Tuesday, February 03, 2026

02/03 Links Pt1: The Trump Administration's Delusional Gaza 'Master Plan'; Is Iran Attending Its Own Funeral?; The shameful disinformation over the Gaza death toll; IDF find weapons in UNRWA aid sacks

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: The Trump Administration's Delusional Gaza 'Master Plan'
Even if Hamas does agree to surrender some of its weapons as part of a façade to appease Trump, the terror group will undoubtedly continue to keep or replace as many as possible to maintain a military, political and security presence in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas is not worried about the newly established Palestinian technocratic committee that is supposed to govern the Gaza Strip: the committee does not pose a direct threat to the terror group. The committee is primarily tasked with managing civilian affairs, delivering essential services such as water, electricity, healthcare and education, and rebuilding infrastructure. Security will remain in the hands of Hamas....

Building skyscrapers and an airport in the Gaza Strip will not change the Palestinians' views on Israel. The Palestinians are not going to give up the "right of return" because of foreign investment in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is not going to recognize Israel's right to exist or give up its Jihad (holy war) against the "Zionist entity" because of new homes, luxury apartments and tourist resorts. The only way to change the hearts and minds of Palestinians is through a deep and thorough process of re-education and actual serious pressure, for once, from the outside world. This requires brave, strong and pragmatic leadership -- both from the Palestinians and the international community -- an attribute that, unfortunately, does not seem to exist.
Ruthie Blum: Doctors Without Borders is getting the treatment it deserves
If there was any doubt about that, NGO Monitor has provided proof that MSF is not only far from a neutral humanitarian organization, but is openly partisan. Against Israel, of course.

It’s accused Israel of “genocide,” “collective punishment” and “apartheid,” while lobbying foreign governments to halt arms sales to the country. Nor has it ever condemned the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023.

But it has frequently decried Israeli operations in Gaza, downplaying or omitting Hamas’s systematic use of hospitals, ambulances and medical infrastructure for terrorist purposes. No wonder it’s been refusing to disclose the identity of its employees.

By resisting such transparency, it thought it could dupe Israeli authorities into allowing it to continue collaborating with mass murderers under the protective international cloak—and guise—of selfless physicians devoted to helping Palestinians in need of medical treatment.

How ironic that it’s been doing so for the very people whom the terrorists have purposely maimed and killed, as well as tried to starve, in order to frame Israel for their deaths. Talk about giving new meaning to the Hippocratic Oath.

As NGO Monitor founder and president Gerald Steinberg told JNS’s David Isaac on Monday, “MSF has gotten away with using its massive annual budget ($2.4 billion) and the influence this buys to promote antisemitic propaganda … and to avoid accountability for links to Hamas. But attempts to use bullying tactics through journalists and European political allies to avoid vital Israeli counterterror registration have failed. Their moral medical facade has been exposed for all to see.”

Indeed, even the best surgical masks can’t hide the group’s true face and ill will—for which there’s no cure.

Au revoir, MSF. Don’t let the door hit you in the derrière on your way out of Gaza.
Seth Mandel: Is Iran Attending Its Own Funeral?
A Mideast summit this Friday looks like it will play host to a group of countries that claim to want to save Iran from U.S. strikes—but in reality want to bury the Islamic Republic alive.

For Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which both plan to be represented at the meetup in Istanbul, it’s pretty straightforward. The Saudis are rivals for Iran’s influence and power projection around the Gulf, and Egypt stands to benefit from a loosening of Iranian proxies’ troublemaking in the Red Sea shipping lanes and its sponsorship of Hamas.

The reason for Turkey and Qatar’s bad-faith participation in the summit becomes clear when you see the kind of proposed “solutions” coming out of Ankara. Haaretz reports: “Turkey might propose, among other things, that the enriched uranium in Iran — including around 440 kilograms (970 pounds) that are enriched to 60 percent — be transferred to Turkey, with a promise that it would never be returned to Iran.”

There’s no reason to spend time listing all that’s wrong with that idea: Everything is wrong with it. But the Turks might as well shoot their shot; Haaretz notes that Russia has offered to hold the nuclear material for Iran and that “Trump may see Turkey as a more reliable entity than Russia.” Well, the planet has yet to see an entity less reliable than Putin’s Russia, so it’s all relative.

Though Ankara’s diplomats will never say so, Turkey is essentially proposing that Iran and Turkey switch places, with Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the steward of all the mullahs’ ill-gotten gains. Nuclear material? Put it in Turkey. Terrorist proxies around the region? Let them answer only to Turkey. Russia’s regional patsy? Turkey reporting for duty, comrade. Counterweight to Israel? Turkey.

The Qataris are playing a similar game. They have an American air base and have ingratiated themselves with Trump’s team. They may be Iran’s ally, but they do not need Iran’s protection. Iran’s newfound weakness poses minimal threat to Qatar, but Doha stands to gain substantial clout in Tehran’s absence. The Qataris, therefore, don’t want Iran to be destroyed by American and Israeli strikes, but they would like Iran to be locked into its current state of weakness, preferably through a deal that would freeze it in place without enabling its resurgence.

Right now, Iran doesn’t have a lot of friends, even among its friends.


WSJ Editorial: The "Deal" in Iran Is Regime Change
All that has happened since June 2025 makes the new search for a deal with Iran a dubious quest. In June, Iran's nuclear program and top military echelon were devastated by Israeli and then U.S. strikes, which exposed Iran's weakness, penetration by Israeli intelligence, and vulnerability by air. In December and January, the Iranian people rose up to demand an end to their regime's failed rule. The regime subsequently massacred its own people by the thousands.

Before June's 12-day war, President Trump gave Ayatollah Khamenei two months to dismantle his nuclear program. The Supreme Leader refused, so Jerusalem and Washington did it for him. Concessions now on the enrichment of nuclear fuel - if the regime is even willing to make them - are far less meaningful.

The U.S. has also demand limits on Iran's missile program and an end to its support for terrorist proxies. Both are fine ideas, but they would amount to paper promises that the ayatollah would be unlikely to honor. This regime is willing to impoverish and endanger its own country to pursue a "death to America" and "death to Israel" foreign policy. It is a regime bent on spreading revolution, not on living peacefully with its neighbors.
Is Europe Waking Up to the Iranian Threat?
For many decades, liberal Europe naively believed that diplomatic dialogue with the Islamist regime in Iran would be the best way to get the Revolutionary Guards to renounce terror and international terrorism. They were unaware that the Revolutionary Guards are bloodthirsty terrorists responsible for the deaths of numerous French and American citizens, among others. Attacks were even thwarted on European soil at the last minute, thanks to valuable intelligence and warnings provided by Mossad.

In January 2026, everything changed. Demonstrations across Iran transformed into an unprecedented popular movement against the mullahs' regime. The authorities responded forcefully. The toll is very heavy: 30,000 killed and tens of thousands wounded.

European reactions are mixed. The Iranian government is politely asked to refrain from violence. In the streets of Paris, London, and Rome, the only sporadic demonstrations are from the Iranian diaspora. A scandalous double game persists. Protests will only be held in the streets against Israelis and in support of Palestinians. The Europeans waited three weeks before finally adding the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to the list of terrorist organizations.

Certainly, this is an important decision, but a resumption of negotiations between the Americans and Iran will indefinitely postpone the fall of the mullahs' regime.
Iran's Greatest Danger Comes After the Fall of the Regime
It is essential to understand how Iranians see themselves before imagining an alternate future when Iran is again a respected member of the international community. Iran is not a homogeneous ethnic or even religious entity. Most Iranians share a cultural identity more than a political one.

The Azeris and Persians, both deeply Shiite Muslims since the 1500s, have intermarried for centuries. Azeris are Turks, but the Iranian Azeri identity is first and foremost Shiite. They identify strongly with their Persian Shiite brothers, much more than with the Turks in Turkey or Central Asia. Many other Iranians are Shiites, and that religious identity often unites them more strongly than their separate ethnic origins.

Iranians do not traditionally embrace the concept of one person, one vote. Decisions are almost always imposed from above, where the head of a unit, whether a family, clan, or community, is expected to take into account the needs of the group. Attempting to impose Western-style democracy is therefore likely doomed to failure.

Regime change in the country has historically been characterized as a descent into chaos. Historically, what usually happens is that a widely known military or political figure, or a charismatic individual, emerges and imposes his will on others, typically after a period of chaos during which the country descends into anarchy.

Without a central leader committed to unity and inclusion across ethnic, religious, economic, and familial lines, Iran would likely descend into chaos which most Iranians fear.
Witkoff's Israel visit aims to explore red lines, acceptable terms in Iran negotiations
Discourse around the possibility of direct negotiations between the United States and Iran has shifted from quiet channels to the public sphere amid the arrival of the Trump administration's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Israel on Tuesday, where he is slated to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

Israel is not viewing this visit as procedural but as an attempt from the Trump administration to close gaps, as well as discuss what could be considered a move in Iran negotiations Israel could accept, and what would be beyond Israel's red line.

Israeli assessments perceive that US President Donald Trump is genuinely interested in negotiations with Tehran, but not necessarily out of belief that they would solve any "Iranian problem." The driving logic behind his motives is the desire to produce a result that can be perceived and sold as an achievement, per the assessments.

However, unlike in other arenas, a deal between the US and Iran will likely not pass in Washington without Israeli consent - not because of a formal veto, but because Netanyahu is perceived, particularly within the Republican party, as a symbol of the hardline against Iran. It would, therefore, be difficult for Trump to produce a "victory image" in an Iran deal if Israel publicly rejects it.

It is likely, therefore, that Witkoff is arriving in order to clarify not what Iran would be willing to talk about, but what Netanyahu would not be willing to talk about.
Iran Escalates Tensions With US, Sending Gunboats To Harass US Tanker and Drone To Confront US Aircraft Carrier
Iran escalated tensions with the United States on Tuesday, harassing a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz hours after sending a drone toward a U.S. aircraft carrier—an aggressive move that ended with an American fighter jet shooting the drone down.

Six Iranian gunboats armed with .50-caliber machine guns attempted to stop the tanker as it transited the waterway, ordering the vessel to shut down its engines and prepare to be boarded, according to the Wall Street Journal. The ship ignored the demand, accelerated, and was later escorted to safety by a U.S. warship.

Hours earlier, the U.S. military shot down an Iranian Shahed‑139 drone after it "aggressively" approached the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, Reuters reported. The drone was destroyed by an F-35C fighter jet launched from the carrier, a spokesman at the military’s Central Command said, describing the action as self-defense.

"The aircraft carrier and personnel on board were threatened," Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said, adding that no U.S. service members were injured and no American equipment was damaged.

Iranian officials on Tuesday threatened to withdraw from planned nuclear talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, negotiations that were set to take place in Turkey on Friday. Trump has warned that "bad things" could happen if diplomacy fails.

Iran has periodically harassed commercial shipping during past standoffs, but such incidents have been rare in recent months, according to the Journal.

The incidents come as Washington continues a major military buildup in the region amid rising tensions with Tehran. The Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group—along with F-35 jets and missile defense systems—arrived last month as part of what President Donald Trump has described as an American "armada" moving toward Iran.


Iranian MP threatens US bases, urges Jordanians to seize control of air base amid rising tensions
Pro-regime Tehran MP and member of Iran’s Foreign Policy Commission, Mojtaba Zarei, called on Jordanian "fighting brothers" to take control of a US military base in the kingdom in a post on X/Twitter on Monday.

Zarei, who has an account in both Farsi and Arabic, posted his call to action in both languages, noting that a Muwaffaq Salti Air Base was utilized for operations countering "Iranian missiles and in protecting Tel Aviv and the Zionist cannibals," during the Israel-Iran war in June.

"It has turned into the most important American base in the world-devouring empire, and a partner of Israel," he claimed.

"Prepare yourselves to seize it and take American soldiers captive after the missiles strike this base," he concluded, hinting towards an Iranian missile strike targeting US military facilities across the Middle East.

The air base is primarily operated by the Royal Jordanian Air Force but has hosted US Air Force F-15 Strike Eagles for approximately 10 years. Several Navy EA-18G Growlers have also been deployed to the base amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran in recent days, according to military trackers and analysts.

Zarei linked the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base with air force operations to counter Iranian ballistic missile launches during the Israel-Iran war in June. The Jordanian Armed Forces-Arab Army at the time stated that it would intercept Iranian missiles that pose a risk to its own territory. The US military did not comment on the area of operations for its aircraft stationed in the region.

Notably, Zarei's call for Jordanians to act implies an upcoming military strike on US bases in the Middle East, amid rising tensions as talks are about to begin between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The two are slated to begin talks in Istanbul on Friday. Witkoff visited Israel on Tuesday to discuss regional concerns with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


Leaked Iran ‘playbook’ reveals Tehran had long planned its bloodbath on protesters, resistance group say
Iran’s ruling clerics knew a nationwide revolt was coming — and plotted a brutal, premeditated crackdown months in advance, according to explosive new audio recordings and secret regime documents released Tuesday by the most prominent Iranian opposition group in the US.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran, whose intelligence first identified Iran’s nuclear program in 2002, said the Tehran regime coldly mapped out a mass slaughter of protesters — including orders to cut off the internet, unleash live fire on crowds, embed undercover agents in demonstrations and manipulate protest chants to weaken the uprising.

“This was not panic. This was a plan,” NCRI US Deputy Director Alireza Jafarzadeh told reporters at a briefing in Washington. “They anticipated a national uprising — and prepared to crush it.”

Protests erupted in more than 400 cities across all 31 provinces, sweeping in students, workers, women, ethnic minorities and entire families — a scale NCRI called “unprecedented” under the Islamic Republic.

Crowds chanted “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator,” directly challenging Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in scenes that, Jafarzadeh said, “terrified the regime.” Even Khamenei recently admitted the unrest threatened the regime’s survival, calling it an attempted coup.

“This uprising caught the mullahs by surprise,” Jafarzadeh said. “It shook the foundations of their rule.”

The opposition group unveiled a 129-page “Comprehensive Tehran Security Plan,” drafted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Sarallah Garrison in fall 2024 — months before the protests erupted.


Israel welcomes Ukraine’s IRGC terror designation
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Monday welcomed the announcement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that his government had designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization following the European Union’s designation last week.

“This is an important diplomatic and moral decision: Against terror. Against repression. For freedom,” Sa’ar wrote on X.

Zelenskyy’s announcement on the matter came in a video message, in which he said: “The European Union’s decision to designate one of the main organizations of the regime in Iran, the so-called Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a terrorist organization has been practically agreed upon. European procedures are currently underway. We in Ukraine have already made such a decision and have already designated this organization as a terrorist organization, for us this issue is closed. All terrorists in the world deserve the same treatment and condemnation — no one should win.”

Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine supports “peoples who value freedom and are truly ready to fight for it,” and noted that the “whole world sees what is happening in Iran, the number of killings, and how the Iranian regime has contributed to the spread of war and violence in the region and the world.”


Andrew Fox: The shameful disinformation over the Gaza death toll
The heated debate that followed the Haaretz report completely overlooks these vital distinctions. Instead of engaging with the complex reality of Gaza’s death toll, much of the press chose self-congratulation. ‘See, even Israel now admits 70,000 died – we told you so!’, they have insisted. But what exactly did they ‘tell us’? Many of these outlets spent two years obscuring the very issues I have outlined. They parroted Hamas’s GHM without caveats, failed to verify the figures, and overlooked the astonishing lack of combatants listed among the dead. They were quick to doubt Israeli statements about militant casualties, yet slow to acknowledge clear evidence of Hamas’s number-fudging. When the GHM quietly removed thousands of names from its records in March 2025, did CNN or the BBC make it headline news? Of course not. That ‘small inconvenience’ was largely left to niche researchers and think-tanks to expose.

Personally, I do not enjoy saying ‘I told you so’. The loss of tens of thousands of lives in Gaza is a reality, and nothing can lessen that human tragedy. However, facts matter, especially in wartime. I warned over a year ago, in detail, that the Gaza death toll was being reported without proper care: that it included errors, double counts, natural deaths and propaganda; that the frequently cited civilian-versus-combatant breakdown was unreliable; and that eventually, the truth about the underreported militant casualties would emerge. I was correct on all points.

Shame on the world’s media for ignoring these red flags for so long. Shame on them for allowing a terror group’s unverifiable claims to shape the narrative, and for smearing those who raised legitimate questions as bad-faith actors. The press should be scrutinising both sides’ claims rigorously, not selectively echoing whichever figures fit a simplistic morality tale we wish to tell ourselves.

The mishandling of this issue has done a huge disservice to both truth and history. Gaza’s dead deserve to be remembered accurately, not reduced to pawns in a propaganda contest. We can mourn the innocents lost while still insisting on an honest accounting. We should not fail them by obscuring the reason their lives were cut short in the first place: a war that was started by the terrorists of Hamas, in which they did everything they could to place civilians in harm’s way.


Muslim Arab ‘Captain Ella’ tapped as IDF Arabic spokesperson
Israel Defense Forces Maj. Ella Waweya has been named as the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, replacing Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF announced on Tuesday.

Internationally known as “Captain Ella,” the 36-year-old Muslim Arab from the central Israeli city of Qalansawe, located east of Netanya, will be promoted to Lt.-Col. upon starting her new role.

She has served in the Israeli military since 2013 and currently serves as Adraee’s deputy.

Adraee, who has been the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman for the past 20 years, is set to retire.

Waweya has become a fixture in the Arabic-language press, and is most prominently known for her “Captain Ella Videos,” a series of informational films about Israel and the IDF for the Arab society.

“This is my place, to change the image in the Arab society and to show the togetherness of the State of Israel,” she told JNS in a 2023 interview.


How Does Hamas Plan to Maintain Control of Gaza?
Senior Israeli security officials say Hamas has formulated a clear strategy for preserving its rule in Gaza, both militarily and civically. Hamas is not troubled by the establishment of the Gaza Technocratic Committee that is supposed to manage civilian life. Its twelve members are residents of Gaza with families living there, which means Hamas can, at any given moment, exert pressure on them and on their relatives to achieve its objectives.

Moreover, the Technocratic Committee intends to continue managing daily life through the existing governmental and municipal bureaucracy in Gaza, which numbers around 40,000 employees. These officials currently receive their salaries from Hamas, and there is no intention to dismiss them from their posts. This reality allows Hamas to continue ruling from behind the scenes.

Hamas has no intention of fully disarming. Israeli security officials assess that Hamas is now attempting to draw Israel and the U.S. into negotiations over disarmament to buy time. Hamas is relying on Qatar and Turkey to help soften President Trump's position so that it can retain light weapons and anti-tank arms. Hamas's military force is estimated at 30,000. Many are expected to remain in civilian clothing, continue receiving salaries from Hamas, and operate covertly.

Gaza's civilian society still largely supports Hamas and its ideology, despite the enormous disaster it brought upon the population after Oct. 7. Hamas continues to grow stronger due to the massive flow of humanitarian aid trucks each day. Hamas imposes taxes on every shipment entering Gaza, generating revenue that it channels into military buildup.

In practical terms, Hamas plans to remain in Gaza with thousands of armed militants alongside public sector employees in key positions within the civilian system, thereby ensuring its full control.


Restricted video
Gazan militia leader tells Channel 14 on camera that Hamas has put together a new, heavily armed unit of 500 of their most dangerous terrorists in Gaza. This is not what disarmament looks like.
While @POTUS pressures Hamas terror org to disarm or "It will be the end of them," Ahikam Himmelfarb, Arab Affairs Analyst, reports on this conversation with Shawki Abu Nasira in Gaza - head of a militia in Khan Yunis area.

According to Shawki, the goal of Force 500 is to maintain Hamas control over the Gaza Strip by force, to suppress the people and terrorize them, to kill people in the streets, and to scare and deter them.

"Hamas took operatives from the 'Saham' unit, the secret police - the Al-Qassam Brigades, and the 'Deterrence' unit. They formed this unit of 500 operatives and called it 'Force 500.'


Israeli troops find weapons in UNRWA aid sacks
Israeli troops operating in the southern Gaza Strip recently found over 100 mortar shells, several rockets and other weapons hidden inside blankets and sacks marked as UNRWA humanitarian aid, the Israeli military said on Tuesday.

The munitions were discovered by forces from the 7th Brigade under the Gaza Division while clearing areas east of the so‑called Yellow Line of underground and surface‑level terrorist infrastructure, according to the military.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accused UNRWA of aiding Hamas after the IDF found the aid sacks with weapons. “Weapons don’t end up in humanitarian aid bags by accident,” the ministry said in a post on X, adding that the agency “owes an explanation for their support for terror.”

IDF forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday eliminated four terrorists adjacent to the Yellow Line. The terrorists had approached the troops, posing an imminent threat to them, according to the military.

“IDF troops in the Southern Command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” the IDF said.


Lebanese PM pledges to stay out of war after Hezbollah warning
Lebanon’s prime minister vowed on Tuesday to keep his country out of war after Hezbollah’s leader last week warned that a strike on Iran would be an attack on its Lebanese terror proxy.

“We will never allow anyone to drag the country into another adventure,” AFP quoted Nawaf Salam as saying during the World Governments Summit in Dubai, in response to a question about comments made by Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem.

Hassan Nasrallah’s replacement said on Jan. 26 that his Lebanese Shi’ite terror army and its main backer in Tehran were facing “aggression that does not distinguish between us. … [W]e are targeted by any potential aggression and determined to defend ourselves. We will choose at that time how to act … but we are not neutral [and] a war on Iran this time will ignite the region.”

Salam said Hezbollah’s decision to enter the Gaza war on Oct. 8, 2023, in support of its terror ally Hamas had “very big” consequences for Lebanon, and that “no one is willing to expose the country to adventures of this kind.”

Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after the Hamas-led terrorist assault on southern Israel, opening a second front along the country’s northern border. The attacks continued until a truce took effect on Nov. 27, 2024.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was required to disarm, beginning in areas adjacent to the Israeli border, with the Lebanese Armed Forces being tasked with establishing a monopoly over weapons in the country.

Lebanon’s government has begun implementing a phased plan to disarm Hezbollah, starting in the country’s south, a key stronghold of the Iran-backed group. In January, the Lebanese army said it had completed the first phase of the initiative, covering the area between the Israeli border and the Litani River, around 20 miles from Israel.

Salam said the state had “worked to regain control over decisions on war and peace.” He added that “the Lebanese army has full operational control over the south.”


John Anderson Media: After Bondi: We Can No Longer Ignore Islam | Ayaan Hirsi Ali
John speaks with Ayaan Hirsi Ali to examine the growing ideological, spiritual, and civilisational pressures confronting the West. Drawing on her personal experience, historical analysis, and cultural commentary, Hirsi Ali argues that radical Islam, institutional secularism, and the erosion of Western moral confidence are converging to produce a crisis of identity and social cohesion.

This conversation traces the theological roots of modern Islamic extremism, the relationship between Islam and political power, the limits of multicultural integration, and the consequences of abandoning the cultural and moral foundations that once sustained liberal democracy. It is a candid and confronting discussion that challenges prevailing assumptions about tolerance and pluralism, calling for a renewed seriousness about the civilisational principles required to preserve social stability.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a writer, public intellectual, and former member of the Dutch parliament. Born in Somalia and raised in multiple Islamic societies, she later became a prominent critic of political Islam and an advocate for liberal democracy, women’s rights, and freedom of conscience. She is the author of Infidel and other internationally recognised works on religion, culture, and identity.


Leaders refuse to acknowledge ‘utterly abhorrent’ outburst of ‘demented jew hatred’
Spiked Online Chief Political Writer Brendan O’Neill criticises world leaders for not standing up to Jewish hatred.

“This is completely and utterly abhorrent,” Mr O’Neil told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

“It was an outburst of this demented Jew hatred.

“Our leaders refuse to stand up to those people.”




Commentary PodCast: Iran-Amok
Eli Lake joins us today to discuss the question of what might come after the mullahs in Iran, and we ask: What is the president doing, calling for Republicans to nationalize elections?
Jonathan Sacerdoti: Why Iran’s most decisive protests were met with silence abroad – Dr Thamar Eilam Gindin
Iran’s regime is relying on executions, foreign fighters and extreme repression to survive.

In this conversation, Jonathan Sacerdoti speaks with Dr Tamar Eilam Gindin, a specialist in Iranian language, culture and political mythology, about what she is seeing emerge inside the Islamic Republic. Drawing on reports and her own sources from within Iran, she explains how executions surged in the months that followed the 12 Day War, how protests were crushed using non-Iranian forces, and why these tactics point to a system under enormous strain.

Dr Gindin describes how funerals have turned into protests, why mosques are being burned as symbols of oppression, and why removing the Supreme Leader might not dismantle the regime. The conversation also examines how Iranian regime narratives continue to shape Western media and academic analysis, and why protesters inside Iran are rallying around Reza Pahlavi.

👁‍🗨 Watch if you want to understand how Iran’s uprisings will develop in the coming weeks and months.

💬 We Discuss:
🇮🇷 The surge in executions after the war in June
🔥 The regime’s use of foreign militias against protesters
🕌 The breakdown of religious legitimacy
⚔️ Why removing one leader would not end the system
🧠 How Western analysis misunderstands Iran
👑 Who is Reza Pahlavi and why protestors chant his name
🌍 What type of external pressure could actually change outcomes


Erin Molan: Is Trump Really Negotiating With Iran — Or Setting a Trap?
President Trump keeps talking about a potential “deal” with Iran — but is diplomacy really the goal?

In this episode of The Erin Molan Show, Erin is joined by Jason Brodsky, Policy Director at United Against Nuclear Iran, to explain what may actually be happening behind the scenes.

Jason argues that the negotiations themselves may be the strategy — not the deal — helping the administration set legal, diplomatic, and strategic groundwork for what comes next.

Later in the episode, Erin speaks with Turku Avci, a Muslim journalism student from Turkey studying in Israel, whose life was turned upside down after she publicly called herself a Zionist. After her comments went viral, she faced threats, harassment, and serious danger — offering a chilling firsthand account of the cost of speaking freely.

The episode also tackles:
• Hollywood hypocrisy and selective outrage
• Why celebrities stay silent on Iran
• What a “deal” with Tehran would mean for the Iranian people
• Erin’s fan feedback and reflections from Washington DC

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome & What’s Really at Stake With Iran
02:05 Why Trump Keeps Talking About a “Deal”
03:45 Hollywood’s Silence on Iran
04:20 Celebrities, Hypocrisy & Selective Outrage
06:20 Jason Brodsky: Why the Negotiations Matter
22:50 Introducing Turku Avci Muslin Turkish girl "Zionist"
36:50 Fan Feedback & Final Thoughts


Tax Filing Reveals WESPAC Channeled Millions to Pro-Palestine Groups After October 7
An IRS filing has exposed the inner financial workings of WESPAC Foundation, revealing the nonprofit organization transferred over $1 million to groups with alleged ties to terrorist organizations while bankrolling nationwide pro-Palestine protests following the October 7 Hamas attacks.

According to an NGO Monitor analysis of WESPAC’s Form 990 covering September 2023 through August 2024, the foundation’s expenses nearly doubled from $1.7 million to $3.7 million during this period. The organization received an additional $2 million in funding compared to the previous fiscal year, coinciding with a wave of campus encampments and street demonstrations that roiled Jewish communities nationwide.

The filing marks a departure from previous years, with WESPAC for the first time publicly naming the fiscally sponsored projects it supports. Previously, such funding was buried under vague budget categories like “office expenses,” making it nearly impossible to track where donor money ultimately flowed.

Million-Dollar Grant to Alleged Terror-Linked Group
The most significant revelation centers on a $1 million grant to Honor the Earth, listed in the filing with the grant purpose ‘Palestinian Youth Movement.’” PYM has alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

A 2019 French court decision cited intelligence reports claiming PYM is “affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.” The group’s scholarship program honors Ghassan Kanafani, a deceased PFLP leader.

Following October 7, PYM mobilized demonstrations and helped coordinate student encampments across North America. In spring 2024, the PFLP itself issued a statement explicitly expressing support for PYM’s activities on American campuses.


Anti-Zionist Jewish group joins Hezbollah-linked bodies to oppose Herzog's Australia visit
An anti-Zionist Jewish organization, the Jewish Council of Australia (JCA), has teamed up with a Hezbollah-linked group and a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated network to demand that the Australian government deny President Isaac Herzog a visa for his forthcoming visit this month.

Herzog is expected to visit Australia from February 8 to February 12 to show his support for the Jewish community and to visit the site of the December 14 Bondi Beach attack.

The latest move by the JCA highlights the ties that this controversial anti-Israel conglomerate has with groups linked to terrorist organizations.

It co-signed a statement with the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) and the Belgian-based Hind Rajab Foundation calling on Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, and the Australian Federal Police to refuse “entry for Israeli President Isaac Herzog and the commencement of a criminal investigation under Australian law.”

Ibrahim Abu Muhammed, the mufti of Australia, is the head of the ANIC. He is a member of the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), which was founded by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, widely regarded as the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader.

In March 2025, Egyptian-born Mohammed signed a fatwa issued by the IUMS, calling on Muslims to arm and fund Hamas. It also declared violence against the “Zionist entity and all those who collaborate with it.”

The Hind Rajab Foundation is chaired by Dyab Abou Jahjah, who, in a 2003 New York Times article, claimed he had “joined the Hezbollah resistance against Israel” and “had some military training.” Jahjah is also included on the US government’s No Fly List because his family is linked, through business and personal ties, to Hezbollah’s terror-funding network.
Activist group Teachers for Palestine to flout Chris Minns’ restrictions
Sky News host Freya Leach says activist group Teachers for Palestine will flout Chris Minns’ new restrictions.

“The Teachers for Palestine group in New South Wales has said they will flout Chris Minns’ new restrictions on what they can and can’t say in the classroom,” Ms Leach said.

“They will continue to encourage people to use slogans like ‘globalise the intifada’.”


Posters lionizing Bondi Beach terrorist found plastered in Melbourne
Dozens of posters lionizing one of the perpetrators of the Bondi Beach terror attack were found plastered in Melbourne’s central business district on Tuesday.

Approximately 40 posters, designed to deliberately mimic the visual style of a well-known “Aussie” street art series promoting inclusion, were unlawfully plastered on public infrastructure around the CBD, according to the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), an Australian organization founded to combat antisemitism in the country.

The posters feature Naveed Akram, who, together with his father, Sajid Akram, killed 15 people and wounded dozens attending a Hanukkah party at Bondi Beach on December 14.

Melbourne Mayor Nick Reece condemned the posters as “sick” and said municipal staff were rushing to locate all of the posters and take them down.

The posters use the well-known theme of street artist Peter Drew’s iconic “Aussie” campaign, in which photos of 20th-century immigrants to the continent were paired with the word “Aussie” in bold lettering, in an effort to challenge racially exclusive definitions of national identity. The 2016 poster series has recently been updated for its 10-year anniversary.

Drew told Australian media outlets that the imitation posters detracted from the spirit of his series.

“It’s more the statement rather than the quantity,” he said. “I have to go out there and put out hundreds, but they can just put out a few to make the point.”

“For Drew’s work to be hijacked and appropriated into images of hatred and division is absolutely abhorrent,” Reece said. “To use the image of the Bondi shooter is just sick. Families are still grieving, the community is still grieving.”

Jewish organizations were likewise outraged by what ADC chair Dvir Abramovich called “glorification of mass murder.”

“This is not street art. This is grave-dancing,” Abramovich said. “Putting the face of a Bondi terrorist on city walls is psychological terrorism aimed at families who are still burying their dead. That is rot… and it tells Jewish Australians that even our mourning is not sacred.”

It was not known who was behind the posters, but Abramovich called for law enforcement to prosecute those responsible.
Disturbing Posters Of Alleged Bondi Shooter Pop Up In Melbourne | 10 News
At least 40 disturbing images depicting alleged Bondi terror attack gunman Naveed Akram have been plastered across Melbourne, mimicking the street art series titled “Aussie”.

The city council is scrambling to remove the posters which are believed to have been put up on the Australia Day long weekend.






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