Tuesday, August 18, 2026

08/17 Links Pt1: The West is still committed to its fatal delusion about Hamas; US tells Hamas it wants ‘real efforts and not just words’ on disarmament; Ben Gvir: “Every night, we must eliminate 30 to 50 terrorists.”

From Ian:

Jake Wallis Simons: The West is still committed to its fatal delusion about Hamas
When it comes to the Middle East, Tony Blair is not known for his wisdom. His invasion of Iraq left the region in chaos, leading to mass jihadist mobilisation and the strengthening of Iran, while as the Quartet’s Middle East representative, he singularly failed to ease the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

What better man, therefore, to meet Hamas in Cairo, alongside Jared Kushner, to press the jihadis to fulfil their commitment to disarm on Sunday? Blair’s problem has always been the same, and it has been shared by the entire Western political establishment since the end of the Cold War. Namely: gullibility.

The thread running through decades of Western failure to encourage peace and prosperity in the Middle East is our damnable assumption that deep down, the Islamists are just like us. Lord Renwick famously labelled this the “Wykehamist fallacy”, the tendency to assume that even the most bloodthirsty despot had an inner civilised chap of the sort one might find at Winchester College.

If it were true that the Islamists’ core concerns were freedom, prosperity and a better future for their children, then all you would have to do would be to remove the despots and nurture a framework of democracy. Societal happiness would then bloom of its own accord.

Iraq put paid to that idea. So did the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005; under the direction of the late Ariel Sharon, all 21 settlements in the Strip were forcibly dismantled and the IDF withdrew to the last man.

Even Israeli farms and businesses were left intact for the Palestinians to use. What happened? These were all razed by the mob out of spite. Hamas took over and, over the following two decades, the enclave became a civilian-jihadi terror complex, involving subterranean infrastructure, total militarisation and ubiquitous brainwashing. Then came October 7.

So forgive me if I view these direct talks with Hamas – itself an unprecedented diplomatic move – as just more of the same painful naïveté, only this time under the mad leadership of Donald Trump. Can a jihadi group ever be serious about disarming? Could Rosemary West be plausibly retrained as headmistress of a girls’ boarding school?

Think, for a moment, of the level of fanaticism required to build up to 450 miles of catacombs in Gaza, in conditions of mortal danger, then to invite the apocalypse upon your own heads with an orgy of butchery, rape, mutilation, necrophilia and kidnap, before deploying your own families as human shields above ground.

Yes, between the suicide bomber and the Western diplomat lies a pretty big cultural gulf. Truly, these people love death as we love life. As Israeli leader Golda Meir famously remarked: “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”
Desert Reconnaissance Battalion: The Arab IDF unit the world needs to know about
For years, the world has been told a very simple story about Arabs and Israel. Arabs on one side. Israelis on the other. It is always pinned as conflict, division, or suspicion. But recently, I stood in a space that told a very different story.

I was attending the anniversary of IDF Unit 585, the Desert Reconnaissance Battalion, a unit made up predominantly of Bedouin soldiers, alongside other Arab and minority service members. The battalion was established in the late 1980s and has long operated in Israel’s south, particularly around the Gaza border. For many of its Arab soldiers, service is voluntary rather than mandatory.

This unit is made up largely of Arab soldiers, including but not limited to members of Israel’s Bedouin and Druze communities. And as I looked around the event, I realized how few people outside of Israel even know this unit exists, because I myself didn't know it existed.

That matters. Because when the world talks about Israel, it often speaks in absolutes. Israelis and Arabs are presented as two groups who could never share a uniform, a mission, or a sense of responsibility for the same country. Then you meet the soldiers of Unit 585.

At the anniversary, I spoke with veterans who had served in the unit decades ago. Their names cannot be published, but their pride was impossible to miss.

“We are soldiers from Unit 585,” one group of veterans told me. “We enlisted in 1979, and today we came to honor and celebrate 40 years.”

There was something striking about hearing that sentence while standing beside Arab soldiers serving in the battalion today. Different generations. The same unit. Men who had enlisted decades earlier had returned to stand alongside young Arab soldiers currently serving in Israel’s military, including soldiers who have operated in the Gaza border region and across southern Israel.

One current soldier described the moment simply: “Today we are marking 40 years since the battalion was established. Some of our veterans, together with the soldiers serving today, are here with us.” It was a place full of people whose lives complicate the version of Israel most of the world has been taught.
Western hypocrisy ignores Turkey’s occupation of northern Cyprus and Syria while condemning Israel
While the world obsesses over Israel, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is quietly appropriating land for Turkey, rewriting borders, and making a mockery of international law. The man who never misses a chance to denounce "occupation" and castigate Israel presides over two illegal occupations himself. And he is no longer simply occupying territory. He is positioning Turkey as the dominant Islamist power in the Middle East and the heir to Iran's self-appointed leadership of the anti-Israel “Axis of Resistance".

And if senior figures in his government are to be believed, his ambitions do not end in Cyprus or Syria. Erdogan’s sights are firmly fixed on Jerusalem.

Northern Cyprus has been under Turkish control for more than half a century, and northern Syria is rapidly going the same way. Yet the sanctimonious West, ever eager to moralise elsewhere, ignores these flagrant breaches of international law and treats Erdogan as a legitimate, valued partner.

Turkey’s occupation of northern Cyprus began in 1974, when its army invaded the island under the pretext of protecting Turkish Cypriots. They dropped napalm and burned villages. They stayed, and drove 170,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. UN resolutions demand withdrawal. Ankara ignores them to this day. In reality, Turkey has seized 37 per cent of the island and split the capital, Nicosia, in two, making it the last divided capital in Europe.

The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ruled that Turkey exercises “effective control” over the north, making Ankara legally responsible for every violation of property and human rights there. None of that matters. In 2021, Erdogan personally toured the sealed-off resort town of Varosha, a virtual ghost town and symbol of occupation. He vowed to reopen it, in direct defiance of the UN Security Council. He brazenly declared, “There are two states in Cyprus, and the world will eventually recognise this reality.”

The reality is an illegal military occupation propped up by nearly 40,000 Turkish troops, fortified bases, and a growing Turkish “settler” population now outnumbering local Turkish Cypriots. Ankara has installed drone bases, new mosques, and schools teaching Turkish curricula. Erdogan hasn’t just preserved the occupation. He has institutionalised it.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched four invasions into northern Syria, Operations Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, Peace Spring and Claw-Sword, claiming to fight terrorism and create “safe zones”. In reality, it is occupation by instalments, a creeping annexation.
Cyprus ramping up pressure on Tel Aviv while eyeing Israel’s Merkava tanks for its military
Cyprus is ramping up pressure on Israel to allow them to purchase Merkava tanks (Mk3 or Mk4), pan-Cypriot daily newspaper Phileleftheros reported on Monday.

The Merkava is the primary tank used by the IDF’s Armored Corps. While development for the tank began in 1970, it only entered service in 1979 and was extensively used during the First Lebanon War.

The Merkava Mark 4 Barak is the version of the tank that is currently in use.

According to Phileleftheros, opinions within the Israeli government are divided on the matter, with some in support of providing Cyprus with Merkava tanks and some against such a move, wanting the tanks to remain available to the IDF.

Phileleftheros noted that the Merkava’s suitability for Cyprus’s National Guard stems from two main reasons.

Israel-Cyprus talks reportedly stall because of Oct. 7
The first, being the similarity between Israel and Cyprus’s terrain; and the second being the proximity of the two countries, which would ease logistical support for the tanks.

Talks between Cyprus and Israel for the purchase of second-hand Merkava tanks had stalled with the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, 2023, reported Cypriot media, with Israeli reassurances that discussions would resume once the security situation had eased.

Several other contenders for Cyprus’s National Guard have been put forth, according to Cypriot media, including Greece’s Leopard 1A5 and France’s EBRC Jaguar.

The Leopard, however, has reportedly been rejected by Cyprus for not meeting the country’s national guard’s operational requirements.

Several contracts for smaller equipment, such as drones and other equipment that have shorter production times, have already progressed, according to Phileleftheros.

It added that contracts for larger equipment, such as armoured vehicles, are slated to begin in 2028.

Israel, Greece, Cyprus sign trilateral work plan
Currently, Cyprus’s National Guard is using Russian-built T-80 tanks, but Russia’s deteriorating relations with Western counties and sanctions placed upon it have made it difficult to reliably secure spare parts and ammunition.

In December 2025, Israel, Greece, and Cyprus signed a trilateral work plan for military cooperation for 2026.

Among other things, the plans include joint exercises and training, working groups in various fields, and strategic military dialogue on issues of joint interest.


UN watchdog slams potential election of Iran to panel with human rights sway: 'Lunatics running the asylum'
Iran's possible election to a major United Nations (U.N.) committee with influence on the shaping of policy concerning human rights, women's rights, and counterterrorism is "Orwellian," the head of a U.N. watchdog group says.

In November, the U.N. General Assembly is slated to vote on whether to admit Iran to the Committee for Programme and Coordination, a 34-member body whose member states serve three-year terms. The upcoming vote is widely expected to pass as a formality.

The committee doesn't draft human rights treaties or issue condemnations of human rights abuses, but plays an influential administrative role in how human rights initiatives are executed across the U.N. system.

The U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) nominated Iran in April despite Tehran’s documented history of systematic human rights abuses, strict crackdowns on women’s rights, mass surveillance and lethal force against political dissenters.

Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations.

Global bodies also consider Tehran a leading state sponsor of terrorism that funds proxy militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. In addition, Tehran has attacked neighboring Gulf states in recent months amid a war with the United States.

"It's the last government in the world that should have any influence," Hillel Neuer, executive director of Geneva-based UN Watch, told Fox News Digital.

"Sadly, at the United Nations today — an organization founded after World War II out of great idealism to bring international peace — it is a case of the lunatics running the asylum," Neuer added. "You have the Islamic Republic of Iran, a regime that beats, blinds, tortures, rapes, and imprisons women for standing up for their rights or showing a few strands of hair."


UN helped Iran expand anti-drug crackdown despite execution concerns
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has continued to support the Islamic Republic in identifying drug traffickers, despite concerns that those convicted in reportedly unfair trials are subjected to torture and, in many cases, executed.

The UNODC last week announced that it had “helped” Iran procure advanced detection scanners to combat methamphetamine trafficking at the country’s borders.

At least part of the technology was funded by Japan, according to a 2018 UN announcement, while the international body provided training to Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Police (ANP) and Customs Administration on how to use the technology and handled the international procurement and handover of the equipment.

Iranian seizures of meth increased from 30,393 kilograms in 2022 to 40,453 kg in 2025 with the help of the technology, according to the United Nations. UN anti-drug assistance draws human rights scrutiny

Though presented by the UN as a major achievement in the thwarting of international drug trafficking, the agency’s official policy advocates for the universal abolition of the death penalty, viewing it as incompatible with fundamental human rights.

Nearly 1,000 out of the 1,212 executions for drug-related offenses in 2025 were carried out by the Islamic regime, according to the 15th report of Harm Reduction International published in March. At the time of the report, over 1,000 people were awaiting execution for drug-related offenses, some of whom had never come into direct contact with the illegal substance.

According to both the report and UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Mai Sato, the large majority of those killed came from a background of poverty. Many were alleged to have worked in only minor roles in the drug trade, and they were denied proper due process during their trial. Critics warn UN support may strengthen Iran and its proxies

Additionally, while the UNODC said last week that thwarting smuggling attempts helped stem the flow of money to organized crime groups, Anne Herzberg, legal adviser at NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post that many of Iran’s proxies also rely on funds generated through illicit drug trafficking.

According to the IDF, Hezbollah has been funded through cocaine sales in Europe and is heavily involved in trafficking cannabis and Captagon along the Lebanese-Syrian border.

“It beggars belief that Iran is not aware of, does not profit off of, nor [is] heavily enmeshed in Hezbollah drug trafficking,” Herzberg said.

“Moreover, it appears Iran uses drug-related charges as a pretext to jail and execute dissidents,” he added.


US-Iran talks intensify, Kushner says
US President Donald Trump's envoy Jared Kushner on Monday said conversations between the US and different areas of the Iranian government were probably more robust than ever, but the two sides had not yet reached an understanding.

Kushner, who is visiting the Middle East, made the comments in an interview with Fox News.

Kushner said that "Trump doesn't want to rush into a deal, he'll make the right deal when it's ready."

He added that the president would be "very patient with Iran."

Kushner said that Trump was placing an emphasis on economic pressure over military actions, focusing on the blockade of Iran which had left the Iranian economy "way worse off now."

Kushner also said that Trump was acting to ensure that Iran could not have a nuclear weapon, adding that "if Iran is willing to finish the deal that they've been discussing with us to give up their ability to create a nuclear weapon then obviously he is willing to make a deal."

Hezbollah stands in the way of peace, must be disarmed, US State Dept. spokesman declares
Hezbollah is solely responsible for Israel's presence in Lebanon, a US State Department spokesperson told Sky News Arabia early on Tuesday morning.

The Iran-backed group is the biggest threat to Lebanon's safety and stability, the official also told the network, adding that Hezbollah acts as the main obstacle to Lebanon's economic recovery and the only blemish on its international reputation.

The group must be disarmed and dismantled, the spokesperson told the channel, maintaining that disarming the group is an integral part of the pilot program for Israeli withdrawal from certain areas in southern Lebanon.
As 60-day MOU expires, the US and Iran are even further apart than before
The deal that US President Donald Trump signed at Versailles in June set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program.

The deadline was Monday, and the two sides are further apart than they were then.

Talks, such as they are, have focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting a US blockade on Iran, both of which were supposed to have happened under the interim deal. There has been no sign of any compromise on the strait, or that detailed nuclear talks have even begun.

The US, meanwhile, has no good options for getting out of the war it started alongside Israel.

Acceding to Iran’s latest demands would mean giving it control over a critical international waterway that carried a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas before the war — and would be tantamount to admitting defeat. Escalating the deeply unpopular war would further draw down US supplies of advanced missile interceptors, jolt the world economy, and drive up gas prices ahead of US congressional elections.

So both sides have dug in, hoping the other will blink first. So far, neither has.

Interim deal collapsed weeks later
The June deal, known as the memorandum of understanding, called for a halt to all military operations and set a 60-day deadline for an agreement to permanently end the war and resolve the longstanding dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities.

Israel, which launched the military campaign against Iran alongside the US, was not a party to the agreement between the two countries.

The deal called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened but gave Iran a vaguely defined role in facilitating traffic, leaving open the possibility that it could charge fees after the 60-day deadline. Iran has seized on that clause to claim control over the waterway.

A week after the deal was signed, Iran began firing on vessels using a route along the coast of Oman, on the other side of the strait, that is overseen by the US military and intended to bypass Tehran’s control.

The US responded by striking Iran, which retaliated by attacking Arab countries hosting American forces, like Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The US canceled waivers issued as part of the deal that had allowed Iran to sell its oil internationally, and Trump restored a blockade of Iran’s ports.

Each side accused the other of violating the June agreement, of which almost nothing remains.


Herzog meets Kushner, Mladenov to advance Trump’s Gaza plan
Israeli President Isaac Herzog met on Monday with Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East envoy, and Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem to discuss the next steps in implementing Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.

Following the meeting, Herzog thanked Kushner and Mladenov for their efforts to advance the plan and said he was “impressed that Israel’s security interests are an important and central element” of it.

Herzog also praised the Board of Peace’s efforts to promote a “brighter and more secure future” for Israelis, Palestinians in Gaza and the broader region.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a member of the board’s executive committee, and Aryeh Lightstone, a senior adviser to the board, also attended.

The meeting followed a separate, hourslong meeting on Monday between Kushner, Mladenov and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the sides agreed to establish two working groups. One will focus on the disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza, which Israel and the Board of Peace say must be completed before reconstruction begins.

The second will address sanitation, clean water and other public health needs in Gaza that also affect Israel.
US tells Hamas it wants ‘real efforts and not just words’ on disarmament
Washington wants “real efforts and not just words” from Hamas on disarmament, a source with direct knowledge told Axios, after leaders of the terrorist group met with U.S. President Donald Trump’s adviser Jared Kushner in Egypt on Sunday.

Hamas used the meeting to reaffirm its commitment to demilitarizing the Gaza Strip under the roadmap with Trump’s Board of Peace, the source said. “We thanked them for the commitment, but we want to see real efforts and not just words,” the source added.

The source described the 90-minute meeting as “very productive.” Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and board senior advisers Aryeh Lightstone and Liran Tancman joined Kushner.

Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya attended alongside Egyptian intelligence head Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi and an unnamed senior Turkish official.

Kushner was said to have told al-Hayya there was no room for negotiation on disarmament. He warned that “the bar is high” because Israel does not trust Hamas to lay down its weapons, the source said.

The Hamas leader claimed the terrorists were ready to cede power and not interfere once the Palestinian technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) begins operating, according to the source.

If the terrorist group begins disarming, Israel’s “corresponding steps” would include allowing the International Stabilization Force to deploy in Gaza, enabling reconstruction to begin in the Rafah area and discussing the initial withdrawal of troops, the source said.


Meeting with Kushner, PM doubles down on IDF remaining in Gaza until Hamas disarmed
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted during a meeting Monday with envoys from the White House and the US-backed Board of Peace that Israel would not redeploy any of its forces in Gaza or allow reconstruction to begin until the Strip was completely disarmed, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

“The agreement was that there would be no redeployment or reconstruction until Hamas is disarmed throughout Gaza,” the official said of the premier’s four-hour meeting with Trump aide Jared Kushner and Board of Peace officials Nickolay Mladenov and Tony Blair.

According to a CNN report, citing an Israeli source familiar with the discussions, Kushner pressed Netanyahu during the lengthy meeting to “not create obstacles” to the implementation of the Board’s 15-point plan for disarming Hamas and moving toward the second and reconstruction-focused phase of Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

Hamas has said it accepted the framework, which envisions the group gradually handing over its weapons, as Israel conducts corresponding withdrawals from Gaza, but Netanyahu has rejected the proposal, insisting that the terror group fully disarm before any Israeli withdrawals from the Strip.

According to the CNN report, Netanyahu told Kushner and Mladenov that progress on the 15-point framework was politically “problematic” ahead of Israel’s October 27 Knesset election, insisting instead that Hamas take steps first.

Pressed on whether Netanyahu would even be willing to approve IDF withdrawals within Gaza, the senior Israeli official indicated that no pull-backs whatsoever would be approved before the full disarmament of both light and heavy weapons.
Amid Israeli pushback, source reveals Board of Peace weighing new disarmament framework
The Board of Peace is considering abandoning its phased framework for Hamas’s disarmament amid Israeli pushback to the US-controlled body’s original plan, a source directly familiar with the negotiations told The Times of Israel on Monday.

Instead of having Hamas hand over its weapons in phases, with Israel conducting corresponding withdrawals, the source said another option being weighed by the Board of Peace would see Hamas hand over all of its weapons throughout Gaza, and only then would Israel have to pull back its troops to the Gaza border.

While the shift could be enough to get Israel on board, it risks losing the support of Hamas, after the Board of Peace spent months coaxing the terror group to accept the phased disarmament plan.

That original disarmament roadmap approved by Hamas on July 30 broke the roughly 47 percent of the Gaza Strip still controlled by Hamas into five sectors and envisioned each sector demilitarized successively, the source said.

Under the original framework, once the weapon handovers and tunnel destructions for a particular sector are verified by the Board of Peace, the IDF would be required to pull back the troops stationed along that decommissioned sector.

The troops would redeploy closer to the Gaza-Israel border, moving back from the Yellow Line to a Red Line, as demarcated in the September 2025 map issued as part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war.

Netanyahu came out against that framework, insisting that Israel will not conduct any withdrawals until Hamas has been completely disarmed.

An Israeli official acknowledged that the dispute was not resolved during Monday’s Jerusalem meeting between Netanyahu and top Trump aide Jared Kushner.

While the source familiar with the negotiations clarified that the Board of Peace has not yet abandoned its original phased framework, he admitted that a wholesale approach is being considered.
IDF arrests two terrorists, raids 100 sites
IDF soldiers detained two terrorists and raided more than 100 houses near Jenin in the West Bank during a Monday operation, the military said.

Duvdevan undercover counterterror commandos, with intelligence guidance from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) operated to detain the terrorists in the area of Kabatiya, near the city of Jenin, the military stated.

The two terrorists are suspected of planning and promoting terrorist plots to harm the citizens of the State of Israel and the IDF, the military said.

Additionally, almost 100 sites were raided by IDF troops from the Menashe Regional Brigade, with additional suspects detained or interrogated during the operation. IDF increases its presence in West Bank

This comes a month after The Jerusalem Post learned that the IDF increased its deployment across the West Bank to 26 battalions, adding two battalions amid a sharp escalation marked by Palestinian terrorist attacks and attacks from settlers.

The figure represents the number of battalions operating across the West Bank, not a disclosed number of soldiers. The deployment is not static, with forces routinely moved between areas according to operational assessments and changing security needs.

It is unclear whether the additional deployment will remain in place throughout the summer and ahead of the High Holy Days, as the military continues to reassess a rapidly shifting situation.
Israel should kill ‘30-40’ Gazans every night, Ben-Gvir says on ex-hostage’s podcast
Israel should kill "30 to 40" Gazans in strikes every night, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told former hostage Rom Braslavski’s ‘October 8’ podcast published on Saturday night.

Arguing in favor of carrying out more targeted strikes across the Gaza Strip, the minister claimed Israel should not be satisfied with killing “just those who endanger us in that moment” or “pose an immediate threat.”

Instead, Ben-Gvir argued, “there are people there who aren't worthy of life; they shouldn't be alive; they aren't people at all."

Ben-Gvir also said that even Gaza citizens whom some "might consider uninvolved" shouldn't be exempt.

Referring to a woman who brought Braslavski food during his captivity, Ben-Gvir said, “She's a terrorist for all intents and purposes.”

"She needs a bullet in the head. She didn't bring you food because she worried about your health - she brought you food because she wanted to preserve you so you could be a resource afterward, in that murdering terrorists would be released. Someone like that needs a bullet in the head."

Ben-Gvir also said he was proud to be feared in Gaza after Braslavski described his captors’ hatred and fear of the minister.

“I see all of Gaza as ours," Ben-Gvir said, and called for renewed Israeli settlement throughout the Gaza Strip and for encouraging Gazans to emigrate.

"Settlements not just in Gush Katif but throughout Gaza, encouraging as much emigration as possible, sending them to their countries, and for the terrorists, no emigration, nothing, just to kill them one by one.”


Syrian army soldiers filmed chanting death threats against Jews in Damascus
“I am coming for you Jew…I will make your blood flow in rivers,” soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army chanted outside the historic Damascus Citadel on Saturday, according to Arab media reports and footage published on Sunday.

The soldiers stood in formation while chanting “Allahu akhbar” and “I will sacrifice my body” in protest of the situation in Gaza, according to the Arabic channel Al Araby TV.

The demonstration notably came after Israel rejected the 15-point plan for the Gaza Strip proposed by the Board of Peace, demanding Hamas first be disarmed.

Anti-Israel rhetoric continues under Syria's new leadership
Public statements and chants from security officials against Israel have intermittently circulated online since Ahmed al-Sharaa seized control of Syria in 2024. In December, footage showed members of the 60th Division threatening Israel

Prof. Eyal Zisser, a Middle East expert from Tel Aviv University, told The Jerusalem Post that the frequent threats being voiced by Syrian ministries and military officials were only “natural” given that Syria’s security apparatus integrated active members of radical Islamist groups.

Needing to balance Washington’s support with the Islamists who brought him to power, Zisser suggested that Sharaa was unlikely to confront radical and rogue elements within the security forces, even after major sectarian attacks left thousands dead last year and members of the Alawite, Druze and Christian minorities continue to face attacks.


Commentary Podcast: Mission Accomplished?
Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Tod Lindberg joins us on this week-long series of interviews for our upcoming September print issue to discuss his cover story on the War on Terror and the global changes in the quarter century since the September 11 attacks.
Something Very STRANGE is Happening in The Middle East...
Is the United States losing its influence in the Middle East?

A new regional defense pact and growing questions about American resolve are sending shockwaves across the region. As Washington relies on sanctions and diplomacy, many in the Middle East are asking a simple question: Who is the "strong horse" now?

Dan Diker is joined by veteran Palestinian affairs journalist Khaled Abu Toameh for an in-depth discussion on the changing balance of power in the region. Together, they examine why perception matters as much as military strength, what the new Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan defense pact could mean for the future and whether America's current strategy is strengthening or weakening its position in the Middle East.




DSA Florida House candidate appears to cut interview short when journo fact-checks his Israel genocide claim
A Democratic Socialists of America candidate running for Congress in Florida appeared to cut a weekend TV interview short when the journo started fact-checking his allegation that Israel is committing genocide.

Wannabe House member Oliver Larkin, who is vying to unseat Dem Rep. Jared Moskowitz, pointed to the United Nations, Amnesty International and some Israeli human-rights organizations in trying to make the claim, but top “This Week in South Florida” host Glenna Milberg wasn’t having it.

“That is factually incorrect,” she bluntly told him. “There’s the definition of genocide in the UN. The UN has said this does not apply to what many people might think of as a disproportionate wartime action.

The two went back and forth, and then Milberg announced that she was “being told we have to wrap.”

The Post contacted Larkin’s campaign for possible information about why the interview was seemingly cut short, but has yet to get a response.

During Larkin’s interview with Local 10, Milberg noted that about one in four voters in Florida’s newly configured 25th Congressional District are Jewish.

At one point, Larkin claimed that the Israeli Defense Force “deliberately targeted women and children” in Gaza, but Milberg told him that wasn’t true.

Larkin has pummeled Moskowitz over his positions supporting Israel and the backing he has received from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Moskowitz has long been willing to punch the far-left, which has made him a prime target for DSA types. His South Florida seat has also generally been seen as competitive, with the Cook Political Report rating it as a toss-up.


RSF, IFJ Continue to Sneak Terrorists Off Gaza Journalists Lists — But an Unclear Process Keeps Others
Why Do Some Terrorists Remain?
The process by which the IFJ and RSF have removed individuals from their databases remains unclear. No public statements have been made about the revisions that would explain why some terrorists remain on their lists while other individuals have been removed.

IFJ noted on its tally web page that it was “working hard to keep this list up-to-date and accurate” and welcomed “any further information that either contextualizes the deaths itemized, or adds names to the list,” but did not indicate why it might remove names.

Sometime after June 10, RSF added to its ongoing article about Gazan journalists that the organization “updates this registry on an ongoing basis as new information becomes available concerning journalists killed since October 7, 2023.”

A qualification attached to the RSF Barometer database notes, “journalists are listed only if RSF has established that their death or imprisonment was linked to their journalistic activity. The list does not include journalists who were killed or imprisoned for reasons unrelated to their work or when the link to their work has not yet been confirmed.”

Yet with so many terrorists remaining on their lists, the process seems arbitrary.

Confirmation and severity of terrorist ties do not seem to be the deciding factor. Terrorists with martyr posters issued by their organizations, like Jarghoun, remain on the IFJ list. Mohammed Fayez Abu Matar remains on both the IFJ and RSF lists, despite Hamas issuing a martyr notice for him on August 2.

If being confirmed as a card-carrying member by a terrorist organization is not the deciding factor, it could be considered that time could be the issue — Abu Matar was only confirmed an Al-Qassam member two weeks ago. Yet this qualification also fails under scrutiny: Mujahideen Brigades terrorist Ahmed Abu Sharia was outed back in November 2024 but remains on the IFJ list, while Al-Qassam terrorist Mohamed Manhal Abu Armanah was removed from the list and affirmed by Hamas in April 2026. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine confirmed that Ahmed Badir was a member in January 2024, long before Jarghoun was announced on July 1. Yet he remains on the RSF list.

Awareness should likewise not be an issue, as HonestReporting and independent analysts have publicly been noting when terrorist organizations reveal a supposed journalist to be an operative. HonestReporting posted on X on August 3 that a notice was issued for Abu Matar. A similar post was made about Aziz Al-Hajjar on August 7 when PIJ announced that he was in their Northern Brigade’s Central Military Media Unit. Al-Hajjar is still featured on the IFJ list.

Lack of Transparency From a Key Source
The transparency of a process used by journalism rights groups to determine why some terrorists continue to be called journalists, while others do not, is vital when they are being used as trustworthy sources by news outlets. From May 2025 until August 4, RSF was cited on the subject of the IDF ostensibly targeting journalists in 40 articles published by 13 different major Western English-language news outlets. In the same time period, nineteen articles were published by 11 outlets citing IFJ.

These databases were used as the basis for an anti-Israel narrative, but now that the story has been established and the news articles have been written, their foundations have been discovered to be rotten. The actors in the story are being recast without the public or the news outlets being informed.

Without an explanation for why some terrorists remain on Gazan journalists lists while others are removed, the more that deception is assumed to be the answer.





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2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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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