Monday, May 11, 2026

05/11 Links Pt1: Trump: Iranian response ‘totally unacceptable’; Dear BBC News – Just When Will You Stop Shilling For Terrorists?; NYC anti-Israel activists protest at synagogue against Israel real estate event

From Ian:

David Collier: Dear BBC News – Just When Will You Stop Shilling For Terrorists?
The journalist behind this particular mess is Nawal Al-Maghafi. Her timeline is full of clear anti-Israel bias, non-factual commentary, Hamas propaganda presented as news, and retweets of Gaza-based activists whom no respectable journalist should be seen amplifying.

In this latest case, either she did not bother to dig for the truth of the Hezbollah affiliation at all, or chose to turn a blind eye to it.

Why is it that these Arabic journalists are given carte blanche to piggyback on the BBC’s name and spend money from the British licence fee promoting such a blatant anti-Israel agenda?

The truth is this: Hezbollah is a proscribed jihadist terror group that seeks to wipe Israel off the map. Funded, armed, and often directed by the Iranian regime, it has exported its violence to arenas such as the Syrian civil war. Hezbollah chose to attack Israel on 8 October 2023, and again at the start of the latest round of violence. Israel has no territorial dispute with Lebanon – and without Hezbollah’s religious fundamentalism in the south, there would be no conflict. All of Lebanon’s woes stem from the refusal of the Shia in the south to abandon their jihadist aims.

So why is there not a single BBC article that lays out this context clearly for its audience? Those who support Hezbollah – including this man’s own community – have brought devastation to both Lebanon and Israel.

Isn’t it about time that the BBC took away the pen from those journalists who clearly hate Israel and defunded its anti-Israel agenda? More importantly, when will the BBC stop shilling for terrorists?
Khaled Abu Toameh: Erdogan's Turkey: The NATO Member That Sponsors Terrorism
New revelations emerging from Israeli security investigations have shattered any illusion that Turkey's relationship with Hamas is limited to "political support" or "diplomatic engagement." The evidence increasingly points to a situation far more alarming: Turkey has become a primary operational, logistical, and financial hub for Hamas's global terror infrastructure.

Countries that enable terrorism cannot at the same time be treated as indispensable partners in the fight against terrorism.

By allowing Hamas members to develop drone capabilities on Turkish soil, Ankara is deliberately grooming terrorists for future wars against Israel.

Turkey, rather than simply hosting Hamas officials, is willfully cultivating the next generation of Hamas terrorists and making sure that the geographical reach of Iran's jihadist axis continues to expand.

Turkey's pivotal financial role is especially significant because it provides Hamas with access to the international financial system through the territory of a NATO member state. That reality should deeply alarm both Washington and European capitals.

Ideologically -- as well as militarily and financially -- Erdogan has openly embraced Hamas leaders. He has repeatedly refused to designate the group as a terrorist organization... and characterized its members as "resistance fighters" and "liberation group" warriors fighting to protect Palestinian lands.

Erdogan's alignment with Hamas seems rooted in his broader ideological affinity with the Muslim Brotherhood movement and other Islamist groups. His government has consistently supported radical Islamist groups in Egypt, Libya, Syria, and other countries.

For years, Western governments have clung to the fiction that countries such as Turkey and Qatar can serve as neutral mediators between Hamas and Israel. That assumption has always been deeply flawed.

Qatar, meanwhile, continues to try to undermine the United States by donating, over decades, many billions of dollars to influence education from K-12 through graduate schools throughout America. Cornell University has received $10 billion over the years; Carnegie Mellon "just under $2 billion"; Texas A&M University "over $1 billion" (which gave Qatar full ownership of more than 500 research projects in fields such as nuclear science, artificial intelligence, biotech, robotics and weapons development); and Georgetown University $971 million. Why do Qatar and Turkey continue embracing Hamas while demanding the trust of the US and the West? Why does the West keep accepting this duplicity?

The Trump administration faces a crucial test. If Washington is genuinely serious about dismantling the infrastructure of Hamas and confronting the Iranian regime, it cannot continue overlooking Turkey's commitment to doing the exact opposite: safeguarding and supporting Hamas.

A NATO member state, Turkey, is facilitating the activities of an Iranian-backed terrorist group responsible for the mass murder of civilians, including many Americans.
European sanctions on Israelis won’t succeed in pressuring Jewish state, Sa’ar says
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Monday that the European Union’s attempt to impose political views on Jerusalem through sanctions on Jews living in Judea and Samaria “is unacceptable and will not succeed.”

Israel “firmly rejects” the E.U. decision, describing it as “arbitrary” and “political,” Sa’ar said.

The Israeli official decried the “outrageous” comparison between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists. “This is a completely distorted moral equivalence,” he stated.

The E.U. foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated earlier that her organization “just gave the go-ahead to sanction Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians.” She added that it had “also agreed new sanctions on leading Hamas figures.”

“It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery,” Kallas said. “Extremisms and violence carry consequences.”

“Israel has stood, stands and will continue to stand for the right of Jews to settle in the heart of our homeland,” Sa’ar responded. “No other people in the world has such a documented and longstanding right to its land as the Jewish people have to the Land of Israel.”

“This is a moral and historical right that has also been recognized by the law of nations, and no actor can take it away from the Jewish people,” he stated.

Earlier on Monday, Ireland’s national public service broadcaster reported that according to E.U. officials, “seven settlers or settler organizations” were set to be blacklisted, and that the bloc was also preparing sanctions against representatives of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, also strongly condemned the E.U.’s decision to impose sanctions on organizations and residents in Judea and Samaria, calling it a “shameful decision” and “the height of hypocrisy and double standards.”

Placing sanctions on Israeli citizens in the same framework as measures against Hamas terrorists represents “an unprecedented moral low,” he said.

The E.U. is unfairly targeting Israelis who are “on the frontlines of the struggle against Palestinian Authority terrorism,” while ignoring the P.A.’s role in rewarding violence, Gantz said.


NYC anti-Israel activists protest at synagogue against Israel real estate event
New York City anti-Israel groups held a protest at a synagogue over its hosting of an Israeli real estate event on Monday, following a protest against an event organized by the same organization at the Park East Synagogue on Tuesday.

Keffiyeh-clad demonstrators gathered across from the Young Israel of Midwood on Monday evening at the behest of the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation Al-Awda in New York City and New Jersey (PAL-Awda NY/NJ), waving Palestinian and Hezbollah flags. The group sought to disrupt an exposition of the Great Israeli Real Estate event being held at the Flatbush house of worship.

"Brick by brick, wall by wall, Zionism will fall," masked activists chanted during the protest, according to videos posted by demonstrators.

One sign called to "Abolish Israel," as there would be "no peace on stolen land."

PAL-Awda's main banner featured the red inverted triangle popularized in Hamas propaganda to denote the targeting of an enemy.

New York Police Department officers separated protesters and counter-protesters, according to videos published by demonstrators, with a cordon erected to prevent a march directly on the synagogue. Activists wrestled with officers over the security barriers, chanting "Free Palestine."

Hundreds of officers were present to keep the peace, according to NYC council member Inna Vernikov and NY State Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, who were also reportedly assured by the New York Police Department that protesters would be required to remain across the street from the synagogue.

PAL-Awda NY/NJ had announced on Instagram on Friday that it was organizing a rally against the newest Israeli real estate expo, following a similar event and protest at Park East Synagogue on Tuesday.

"After their Manhattan event, the same Israeli real estate agencies are hosting an event in Brooklyn for settlers to buy property in 'Anglo neighborhoods' on stolen Palestinian land. They blatantly advertise illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, such as Gush Etzion, Kfar Eldad, and Karnei Shomron, violating international law," PAL-Awda said on Instagram. "Further, as attendance is restricted to Jewish people with particular political orientations, the event is in direct violation of housing and anti-discrimination laws."

The event website offers a field to fill out synagogue affiliation, but it is not required. Locations listed on the website include towns in the disputed territories, such as Carmei Gat and Gush Etzion. Most of the towns listed on the website are within the green line.


Deborah Conway names Aussie actress who she says led boycott campaign against her
Deborah Conway has named television actress Alicia Gardiner as the leader of a vicious campaign to have the Jewish singer-songwriter boycotted from music venues.

Conway testified before the Royal Commission that the Offspring actress had written letters to music venues, trying to have the singer’s shows dumped following the release of her album in August last year.

“The advertising would go up - every venue that we would advertise at received a letter from an actress,” Conway told the Commission.

“An Australian actress took it upon herself to send a letter to all of these venues to say: ‘Deborah Conway is a self-confessed Zionist and a supporter of genocide’.”

Conway said five venues caved to the demand to cancel her show.

Outside the Commission, Conway named the actress, best known for her role on the Australian TV series Offspring in which she played nurse Kim Akerholt.

“Alicia Gardiner,” Conway said when asked by Sky News who the actress was.

“She signed her name very boldly.”

Melbourne prosecutors last month dropped assault charges against Gardiner, 50, who had been accused of grabbing a female parliamentary worker’s breast and twisting it during a pro-Palestine protest at Victorian Parliament on May 7, 2024.

Gardiner had been part of an activist group who yelled “shame on you” and “free Palestine” from the public upper gallery of Victoria’s Parliament House.

The actress had earlier pleaded guilty to failing to leave parliamentary premises and had been slapped with a $500 fine without conviction.
Call me Back: Australia's Royal Commission on Antisemitism - with Alon Cassuto & Lisa Mittelman
Five months after the Bondi Beach attack, Australia’s Royal Commission on Antisemitism is hearing testimony about what Jewish life has become since October 7th.

Dan is joined by Alon Cassuto, CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia, and Lisa Mittelman, Director of Public Affairs, to discuss what the hearings have revealed, why the government resisted the commission before finally giving in, and whether this process can lead to real change.

They also examine how anti-Zionism is being used to exclude Jews from progressive spaces, what real solidarity requires from non-Jewish Australians, and why young Australian Jews are asking whether they can still build their futures in Australia.

In this episode:
Why Australia’s Royal Commission matters
What the testimonies revealed about Jewish life after October 7th
Antisemitism from neo-Nazis to progressive spaces
Why Australia finally agreed to a Royal Commission
Where anti-Israel rhetoric crosses into antisemitism
What non-Jewish Australians are still failing to confront
How Australian Jews are experiencing the commission
Can young Australian Jews still see a future in Australia?


Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion | Ep057 Frontlines & Faultlines
In this special popup episode, Dr Mike Kelly examines the interim findings of the Royal Commission into the Bondi atrocity of December 2025, placing the event within a broader national security and societal context.

Dr Kelly outlines why the attack must be understood not only as an isolated act of violence, but as part of a wider ecosystem shaped by radicalisation, ideological influence, and systemic vulnerabilities within Australia’s security framework. The discussion highlights the scale of the tragedy and the enduring impact on victims, families, and the wider community, while emphasising the importance of maintaining focus on prevention rather than solely response.

A central theme is the challenge of information sharing across intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The episode explores how limitations in legal frameworks, fragmented systems, and delayed implementation of critical infrastructure such as a national firearms register continue to constrain effective counter-terrorism efforts. These structural issues, combined with resource allocation pressures, create gaps that can be exploited within an evolving threat environment.

The analysis also addresses the rapid transformation of radicalisation pathways. Online ecosystems, driven by social media, encrypted communications, and emerging technologies, have compressed timelines and expanded reach. This has enabled extremist ideologies to spread more efficiently, particularly among younger audiences who are increasingly exposed to curated information flows shaped by both non-state actors and foreign influence operations.

Dr Kelly further examines how information warfare and coordinated narratives contribute to the distortion of reality, influencing public perception and shaping social cohesion. The role of external actors, including state-sponsored campaigns, is considered alongside the domestic consequences of these dynamics, particularly in relation to rising anti-Semitism and the targeting of the Jewish community.

The episode concludes by arguing that while tactical responses and protective measures remain essential, they are insufficient on their own. Long-term solutions require a strategic focus on education, critical thinking, and the development of societal resilience. Addressing the underlying conditions that enable radicalisation is presented as a necessary step in preventing future acts of violence and maintaining the integrity of Australia’s democratic framework.


Australia & Israel: Origins of the Relationship Part 1 | Ep56 Frontlines & Faultlines
This episode examines the historical foundations of the relationship between Australia and Israel, tracing its origins through shared experience, conflict, and political alignment. Drawing on both personal and national history, Dr Mike Kelly outlines how this relationship was not formed through abstract policy decisions, but through direct interaction in the field, beginning in the First World War.

Australian Light Horse units operating in the Middle East encountered Jewish communities across the region, establishing early connections built on cooperation, mutual support, and shared hardship. These interactions extended beyond battlefield coordination, shaping enduring perceptions through lived experience. The formation of units such as the Zion Mule Corps and the Jewish Legion, which served alongside Australian forces, reinforced this bond through joint military operations and sacrifice.

These connections deepened during the Second World War, where Australian troops were again based in the Palestine Mandate. The relationship between Australian soldiers and Jewish communities continued to develop through sustained contact, hospitality, and shared effort in wartime conditions. This period contributed to a broader cultural and strategic familiarity that would influence post-war attitudes within Australia.

The episode also highlights the role of individual figures and communities in shaping this relationship, including Indigenous Australian leader William Cooper, whose protest against the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany reflected an early moral alignment despite domestic challenges. These elements underscore that the relationship was not solely strategic, but also informed by personal, ethical, and societal factors.

Following the war, Australia maintained a continued presence in the region through peacekeeping missions, reinforcing institutional links over time. This continuity supported a broader political environment in which support for the establishment of the State of Israel was evident across multiple segments of Australian society, including the political left. Dr Kelly outlines how, during the 1947–48 conflict, support for Israel extended across ideological lines, reflecting the geopolitical and moral context of the period.

This episode establishes the foundational context for understanding the modern Australia–Israel relationship, highlighting the long-term strategic, historical, and human factors that continue to shape it. It provides a necessary framework for analysing contemporary developments, which will be explored further in Part 2.


Australia & Israel: Origins of the Relationship Part 2 | Ep058 Frontlines & Faultlines
In Part 2 of this series, Dr Mike Kelly concludes the examination of the Australia–Israel relationship by tracing how political, diplomatic, military, and people-to-people ties evolved from the postwar period through to the present day.

The discussion explores Australia’s role in the creation and international recognition of the State of Israel, highlighting the influence of figures such as Doc Evatt and the Australian Labor movement in shaping support for partition, diplomatic recognition, and Israel’s admission to the United Nations. The episode examines how the aftermath of the Holocaust, combined with wartime experiences shared between Australians and Jewish communities, created strong bipartisan foundations that endured across decades of Australian foreign policy.

Dr Kelly outlines the gradual shift that emerged during the Cold War, as the Soviet Union altered its strategic alignment in the Middle East and sections of the international left began reframing Israel through ideological and geopolitical lenses. The episode explains how these developments influenced political attitudes globally, while Australia largely maintained bipartisan support for Israel’s right to exist securely alongside support for a future Palestinian state.

The conversation also examines the practical dimensions of the modern Australia–Israel relationship, particularly in the fields of intelligence cooperation, defence technology, and counter-terrorism. Examples are provided of Israeli support that has directly contributed to protecting Australian lives, including intelligence sharing that helped disrupt terrorist activity and defence systems that enhanced the safety of Australian personnel during overseas deployments.

The episode further reflects on recent tensions surrounding the Gaza conflict, debates within the United Nations, and the growing pressure placed on liberal democracies by increasingly assertive authoritarian states. Dr Kelly argues that Australia faces a difficult strategic environment in which support for multilateral institutions must be balanced against the declining credibility and politicisation of parts of the international system.

Throughout the discussion, the emphasis remains on historical continuity, strategic realism, and the importance of understanding how the relationship between Australia and Israel was formed. The episode concludes by examining the conditions necessary for a genuine two-state solution, the challenges posed by extremism and regional instability, and the role Australia may continue to play in supporting long-term peace and security in the region.


I reported on antisemitism, but then it hit me first-hand – at my daughter’s netball game
I am not Jewish. That, I discovered at the weekend, does not make my family immune from antisemitism.

I spent last week inside a windowless room in an office tower on Sydney’s Clarence Street, listening to and reporting on devastating stories from Jewish Australians about their lived experience of antisemitism. Many of the stories relayed to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion in its first block of public hearings were truly horrifying.

Many times I was close to tears as I heard of young children being subjected to Nazi salutes and swastikas in the playground, or having a police escort on a school excursion. A Holocaust survivor warned that the rise of antisemitism in Australia was “not a faint echo of a distant past”. A gay Jewish man thought he might be killed in Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade, and a university student said she was kicked out of her share house for Zionist views.

As shocking as these stories were, they were removed from my experience. There are no armed guards at my kids’ schools. I do not need to make adjustments to my jewellery choices when I leave my house. I feel safe in my neighbourhood.

And then I saw antisemitism first-hand.

My daughter plays netball for the Jewish club Maccabi. After some particularly nasty netball politics at another club, my daughter and her teammates needed to find a new club on the eve of the winter season. It was Maccabi that came to our rescue.

The girls, all of whom but two attend Jewish schools, were adamant they would not go to Maccabi if the non-Jews were not welcome. They moved as a team or not at all. Maccabi did not bat an eyelid, welcomed us with open arms, and the girls’ seemingly doomed winter season was saved.

I arrived on Saturday at their first game for their new club to see several NSW Police officers standing near the Maccabi game day tent. “Jews even need police at netball”, I messaged my husband, feeling very naive. A Jewish mum from our team hadn’t clocked the police. She is conditioned to seeing armed guards and law enforcement outside schools and synagogues.

But I was wrong. The police had been called because a mother in a team playing Maccabi had allegedly hurled antisemitic bile from the court sidelines. This, I must stress, happened during an under 12s game. One of the Maccabi mums told me that a player from our club may have used a choice word towards her opponents. Sure, not appropriate.


Trump: Iranian response ‘totally unacceptable’
The Iranian regime’s response to the latest U.S. proposal to end hostilities was “totally unacceptable,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday.

“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘representatives.’ I don’t like it—totally unacceptable!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported earlier on Sunday that Tehran’s response to Washington’s plan had been submitted to Pakistani mediators.

According to the regime outlet, Iran’s response sought to end “the war in the region.” Tehran’s proposal conditions any future understandings with Washington on reaching a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon and lifting restrictions on Iranian oil exports, according to separate reports in Arab media.

In another post on Sunday, Trump had accused the regime of “playing games with the United States,” warning the mullahs they would be “laughing no longer.”

“For 47 years the Iranians have been ‘tapping’ us along, keeping us waiting, killing our people with their roadside bombs, destroying protests, and recently wiping out 42,000 innocent, unarmed protesters, and laughing at our now great again country,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social.

The Islamic Republic “has been playing games with the United States, and the rest of the world, for 47 years (delay, delay, delay!),” he charged.

According to Trump, the regime “finally hit pay dirt” when Barack Obama became president in 2009 and pushed through the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which lifted sanctions in return for limitations on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“He was not only good to them, he was great, actually going to their side, jettisoning Israel, and all other allies, and giving Iran a major and very powerful new lease on life. Hundreds of billions of dollars, and 1.7 billion dollars in green cash, flown into Tehran, was handed to them on a silver platter,” he said. Trump withdrew from the deal in May 2018.

The mullahs “had never seen money like this, and never will again,” the president vowed.

On Saturday, Trump warned that “Operation Project Freedom” in the Strait of Hormuz could be resumed and expanded if Tehran doesn’t agree to a deal to end the war.

“We’ll go a different route if everything doesn’t get signed up, buttoned up,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We may go back to ‘Project Freedom’ if things don’t happen, but it’ll be ‘Project Freedom Plus,’ meaning ‘Project Freedom’ plus other things.”


Civil aviation head says US refuelers at Ben Gurion are crowding out civilian planes
The significant presence of US military aircraft at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport is preventing a full return to normal commercial flight operations at Israel’s main international gateway, while also driving up operational costs for local airlines — expenses that aviation and industry officials warn will ultimately be passed on to travelers.

Amid continued regional tensions with Iran, Civil Aviation Authority head Shmuel Zakai warned defense and government officials that turning Ben Gurion Airport into a “US military base with limited commercial aircraft operations” is threatening the return of foreign airlines and harming the economic stability of Israeli airlines — a situation that is bound to lead to an increase in already-high airfares — according to a letter obtained by Israeli financial daily Calcalist.

In the letter, Zakai urged Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who is also a member of the security cabinet, to take action to evacuate some US military planes from Ben Gurion and move them to military airbases to free up parking space for commercial planes.

“It appears the defense establishment lacks sufficient understanding of the severity of the damage to civil aviation and the effect flight supply has on prices and on all citizens in the country,” Zakai wrote.
Treasury Dept sanctions IRGC oil network as Trump claims Iran ceasefire “on life support”
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Monday on a dozen individuals and entities accused of helping the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sell and ship Iranian oil to China, as the fragile ceasefire with Tehran appeared increasingly strained.

The announcement came a day before Trump’s scheduled departure for Beijing, where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.

Before a meeting with his national security team on Monday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that “the ceasefire with Iran is on massive life support” following Iran’s “inappropriate” response to the U.S. draft proposal for ending the war.

“The IRGC relies on front companies in permissive economic jurisdictions to obfuscate its role in oil sales and funnel the revenue to the Iranian regime,” the U.S. Department of the Treasury stated. “Instead of using this revenue to support the struggling Iranian people, the regime directs it toward weapons development, backing terrorist proxies, and funding security forces that suppress citizens’ freedoms.”

The sanctions target three Iranian nationals, including the head, finance chief and commercial chief of the IRGC’s oil headquarters. Treasury also sanctioned four Hong Kong-based shell companies, four companies in the United Arab Emirates and one in Oman.

The Trump administration has repeatedly targeted Iranian and allied entities during the war under “Economic Fury,” the sanctions campaign accompanying “Operation Epic Fury.”

“As Iran’s military desperately tries to regroup, Economic Fury will continue to deprive the regime of funding for its weapons programs, terrorist proxies and nuclear ambitions,” Scott Bessent, the U.S. treasury secretary, stated. “Treasury will continue to cut the Iranian regime off from the financial networks it uses to carry out terrorist acts and to destabilize the global economy.”
Trump admin sanctions three Chinese firms providing satellite imagery of US assets to Iran
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on three Chinese firms on May 8 for allegedly providing satellite imagery to Iran that aided attacks on U.S. forces and allied facilities in the Middle East during Operation Epic Fury.

“The supply of satellite imagery of U.S. facilities in the Middle East to Iran threatens American and partner personnel,” the U.S. State Department stated. “The targeting of U.S. service members and partners will not go unanswered.”

The sanctions target Meentropy Technology (Hangzhou) Co., also known as MizarVision, which Washington described as a geospatial intelligence firm that published open-source imagery detailing U.S. military activity during Operation Epic Fury. The Earth Eye, a Beijing-based satellite company, allegedly provided imagery directly to Iran, while Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. was accused of collecting satellite imagery of U.S. and allied military facilities in response to Iranian requests.

Chang Guang was previously sanctioned by the United States for supplying satellite imagery to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi terrorists to help target American military assets.

The State Department also sanctioned the Defense Ministry Export Center, known as MINDEX, the export arm of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.

“The United States will continue to take action to hold China-based entities accountable for their support to Iran and ensure Iran cannot reconstitute its proliferation-sensitive programs following Operation Epic Fury,” the department stated.
Report of Pakistan harboring Iranian aircraft raises senators’ concerns for negotiating role
Senators on both sides of the aisle on Monday expressed concerns about a report by CBS News that Pakistan had sheltered multiple Iranian military aircraft at an air force base in the country since shortly after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire in April, raising questions about the country’s neutrality as a meditator.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the U.S. may need to reassess whether Pakistan, which helped broker the recent U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal, can continue to serve as a mediator between the warring parties.

“If this reporting is accurate, it would require a complete reevaluation of the role Pakistan is playing as mediator between Iran, the United States and other parties,” Graham said on X. “Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defense officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if this were true.”

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Jewish Insider that the report is “not good news,” adding, “I don’t think there will be any more negotiations taking place in Pakistan.”

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said he’d seen the CBS report and suggested it raised questions about Pakistan’s neutrality.

“Does that make you neutral? Not as neutral as we would like,” Kelly said. “I do think there needs to be somebody, some country in the middle, that has a stake in this.”

Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) said that the report raises concerns for him about Pakistan’s neutrality as an arbiter in the talks as well.

The report comes as Pakistan is making moves to assert itself as a regional leader, signing a defense pact with Saudi Arabia and working toward one with Qatar, as well as building ties with Egypt and Turkey.

Islamabad also worked to support Iran’s economy during the war, despite U.S. sanctions and financial pressure.
UAE secretly struck Iran during war, including attack on oil refinery — report
The United Arab Emirates carried out military strikes on Iran, making it the only other country to join the United States and Israel in its war against the Islamic Republic, according to a report on Monday.

The strikes, which the UAE has not publicly acknowledged, included an attack on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The attack took place in early April, the report said, which said it was around the time US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire, but did not specify if it was before or after the declaration.

Iran acknowledged at the time that the site had been attacked by an unspecified enemy, then responded by firing missiles and drones on the UAE and Kuwait, the WSJ noted.

The Lavan Island attack is the only specific instance of the UAE participating in the war mentioned in the report.

One of the sources told the WSJ that Washington positively received Abu Dhabi’s participation in the war, after other Gulf countries refused to actively join in the conflict. An Emirates aircraft prepares for landing as a smoke plume rises from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on March 16, 2026 (AFP)

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry declined the Journal’s request for comment on the reported strikes, but noted past declarations that it had a right to respond to Iran’s attacks. The Pentagon also declined to comment.

In March, multiple Hebrew media outlets put out near-simultaneous reports that the UAE had struck a desalination plant in Iran in response to Tehran’s strikes across the Gulf. The reports sparked fury among Emirati officials, who called out what they called false Israeli media reports.

The WSJ article did not shed light on that report.

During the US-Israel war on Iran, Tehran launched sustained attacks on the UAE, firing some 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones, according to the Emirati defense ministry, making it the most targeted country in the region, including Israel.

The UAE reported likely Iranian attacks restarted over the past week in their territories, as Tehran appeared to be ramping up its strikes in the region despite the fragile ceasefire.


Three IDF soldiers wounded in Southern Lebanon drone assault
Three Israel Defense Forces soldiers were lightly wounded by a Hezbollah suicide drone in Southern Lebanon on Monday, the military confirmed to JNS.

An Israeli Air Force helicopter that was sent to rescue the injured “landed in the extraction area with no ability to take off due to a technical error,” the IDF said in a separate statement.

A second IAF helicopter was dispatched and successfully evacuated the injured soldiers for treatment in Israel, according to the army.

IAF soldiers subsequently repaired the first helicopter and it safely departed, it said, adding that the chopper “was not damaged by Hezbollah’s fire.”

On Sunday, an Israeli soldier was mortally wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack near the northern border with Lebanon, the IDF confirmed earlier on Monday.

According to Israel’s Ynet news outlet, IDF Command Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Alexander Glovanyov, 47, from the central city of Petah Tikvah, was killed when an UAV launched by the Iranian-backed terrorist organization impacted inside Israeli territory.

Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel on March 2, following the targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening strikes of Israel’s “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28.

In response to the terrorist organization’s violation of the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, truce agreement, Jerusalem launched an aerial campaign against Hezbollah and ordered the IDF to advance and take control of additional areas in Southern Lebanon to halt cross-border attacks.
WATCH: IDF drone strikes terrorist planting IED in southern Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday published footage of a drone strike targeting a Palestinian terrorist in the southern Gaza Strip.

In the footage, an officer of the IDF’s Kfir Brigade can be heard ordering a drone strike on a terrorist operative planting an explosive device.

“There’s some urgent incident in sector 900 that I want to jump on—there may be something endangering the forces,” the UAV operator can be heard telling the military’s Southern Command.

“You have authorization from the brigade commander,” the Kfir Brigade officer says, followed by a confirmed hit.

The Israeli Air Force “continues to support the troops operating in the various arenas at all times, both defensively and offensively,” said the IDF.

In a separate incident on Sunday, the IAF eliminated operatives of Hamas’s Nukhba Force who “operated to advance imminent attacks against IDF troops” in the southern Strip, the military said.

The strike came a day after the IAF killed two terrorists engaged in “suspicious activity” near soldiers stationed on the ceasefire line in southern Gaza, “posing an imminent threat.”

Prior to both attacks, steps were taken to prevent harm to noncombatants, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance, the IDF stressed.


IDF jails soldiers for photo of cigarette in mouth of Virgin Mary statue in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday sentenced two soldiers to jail for placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in Debel, a Christian village in southern Lebanon, a picture of which was shared widely online last week and condemned by the military.

The soldier seen in the picture was given three weeks in military jail, the IDF said. The soldier who took the photograph was sentenced to two weeks.

The military said that the incident was investigated by the commander of the 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Sagiv Dahan — the officer in charge of the relevant area of southern Lebanon at the time — and he was the one who decided to give the soldiers jail time.

The IDF “views the incident gravely, and respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities,” it added. “Procedures regarding conduct toward religious institutions and religious symbols are routinely clarified to forces before entering the relevant areas.”

An initial inquiry conducted by the IDF found that the photo was taken in the village of Debel several weeks ago, although it was only shared online last week.


Jake Wallis Simons: Bafta for Gaza: Britain’s media elites help fuel the jihadi propaganda campaign against Israel
So while thousands rallied against antisemitism on Sunday in the wake of the Golders Green stabbings and the rise of the Green Party, and the eyes of the country were fixed on the slow collapse of Starmerism, deep in the media bubble, the filmmakers behind a Gaza documentary shelved by the BBC were awarded a Bafta.

Gaza: Doctors Under Attack was commissioned by the Beeb in 2025 but then dropped amid impartiality concerns. The decision came also after presenter Ramita Navai said in a radio interview that Israel was “a rogue state that is committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing and mass murdering Palestinians”.

The documentary was subsequently picked up by Channel 4, which saw it as “a meticulously reported and important film” and broadcast it to the public. On Sunday, in the same spirit, the Bafta judges decided to honour the movie with a bauble.

Ben de Pear, the producer, used his acceptance speech to humiliate the BBC and pour petrol on the embers of controversy. “Just a question for the BBC,” he taunted. “Given that you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening (which is broadcast on BBC One after a two-hour delay) later tonight?”

To its credit, I suppose, the BBC chose not to air Navai’s speech in full, instead broadcasting a carefully-edited version deprived of most of the claims about Israel. But the message was unmistakable. It was delivered last year, when presenter Gary Lineker was named best TV presenter at the National Television Awards, just four months after he shared that notorious rat emoji, and now it has been delivered again. Britain’s media elites – the most mollycoddled and self-regarding demographic on the planet – are playing their part in the global jihadi propaganda campaign, and nobody’s going to stop them.

The same is true of media elites all over the world. The Bafta outrage followed a similar gesture in the United States, where a Pulitzer Prize for photography was awarded to Saher Alghorra, best-known for the picture of emaciated Mohammed al-Mutawaq, which was wrongly cast as evidence of malnutrition when he suffered from cerebral palsy and hypoxemia. Welcome to 2026, where dezinformatsiya wins prizes.

It could not be clearer: the media is a big part of the problem. The Gaza war might have ended in October last year, but the movement of Israelophobia that it spawned shows little sign of abating. So idiotic are these people that they throw all their abilities, experience and professional weight behind an effort to subvert the very society upon which they depend for their freedoms.


Commentary Podcast: Deal or No Deal?
It's Monday, and FDD's Jonathan Schanzer is back to discuss another confusing weekend in the Iran war with the trading of proposals for a deal, Senator Mark Kelly's statement on the depletion of US munitions, the controversy over Trump's gold statue at Doral, and the passing of longtime ADL director Abe Foxman.




BBC’s Al-Maghafi promotes narratives and Hizballah propaganda
In January 2025 the BBC heavily promoted a multi-platform “investigation” by Nawal Al-Maghafi, senior international investigations correspondent for BBC World Service,” designed to persuade viewers, readers and listeners that an Israeli strike on a building in Lebanon in September 2024 was not justified.

As noted here, in April 2026 the BBC sent Al-Maghafi to interview Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa in Beirut – presumably with the approval of the corporation’s Director of Editorial Policy and Standards.

Al-Maghafi also produced additional reporting May 6 from Lebanon which appeared in written and filmed formats on the BBC News website and on Youtube and was promoted on social media:

Al-Maghafi’s reports focus primarily on events in three locations, one of which is Hay el Sellom in the Hezbollah dominated Dahiya neighborhood. There she interviews a man – presented only as Mohammed – whose son Abbas was killed in one of the April 8 strikes.

While Al-Maghafi states that Abbas was “the family breadwinner,” Mohammed himself claims to have been at work when he got news of the strike. Al-Maghafi reports:
He [Mohammed] is adamant that everyone who died were residents of the building. “If I thought there was even a 1 percent chance that someone from Hezbollah lived here, I wouldn’t have stayed,” he says. “I would never risk my son’s life.”

Despite her interviewee’s tacit admission that members of Hezbollah do use residential buildings, Al-Maghafi does not inform her viewers and readers that the Dahia district is a Hezbollah stronghold or that the terrorist organization has long made use of civilian buildings and facilities. Her report does, however, promote without challenge the terror group’s claims to have “never wanted war,” ignoring the fact that it started the fighting by launching attacks on Israel on Oct. 8, 2023 and again on March 2, 2026.




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

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