Pay walled:
[SudanWarMonitor] Sudan’s military government is making efforts to portray itself as disconnected from the Muslim Brotherhood, the transnational movement that advocates for Islamic polity and historically played an influential role in the politics of Sudan, Egypt, and other countries.
Now that President Trump considers them a terrorist group, the association is no long profitable. Nothing personal, just bidness — regardless of a personal fondness for the philosophy.
“The Sudanese people toppled the Brotherhood with their revolution [in 2018-2019], and we will not allow them… to return under any circumstances,” asserted General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, in an interview with Al-Arabiya news channel.
Al-Burhan consistently portrays his government as apolitical, arguing that military rule is a temporary necessity until order is restored. Yet Al-Burhan himself is a long-serving general under the Brotherhood-linked National Islamic Front, which ruled Sudan from 1989-2019 (rebranding in the 2000s as the National Congress Party). While the NIF was never a formal branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, its leaders drew heavily on Brotherhood thought and styles of organizing and activism. That intellectual lineage helps explain why Al-Burhan refers to the former Sudanese regime as “the Muslim Brotherhood.”
After taking power in 2021, Al-Burhan’s government freed from prison and halted the prosecutions of many prominent Islamist politicians who had been arrested after the 2019 revolution, including the former president, Omar al-Bashir. Meanwhile, it has prosecuted in absentia leaders of the secular political opposition coalition, Sumud, which blames Islamists for the outbreak of Sudan’s war and advocates for a peaceful resolution.
Al-Burhan’s statements coincide with an ongoing U.S. government review of Muslim Brotherhood branches in several countries, which is expected to conclude with the designation of certain entities — including Brotherhood branches in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, as well as affiliated charities — as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
Interesting times for all involved, now that the Brüderbund is no longer considered the peaceful Third Way.
The situation in Al-Mahra Governorate is unclear. The southern forces that were previously based there have essentially pledged loyalty to the Southern Forces Command of the Southern Transitional Council @STCSouthArabia (STC). At the same time, there has been an increased… pic.twitter.com/Kn9qG5QPWN
The situation in Al-Mahra Governorate is unclear. The southern forces that were previously based there have essentially pledged loyalty to the Southern Forces Command of the Southern Transitional Council (STC). At the same time, there has been an increased mobilization of the National Shield Forces (NSF) in Al-Mahra.
The first NSF wave took control of positions where Saudi forces had been active, including Nashton Port and Al-Ghaydah Airport.
However today, the NSF started securing key government buildings. For the moment, the border posts with Oman in Sarfait and Shahan continue to fly the southern flag, and the borders remain open. It would not be surprising, however, if they were closed given the ongoing security turmoil.
In short, the situation in Al-Mahra remains unresolved. It is still unclear which side will emerge as the dominant security and military force: the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces or the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council forces.
What are the Houthis saying about Al-Mahra? The exiled Houthi-aligned governor of Mahra, Al-Qa‘tbi Al-Farji, claims that Saudi and Emirati activities in Mahra and Hadramawt are part of what he describes as a dangerous U.S.–Israeli plan aimed at dividing Yemen and exploiting its… https://t.co/ZY8waA57vupic.twitter.com/tdxE9mFyhH
…the former Mahra sultanate included a territory that runs along the Indian Ocean shoreline in South Yemen plus Socotra island, where the UAE has a base …
Al-Qa‘tbi Al-Farji, claims that Saudi and Emirati activities in Mahra and Hadramawt are part of what he describes as a dangerous U.S.–Israeli plan aimed at dividing Yemen and exploiting its resources.
Suuuuurrre it is. Because Yemen is the center of the universe.
He argues that the Southern Transitional Council and forces backed by the Saudi-UAE coalition are seeking to impose external agendas, tighten control over local populations, and pave the way for foreign influence in the two provinces.
According to him, Saudi cooperation with Emirati-backed groups reflects a shared effort to fragment Yemen and turn its regions—especially Mahra and Hadramawt—into arenas of conflict. He portrays the Saudi-Emirati presence, supported by the U.S. and the U.K., as a form of occupation responsible for growing local anger, and says such actions only strengthen Mahri resolve to resist.
Al-Farji contends that people in Mahra increasingly understand what he views as foreign ambitions to seize Yemen’s wealth and control strategic land and maritime routes, and he calls on tribes, civil organizations, and residents of the “occupied” areas to unite against these forces and confront their plans.
[IsraelTimes] Despite the ceasefire, workers’ unions and political parties are leveraging the Palestinian cause to gain influence. What’s increasingly noteworthy is when their efforts backfire
On September 22, 2025, a general protest and strike against Israel’s war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... was organized by a group of smaller and far-left unions. It caught many in Italia by surprise: In Rome, police forces expected a few thousand to join the rally, but by the end of the day, authorities estimated that some 50,000 had taken to the streets. The organizers boasted that 300,000 participants had marched in the capital, in addition to hundreds of thousands more in some 80 cities across the country.
The same day, dockworkers in Genoa blocked access to the city’s major port, demanding that Italia not allow shipments to Israel, and several Italian celebrities either joined the protest or expressed solidarity with it. On live TV, celebrity host Antonella Clerici asked viewers not to remain indifferent to "the massacre" in Gaza during a beloved morning cooking show on Rai1, the most-watched Italian channel.
The following week, Italia’s largest union, the (self-reported) 5-million-strong Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL), which had not supported the September 22 initiative, announced its own general strike and protest for Gaza. This took place on October 3, with support from Italia’s two main opposition parties, the center-left Partito Democratico (PD) and the populist Five Star Movement, as well as a smaller coalition of far-left parties, AVS-Verdi.
The organizers claimed that over 2 million people attended its rallies across the country, making it the most successful protest in years.
"Today’s rally is a huge demonstration for Gaza that shows how Italia is better than those who govern it," said PD general secretary Elly Schlein.
At the same time, according to a survey published in September by prominent pollster SWG, around 15% of Italians consider physical attacks on Jewish people "entirely or fairly justifiable."
As in many other countries in the world, the war touched off by the bloody October 7, 2023, Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... invasion of Israel and the widespread devastation documented in the Gaza Strip have spurred outrage among vast sectors of the Italian public. In the past several months, Italian opposition forces have also begun to use Gaza as a rallying cry against the government, sensing the mood in the street while taking heed of surveys suggesting that the issue’s appeal goes beyond the center and left voters.
With the Middle East rapidly becoming a dominant topic across Italian talk shows, social media, and news outlets, many public figures — including politicians, journalists, and intellectuals — have taken to describing Israel’s actions as genocide. Israel has always maintained that it takes significant measures to minimize civilian casualties, but the Italian citizenry is increasingly unconvinced.
A poll released on September 26 by the Ixè research institute asked 1,000 respondents (with a 3.1 percent margin of error) whether they agreed with "those who accuse Israel of committing genocide against the Paleostinians." Almost 74% responded that they agreed, while 22.6% disagreed and 3.8% did not know. Those who agreed included 89% who had voted for PD and the Five Star Movement in the 2024 European elections, but also 64% of those who voted for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Fratelli D’Italia (FDI) and 65% of right-wing populist Lega voters (the second-largest party in the governing coalition).
In addition, 59% of the respondents said they were in favor of Italia cutting ties with Israel. Once again, they included not only over 70% of PD and Five Star voters, but also 40% of FDI supporters and 63% of Lega ones.
Illustrating the intensity of conviction among the protesters, Chiara, 17, told the local news outlet Vicenza Today at a protest in Vicenza, a mid-size town in northern Italia, on October 3, that the original sin was born in the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... "The UN’s 1947 decision to create two states for two peoples was a mistake or bad faith because in this historical process the winning faction was that of revisionist Zionism: authoritarian and fascist ...anybody you disagree with, damn them... ," she said. Chiara explained that she supports the Lega party, "but in this case I chose to be here with my classmates. We have different views on many things, but not on defenseless people inhumanely exterminated."
WHEN ANTI-ISRAEL STANCES BACKFIRE
The hope to unite a fragmented opposition, create a political headache for a government that has tried to maintain a more balanced, low-profile stance on Israel — and possibly also poach some of its voters — has represented a powerful temptation, especially for the more moderate PD.
Yet, it has also sometimes backfired.
"This is a vote for Marche and for Paleostine," Matteo Ricci, the center-left coalition candidate for governor of the Marche region in central Italia, said in September on the eve of the elections. Ricci was roundly defeated by the center-right candidate La Belle Francesco Acquaroli, and several pundits questioned his fixation on Gaza as opposed to more local issues.
Such criticism has also been directed at the unions and the opposition parties at the national level, especially considering that Italia is suffering from decades of economic stagnation, unemployment, and unbearable fiscal pressure.
In addition, pro-Paleostinian rallies have often been marred by violence. Vandalism and the illegal disruption of public transportation leave many Italians confounded — including those sympathetic to the Paleostinian cause.
Last Friday, during another general strike promoted by the far-left unions against both the government’s budget law and the war in Gaza, dozens of activists broke into the newsroom of the Italian daily La Stampa in Turin, sprayed graffiti reading "Free Paleostine" and "Newspapers are complicit with Israel," and caused significant damage.
The incident drew considerable censure. It also shocked some Italians who themselves had internalized the fiercest critiques against Israel.
Journalist Annalisa Cuzzocrea, who until a few months ago served as La Stampa deputy editor-in-chief, commented on X that in the past, "[La Stampa editor-in-chief] Andrea Malaguti and I put the word ’genocide’ in the headline on the front page without worrying about how some segments of the public would react."
"This is what hurts me the most, because [the activists] don’t know what they’ve attacked," she added.
The vandalism against La Stampa has also ignited a political storm against another figure who, in Italia, has increasingly been seen as one of the country’s main champions of the Paleostinian cause, UN special rapporteur for the Paleostinians La Belle Francesca Albanese.
Accused of bias against Israel that bordered on antisemitism even before October 7, Albanese has since become a highly influential voice in Italia — as testified by her nearly daily presence on Italian TV, the ubiquity of her book in windows of Italian bookstores, and the numerous prizes and honorary citizenships she received across the country, including in Bologna, Bari and Reggio Emilia (where she scolded the mayor on stage after he expressed hope that the Israeli hostages held by Gazook terror groups would soon come home).
Asked about the attack on the newsroom, Albanese said that she "condemned the violence" but also "condemned the journalists," who she accused of not providing fair coverage to the Paleostinian plight, and called the episode "a warning for the press." The statements drew condemnation from Meloni and had city leaders second-guessing their decisions to award honorary citizenship to Albanese — including the mayor of Florence, who retracted her city’s offer following the controversy.
HOSTILE ATMOSPHERE FOR JEWS
But those who are paying the highest price of an increasingly hostile atmosphere against Israel are Italia’s Jews.
With some 23,000 official members across the country, over half of whom are in Rome, Italian Jewish communities are small but deeply-rooted, with a presence on the peninsula dating back over 2,000 years.
The most recent report by the Centro di Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea (CDEC), a Milan-based think tank that monitors antisemitism in Italia, revealed that in 2024, its antisemitism watchdog received 877 complaints about antisemitic incidents in the country, compared to 454 in 2023 and 241 in 2022.
On Monday, the Jewish community of Rome woke up to the distressing news that overnight, the external walls of the Bet Michael synagogue in the hilly Monteverde neighborhood of the city had been defaced by graffiti.
Alongside writings such as "Free Paleostine" and "Monteverde is anti-Zionist and anti-fascist," the vandals covered in black paint the plaque dedicating the synagogue to the memory of Michael Stefano Gay Tache, a 2-year-old boy who was killed in a Paleostinian terror attack against the city’s main synagogue in 1982.
The vandalism sparked widespread condemnation, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella called Victor Fadlun, president of the Jewish Community of Rome, to express his solidarity.
Still, many Jews cannot help but feel that the attack represents yet another instance where anti-Israel sentiment has spilled into open antisemitism, rubbing salt into one of the deepest wounds the community still carries.
The 1982 attack also happened amid a climate of public anti-Jewish sentiment fueled by tensions in the Middle East — at the time, the First Leb ...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade.... War. In the months before the attack, during a CGIL rally, some protesters had left a white coffin on the synagogue’s doorsteps, and Paleostinian leader Yasser Arafat, who at the time had not yet renounced terrorism, had gone to Rome on an official visit.
Fadlun warned in La Stampa against using the rallies for Gaza to attack the government.
"In Gaza, the ceasefire is holding despite the ongoing difficulties, but in Italia, almost exclusively in Italia, pro-Paleostinian demonstrations have multiplied, becoming increasingly aggressive," he said.
"Antisemitism is an abomination that has permeated history, exploiting the lowest sentiments, and it is used as a club to gain power; it’s happening here, now," he added. "Certain protests aim to put pressure on the government, that’s clear."
Fadlun also expressed concern about the intersection of union struggles and Middle East politics.
"We Jews of Rome remember well that a union march in 1982 brought a coffin in front of the synagogue," he said. "Then there was the attack that killed Stefano."
#3
Historically, the explanations for Jew-hate change to reflect the current issues of the time. All are just excuses for the pleasure of attacking the presumably defenseless minority Other.
[KhaamaPress] U.S. Border Patrol chief Michael Banks has ordered undocumented migrants detained after illegal entry to pay a $5,000 fee, escalating enforcement measures.
U.S. Border Patrol chief Michael Banks has announced a new policy requiring undocumented migrants detained after illegally entering the country to pay a $5,000 detention fee. The rule applies to anyone aged 14 or older who crossed the border without inspection.
Banks made the announcement on X, stating that the order covers “all illegal foreign nationals,” regardless of where they crossed, how long they have been in the United States, or whether they currently have ongoing immigration cases. The declaration marks one of the strictest enforcement measures introduced under the current administration.
The move comes shortly after more than 21,500 migrants filed lawsuits against the U.S. government on Thursday, challenging daily fines of $998 that could reach up to $1.8 million per person depending on detention duration.
In October, the Department of Homeland Security said migrants who entered the country on humanitarian parole but overstayed their visas would face an additional $1,000 civil penalty. Officials say these measures are aimed at curbing illegal entry, overstays, and repeat border crossings.
DHS has also launched a voluntary departure program that offers free flights home and a $1,000 incentive payment to undocumented migrants who leave the United States without enforcement action. The agency says the initiative is intended to reduce detention pressure and speed up removals.
Government figures show that Border Patrol detained more than 237,000 migrants in fiscal year 2025. DHS officials told Fox News earlier this year that deportations are expected to approach 600,000 by year-end, potentially breaking removal records.
According to the latest data, more than two million migrants have left the United States this year, including 1.6 million voluntary returns, 515,000 deportations, and 485,000 detainees who were later removed.
The President Donald Trump has strengthened border enforcement since taking office, deploying additional personnel to the southern border and ending the “catch-and-release” policy, which previously allowed asylum seekers to remain free while their cases were processed.
US Creates New Migrant Vetting Unit After Guard Shooting
[KhaamaPress] The United States has created a new migrant vetting unit following the National Guard shooting, aiming to strengthen security screening and prevent future threats.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the creation of a specialized security unit designed to strengthen screening procedures for immigration applications. The agency says the new division will review cases involving suspected terrorists, criminal migrants, and individuals considered potential national security threats.
USCIS stated on Friday, December 5, that the unit will allow officials to respond more rapidly and effectively to emerging risks across the immigration system.
Joseph Edlow, Director of USCIS, said recent violent incidents, including the shooting of U.S. National Guard members by a foreign national, demonstrate the urgency of enhancing vetting capabilities. He noted that the new center will provide advanced tools to protect national security and ensure public safety.
Edlow added that during the Biden administration, the agency was pressured to speed up naturalization and immigration processing without fully weighing the security consequences. According to him, the current administration is reversing that approach by adding stronger safeguards to prevent fraud and security threats.
The agency said that once fully operational, the new screening system will incorporate a full range of classified and unclassified vetting capabilities, including artificial intelligence, to support more comprehensive decisions on immigration petitions.
The announcement comes in the wake of a shooting incident near the White House on November 25, where two National Guard members were attacked. One later died in hospital. U.S. authorities have arrested Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan migrant, accused of carrying out the attack.
Following the incident, U.S. officials temporarily halted immigration processing for applicants from 19 countries, including Afghanistan. Lakanwal has been formally charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. During a virtual court hearing held from his hospital bed, he pleaded not guilty and declined to accept the charges ahead of trial.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has announced that the validity of work permits for certain groups of migrants will be reduced from five years to 18 months. Officials say the change aims to ensure that migrants working in the U.S. do not threaten public safety or promote anti-American ideologies.
The policy applies to foreign nationals who have been granted asylum, have pending asylum applications, hold stay-of-deportation or detention orders, and those seeking adjustment of status to lawful residency. ICE emphasized that the measure covers multiple categories to maintain oversight and security.
The announcement comes amid heightened immigration restrictions under President Donald Trump’s administration, following a recent deadly attack in Washington. The policy is part of broader efforts to strengthen border control and national security.
At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the constitutionality of Trump’s plan to revoke birthright citizenship, challenging the constitutional provision that anyone born on U.S. soil automatically qualifies as a U.S. citizen.
Trump issued the executive order on birthright citizenship on his first day in office, sparking national debate over immigration, constitutional rights, and the scope of executive authority.
[FoxNews] Texas AG Paxton sues EPIC City developers after probe finds alleged fraud, misleading Muslim-only marketing
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Friday against the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), Community Capital Partners (CCP) and several associated leaders, accusing them of running an illegal securities and land development scheme tied to a proposed 400-acre community known as "EPIC City."
The lawsuit, filed in Collin County, follows a monthslong investigation and a referral from the Texas State Securities Board. The state alleges the defendants raised tens of millions of dollars while violating securities laws, misleading investors about the project’s nature and location, and misrepresenting how funds would be used.
"The leaders behind EPIC City have engaged in a radical plot to destroy hundreds of acres of beautiful Texas land and line their own pockets," Paxton said. "I will relentlessly bring the full force of the law against anyone who thinks they can ignore the rules and hurt Texans."
According to the Verified Petition, CCP sold investment interests for $40,000 to $80,000, despite failing to register the securities or qualify for federal exemptions.
The state claims the group broadly solicited investors through meetings, social media and online promotions, which is activity not allowed under the exemptions they claimed.
Investigators also allege the developers failed to take reasonable steps to verify purchasers were accredited investors, with documentation missing or inadequate for a number of buyers.
The petition says the project was advertised as being "in the heart of Josephine, Texas," even after the city told developers in February 2025 that the land was not within its limits or utility district. Marketing materials allegedly continued to make the claim.
The state further points to alleged promotional materials that appeared to target Muslim buyers, including early website language and videos describing EPIC City as the "epicenter of Islam in North America."
Paxton’s office also alleges CEO Imran Chaudhary publicly promised he would take "not a cent" in salary, but later signed a contract paying him $360,000 a year through a separate company, a compensation arrangement not disclosed in written offering materials.
Investigators allege more than $1 million in investor funds were withdrawn for general operating expenses, exceeding what offering documents described.
Texas Securities Commissioner Travis Iles claims EPIC entities sold securities without meeting registration or exemption requirements and referred the matter to Paxton after identifying "flagrant" violations.
Paxton first announced his investigation in March, and sought the referral in October after uncovering additional concerns.
Paxton is asking the court to halt all fundraising tied to the project, freeze assets, appoint a receiver, correct public statements and impose civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation. The suit also seeks the return of investor funds.
EPIC City, since rebranded as "The Meadow," was marketed as a master-planned development spanning Hunt and Collin Counties. Court filings show hundreds of investors purchased units.
Fox News Digital has requested comment from EPIC, CCP and Paxton’s office.
[TurkiyeToday] Marking a pivotal moment in Islamabad’s long-stalled quest to unlock its offshore energy potential, and Ankara’s expanding ambition to export its energy expertise across Asia, Pakistan-Türkiye deals are laying the groundwork for a strategic partnership both countries have long signaled.
Arriving in Islamabad with a high-level delegation, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar witnessed the signing of Türkiye’s first deep drilling and offshore exploration agreements with Pakistan this week. Starting early 2026, state-owned Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company (TPOC) would begin exploration in three offshore blocks and two onshore fields across Pakistan.
Having clinched hydrocarbon and exploration deals with five Pakistani energy companies, Mari Energies, Fatima, Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Prime and GHPL, the TPOC has a 34% working interest, OGDC 26% and Mari Energies 20%, granted by Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee in advance.
Alongside, both countries are working on a joint procurement model for energy products, including LNG, to leverage scale and reduce costs, in order to reach the trade target of $5 billion set by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Pakistan this year.
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[Rudaw] The United States said on Friday it was "disappointed" by Iraq’s reversal of a decision to freeze the assets of Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... movement.
"We are disappointed by Iraq’s retraction of the decision to freeze assets of Lebanese Hezbollah and the Houthis," a US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw.
Reports emerged on Thursday that Iraq’s Committee for Freezing Terrorist Assets had ordered a freeze on movable and immovable property linked to Hezbollah and Yemen’s Ansarullah, widely known as the Houthis. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... i quickly described the listing as an "error" and ordered an investigation. The Iraqi presidency also distanced itself from the move, saying it played no role in the decision.
The Official Gazette had reported that the committee - which is affiliated with the Council of Ministers - issued the freeze based on "participation in committing a terrorist act."
The State Department spokesperson said both groups pose "threats to the region and the world," and said Washington will continue to "press Iraq to take concrete actions against these Iranian proxies, and Iran’s proxy militias in Iraq who threaten US and Iraqi interests."
"All countries need to take actions to ensure their territories are not used by these and other Iranian terrorist proxies to train, raise money, acquire weapons, or conduct attacks," the spokesperson added.
[Kurdistan24] At the new US Consulate opening in Erbil, Deputy Secretary Michael Rigas thanked Kurdish leaders, urged dismantling Iran-aligned militias, and emphasized long-term economic and security partnership.
[IsraelTimes] Hossam al-Astal, the leader of the Strike Force Against Terror militia based out of Gaza’s Khan Younis, tells Kan radio that the killing of the leader of allied militia Abu Shabab will not deter him in his fight against Hamas.
“Hamas is trying to send people to infiltrate us, but we will reveal them quickly,” he tells Kan.
“Even though Abu Shabab was killed, there are hundreds of us in different organizations operating in the Strip. Hamas is trying to diminish our value and claim we are only dozens, but that is not the case. We will not change our ways,” he adds.
Astal insists that “the end of Hamas is close.”
Yesterday, the Israeli-backed Abu Shabab militia appeared to confirm that its namesake and commander Yasser Abu Shabab was killed last week in a gunfight with members of the Abu Sanima family. Both groups belong to the Bedouin Tarabin tribe.
Giving it the good old fashioned Muslim Brotherhood taqqiya. After all, proclaiming separation worked for Al Nusra/Hayat Tahrir al Sham, which now rules Syria and is welcome most everywhere.
[IsraelTimes] Mansour Abbas’s move appears geared toward boosting its legitimacy among Zionist Knesset parties; Smotrich responds by calling Arab MK a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’
Ra’am chair Mansour Abbas said Saturday that his party will separate from the religious council that it is linked to and establish its own institutions, in a move that appeared to be aimed at distancing the Islamist political party from hardline Moslem organizations in order to boost its legitimacy among Zionist Israeli parties.
In the interview with Channel 12’s Meet the Press, Abbas also insisted that his party is not a part of the Islamist Moslem Brüderbund, weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to allude to that connection and to hint that he intended to outlaw the party.
"First of all, we are not a part of the Moslem Brüderbund. If we were part of the Moslem Brüderbund, I wouldn’t be in the Knesset, I wouldn’t even be sitting with you here," said Abbas, who in 2021, after being courted by Netanyahu to become part of his coalition, decided to partner with his rivals and become the first Arab party in decades to be part of a ruling coalition, which was led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.
"The second thing is that we have learned lessons from what we had [in the Bennett-Lapid coalition]. Ra’am today is moving in the direction of being a completely civic party, with separate institutions," he said.
Pressed if that meant his party would be separating from the Shura Council, Abbas responded: "Of course. This is the approach that has been advanced in recent years in Ra’am. Next month we have a conference, and it will approve the changes."
Currently, the Islamist party is the political wing of the Southern Islamic Movement, a group inspired by the Moslem Brüderbund, a global Islamist organization that has been outlawed in around a dozen countries for alleged links to terrorism.
Abbas has repeatedly denied that his party is connected to the Brotherhood.
A blatant lie, since Ra’am is the formal political party of the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Israel: the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement.
Ra’am has increasingly taken a relatively conciliatory stance toward Israel and is focused more on socioeconomic issues than its parent movement’s more radical sister branch, the Northern Islamic Movement, which is outlawed.
Ra’am holds five seats in the Knesset, and polls indicate it will likely retain that number in the next elections.
Smotrich responds, calling Abbas a ’wolf in sheep’s clothing’
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the far-right Religious Zionism party and whose opposition prevented Netanyahu from partnering with Ra’am at the time, responded to Saturday’s interview on X, writing: "Mansour Abbas was and remains a wolf in sheep’s clothing. An enemy who supports terror and leads a sister-movement to Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... , and tries again and again to disguise himself and fool the Israeli public."
"Abbas has refused, since the October 7 [2023] massacre, to condemn Hamas, or to describe it as a terror organization, and the right place for him is behind bars, not in the Knesset," Smotrich said.
Abbas has repeatedly acknowledged and condemned the targeting of civilians during the Hamas-led onslaught that triggered the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war. In the past, he has also called on Paleostinian gangs, including Hamas, to disarm, but his party later walked back those comments, and while Abbas has endorsed the US plan for Gaza, which includes the Strip’s demilitarization, he has declined, when pressed, to say that Hamas should be "destroyed."
"After his previous deception ploy was exposed, he’s now trying to disguise himself again, as part of the left’s plans to return to power by joining forces with anti-Zionist terror supporters," Smotrich wrote. The far-right minister vowed to "do everything I can to prevent the State of Israel being sold to its enemies by irresponsible, power-hungry politicians."
That’ll encourage Israel to trust them enough to pull out. Good job, dude.
[IsraelTimes] President who ousted Assad says Israel ‘in a fight against ghosts’ as he decries IDF operations in Syria, acknowledges ‘atrocities’ committed against minority groups in Sweida
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday accused Israel of "exporting crises" to other countries around the region in order to distract from its "horrifying massacres" in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Sharaa’s comments, which were perhaps his sharpest against Israel since becoming Syria’s leader a year ago, were made during the annual Doha Forum hosted in the Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i capital and followed several other regional leaders who also spoke about the war in Gaza.
"Israel... tries to run away from the horrifying massacres committed in Gaza, and it does so by attempting to export crises," Sharaa said during an onstage interview.
"Israel has become a country that is in a fight against ghosts," he claimed, saying that Israel uses the guise of security concerns and the need to prevent another October 7 massacre to justify every action it takes, even though no such correlation exists.
"Since we arrived in Damascus, we sent positive messages regarding regional peace and stability... and that we are not interested in being a country that exports conflict, including to Israel," Sharaa continued, referring to his jihadist group’s toppling of the Assad regime last year.
"But in return, Israel has met us with extreme violence," Sharaa said, highlighting the deadly Israeli raid on turbans in the southern Syrian town of Beit Jinn last month.
"Syria has suffered massive violations of our airspace, and we’ve been victim of over 1000 Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s and over 400 incursions," he said.
Sharaa reiterated his call for Israel to withdraw from the Golan territories in southern Syria that it has occupied since December, after Assad fled, with Jerusalem wary of the new Syrian leader’s past as an al-Qaeda commander and citing fears the area would fall into the wrong hands.
He expressed his support for the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, adding that tampering with it "and seeking other agreements such as a demilitarized zone... could lead us to a dangerous place."
Israel’s actions in the country recently drew stern comments from US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... , who warned earlier in the week against destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after IDF soldiers battled button men in the country’s south.
"It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State," Trump said, adding that he is "very satisfied" with the country’s performance under Sharaa.
Turning to issues within his own country, Sharaa acknowledged "atrocities" that have been committed against minorities in the Sweida region but insisted that Syria is a country governed by the rule of law, which will hold those responsible accountable.
Some of Israel’s military intervention in Syria has been with the declared aim of protecting members of the Druze minority, notably during the violence in Sweida this summer that pitted Sunni Moslem Bedouin fighters and government forces against Druze fighters.
Along with the violence in Sweida, which a war monitor reported left over 2,000 dead, including hundreds of Druze civilians, some government forces or their allies have been implicated in other outbreaks of sectarian violence, including the Alawite community massacres in March that are estimated to have killed more than 1,700 people.
[IsraelTimes] Youssef Rajji says terror group is ‘rebuilding itself in many ways’ and seeking to ‘regain its power internally,’ confirms speaking about disarmament with his Iranian counterpart
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... will have the final say on whether or not its Lebanese proxy terror group Hezbollah agrees to disarm, Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... ’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji told the Saudi Al Arabiya news outlet in an interview published Saturday.
Rajji said he has brought the issue up with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, and that disarmament remains a key demand of the Lebanese government as it tries to maintain the fragile calm brought about by a ceasefire agreement with Israel last November.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, which ended the October 2023-November 2024 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese terror group was to be disarmed and allow the Lebanese Armed Forces to deploy fully across the country. This has not yet happened, however, and Lebanon is under increasing pressure to speed up the process or risk a renewed Israeli military operation.
"Hezbollah won’t hand over its weapons without an Iranian decision," Rajji told Al Arabiya. "Right now [Hezbollah] is concerned with preserving itself and regaining power."
He said Hezbollah started work on "rebuilding itself in many ways," including financially, and was trying to "regain its power internally," after being severely weakened by its year-long conflict with Israel.
To this end, Rajji said, he was disappointed that Hezbollah did not believe disarmament to be in the interest of the Lebanese public, and indeed in its own interest as a political party.
"The credibility of the state today depends on the extent to which it extends its authority over all Lebanese territory and confines the weapons of all gangs to the legitimate security forces in its own territory, and with weapons exclusively in its hands," he said, as "only then will the international community take us seriously."
"Disarming Hezbollah and dismantling its military structure are a Lebanese demand, regardless of the international demand," he stressed, likely referring to pressure from the US and Israel to force Hezbollah to give up its weapons.
Contrary to Hezbollah’s claims, its weapons have failed to "support Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , liberate Jerusalem or defend Lebanon" from Israeli attacks, said Rajji, explaining why the Lebanese government was eager to see it disarm.
He told the outlet that the Lebanese Armed Forces were determined to seize all Hezbollah weapons in southern Lebanon by the end of the year, before widening its operations to disarm the terror group in areas further north at the start of 2026.
Hezbollah "provokes the government every day with the talk by its chief, Sheikh Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... , about rearming," said Rajji, a day after Qassem accused Beirut of giving Israel a "free concession" by dispatching a civilian rather than a military envoy to attend the first direct talks with Israel in decades on Wednesday.
The meeting at the UN peacekeeping forces’ headquarters in Naqoura, Lebanon, was held under the auspices of the "Cessation of Hostilities Implementation Mechanism" — made up of US, UNIFIL, Israeli, French, and Lebanese officials — which is aimed at pushing forward with the November 2024 ceasefire.
Israel was represented at the meeting by the National Security Council Deputy Director for Foreign Policy Uri Resnick, while Lebanon was represented by former ambassador to the US Simon Karam.
Acknowledging the unexpected choice to send a civilian representative rather than a military one, Rajji told Al Arabiya that he hoped doing so was a "positive step" which could "spare Lebanon a large-scale military operation by Israel."
Israeli and US officials have warned that the IDF could embark on a major operation if the Lebanese government fails to make progress in disarming Hezbollah.
Unnamed Israeli officials have described the meeting as productive, saying that representatives of both countries had agreed to come to the follow-up sit-down with proposals for promoting economic cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology, transportation and infrastructure.
Lebanon’s portrayal of the meeting differed somewhat, with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam rejecting the possibility of economic cooperation before normalization — which Lebanon has conditioned on the creation of a Paleostinian state.
"Lebanon is very far from signing a peace deal with Israel," Rajji likewise told Al Arabiya, adding that Karam was holding talks with Israel only on "military issues" such as an end to Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and the withdrawal of the IDF from there.
And it was too soon to tell whether Rajji’s hope of avoiding a renewed Israeli military campaign was realistic, as on Thursday, the day after the meeting, the IDF launched a wave of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s against what it said were Hezbollah weapons depots in southern Lebanon.
Tensions in Lebanon have ratcheted up in recent weeks. The IDF accuses Hezbollah of violating the November 2024 ceasefire and has intensified its strikes against terror group targets, including killing its chief of staff in a rare strike in Beirut last month.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was required to vacate southern Lebanon, while Israel was given 60 days to do so. The IDF later withdrew from all but five posts along the border with Lebanon, citing the incomplete dismantling of Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the country’s south.
In addition to hundreds of airstrikes amid the ceasefire, the military said, ground troops have conducted over 1,200 raids and other small operations in southern Lebanon, mostly in areas surrounding the five "strategic" border posts, to prevent Hezbollah from restoring its capabilities.
The operations included demolishing terror infrastructure, thwarting Hezbollah intelligence collection efforts, and other activities to damage the terror group’s capabilities, the army said. During the raids, troops located numerous weapons, rocket-launching sites, and other buildings used by Hezbollah, the army added.
[AnNahar] Close to 1.5 million Syrian refugees have voluntarily returned to their home country over the past year.
UNHCR Estimates that 383,326 have returned from Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel... to Syria since the fall of the Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... regime in December 2024.
It is a fast pace for a country where insecurity persists across broad regions.
The scale and speed of these returns since the overthrow of Assad's brutal regime on Dec. 8, 2024, raise important questions: Why are so many Syrians going back, and will these returns last? Moreover, what conditions are they returning to?
- WHERE ARE SYRIA'S REFUGEES? -
Millions of Syrians were displaced internally, and about 6 million sought refuge abroad. The majority went to neighboring countries, including Lebanon, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , and Jordan but a little over a million sought refuge in Europe.
The U.N. refugee agency surveys conducted in January 2025 across Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt found that 80% of Syrian refugees hoped to return home — up sharply from 57% the previous year. But hope and reality are not always aligned, and the factors motivating return are far more complex than the change in political authority.
- WHY ARE PEOPLE RETURNING? -
In most post-conflict settings, voluntary return begins only after security improves, schools reopen, basic infrastructure is restored and housing reconstruction is underway. Even then, people often return to their country but not their original communities, especially when local political control has shifted or reconstruction remains incomplete.
In present-day Syria, violence continues in several regions, governance is fragmented, and sectarian conflicts persist. Yet refugees are returning anyway.
A major factor is the deteriorating conditions in neighboring host countries.
Most of those who came back to Syria in the early months after Assad's fall came from neighboring states that have hosted large refugee populations for more than a decade and are now struggling with economic crises, political tensions and declining aid.
In Lebanon, recent violence and a steep drop in international assistance have left Syrian refugees unable to secure food, education and health care.
In other words, many Syrians are not returning because their homeland has become safer, but because the places where they sought refuge have become more difficult.
We do not have data on the religious or ethnic makeup of returnees. But patterns from other post-conflict settings suggest that returnees are usually from the majority community aligned with the new dominant political actors.
Sunni Moslems may return in higher numbers, as the country's president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, led the Sunni rebel coalition that overthrew Assad.
Syrian minority groups, including Alawites, Christians, Druze and Kurds, may avoid returning altogether. Violent incidents targeting minority communities have underscored ongoing instability. Recent attacks on the Alawite population have triggered new waves of displacement into Lebanon, while conflicts between Druze militias and the government in Sweida, in southern Syria, have led to more displacement within the country. These episodes illustrate that while pockets of the country may feel safe to some, instability persists.
- SHAPING SYRIA -
Whether the wave of returns throughout 2025 continues or proves to be a temporary surge will depend on three main criteria: the security situation in Syria, reconstruction of houses and land administration systems, and the policies of the countries hosting Syrian refugees.
But ultimately, a year after the civil war ended, Syrians are returning because of a mixture of hope and hardship: hope that the fall of the Assad government has opened a path home, and hardship driven by declining support and safety in neighboring states.
🇸🇾 Syrie: Les FDS/YPG se préparent possiblement à un conflit en 2026 contre les armées syrienne et turque, sauf si les négociations autour de l’accord du 10 mars, qui prévoit leur intégration au sein de l’État syrien d’ici 2026 reprennent et aboutissent. Leurs forces peuvent… pic.twitter.com/QFoJxHmG6h
Syria: The SDF/YPG are possibly preparing for a conflict in 2026 against the Syrian and Turkish armies, unless negotiations around the March 10 agreement, which provides for their integration into the Syrian state by 2026, resume and succeed. Their forces can mobilize up to 100,000 fighters, of whom 30,000 to 35,000 form the hard core of the YPG/YPJ, considered the most disciplined and reliable component. The rest, consisting mainly of Arab conscripts, is often seen as a force with uncertain loyalty, which might desert in the face of the Syrian Arab Army.
In the event of war, the fighting is likely to take place less on the surface, where Turkey has an overwhelming superiority thanks to its air power and drones, than underground. The SDF/YPG have indeed built a vast underground network of several hundred km to wage a defensive war. In recent weeks, preparations have clearly accelerated on both sides.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/07/2025 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
