated that Washington wants to start with the Israeli side of the Yellow Line and with the southern city of Rafah in particular.

The US proposal envisions as many as one million Palestinians — around half of Gaza’s population — moving to the residential areas on the Israel-held side of the Yellow Line. These areas will be built within two years, even if IDF forces don’t withdraw by then, said the two diplomats briefed on the plan, adding that they found the benchmark highly unrealistic.
US drafts Gaza ceasefire security force resolution, sends to UNSC members
The United States has sent several United Nations Security Council members a draft outlining the establishment of an international ceasefire enforcement force lasting at least two years, Axios reported on Monday.

A US official told Axios that the goal of the draft is to establish negotiations regarding the force, aiming to vote on a resulting resolution and have international troops deployed to Gaza by January of 2026.

According to Axios, the resolution would establish an International Security Force (ISF) with the goal of “stabilizing the security environment in Gaza.”

The draft reportedly states that the ISF would be responsible for “ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups.”

According to the draft, the ISF would also protect humanitarian corridors, secure Gaza’s borders with Egypt and Israel, and oversee the establishment and training of a Palestinian police force.

Axios reported that Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Turkey have all shown interest in participating in the ISF.
Turkey, Muslim allies demand Palestinian self-rule in Gaza following Istanbul summit
Gaza’s future must be Palestinian-led and avoid any new system of foreign hegemony, Turkey and six of its top Muslim allies said Monday, after talks in Istanbul.

Turkey’s relations with Israel collapsed during the Gaza war, and it has been a harsh critic of Jerusalem, but it also served as a key mediator of the tenuous three-week-old ceasefire. Now, it is pushing for Muslim nations to bring their influence to bear on the reconstruction and future governance of the embattled Strip.

“Our principle is that Palestinians should govern the Palestinians and ensure their own security. The international community should support this in the best possible way — diplomatically, institutionally, and economically,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after the talks.

“Nobody wants to see a new system of tutelage emerge,” he told a news conference, using a term meaning foreign supremacy over a territory.

Brokered by US President Donald Trump, the October 10 ceasefire — which halted two years of war sparked by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack — has been tested by Hamas attacks on Israeli soldiers and fresh Israeli strikes.
PM rules out granting safe passage to 200 Hamas gunmen stuck in IDF-held Rafah
Following reports on Monday that Israel was considering granting terrorists hiding in tunnels safe passage from Israeli-controlled areas of the Gaza Strip to the Hamas-run zone, a statement attributed to an “Israeli official” — often a euphemism for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office — said the premier “is not allowing safe passage for 200 Hamas terrorists.”

According to Israeli estimates, some 200 Hamas gunmen are currently located in the tunnels underneath the IDF-controlled parts of southern Gaza, especially in Rafah, and are unable to retreat to the Hamas-controlled areas without emerging from their tunnels and being spotted by Israeli troops.

Channel 12 news reported earlier on Monday that Israel would approve the fighters’ safe passage if they agreed to give up their weapons.

According to the outlet, IDF sources confirmed that Israel was likely to grant passage, but said they would only be allowed to pass into Hamas-controlled territory if the terror group gave up more bodies of slain hostages.

After the Channel 12 initial report was met with heavy criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, the “Israeli official” vehemently denied that Netanyahu would grant such passage to Hamas operatives stuck in Rafah.

“The prime minister persists in his firm stance on the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Strip while eliminating terrorist threats to our forces,” said the official.

According to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, which Netanyahu embraced in September, “Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty.”

“Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries,” the Trump plan adds.

But the actual ceasefire agreement signed by Israel and Hamas in Egypt on October 9 only focused on the initial ceasefire, IDF pullback, the hostage-prisoner swap, and humanitarian aid provisions.


The Officer Tatum: "I'm Just Asking Questions." Ami Kozak Clowns Tucker Carlson and EXPOSES Anti-Israel Hypocrisy
Ami Kozak joins Officer Tatum for a powerful, hilarious, and thought-provoking conversation about Israel, the rise of anti-Semitism, and the growing division inside the conservative movement. From Tucker Carlson’s shift to the rise of conspiracy rhetoric, Ami breaks down why people fall for scapegoats instead of truth — and reminds us what Judeo-Christian values really stand for.

Chapters
0:00 — Intro
1:25 — Trump’s Visit and Israel’s Support
2:05 — The Division on the Right
3:00 — How Anti-Semitism Infects the Right
4:10 — Victimhood Culture on Both Sides
5:00 — Can Conservatives Unite Again?
6:10 — Why Some Conservatives Are Losing Focus
7:20 — The Root of Jew Hatred
8:25 — Biblical & Historical Parallels to Modern Hate
9:15 — The Truth About “Judeo-Christian” Values
10:05 — The Moral Foundation of the West
10:52 — Ami Kozak on Faith, Comedy, and Culture
11:36 — Where to Follow Ami Kozak




The Hipster Hologram
That was the cultural atmosphere from which Zohran emerged. What that means is that, while many Jews are understandably alarmed by his flirtations with Islamist rhetoric, the truth is far duller—and somehow more sinister. He’s not so much a Hamas ideologue as he is a bland liberal opportunist masquerading as a revolutionary. His politics are a chaotic slurry of leftist identity jargon, boutique communism, NGO globalism, and shallow religious signaling—all stitched together with the desperation of someone who wants to be everything to everyone.

His power lies in this incoherence. Like his most devoted followers, Zohran can pivot from slogan to slogan, ideology to ideology, without ever breaking the rhythm of his affectation. One moment he’s invoking Karl Marx and proletarian class consciousness, the next quoting Frantz Fanon and pandering to proto-woke postcolonial theory, the next riffing on rent control and queer liberation. It’s all the same syntax of performance: moral urgency without moral clarity.

So what, in the end, is it about Zohran’s personality that draws the activists who worship him? He is a perfect mirror for them: alienated, hyperverbal, and adrift in Bauman’s liquid modernity, where authenticity has evaporated and only its simulation remains.

And so we stand on the threshold of a new era, one in which the world’s largest, most intricate city will be governed by people who possess no convictions, no principles, nothing but the day’s trending slogan and the algorithmic confidence of the perpetually online. On the day before the election, everything is already decided—not by ballots, but by vibes.

We’re not entering a revolution; we’re entering a feedback loop.
Zohran Mamdani, Third-Worldism, and the Algerian Revolution
The Jew, the Israeli, and Mamdani’s Third Worldism
But what I find notable is that Zohran Mamdani found his audience at a moment when that voice had returned to prominence. The aftermath of October 7 and the surge of anti-Zionist activism on university campuses created the perfect moral terrain for his message. Across American institutions, decolonization has shifted from academic theory to political instinct, giving young activists an ethical framework for interpreting conflict. Mamdani speaks that language fluently.

He channels the same emotional power that once animated anti-imperial movements, but now within the American political system. In this moral landscape, Israel holds a special place. It stands as the final embodiment of Western domination, a state seen as the successor to the colonial powers that once resisted by the Third World.

During the Algerian War of Independence, that same struggle against Europe often blurred into hostility toward Jewish communities. When independence came in 1962, violence against Jews in Algeria accelerated their mass exodus to France. The revolution’s rhetoric of liberation carried an undercurrent of exclusion that cast the Jew as Europe’s privileged double. Many Algerian Jews were poor and socially marginalized, but they were depicted as embodiments of colonial privilege and moral complicity, seen as sharing in the power that oppressed them.

This pattern extended across the post-colonial world. From the 1960s onward, Third-Worldist movements increasingly framed their politics through anti-Zionism, portraying Israel as the last fortress of Western imperialism and Palestinian resistance as the moral center of a global struggle. Mamdani draws directly from this legacy.

In his politics, Israel becomes the final expression of colonial Europe, and the Jew is recast not as a victim but as a symbol of enduring Western power. Opposition to Israel thus functions as a continuation of decolonization, a moral conflict that transforms the old fight against empire into a permanent contest between innocence and guilt.

Conservatives often fail to grasp these shifts, and Anglo-Americans even more so. They treat Third-Worldism as a policy platform when it operates as a moral creed. Its power lies not in practical solutions but in its claim to moral purity and its ability to turn resentment into virtue. Universities have nurtured this sensibility for decades, replacing historical complexity with ideological certainty and teaching generations to interpret politics through the binary of victim and oppressor. Mamdani’s rise is the political outcome of that education.
Call me Back: Mamdani's Rise and its Consequences - with Reihan Salam
The New York City mayoral election will conclude this Tuesday, November 4th. The front-runner, 34-year old Zohran Mamdani, is a democratic socialist and a staunch anti-Zionist who is already being hailed as the future of the Democratic Party.

Joining us to discuss the New York City mayoral election – and its implications both nationally and globally – is Reihan Salam. Reihan is the president of the Manhattan Institute, a think tank that conducts policy research focused on urban and domestic affairs. Reihan previously served as the executive editor of the national review. He has written for various outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, The Free Press, and VICE.






Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 

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