[X] Since 2013 the Janjaweed have been known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
A member of the Janjaweed militia documents a large number of Emirati “Spartan” armored vehicles, manufactured by STREIT GROUP, as part of the reinforcements the militia deployed to the battles in Babanusa.
…armored vehicle, which they previously used in El Fasher, and has now provided them again for use in Babanusa. Remember, Rubio had said that the RSF militias do not have the money to produce or purchase these weapons and military vehicles, that they are being supplied by a country, and that they know which country it is.
[AFRICANEWS] Nineteen West African nationals deported from the United States to Ghana have been moved to undisclosed locations under armed guard, their lawyer revealed Thursday, raising alarms about the fate of migrants colonists removed under the Trump administration's controversial third-country deportation program.
The group, which arrived in Ghana on November 5 and was initially housed in a hotel, has been completely unreachable since being transported in two separate movements.
Attorney Ana Dionne-Lanier reported that part of the group was bused to an unknown border location over the weekend, while her client and others were moved "under heavy armed guard" on Wednesday.
"We don't know the location of any of them," she stated, noting that families have lost all contact with the deportees who are protected from repatriation to their home countries due to risks of torture and persecution.
CONTROVERSIAL U.S. DEPORTATION PROGRAM EXPANDS
The disappearances occur within the context of a largely secretive U.S. program that has sent dozens of deportees to at least five African nations since July, including Eswatini, Rwanda and South 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... Human rights experts have widely criticized the initiative, questioning whether immigrants colonists receive proper screening before deportation and citing violations of international protections for asylum-seekers.
The program represents the administration's effort to remove migrants colonists who cannot easily be deported to their home countries due to court decisions.
LEGAL CHALLENGES MOUNT AGAINST DEPORTATION AGREEMENTS
Ghana's Democracy Hub rights group has filed a lawsuit alleging the agreement with Washington is unconstitutional because it bypassed parliamentary approval and may violate conventions prohibiting returns to countries where people face persecution.
Meanwhile,
...back at the hoedown, the fiddler suddenly struck a sour note. The dancing stopped abruptly. Everyone looked at Bob... the U.S. Department of Justice has argued in federal court that it has no control over how another country treats deportees, despite having obtained Ghana's pledge not to return them to their home countries, leaving the fate of the nineteen missing West Africans uncertain amid growing diplomatic and legal tensions.
[AFRICANEWS] The Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... and the M23 rebel group have signed a framework peace deal aimed in the at ending fighting in eastern Congo.
The signing took place at a ceremony 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 Doha on Saturday.
It's the latest of several documents signed in recent months as part of US- and Qatar-backed efforts to end the decades-long conflict that has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.
Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi said that the agreement sets the parties on the path towards peace.
"Peace cannot be enforced by force, but is built through confidence, mutual respect and sincere commitment," he said.
Violence continues
US representatives said the framework covers eight protocols and negotiations are ongoing on how to implement six of them.
Qatar has been hosting talks between the two sides since April. In July, they agreed to a declaration of principles and in October reached a deal on the monitoring of an eventual ceasefire.
The Trump administration has led mediation efforts between Rwanda — which is accused of backing M23 — and Congo, leading to the signing of a peace deal between the two countries in June.
In Congo, the violence has continued through the various diplomatic processes in Washington and Doha. On Friday, local officials reported as many as 28 people killed by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... -allied Death Eaters in eastern North Kivu province.
In January, M23 fighters seized eastern Congo's largest city Goma and went on to make gains across North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Amid the escalating US-Venezuela standoff, a US Navy carrier strike group has arrived in the Caribbean Sea. The US Navy press service reported this on November 16.
"The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, led by the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), has transited Anegada Channel and entered the Caribbean Sea," the Navy's website said.
The Navy clarified that operations in this water area are being conducted in connection with an order from Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth to combat transnational organizations involved in drug smuggling.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Venezuela of involvement in drug smuggling across the US border. In September, US Navy ships entered the Caribbean Sea and began destroying motorboats allegedly carrying illegal substances.
On November 4, the Pentagon announced the launch of a new operation in the Caribbean, codenamed Southern Spear, targeting drug trafficking groups. Hegseth emphasized that the United States views the entire Americas as a zone of strategic interest.
On November 15, Venezuela appealed to Iran for political support in response to threats from the United States. That same day, Venezuela reported an act of sabotage against its power grid: three power transmission towers were brought down.
[IsraelTimes] A basketball game in Italy between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Virtus Bologna is set to go ahead as scheduled Friday evening at the city’s PalaDozza arena, despite the Bologna mayor’s request to have the game moved to a different venue, though in the same city, due to security concerns.
Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore told local media last week he was concerned that pro-Palestinian protesters would stir up violence in the center of the historic city, where the game will be played. He had suggested earlier that the game be moved to the city’s Unipol Arena, which is located less centrally than PalaDozza. However, that arena was already booked over the weekend with events including a Radiohead concert.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has ruled out a schedule change, saying: “It’s not the usual troublemakers who can dictate the agenda of events in Italy.”
“It’s a dangerous game, but it will be played,” Lepore tells local media. He called on protesters “not to come and destroy the city, because it’s not good for the Palestinian cause or for peace.”
Anti-Israel protesters have disrupted numerous sports competitions in recent months, including a soccer World Cup qualifier in Udine, Italy, last month and the Vuelta a España cycling race in Spain in September.
Two weeks ago, a soccer match in Birmingham banned Israeli fans from attending out of fear of fan violence.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Over 60% of Germans fear terrorist attacks at traditional Christmas markets this year. These findings were obtained from a survey conducted by the YouGov public opinion research institute, the Tagesspiegel newspaper reported on November 16. A proved concern. Good luck, guys, truly.
According to the study, 62% of Germans are concerned about security at markets following previous attacks. However, 35% of respondents reported no anxiety while visiting Christmas markets.
41% of respondents believe that existing security measures for Christmas are sufficient. However, 37% of respondents held the opposite view.
The survey, which involved 2,043 people, was conducted between November 10 and 12.
Over the past year, incidents of car-ramming and knife attacks have increased in Germany. In February, for example, a car drove into a crowd in Munich. At least 15 people were injured in the incident. Some eyewitnesses claim the man did it intentionally.
On December 20, 2024, the driver of a black BMW deliberately drove into a crowd of people at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. Many families with children were in that part of the fair. Authorities declared it a terrorist attack.
#4
When enumerating the population for possibilities of perpitude, along with the Mooslims, you have the Greenies, the Commies, the anarchists, and whatever randos are still going on about Gaza. I can see that being 30-something percent. Sincere wishes for a happy Holiday.
[IsraelTimes] The IDF says it is holding an “international seminar” this week on lessons learned from the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza.
“The seminar is being attended by commanders and officers from various armies around the world, who came to learn from the IDF’s experience over the past two years,” the military says.
The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, India, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Estonia, Japan, Morocco, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia are participating.
“The purpose of the seminar is to strengthen cooperation, enhance familiarity with diverse operational approaches, exchange professional knowledge and experience between the participating militaries, and reinforce understanding of the IDF’s activity,” the military says, adding that “the IDF continues to initiate and promote international cooperation with leading militaries worldwide as part of its ongoing effort to strengthen relationships, enhance collaboration, and foster shared learning in the face of evolving security
#2
According to unreliable sources, the IDF together with Mossad will be awarded Prank of the Year by the Guinness Book of Records people for the pager escapade. Truly, one for the record book!
[IsraelTimes] At cabinet meeting PM says Israel is a ‘nation of laws’ and violent perpetrators represent a minority of settlers in the West Bank, where attacks against Palestinians have soared
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday blasted violence perpetrated by Jewish bandidosDeath Eaters in the West Bank, after a growing number of such incidents have drawn reproach in the past week from the IDF chief as well as from abroad.
In his first public comments on the violence that has been marring the West Bank for months, Netanyahu told a weekly cabinet meeting that Israel "will take very forceful action against the riots against IDF soldiers — against Paleostinians, and against IDF soldiers — because we are a nation of laws, and a nation of laws acts in accordance with the law."
Netanyahu called the bandidosDeath Eaters "a minority that goes into Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] and does not represent the large community of law-abiding, loyal settlers."
Settler violence has been a near-daily occurrence in the West Bank, with little to no law enforcement to stop attacks on Paleostinians.
Hours after Netanyahu’s comments Sunday, police said that they had detained three Jewish settlers who, armed with makeshift weapons, had entered a closed military zone en route to a Paleostinian village a day earlier.
Police said the suspects tried to evade arrest and that one of them, a minor, was freed to house arrest while the other two remained in jug.
Last week, amid a spate of brazen and violent mostly peaceful incidents carried out by hard boy settlers in the West Bank, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said he "strongly condemns" the recent attacks.
"We are aware of the recent violent mostly peaceful incidents in which Israeli civilians attacked Paleostinians and Israelis. I strongly condemn them. The IDF will not tolerate phenomena of a criminal minority that besmirches a law-abiding public," Zamir said in remarks provided by the IDF.
The IDF chief added that the violent mostly peaceful acts "cross a red line and divert the attention of our forces from fulfilling their mission, defending the communities, and conducting offensive operations. We are determined to stop this phenomenon and will act on this matter severely until justice is done."
According to UN figures published earlier this month, attacks against Paleostinians carried out by settlers in the West Bank hit an all-time high in October, the largest figure since it began tracking such incidents in 2006.
The UN alleged that Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks against Paleostinians in the West Bank during that month, and that around 1,500 such incidents have been recorded so far in 2025.
The IDF figures differ from those reported by the UN, but also show a marked rise. During October, the IDF recorded 86 incidents of "nationalistic crime" compared with 25 in the same period last year. And since the beginning of the year, 704 incidents of "nationalistic crime" have been recorded by Israeli defense authorities, compared with 675 in all of 2024.
Violence against Paleostinians often rises during olive-picking season, which began in early October. There have been a string of attacks by settlers and soldiers on olive pickers, who sometimes include Israeli, Jewish and other volunteers from abroad.
On Wednesday, Israeli settlers allegedly torched and defaced a mosque in a Paleostinian village in the central West Bank. A day earlier, dozens of settlers allegedly launched a large-scale arson attack on Paleostinians, targeting factories and farmland between the major cities of Nablus and Tulkarem.
President Isaac Herzog last week described the attacks as "shocking and grave."
Herzog said the violence committed by a "handful" of perpetrators "crosses a red line," adding that "all state authorities must act decisively to eradicate the phenomenon and to strengthen the IDF fighters and security forces who protect us day and night."
The growing number of incidents has also grabbed attention in Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... said last week that the White House was concerned about "events in the West Bank spilling over and creating an effect that could undermine what we’re doing 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... ."
Despite the vows in Israel to crack down on the phenomenon, three of the four Israeli suspects who were arrested over the Tuesday arson attack were released from police custody a day later.
As the number of settler attacks climbs, police investigations of Jewish nationalist violence in the West Bank have sharply declined over the past three years, according to figures reported by Channel 12 news.
The commander of the police’s West Bank division is under investigation for ignoring settler violence in order to curry favor with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the police. The commander was allowed to return to the police force as the probe into his conduct continues.
Under Ben Gvir, there has been a 73 percent decline in the number of investigations opened since 2023, according to Channel 12. Police have opened only 60 investigations into settler violence this year, compared to 150 cases in 2024 and 235 cases in 2023.
About 94% of all investigation files opened by the Israel Police into settler violence from 2005 to 2024 ended without indictment, according to monitoring by Israeli human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... group Yesh Din. Since 2005, just 3% of the investigation files opened into settler violence have led to full or partial convictions.
[IsraelTimes] Speaking to his cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasts violence carried out by Jewish extremists in the West Bank.
Israel, he says, “will act with full force against the riots against IDF soldiers — against Palestinians, and against IDF soldiers — because we are a state of law, and a state of law acts according to the law.”
Netanyahu calls the extremists “a minority that goes into Judea and Samaria and does not represent the large community of law-abiding, loyal settlers.”
Settler violence has been occurring on a near-daily basis in the West Bank with little to no law enforcement to stop attacks on Palestinians.
Netanyahu also rejects violence against elected officials.
“Just yesterday there was violence of this sort against our colleague, MK [Yoav] Ben Tzur,” he says, referring to attacks last night by Haredi youths. “This is a very small minority; it does not represent the ultra-Orthodox public. But we must fight these violations of the law with full force, and that is what we will do.”
Netanyahu says that he expects elections to be held at the end of the coming year, amid speculation that his government could collapse before the end of its term or that he could call early elections.
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> ’s office issues a statement reiterating that a recently revamped welfare foundation is the only body certified to issue welfare stipends to Paleostinians, after The Times of Israel revealed that recent payments had been made through an old mechanism that critics dub "pay-to-slay," since it rewards prisoners, including convicted terrorists, and families of dead assailants.
"The Paleostinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (PNEEI) is the sole entity responsible" for paying financial allocations to welfare recipients in line with the reform signed by Abbas in February, the statement from his office says.
The statement adds that no welfare stipend will be transferred to any group under the new system unless they have submitted an application through PNEEI.
The announcement does not explicitly mention Paleostinian security prisoners or the families of those killed in confrontations with Israel ("deaders"), though they are a significant group that, until earlier this year, received fixed monthly payments from the Paleostinian Authority.
The presidency calls on "all eligible beneficiaries to fully cooperate" with PNEEI to ensure stipends reach those entitled to them."
The statement comes several days after Abbas announced that he had replaced PA finance minister Omar Bitar without providing a reason.
The Times of Israel revealed that Bitar had signed off on payments to prisoners, including new ones, through an old mechanism that rewarded recipients based on the length of their service.
Abbas signed a decree in February purportedly ending that old system in place of a new one run by PNEEI that allocates stipends strictly based on a recipient’s financial status.
The PA came under massive pressure from Western and Arab backers to carry out the reform, and its continued financial support from many of those countries is conditioned on its ability to actually implement it.
In revealing the reason behind Bitar’s firing, a PA official told The Times of Israel that it demonstrated Abbas’s commitment to the reform.
But the incident also revealed the immense domestic pressure the PA is facing from prisoners’ families to continue with the old system.
[GEO.TV] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state after protests by far-right coalition allies over a US-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence.
"Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed,'' said Netanyahu, adding, ''Gaza will be demilitarised and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way. I do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone."
A far-right walkout could bring down Netanyahu's right-wing government well before the next election, which must be held by October 2026.
[IsraelTimes] PM rejects ‘lectures’ on opposing Palestinian state, after coalition allies rail at US-backed statement that Trump’s plan, up for UN vote Monday, offers pathway to establishing one
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... will be disarmed, following reports that the United States is considering moving ahead with rebuilding parts of 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... even as the terror group retains its weapons.
Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu also reiterated Israel’s "opposition to a Paleostinian state anywhere west of the Jordan River."
The comments came ahead of an expected UN Security Council vote on Monday on a draft resolution to enshrine US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... ’s comprehensive Gaza plan, which says "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway" to Paleostinian statehood once there is peace in Gaza and the Paleostinian Authority "faithfully" reforms itself.
Israel is lobbying the US and other countries to water down the language on Paleostinian statehood, Hebrew media reported Sunday.
Trump’s 20-point plan, which Netanyahu endorsed in a September 29 presser with the US president, also calls for the disarmament of Hamas, demilitarization of Gaza, reconstruction of the Strip and handing the enclave over to an International Stabilization Force (ISF) and an apolitical Paleostinian administration overseen by a Trump-chaired Board of Peace.
However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... an Israeli source cited by Channel 13 on Saturday said the White House was thinking of ditching the disarmament demand and moving ahead with reconstruction, due to the difficulty in getting other countries to send troops to demilitarize Gaza.
Addressing the "so-called non-demilitarization" of the Hamas-controlled parts of Gaza, Netanyahu said Sunday that "there will be no such thing."
"In the 20-point plan, and in any other case, this area will be demilitarized and Hamas will be disarmed — either the easy way or the hard way," he said. "That is what I have said, and that is what President Trump has also said."
"Our opposition to a Paleostinian state anywhere west of the Jordan River exists, is firm, and has not changed whatsoever," Netanyahu said. "I have been pushing back against these attempts for decades, and I do so against external pressure and internal pressure as well."
"I don’t need reinforcement, tweets, or lectures from anyone," added the prime minister, whose far-right coalition partners demanded Saturday night that he unequivocally reject Paleostinian statehood following the release of a US-organized statement by several nations asserting that Trump’s plan "offers a pathway to Paleostinian self-determination and statehood."
Earlier Sunday, senior members of Netanyahu’s own Likud party made their own statements rejecting Paleostinian statehood and vowing to keep up military operations in Gaza and elsewhere.
Writing on X, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel was fighting with three "terror states" bent on destroying it: "Hamas from Gaza, Hezbollah from 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.... and the 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... s from 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... ," all of which have been at conflict with Israel following the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
"Israel will not agree to the establishment of a Paleostinian terror state in the heart of the Land of Israel, at a negligible distance away from all its population centers and with topographical control over them," said Sa’ar.
Defense Minister Israel Katz also said in a statement that "Israel’s policy is clear: There will be no Paleostinian state."
He vowed to disarm Hamas on both sides of the Yellow Line in Gaza, where Israel withdrew on October 10 as part of the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.
"Gaza will be demilitarized down to the last tunnel, and Hamas will be disarmed," said Katz, adding that the terror group would be disarmed by the IDF on the ceasefire line’s Israeli-controlled side, and by either the International Stabilization Force or the IDF in "old Gaza."
Katz also said the IDF would "stay at the peak of the Hermon and in the security zone," apparently referring to parts of the Syrian side of the Golan Heights that Israel, citing fears of attacks from those areas, seized following the ouster of Syria’s former president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... last December.
The Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday that Israel was engaged in a last-minute diplomatic blitz to alter the UN Security Council draft resolution that floated a possible "credible pathway" to Paleostinian statehood.
According to the outlet, Foreign Ministry officials and Netanyahu confidants were discussing the matter with Arab leaders and Trump’s close circle.
Israel is reportedly convinced that the unpopular, West Bank-based Paleostinian Authority, which it accuses of incitement to terrorism in schools and through payments to terror convicts, will be unable to reform itself to the extent laid out by Trump’s plan, which does not specify the "reform program" the PA is expected to undergo.
Despite the perceived slim chance that the PA will fulfill the conditions for Paleostinian statehood, Israeli officials cited by Kan said the text the UN will vote on Monday would make for a dangerous resolution with unclear consequences.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2025 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
[GEO.TV] The Israeli government announced that it would establish an independent investigative committee to inquire into the failures that led to the October 7 attacks in southern Israel in 2023, Al Jazeera reported.
Israeli media reported that Netanyahu is expected to share the name of a special ministerial panel that will be in charge of formulating the commission's mandate.
The panel will have 45 days to deliver its recommendations to the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2025 00:00 ||
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[1766 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will maintain a military presence in the Mount Hermon area and the Golan Heights, which Syria claims as its territory. Defense Minister Israel Katz announced this on November 16.
"The IDF will remain on Mount Hermon and in the security buffer zone," Katz wrote on his X social media page (formerly Twitter).
In the same statement, the minister emphasized that the Gaza Strip would be demilitarized down to the last tunnel, and Hamas would be disarmed. Katz also stated that a Palestinian state would never be established.
The Syrian Golan Heights were occupied by Israel in 1967 during the Six-Day War. The UN Security Council does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over these territories.
Oh well. On the other hand, America does, which vetoes the UN Security Council.
In March 2019, US President Donald Trump signed a declaration recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel. He explained this decision by citing Israel's need to defend its territory from Iran and terrorist groups based in Syria. In signing the document, Trump noted that the Golan Heights should have been recognized as Israeli territory decades ago.
QED.
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria, Israeli troops entered Syrian territory outside the Golan Heights on December 8, 2024, for the first time in 50 years. IDF commanders explained this by saying they were preventing Syrian forces from capturing positions near the Israeli border.
Removing the temptation to do something stupid. While Hayat Tahrir al Sham (Al Nusra) was strong enough to run roughshod over the Assad government’s army, the IDF is likely an insurmountable obstacle.
Precisely the opposite of the ceasefire agreement. Does the Speaker wish the ceasefire ended and Israel back at war?
[IsraelTimes] The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, has said Hezbollah has the right to rebuild itself like any other organization, and that the organization has not fired a single shot for 11 months, since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon was signed.
His remarks were quoted yesterday in Lebanese media after being made during a meeting with newspaper editors in Lebanon.
Berri added that Lebanon is fulfilling its commitments under the ceasefire south of the Litani River, in contrast to Israel, which is not upholding the agreement. Israel says Hezbollah is in constant violation of the ceasefire by quietly attempting to restore its capabilities near the border, leading to its repeated strikes on the terror group.
Berri denied reports that Hezbollah is smuggling weapons into Lebanon by sea, land, or air.
Berri is head of the Amal movement, an ally of Hezbollah that fought alongside it against Israel.
[Dawn] In a recent video report, German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle News observed that “more than two decades after 9/11, Al Qaeda hasn’t vanished, it’s adapted.”
This assessment is reinforced by recent reports from the world’s leading news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and Al Jazeera, which indicate that one of Al Qaeda’s regional affiliates, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), is on the verge of capturing the Malian capital, Bamako.
Operating across the Sahel region of West Africa, primarily in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, JNIM is imposing an economic siege on the capital by blocking routes used by fuel tankers, effectively bringing the country to a standstill.
Despite the elimination or arrest of its top to mid-ranking leadership in the Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af-Pak) region over the last two decades — through extensive US-led counter-terrorism operations across Af-Pak, the Middle East and Africa — Al Qaeda has persisted by adopting a key strategy: evolving from a hierarchical, centralised organisational structure to a decentralised network of franchises.
More than two decades after 9/11, Al Qaeda hasn’t vanished — it’s adapted. As one of its regional affiliates brings Mali’s capital to a standstill and another, Al Shabaab, regains ground in Somalia, extremist networks are once again touting the establishment of Islamic emirates…
These franchises have been granted operational autonomy while adhering to Al Qaeda Central’s (AQC) general ideology. This strategic shift has enabled the group to maintain its influence and continue its operations, even in the face of significant leadership losses.
Apart from JNIM, Al Shabaab — another formidable Al-Qaeda affiliate — currently controls significant portions of southern and central Somalia, as of November 2025. The group has recently regained ground, reversing many of the territorial losses incurred during the Somali government’s 2022-2023 counter-offensive.
Recently, a number of encrypted extremist channels, known for sharing propaganda from the Az-Zallaqah Foundation — the official media and propaganda arm of JNIM — featured one common written commentary with a bold prediction. “It seems that before the end of this year, the jihadists will have an Islamic state or emirate, either in Mali, Somalia or both.”
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 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...
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka 
...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration...
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
