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Monday, January 19, 2026

01/19 Links Pt1: Fatah shares Hamas’s goal to destroy Israel; The West will regret not intervening in Iran; How radical Islamists and the far left united to ‘fight America everywhere and all the time’

From Ian:

Fatah shares Hamas’s goal to destroy Israel
Consider that the 90-year-old Abbas has also long been given a free pass from the United Nations and others regarding the P.A.’s harboring and protecting of terrorists. The P.A. has one of the largest per-capita security forces in the world (more than 60,000 men), largely armed and trained by the United States. Yet instead of using those forces to arrest and extradite terrorists—as the Oslo Accords require—Abbas and friends pay salaries to terrorists and their families, and shelter fugitive terrorists so Israel can’t capture them.

This is not a failure of capacity. It is a failure of will—and, more accurately, a reflection of intent. The P.A. does not arrest terrorists because it does not see them as criminals. It sees them as assets.

That truth became even clearer with the cosmetic rebranding of the notorious “pay-for-slay” system that has rewarded Palestinian Arab terrorism for decades. We were told this system had been reformed. We were told it is now humanitarian, not ideological. This, too, was a lie.

The only way to truly end “pay-for-slay” is for the P.A. to announce that anybody who has engaged in violence against Israel is disqualified from any P.A. payments. That would demonstrate that the entity sincerely rejects terrorism. Anything less is a sham, which is designed to pull the wool over the eyes of the international community.

Zaki said the quiet part out loud: Israel is “doomed to perish.” Hamas has been saying the same thing for years. The difference is no longer substantive, only stylistic.

It is long past time for the international community to stop rewarding duplicity. Diplomatic recognition of the P.A., financial aid without conditions and the pretense that Abbas represents a peaceful alternative have all failed. They have not moderated P.A. leadership; they have emboldened it.

If words still matter, then Zaki’s utterances must have consequences. Governments that genuinely oppose terrorism and support Israel’s right to exist should immediately suspend diplomatic recognition of the P.A.; cut off funding that enables terrorism; and demand real, verifiable rejection of violence, not empty promises.

The future cannot be built on fantasies. And it certainly cannot be built with partners who openly proclaim that Israel “is doomed to perish.”
Alberto Nisman’s Role in Holding the Islamic Republic Accountable for its Crimes: Reflections
Nisman’s granular investigation that exposed how the Islamic Republic recruits, radicalizes and executes terrorism continues to be a roadmap for counter-terrorism professionals around the globe. It no doubt played a role in President Milei designating the IRGC’s Quds Force as a terrorist entity yesterday. The designation makes members of the Quds Force and their allies subject to financial sanctions and operational restrictions.

Milei underscored that he maintains an “unbreakable commitment to recognizing terrorists for what they are.” Under his leadership, Argentina placed Hamas on its terrorism list on July 12, 2024.

The Quds Force designation takes place as the Islamic Republic has killed thousands of protestors from every province of Iran in recent weeks. The regime has cut off internet to hide these crimes but reports and images have leaked out.

In April 2024, Argentina’s highest criminal court officially designated the 1994 AMIA bombing a "crime against humanity" and explicitly held the government of Iran and Hezbollah responsible for its planning and execution.

The Venezuela connection to the AMIA bombing investigation may be noteworthy: it revolves around allegations that then Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez served as a key intermediary in a covert deal between Iran and Argentina to cover up Iran's involvement in the 1994 attack. According to reports from three former Venezuelan government officials cited in Veja, Chávez met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on January 13, 2007, during which Ahmadinejad requested Chávez's help in persuading the Argentine government under Kirchner to provide nuclear technology to Iran and to cease cooperating with Interpol on arresting Iranian suspects linked to the AMIA bombing.

In exchange, Iran provided Kirchner's 2007 presidential campaign with millions of dollars funneled through Venezuelan channels, including a documented incident where a Venezuelan-American businessman was caught allegedly attempting to smuggle $800,000 into Argentina—funds purportedly originating from Iran and brokered by Chávez.

Iranian networks in Latin America, as detailed in Nisman's 2013 indictment, included terrorist infrastructure in Venezuela and neighboring countries, where Iran allegedly created sleeper cells and recruitment operations.

Kirchner is serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for her role in a separate corruption case. Several other cases against her are pending.

As Nisman’s family and victims of the AMIA bombing await justice, one can’t help but appreciate that his life’s work uncovering and exposing the Islamic Republic’s use of terrorism as a weapon of its governance and foreign policy have been fully vindicated. Governments around the world have taken important steps by sanctioning the Islamic Republic of Iran’s domestic institutions and individuals responsible for the regime’s malign activities at home and abroad. Many of its proxies have also been designated terrorist entities. While a lot more needs to be done, Alberto Nisman paved an important path to make this possible.
How radical Islamists and the far left united to ‘fight America everywhere and all the time’
Why are American progressives, who believe in gay rights and abortion, aligned with radical Islamists, who want a religious dictatorship? Because “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” writes Peter Schweizer in his new book, “The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon.” In this exclusive excerpt, he explains that they are after the same thing: the destruction of Western society from within.

Ismail Selim Elbarasse, an accountant by training, seemed to be living a quiet life in Annandale, Virginia. But in 2004, when police officers noticed him driving with his wife across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and filming its critical structural elements, they decided to act, then detained him and notified federal agents.

He was already a suspect in a scheme to provide funding to Islamist terrorist groups, and now agents were searching through his home for further evidence of his possible involvement.

They discovered far more than a terrorism funding scheme.

Buried among the stacks of paperwork in his home was a document written in Arabic titled “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America,” written by a US-based Islamist leader from the Muslim Brotherhood.

The strategic goals memo specifically addressed the “Civilization-Jihadist Process” for using migration as a weapon of subversion.

Members “must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated, and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

The Muslim Brotherhood specifically and Islamists in general have long viewed immigration as a weapon to deploy against the West.


Netanyahu: No Turkish, no Qatari troops in Gaza reconstruction efforts
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that there would be no Turkish or Qatari troops deployed to Gaza as part of Phase 2 of the Trump administration’s Mideast peace plan.

Speaking at a Knesset debate on “violence and crime in the Arab sector” within Israel, Netanyahu acknowledged the dispute between his government and the Trump administration over the post-war management of Gaza.

“We have a certain argument with our friends in the United States over the composition of the executive board that will oversee the processes in Gaza,” he said.

“In the Gaza Strip, we stand before the second phase of the Trump plan. The second phase says a simple thing: Hamas will be disarmed, and Gaza will be demilitarized,” said Netanyahu. “We are adhering to these objectives, and they will be achieved. Either the easy way or the hard way. Turkish soldiers or Qatari soldiers will not be in the Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli prime minister has openly disagreed with U.S. President Donald Trump in recent days over appointments to committees intended to directly and indirectly govern Gaza, post-Hamas.

“The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza executive board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,” the prime minister’s office stated on Saturday.

One of the core disputes appears to be the role that Qatar and Turkey, both of which have taken strongly anti-Israel positions and host Hamas officials in their countries, will play in governing the Palestinian enclave.
Smotrich calls to shutter US-led Gaza coordination center, resettle Strip
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to shut the US-led multinational coordinating center that supports US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war.

Washington established the Civil Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) last October as a center for civilian and military personnel from other countries to work alongside US and Israeli officials on post-war Gaza planning.

“The time has come to dismantle the headquarters in Kiryat Gat,” said Smotrich, the chair of the far-right Religious Zionism party, in remarks shared by his office to media, referring to the southern Israeli city where the center is based.

By dismantling the headquarters, Israel will be able to remove representatives stationed there from “countries like Egypt and Britain that are hostile to Israel and undermine its security,” and will instead be able to do what is best for the Jewish state, Smotrich said. He declined to explain why he had singled out the United Kingdom for criticism.

The Prime Minister’s Office, the US State Department and the US military’s Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the remarks, nor did the British and Egyptian foreign ministries.

US Central Command in December said that 60 countries and organizations were represented at the center. The CMCC has also been tasked with facilitating humanitarian aid entering Gaza since the start of a ceasefire in early October 2025.

The US-led CMCC was established after Trump announced his 20-point plan to end the war. Germany, France, and Canada are also among the countries that have sent personnel there.

Smotrich, speaking at an event marking the establishment of the new Jewish settlement of Yatziv in the West Bank, said that although Trump deserved Israel’s gratitude for his part in returning the hostages held by Hamas and other terror groups in two separate deals, his plan for Gaza “is bad for the state of Israel” and must be shelved.
Ministers reportedly decide to keep Rafah Crossing shut, bucking US pressure amid anger over Board of Peace
A small group of senior cabinet ministers on Sunday decided against reopening the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, bucking US demands that the gate resume operating as envisioned by President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, the Ynet news site reports.

The decision came amid Israeli frustration over the inclusion of senior officials from Turkey and Qatar in the Board of Peace’s Gaza Executive Board, which will be overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.

Israel has also argued that it shouldn’t reopen Rafah in both directions before Hamas agrees to disarm and returns the body of the final Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili.


Morocco joins Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace as founding member
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has accepted an invitation from President Donald Trump to become a founding member of the US-led Gaza Board of Peace, Morocco's foreign ministry announced on Monday.

"Morocco welcomes the second phase of Trump’s comprehensive peace plan, as well as the official creation of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which will serve as a temporary transitional body," the ministry stated.

Earlier on Sunday, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had received an invitation to join the Board of Peace, and that Moscow was reviewing the proposal, expressing hope for future contacts with Washington regarding it.

This statement from the Kremlin followed reports from the Kazakh media outlet Tengri, which indicated that Trump had invited Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to join the board as well.

While the White House has not confirmed Tokayev or Putin as official members of the board, Kazakh Presidential Press Secretary Ruslan Zheldibay affirmed that "Tokayev was one of the first world leaders to receive an official invitation to join the Peace Council, making Kazakhstan one of its founding states." Kazakhstan’s contribution to lasting peace in the Middle East

"In response, the Head of State sent a letter to the president of the United States expressing sincere gratitude and confirming his agreement to join this new body. The president reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s aspiration to make its own contribution to achieving lasting peace in the Middle East, strengthening interstate trust and global stability,” Zheldibay said.

When asked why the president hadn't addressed the invitation earlier, the secretary said they had found it "unethical" to announce the invitation before Trump did, “But the process took on a life of its own.”

Israel's invitation
Israel has also received an invitation from the United States to join the board, according to two sources briefed on the matter who spoke to Reuters.

However It has not been confirmed whether Israel will accept the invitation, and the Prime Minister's Office did not respond to Reuters's request for comment.

Additionally, Trump has invited Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to join the Board of Peace, a gesture that Lukashenko welcomed, as reported by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry and confirmed by their spokesperson on Monday. Polish President Karol Nawrocki has also reportedly received an invitation to join the board.


The West will regret not intervening in Iran
What exists is the tyranny of a violent, intolerant minority – armed, organised, and dangerous. Iran today resembles the final days of the Soviet Union, except without a Gorbachev. Even Mohammad Khatami – the regime’s ‘moderate’ figure – has dismissed the protests as a ‘planned conspiracy’. His words prove that no genuine reformer will emerge from within the Islamic Republic. This is what makes the regime uniquely dangerous.

That is why, if the United States does not act, it will regret missing this opportunity to remove the head of the snake in the Middle East. In every case where foreign intervention failed, one never encountered the three elements that exist simultaneously in Iran. The first is a pro-Western population. The second is a clear and recognised alternative. Across Iran, there is only one name being chanted as a leader: Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. He has articulated a plan and has become a unifying figure for the Iranian opposition. This means there is a clear replacement for the tyranny of the mullahs.

Tony Blair has said that his greatest mistake in Iraq was underestimating the power of political Islam after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Iran presents the opposite case. Without the Islamic Republic, political Islam could collapse entirely. There are no significant Islamist political opposition groups waiting in the wings, nor is there any desire among the Iranian people to return to an Islamic government.

As part of his anti–old neoconservative establishment rhetoric, Trump has repeatedly emphasised a ‘no boots on the ground’ strategy. In Iran’s case, this approach could nonetheless result in regime change because of the unique structure of the IRGC. The IRGC is not a modern national military but a terrorist organisation wholly dependent on one individual: Ali Khamenei. Remove him, and the structure collapses. Following Trump’s assassination of Qassem Soleimani during his first term, and Israel’s recent elimination of senior IRGC and military leaders, there is no remaining figure capable of unifying the forces or launching a coup. Targeted attacks – against senior leadership or strategic bases, including those that have shut down Iran’s internet for over a week – could be highly effective.

The real tragedy would be Western inaction. Iranians who still trust the West would see indecision as effectively backing a regime whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel and the United States. It would repeat Barack Obama’s historic mistake after the 2009 Iranian Green Movement: drawing no red lines, only to find the regime not moderated by diplomacy, but emboldened and more aggressive.

This is a historic opportunity. Millions have risen up in Iran. Tens of thousands have given their lives. If the West does not act now, it will signal to China, Russia, and every authoritarian regime in the world that, as Dostoevsky warned in Notes from Underground, ‘everything is permitted’.
'Akin to inviting Hitler': Iran's FM disinvited from Davos following backlash
The World Economic Forum disinvited the Iranian foreign minister from the upcoming Davos conference, citing the loss of civilian lives in Iran since the regime enforced a violent crackdown on protests in the country.

“The tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year,” the forum confirmed, noting that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was invited long before the protests broke out.

The Islamic regime has admitted that thousands were killed and arrested as Tehran cracked down on any signs of dissent after protests broke out in response to the country’s economic decline. Human rights groups and dissident media have reported the use of torture, sexual violence, and extrajudicial killings against those demonstrating.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, had earlier warned Aragchi that his attendance would be met with a criminal complaint to Swiss prosecutors over his role in the regime’s massacres of Iranian civilian protesters.

“In wake of our plan to file a criminal complaint for Swiss authorities to arrest him for crimes against humanity, given his role in the regime murdering protesters, Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will NOT be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos this week,” Neuer announced on X/Twitter.


Iran warns protesters who joined ‘riots’ to surrender within three days
Iran’s top police officer issued an ultimatum on Monday to protesters who joined what authorities have deemed “riots,” saying they must hand themselves in within three days or face the full force of the law.

But the government also pledged to tackle economic hardships that sparked the demonstrations, which were met with a crackdown that rights groups say left thousands dead.

The protests constituted the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years, with the full scale of the violence yet to emerge amid an internet blackout.

National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan on Monday urged young people “deceived” into joining the “riots” to turn themselves in and receive lighter punishment.

Those “who became unwittingly involved in the riots are considered to be deceived individuals, not enemy soldiers,” and “will be treated with leniency,” he told state television.

Officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before descending into chaos that they claim was fueled by Iran’s arch-foes the United States and Israel in an effort to destabilize the nation.


IDF kills two terrorists who violated Gaza truce
Israeli troops shot and killed two armed terrorists who approached their positions in separate incidents along the Gaza ceasefire line on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Soldiers operating in the southern Gaza Strip spotted two suspects who crossed the Yellow Line and posed an imminent threat, the IDF said. Troops opened fire, killing one of them.

In a separate encounter in the north, soldiers identified three terrorists crossing the same demarcation line and fired at them, killing one, according to the statement.

The IDF said its troops in the Southern Command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to respond to any immediate threats.

Under the October ceasefire, Israel retained control over more than half of Gaza’s territory inside the Yellow Line, which separates areas held by the IDF from those under Hamas control. Hamas terrorists have repeatedly crossed into the restricted zone in violation of the deal, prompting Israeli forces to respond to what they characterize as immediate threats near the boundary.

Tunnel network dismantled in north Gaza

Israeli troops have completed a monthlong mission east of the Yellow Line in northern Gaza, dismantling a tunnel route and uncovering rockets, the military said on Saturday.

Troops from the 16th Brigade, operating under the 252nd Division, destroyed hundreds of Hamas-linked terror sites above and below ground, including tunnel shafts and weapons depots, and killed dozens of terrorists who it said posed an immediate threat.


Erin Molan: FULL VIDEO: Steve Witkoff on Iran, Gaza Trump & Diplomacy | Erin Molan at IAC 2026
Steve Witkoff joins Erin Molan for a full, in-depth conversation at the Israeli American Council (IAC) 2026 Summit.

They discuss the hostage release, President Trump's leadership, the current situtaion in Iran, and much more...

This is the full interview, recorded live on stage at IAC 2026.

Subscribe for more long-form conversations with global leaders, policymakers, and voices shaping the future.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 80: Who is Hamas and what do they want?
Welcome to our new short-form episodes interspersed with the regular interviews that dive into an often-asked question about Israel, Jews and the Middle East.

Our current question: Who is Hamas and what do they want?

Chapters
00:00 The Origins of Hamas
02:59 Hamas's Ideological Framework
06:46 Hamas's Military Strategy and Tunnels
09:35 Hamas: A Multifaceted Entity


Jonathan Sacerdoti: Trump administration considers offering asylum to British Jews over rising anti-Semitism
The Trump administration is reportedly discussing whether the United States should offer asylum to Jews who feel unsafe in Britain. Robert Garson, President Trump’s lawyer, says rising anti-Semitism and political inaction have made the UK “no longer a safe place for Jews”, and has raised the proposal with senior State Department officials.






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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 

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