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Thursday, February 12, 2026

02/12 Links Pt1: Everything You Need to Know About Gaza’s Fatality Numbers; Hamas and Fatah: Different Paths, Same Destination; PA drafts constitution, omits Jewish ties to Jerusalem, calls for Sharia

From Ian:

Everything You Need to Know About Gaza’s Fatality Numbers
6. Thousands of Child Combatants are Part of the 70,000 Total
There is no doubt that Hamas and other militant groups use child combatants, in some cases children as young as 12. Demographic analysis of the fatality lists already pointed to this reality, with roughly 2,000 excess deaths among male teens. That inference is now confirmed by direct evidence. Numerous martyr posters, funeral notices, and social media posts identify underage fighters killed in combat. Most recently, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) publicly acknowledged that 9% of its announced fighters killed were minors , based on its own fighter death lists cross-referenced with Hamas’ fatality list. This shows that combat participation by minors was neither rare nor incidental. Yet media outlets and NGOs that cite headline death totals remain silent on the use of child combatants. Acknowledging their presence would complicate the simplistic civilian-versus-combatant narrative. Once child combatants are counted as combatants rather than automatically classified as civilians, another pillar of the prevailing fatality narrative collapses.

7. Gaza Fatalities Are Heavily Skewed Towards Adult Males
Hamas’ own data show 34,069 male fatalities aged 18–59 versus 10,976 women of the same age, an excess of more than 23,000 adult males of combat age. When teenagers are included, based on earlier fatality lists that broke deaths down by individual age, the pattern is unchanged: 73% of deaths among teens and adults combined are male, a ratio of roughly three to one. This demographic pattern is decisive. A three-to-one dominance of males among combat-age fatalities is exactly what one would expect from a campaign focused on dismantling an armed group. It also corroborates estimates of 25,000 combatants killed, including child combatants, particularly given evidence that Hamas’ lists omits fighter deaths. Hamas’ latest figures also show that about 52% of all reported fatalities are now adult males. The long-repeated claim that “most” of those killed in Gaza are women and children is false. These figures still remain distorted by the inclusion of natural deaths, deaths caused by Hamas itself, and child combatants. Even so, the demographic signal is clear: Gaza’s reported fatalities are heavily concentrated among males of fighting age.

8. Civilian-to-Combatant Ratio is Approximately 1.5 to 1
The civilian-to-combatant ratio is the metric most closely tied to claims of indiscriminate warfare, war crimes, and even genocide, and is therefore aggressively contested. Israel’s critics seek to maximize it by falsely inflating total deaths toward 100,000 while simultaneously minimizing combatant losses to as few as 8,900. The evidence supports neither move but the desire to inflate the ratio explains why this type of propaganda persists. Once the Hamas fatality total is properly decomposed, the ratio tightens dramatically to about 1.5 to 1. Natural deaths embedded in Hamas’ lists must be removed. Deaths caused by Hamas itself, through executions, misfired rockets, gang violence, and internal clashes, must be separated. Child combatants cannot be automatically classified as civilians. And combatant deaths that never appeared on Hamas’ lists must be added back. With these corrections, the structure of the fatalities becomes clear. The civilian-to-combatant ratio aligns with what the demographic data in Hamas' own numbers already indicate: a campaign focused on dismantling an armed group embedded within a civilian population.

Conclusion
The evidence shows that Gaza’s fatality figures have been widely misread and repeatedly used as narrative proof rather than analytical data. The headline total reflects real deaths, but its composition has been systematically distorted through the inclusion of natural deaths, Hamas-caused deaths, and child combatants, alongside the omission of significant fighter losses. Claims of large numbers of excess deaths or missing “under the rubble” fatalities ignore the reporting mechanisms and compensation incentives that make large-scale undercounting implausible. When these factors are properly accounted for, the civilian-to-combatant ratio tightens substantially and the demographic pattern points to a campaign aimed at dismantling Hamas and other militant groups, not indiscriminate harm. Once this ratio is recognized, the use of the headline fatality number as evidence of indiscriminate warfare collapses, revealing how the figures have been framed to advance a narrative rather than to describe the war as it was actually fought.
Khaled Abu Toameh: The Palestinians' Other Big Lie
That such a large number of Muslims are able to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem every week shows that Hamas's claim that the Jews are desecrating the mosque and plotting to control it is another big lie produced by the terror group and its supporters.

It is worth noting that Jews do have a right to visit the Temple Mount, primarily because it is also the holiest site in Judaism, where the First and Second Temples once stood.

[T]he arrangement set up in 1967 allowed non-Muslims to visit the Temple Mount but restricted praying there to Muslims.

Ten days after the Six Day War, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, out of respect for Muslim concerns, forbade Jews to pray on the Temple Mount and proclaimed the Kingdom of Jordan the protector of the holy site.

Non-Muslims, including Jews and Christians, regularly tour outdoors on the grounds of the Temple Mount but, since 2000, have not been allowed to enter inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock.

Palestinian officials and media outlets regularly and falsely portray the visits as "violent incursions by extremist Jewish settlers." It is worth recalling that to many Palestinians, all Jews in Israel are "settlers" and that, in their eyes, all of Israel is just one big settlement.

It is abhorrent to see the Palestinians and many Muslims use a mosque -- especially falsely -- to justify terrorism and the murder of Jews. It is even more abhorrent to see Hamas and other Palestinians proudly name their dishonorable crimes after a mosque.

The long-familiar Palestinian campaign to destroy Israel continues to this day. Palestinian officials continue to repeat all the same fraudulent accusations. Unless this anti-Israel and anti-Jewish campaign stops, the next October 7-style massacre by Palestinians -- presumably what they would like, distracting from and derailing US President Donald J. Trump's attempts to rebuild Gaza without Palestinian leadership -- is just around the corner.


GOP senator Ted Budd calls on Qatar to extradite Hamas leader to the U.S.
Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) called on Qatar to extradite Hamas operative Khaled Mashaal to the U.S., telling Jewish Insider on Wednesday that the leader has the “blood of Americans on his hands.”

Mashaal, who is under U.S. indictment on terrorism-related charges, appeared this past weekend at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, where he rejected the U.N. Security Council-backed plan for Gaza — a move that could further complicate U.S. efforts to advance Phase 2 of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative.

“[Mashaal] is responsible for plotting the brutal massacre of Americans and Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023,” said Budd. “He should absolutely be extradited to the U.S. to face justice for his appalling crimes, not walking free to make public appearances in Qatar calling for Hamas to maintain its weapons and deny foreign intervention in Gaza.”

Budd also told JI that he wants to see Qatar crack down on the content disseminated by state-backed Al Jazeera.

Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) said that he wasn’t familiar with Mashaal’s case in particular, but told JI that “one would like to see the that Qataris, who are supposed to be helping us out, participate or cooperate with us when we’re trying to bring terrorists to justice.”

Also featured at the forum was Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur, who was sanctioned by the U.S. in July 2025. Appearing by video, she told forum attendees that humanity has a “common enemy” in Israel.

Middle East policy experts have cautioned that Qatar’s hosting of prominent Hamas and U.S.-sanctioned individuals allows those figures to circumvent U.S. restrictions, while promoting anti-American sentiment. The U.S. does not currently impose any direct sanctions on Qatar.


Hamas vows not to lay down arms until Israel’s ‘elimination’
Hamas will not lay down its weapons until Israel is “eliminated,” Osama Hamdan, a senior official in the terror organization, vowed on Wednesday.

“We have been very clear with mediators, and in our messages passed on to the relevant parties, that the matter of Palestinian weapons is linked to the presence or elimination of the occupation,” stated Hamdan, referencing Israel in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“To this day, the Palestinian national motto states that the occupation needs to be eliminated,” he stated. “The weapons are legal according to international law, and by virtue of the will of the Palestinian people, so these weapons will not be laid down until their goal is achieved.”

Hamas’s official charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and refers to parts of the Quran that call for Muslims to kill Jews everywhere.

However, Hamdan said, “if the establishment of a Palestinian state is in the cards, it is possible to have some kind of agreement on a hudna,” or a temporary truce, which according to Islamic doctrine can be used to rebuild, rearm and prepare for future hostilities.

During this hudna, “all relevant parties will enable the Palestinians to establish their independent state,” he explained. “This state will be allowed to fulfill its duty of defending its people, land and rights. Then, I believe that the Palestinians as a whole will have their own military, armed forces and security agencies,” the top terrorist said.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Jan. 21 that the terror group would be “blown away very quickly” if it fails to lay down its weapons under the second phase of his administration’s peace plan for Gaza.

Speaking at a question-and-answer session in Davos, Switzerland, after his address to the World Economic Forum, the president said Hamas had “agreed to give up their weapons” as part of his 20-point plan.


U.S. Rejects British Pleas to Allow Hamas to Keep Weapons
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has rejected lobbying efforts by Jonathan Powell, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's national security adviser, to allow Hamas to keep its small arms as part of the Gaza peace process. He told the Telegraph the terror group could not be trusted to retain AK-47s and other personal weapons. Huckabee also dismissed proposals to store Hamas's other weapons in secured facilities in Gaza, saying it would not work and the weapons could easily fall into the wrong hands.

Huckabee said: "I don't think Hamas will have any role in the security structure, any role in governing - the president has been very clear about that. To leave Hamas in charge of running anything in Gaza would be like leaving some of the Nazis in place to help govern Germany after World War Two. Nobody would think that's a good idea."

He insisted that any Hamas claims of disarmament "would have to be observable and provable. Nobody's going to take Hamas's word for it, because Hamas is not trustworthy. They proved themselves to not be civilized people. They don't do things in a civilized way. Nobody would expect that whatever they say could be taken at face value. It'll have to be verified."

Huckabee pointed to the example of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon that failed to curtail Hizbullah as "a good model to say what we don't want."

He added, "President Trump is President Trump, not President Chump, so people shouldn't think [the Iranians] can string him along without progress being made....We'll soon find out if they learned anything from the 12-day war."

He warned: "Americans probably see Iran and the threat as something so far away. It's a huge mistake. For 47 years, Iran has said 'death to America.' So, should Iran be able to develop long-range ballistic missile capability, supersonic missile capability, it would be incredibly naive for the citizens of the United States to think that somehow they're just immune, that they're not a target. Because they are a target - a stated target repeatedly - of the Iranian regime."


Diplomats insist EU, Egypt won’t train Hamas-linked officers for Gaza police force
Neither Egypt nor the European Union will train police officers in Gaza who are affiliated with Hamas, an Egyptian and a European diplomat told The Times of Israel on Thursday, following reports that Hamas is seeking roles for its 10,000 police officers in the postwar Strip.

Both Egypt and the EU have been preparing to expand training of Palestinian police for deployment in Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory, which authorizes the deployment of a temporary International Stabilization Force that would support and work alongside a “newly trained and vetted Palestinian police force.”

In December, officials told The Times of Israel that the new force would be free of Hamas-affiliated personnel, despite reports at the time indicating that Hamas members could continue to police Gaza as part of the newly installed body.

Israel regards all elements of Hamas, including its police, as components of the terrorist organization.

On Thursday, the Egyptian and European diplomats reiterated that Cairo and Brussels will play no role in training any personnel tied to Hamas. The European diplomat noted that any officers trained by the EU would be vetted by Israel for any affiliation with the terror group.

Discussions are still ongoing about amending the current mandate of EUPOL COPPS — the EU’s existing police support mission in the West Bank — to include the training of officers for deployment in Gaza, the European diplomat said.

That envoy added that no deployment date for the police force could be given, as neither vetting nor training has begun, and details remain unclear surrounding the ISF’s role and deployment.
German court again rejects suit over arms exports to Israel, as lawmaker visits Gaza
Germany’s highest court on Thursday threw out a case brought by a Palestinian civilian from Gaza who sought to sue the German government over its weapons exports to Israel.

The complainant in the arms case, who was supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), had been seeking to challenge export licenses for German parts used in Israeli tanks deployed in Gaza.

Berlin, a strong ally of Israel, nevertheless imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel last August, but then lifted it after a ceasefire deal was reached in October. The speaker of Germany’s lower house of parliament, visiting the Strip on Tuesday, urged that the larger plan for Gaza be advanced beyond the current truce.

The complainant in the arms case, after it was rejected by lower courts in 2024 and 2025, appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court.

But the court in Karlsruhe dismissed the case, stating that “the complainant has not sufficiently substantiated that the specialized courts misjudged or arbitrarily denied a possible duty to protect him.”

While Germany is obliged to protect human rights and respect international humanitarian law, this does not mean the state is necessarily obliged to take specific action on behalf of individuals, the court said.

“It is fundamentally the responsibility of the state authorities themselves to decide how they fulfill their general duty of protection,” it added.

The ECCHR called the decision “a setback for civilian access to justice.”

“The court acknowledges the duty to protect but only in the abstract and refuses to ensure its practical enforcement,” said Alexander Schwarz, co-director of the organization’s International Crimes and Legal Accountability program.

“For people whose lives are endangered by the consequences of German arms exports, access to justice remains effectively closed,” he said.
Hamas and Fatah: Different Paths, Same Destination
In January 2026, Rawhi Fattouh, chairman of the Palestinian National Council, presented an honorary shield to the outgoing Chinese ambassador to the Palestinian Authority. On the shield appeared a map of a single "Palestine" encompassing all of the State of Israel, alongside an embroidered "key of return" - the symbol of the demand for millions of Palestinians to return to cities and towns within sovereign Israel. Above the map, a single word was written in English: Palestine.

The incident was a consistent expression of official Palestinian ideology. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority and head of the Fatah faction, wears a key pin on his suit. The official Fatah website says: "Final victory will not be achieved until the flag of Palestine flies over the minarets, churches, and walls of Jerusalem...and the return of the refugees." The emblem of Fatah displays a map of "complete Palestine," without any trace of the State of Israel, and two crossed rifles above it.

Both the Hamas charter and the Fatah website share the same strategic goal. Complete liberation of "historic Palestine," establishment of one state from the river to the sea, Jerusalem as the capital, and an absolute refusal to recognize the legitimacy of any Jewish state. For both, the 1967 lines are but a temporary formula, a stage on the path to the final goal.

One of the most painful lessons from the Oct. 7 attack is the need to listen to what the enemy says in its own voice, not through interpretation with Western glasses. The term "two states for two peoples" is a Western-Israeli invention. It has never been stated by an official Palestinian leader. The Palestinian national movement, in all its shades, has one clear goal: the end of the State of Israel. It is time we look truth in the eye.
PA drafts constitution, omits Jewish ties to Jerusalem, calls for Sharia legal system
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the publication of the draft constitution for a Palestinian state earlier this week, the PA's official news agency WAFA announced.

The full draft of the constitution, read by The Jerusalem Post, omitted Jewish ties to Jerusalem in Article III, claiming it as the "capital of the State of Palestine, and its political, spiritual, cultural, and educational center, as well as its national symbol," and committed to "preserving its religious character and protecting its Islamic and Christian sanctuaries."

The same article called on the state to commit to protecting Jerusalem's "legal, political, and historical status," and affirmed that "any measures to change its character or historical identity are considered null and void according to international law."

Additionally, Article IV designated the official religion of a Palestinian state as Islam, with Islamic Sharia principles to be the "primary source for legislation," while also protecting Christianity as having a special status, with designated rights.

The president must also "swear by God Almighty" when entering office, per Article LXXVI, and Article CXXXII called for Sharia disputes to be handled by Sharia and religious courts.


IDF completes large-scale drill to boost Golan defense
Israeli forces from the Golan Brigade (474), under the command of Division 210, have completed a large-scale exercise in southern Golan Heights communities aimed at boosting local defense readiness, the military said on Thursday.

The drill, held last week, brought together regular and reserve troops to rehearse responses to extreme scenarios, evacuating wounded personnel, and combat in outposts and built-up areas in the communities of Meitzar and Afik.

The exercise was conducted in cooperation with local authorities and community defense units, and Division 210 forces remain deployed in the area to protect residents of the Golan Heights and the rest of Israel, according to the IDF.

This was the latest in a series of exercises to enhance defensive preparedness in the northern region, according to the IDF.

Separately, Israeli forces destroyed a weapons depot belonging to the Jamaa Islamiya terrorist group during an overnight raid in southern Syria last week, the IDF said Tuesday, describing the strike as part of ongoing efforts to thwart attacks on northern Israeli communities.

Troops located and dismantled firearms, land mines and communications gear at a storage site in the Beit Jinn area, opposite the Israeli Golan Heights, according to the military.
Israel’s new threat: Terrorist invasion via UAVs
The Israel Defense Forces is investigating a new type of threat: a cross-border invasion by thousands of terrorists carried by unmanned aerial vehicles.

During a visit to a military post in the country’s south last month, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir was shown a drone caught crossing the Egyptian border. This drone, with two strong handles at the bottom, is capable of lifting up to 187 pounds, according to Channel 12 News. Footage from Zamir’s visit showed one of the soldiers grasping the UAV’s handles while the aircraft hovered above the ground, after which it lifted the soldier into the air.

Similar videos posted on social media show smugglers training on UAVs with similar capabilities, allegedly in Arab countries.

The IDF is trying to come up with solutions to this threat, the report noted.

Israeli security forces foil only about 30% of smuggling attempts across the Sinai border, of which there are 10 to 15 per day, Channel 12 reported.

In the meantime, the IDF has decided to enhance the forces along the 208-kilometer (130-mile) border with an additional battalion, according to the report.

Meanwhile, a convoy of white pickup trucks was spotted on Wednesday evening on the Egyptian side of the border, across from the Israeli community of Shlomit in the Negev desert, Channel 12 reported.

IDF troops, including tanks and fighter helicopters, rushed to the scene.

The trucks were manned by civilians and the incident was ruled out as a security issue, the military said.


Trump says he ‘insisted’ to Netanyahu that Iran talks should continue
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday in an effort to push the U.S. leader to widen negotiation with Iran to include Israeli security priorities.

“Nothing definitive” came out of the highly anticipated meeting between the leaders, which lasted roughly three hours, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social immediately afterwards. But he signaled that he had resisted a push to end direct talks with Iran.

“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be,” wrote Trump.

Prior to boarding a flight on his way to Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Netanyahu told reporters that his meeting with Trump would centre “first and foremost” on negotiations with Iran.

“I will present to the president our views on the principles in the negotiations, the important principles, and in my opinion they are important not only to Israel — but to everyone in the world who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” Netanyahu told reporters.

During Wednesday’s meeting, which was closed to the press, Netanyahu was expected to push Trump to widen negotiations with Iran beyond its nuclear program, including imposing restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and ending Iranian support for Hamas and Hezbollah.


Iron Dome Air Defense System Implementing Lessons Learned during Iran War
As the U.S. military continues to amass forces in the Persian Gulf and across the Middle East, the Israeli Air Force remains on high alert across all air defense layers.

Major N., a battery commander in an Iron Dome battalion, told Ynet, "The current versions of Iron Dome are not what they were during Operation Rising Lion [the June 2025 conflict with Iran]. In this arms race with Iran, we've changed quite a bit in recent months through the constant implementation of many lessons learned."


Iran Secretly Executed Thousands despite Promise to U.S.
During the first weeks of January, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian pledged that there would be no executions, and President Trump presented this as an achievement on Jan. 14 that led to postponing the decision to launch a strike. "We were told that the killing in Iran has stopped and there is no plan for executions...that's what I was told based on reliable authority."

However, according to information that reached intelligence agencies in the West, including the Mossad and the British and German agencies, the executions continued but efforts were made to conceal them. Instead of hanging protesters in city squares, they were shot or strangled in custody. This resulted in thousands of executions, separate from the tens of thousands killed during the dispersal of protests. The West is continuously receiving reports about the ongoing suppression of protests and demonstrations breaking out in rural cities, and about mass arrests.

During a preliminary round of talks last Friday in Oman, the Americans discovered that Araghchi had not been authorized to discuss issues other than the nuclear one, and that even on this, the Iranian position was hardening. The Americans conditioned the continuation of talks on bringing all issues to the table, but so far, Iran has not agreed to this. Diplomatic sources say the refusal of hawkish leaders in Iran to discuss any other issues greatly diminishes the chance of resuming talks and increases the likelihood of extensive American action against the regime.

Most countries in the region have announced they will not allow the Americans to attack Iran from their territory, but if convinced, they might participate in defensive operations. In June 2025, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and Jordan participated in intercepting missiles and drones launched from Iran toward Israel.


UN head’s ‘warm’ wishes on Iranian regime’s ‘national day’ not an endorsement, spokesman says
A spokesman for António Guterres said at a press briefing that the United Nations secretary-general’s letter congratulating the Islamic Republic on its “national holiday,” marking the 1979 Islamic revolution’s anniversary, was “standard” protocol at the global body and “has been a tradition for decades.”

“Every year, each member state gets the exact same letter congratulating on their national holiday and conveying best wishes to the people of that country,” Stéphane Dujarric told Efrat Lachter, who covers the global body for Fox News Digital, of the U.N. head’s note to Masoud Pezeshkian, president of Iran.

“The letters went out yesterday to Iran, Gambia and Lithuania, if I’m not mistaken,” he said at the Feb. 11 briefing. “It’s a decades-long tradition,” he added, and “it should not be interpreted by anyone who receives it as an endorsement of whatever policies that government may be putting in place.”

“It doesn’t change the secretary-general’s view of the crackdown that we saw in Iran, which he called ‘horrendous’ given the level of violence and deaths that we saw,” Dujarric said.

In the letters to countries on their national days, Guterres appears to offer his “warmest greetings” to the countries. JNS viewed the letter that the U.N. head sent to Israel on May 1, 2025. The letter had different language, wishing the Israeli president “greetings” on Independence Day and conveying “my best wishes to the people of the State of Israel on this special day.”

It wasn’t clear if the secretary-general intended to send Israel a letter this year with the language from his 2025 note to the Jewish state, or that of the letters to Iran, Gambia and Lithuania this year.

It took weeks after the Iranian regime killed civilian protesters—with estimates of the numbers of victims ranging from thousands to tens of thousands—before Guterres publicly stated his concern.


JPost Editorial: 'Bye Francesca': UN's Albanese ousting must be pursued to restore basic standards
France has called for the resignation of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese after remarks she made at the Al Jazeera Forum in Qatar, according to Le Monde and reported by The Jerusalem Post.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told lawmakers that the remarks crossed a red line because they targeted Israel “as a people and as a nation,” language he said was unacceptable.

Barrot also linked the episode to a broader pattern he described as “scandalous,” including references to a “Jewish lobby,” comparisons to the Third Reich, and rhetoric that he said amounts to justifying the October 7 massacre.

More than 20 French parliament members reportedly signed a letter demanding Albanese be stripped of “all UN mandates with immediate effect.”

Those are the facts. Here is the conclusion: the United Nations must remove Francesca Albanese from her mandate, immediately, and without excuses.

A UN special rapporteur is not a cable news guest or a campus activist. Special Procedures mandate-holders are presented by the UN as independent experts expected to uphold integrity, impartiality, honesty, and good faith. Their authority comes from the UN title, the UN platform, and the assumption that their work is anchored in professional standards.

That professional framework is explicit. The Human Rights Council’s Code of Conduct for Special Procedures mandate-holders sets expectations for ethical behavior and professional conduct. It is built for one purpose: credibility.

When a mandate-holder uses language that frames Israel as a civilizational “enemy,” credibility collapses. The Jerusalem Post report describes Albanese referring to Israel as humanity’s “common enemy” while addressing the Al Jazeera Forum. That language functions as collective demonization, and the UN system has learned, repeatedly and painfully, what follows when institutions normalize collective demonization of Jews.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 89: Who benefits from continuing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
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 benefits from continuing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Chapters
00:00 The Complex Beneficiaries of the Conflict
09:59 The Zero-Sum Mentality in Israeli-Palestinian Relations


The Brutal & Honest Truth About Warfare in Gaza
In this episode of The Brink, Andrew is in the hot seat as we discuss his new report for the Henry Jackson Society, Tactical Lessons from Gaza, a detailed and highly praised analysis of the war and what Western militaries can learn from it. The report has been read and commended by senior military figures around the world, including four-star generals in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Andrew explains why the Gaza war has become the most politicised conflict in modern history, and how Hamas successfully turned battlefield defeat into strategic influence by weaponising civilian casualty figures. We unpack how propaganda, NGOs, international institutions, and the media helped reshape the narrative of the war, often ignoring context, verification, and basic military realities.

The conversation moves deep into the realities of combat in Gaza. We explore Hamas’ vast tunnel network, the use of human shields, and the extraordinary bravery required of Israeli soldiers fighting underground. Andrew sets out how the IDF adapted in real time, developing new approaches to combined arms warfare, intelligence fusion, special forces integration, and urban combat under unprecedented conditions.

We also examine operational and logistical failures, from ammunition shortages to supply chains under fire, and what these challenges reveal about Western unpreparedness for large-scale war. The discussion covers intelligence failures before October 7, the limits of technology without human intelligence, and why information warfare now plays a decisive role in shaping public support for conflict.

Finally, we turn to the most important lessons of all. Andrew explains how Israel dramatically reduced battlefield deaths through medical innovation, forward-deployed doctors, and whole blood transfusion, saving hundreds of lives that would have been lost in earlier wars. We ask whether Britain and its allies are willing to learn these lessons, or whether ideology and propaganda will once again stand in the way.

This is a rigorous, challenging, and essential conversation about modern warfare, truth, and what the West must confront before the next major conflict arrives.


“Questioning If Al-Qaeda Are Terrorists!” | “Terrorism” Classroom Slides Spark Parent Backlash
A parent has raised concerns about Year 9 history slides on major terror attacks like 9/11 and 7/7, saying the wording risks moral confusion.

The materials reportedly ask students why terrorism is hard to define and how attackers could be seen as “freedom fighters”, including prompts about whether al-Qaeda are “terrorists or freedom fighters” and sentence starters suggesting they could be viewed as both. One slide is said to claim that whether someone is a terrorist “depends on what side you’re on… it really is all opinion”.

TES, which hosts the resources, said materials are uploaded by individual authors and teachers decide what is suitable, with age ranges listed on descriptions.

Kevin O'Sullivan speaks with journalist Ellie Hodges.


Senators grill State Department nominee on comments about Jews, Israel, race
Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee posed heated questions on Thursday for Jeremy Carl, the Trump administration’s nominee to be assistant secretary of state for international organizations, over his long record of incendiary statements about Israel, Jews and racial issues.

At one point during the nomination hearing, Carl, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, conceded that he regretted podcast appearances in the past when he downplayed the Holocaust’s significance to Jews.

“Sometimes, I take an idea too far, and I made some comments in interviews about minimizing the effect of the Holocaust that were absolutely wrong,” he said.

In a 2024 interview with the Christian Ghetto podcast, Carl said that the Holocaust “dominates so much of modern Jewish thinking.”

“Everyone has traumas in their past,” he said. “How much are we going to relitigate them?”

Carl, who was born Jewish but converted to Christianity, has been nominated to a position that oversees policy and funding for international bodies, including the United Nations and its subsidiaries.

Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) asked Carl how he could defend the U.S.-Israel relationship at the United Nations when he has previously claimed that America spends too much “time and energy” on Israel, “often to the detriment of our own national interest.”

The senator also noted that Carl had agreed with a statement in an interview that “the State of Israel is not a victim, but instead a perpetrator.”

“I think you can sense from my question my concerns,” Curtis said. “Anti-Israel bias in international organizations is part of a broader strategy to undermine the United States and our legitimacy.”

“I don’t know that I’ve been convinced that you understand the threat posed to the West in the narrative,” he added.
Elise Stefanik asks RFK Jr. to probe anti-Israel ‘working group’ in NYC health office
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) urged the Trump administration Thursday to investigate reports that a clique of radical staffers at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene had launched an anti-Israel “working group” inside the agency.

In a letter addressed to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the upstate lawmaker decried reports that employees had met during work hours at the city bureaucracy’s Queens headquarters.

Stefanik raised the possibility the department’s federal funding might have gone toward a prohibited political purpose — or that the gathering may have violated civil rights protections by creating a discriminatory environment for Jewish New Yorkers.

“The use of federal funds to support or tolerate government-sponsored activities that veer into ideological advocacy or that risk emboldening hate is a grave matter with civil rights and public safety implications,” Stefanik wrote.

The letter requested Kennedy’s agency probe four questions: whether any federal resources went toward enabling the working group, whether it created a hostile context for Jewish employees and service recipients, whether higher-ups in the agency were aware or approved of its establishment and activities and whether HHS action against the agency is appropriate. Stefanik further asked for a briefing within 30 days on the federal department’s findings.
Mamdani refuses to condemn ‘Hot Girls for Zohran’ head’s pro-Hamas, antisemitic conspiracy posts
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his team refused to condemn social media posts from the co-founder of the group ‘Hot Girls for Zohran’ that boosted antisemitic and pro-Iran voices and bashed police and leading U.S. politicians.

The refusal came one day after Jewish Insider revealed Kaif Gilani — a finance professional who spearheaded a social media, merchandising and volunteer canvassing operation supporting the mayor’s election last year — had shared conspiracy theories from a Holocaust revisionist and a video cheerleading ex-Hamas military chief and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, along with posts insulting law enforcement and various political figures.

From City Hall on Thursday, Mamdani would only stress that Gilani’s organization operated independently of his official election effort.

Asked by a reporter about his association with Gilani, Mamdani said, “This was an individual leading an outside group and was never paid for by our campaign. If New Yorkers want to know my views then they can hear it directly from me.”

When JI pressed the mayor directly whether he condemned the content of Gilani’s posts, Mamdani refused to respond and left the room, similar to how he fled questions on the matter from Politico on Wednesday. His press secretary maintained he had answered the question.

Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec acknowledged that the mayor had posed for photos with Gilani, but would not say anything about his view of the activist’s promotion of conspiracy theories of Israeli involvement in 9/11 and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, as well as the amplification of explicit pro-Iran and pro-Hamas messaging, or of posts asserting that “all cops are going to hell” and “there’s no such thing as a good cop.”

“As the mayor says, if you want to know what he thinks, you can hear it from him,” Pekec said.
Brad Lander denounces consultant’s ‘extremely offensive’ posts — but won’t say why he hired him
Congressional candidate and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander condemned social media posts from a former top campaign consultant that promoted Hamas, Iran and anti-Israel conspiracy theories — but refused to explain how he came to hire him in the first place.

Lander, challenging Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) with Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s backing, stressed that he had cut ties with ‘Hot Girls for Zohran’ co-founder Kaif Gilani after Jewish Insider presented him with a raft of the activist’s posts to X. These included retweets of a Holocaust revisionist suggesting Israeli involvement in 9/11 and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a video of Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar and numerous pro-Hamas and pro-Iran statements, as well as original posts attacking Democratic figures and law enforcement.

Gilani’s firm, Brain Child LLC, had been the highest-paid consultant to Lander’s House campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.

“As soon as I became aware of those tweets — which I really did find extremely offensive — I ended the contract with Brain Child immediately,” Lander told JI, a self-described progressive Zionist and outspoken Israel critic, at a press availability on Thursday.

But Lander repeatedly refused to say how he came to hire Gilani, whose background is in finance, to handle his “Website and social media,” as his campaign disclosures show.

“I’m not interested in extending your story,” said Lander, when pressed.


State Department identifies Code Pink and other far-left groups as vectors of Chinese influence operations
The State Department transmitted a report to Congress Tuesday linking lefty nonprofits Code Pink and the People’s Forum to Chinese influence operations.

“Partisan hacks spent years peddling the phony Russia collusion hoax while turning a blind eye to the sprawling web of far-left activist organizations who push the agendas of the Chinese Communist Party,” Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers said in a statement provided to The Post.

“Organizations like Code Pink and the People’s Forum denigrate the United States, whitewash the violence of Marxist regimes, and run cover for China while enjoying an influx of cash from a donor network with connections to the Chinese Communist Party,” Rogers added.

“The State Department will pursue complete transparency for the donor and NGO networks that lobby for our adversaries and seek to weaken the resolve of the United States.”

The report on “Countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference” alleges that China “spreads propaganda through influence campaigns run by nonprofit organizations like Code Pink, the People’s Forum and groups linked with the notorious Singham network.”

The so-called “Singham network” are nonprofits funded by tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, whose wife is a co-founder of Code Pink.

Singham, an American expat living in China, “works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide,” the New York Times reported in 2023.

“Chinese diplomats, state media, and pro-China influencers use social media, content-sharing agreements, and local partnerships to publish pro-CCP propaganda,” the report continues. “China invests in [public diplomacy], exchanges, reporting tours, and educational and cultural initiatives to boost its image.”

“The Department assesses that China, Iran, and Russia aggressively use state media, proxies, and digital platforms to spread propaganda and falsehoods, undermine U.S. credibility and policies, and expand their influence.”




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