Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Sala’s Persian wonderland: Reality bites in Tehran

2025-01-06

[IsraelTimes] Iran's arrest of the Italian journalist has all the hallmarks of a cautionary tale for the useful idiots of the West

Cecilia Sala, the intrepid Italian journalist who boarded a flight to Tehran with all the enthusiasm of Alice stepping into her Persian Wonderland, is now seeing the Iranian rabbit hole for what it truly is—a dark, damp cell with fewer whimsical creatures and more Revolutionary Guards.

Sala’s Iranian adventure was not the typical tale of starry-eyed, keffiyeh-clad correspondents storming 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...
in solidarity with the local terrorists. No, Sala’s approach was far subtler. Her criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s perennial Voldemort in left-wing circles, rested on the notion that Bibi’s "far-right" extremism had somehow pushed Israel into isolation. After all, she once mused on her podcast that Israel’s isolation was simply Netanyahu’s isolation. A profound observation that might now seem a tad less profound from behind Iranian prison bars.

Before embarking on this enlightening journey, Sala expressed her deep affection for Iran, describing it as the country she "missed the most," presumably after a Gay Pareeian café ran out of oat milk. Reflecting on her time away, Sala noted that Tehran had been bombed by Israeli jets for the first time in history. In her wisdom, she deduced that Netanyahu’s bombast was impeding the winds of Iranian reform — as if the Ayatollahs were just a nudge away from installing rainbow pedestrian crossings and hosting drag brunches.

Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian, Sala declared, was a reformist. The same Pezeshkian who dons the uniform of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) like it’s haute couture, condemned America as "terrorist," and described shooting down drones as a delightful pastime. In Sala’s world, slipping on an IRGC jacket is merely a quirky fashion statement. Perhaps a "hot girl summer" trend for the reformist-at-heart.

While in Tehran, Sala channeled her inner Jane Austen, podcasting about Iranian patriarchy and interviewing dissident comedians, blissfully unaware that she was dining with Revolutionary Guard grandees like Hossein Kanaani. For nearly half a century, Kanaani helped orchestrate militias across the Middle East—a charming dinner companion if ever there was one.

But Sala’s luck ran out when Tehran police detained her, roughly two days after Italia and the US arrested a pair of Iranian operatives. Coincidence? Hardly. Sala, it seems, stumbled straight into a diplomatic tit-for-tat—a curious byproduct of regimes that consider "press freedom" an oxymoron.

She now has ample time to reflect. Perhaps in solitary confinement, she’ll have a moment of clarity, realizing that "far-right" Netanyahu isn’t tossing journalists into cells, and that the real threat to press freedom does not wear a Likud pin.

This ordeal has all the hallmarks of a cautionary tale for the "useful idiots" (copyright: Bibi) of the West. Like turkeys enthusiastically marching for Thanksgiving, Sala may come to miss Iran
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 ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
a little less after sampling its hospitality. One imagines her sitting on the prison floor, longing for the relative oppression of Tel Aviv’s beachfront cafes.

And if she ever pens a memoir about her stay, it may be: "Eat, Pray, Don’t Leave the Hotel."

Link

Europe

Israeli woman says she was attacked in Berlin while wearing Israeli-Palestinian coexistence badge

2025-01-05

[IsraelTimes] An Israeli woman tells Channel 12 she was attacked by a gang in Berlin on New Year’s Eve, one of whom shouted that “Israel should be erased.”

The woman named only as Soli tells the outlet that she was wearing a coexistence badge depicting the Israeli and Palestinian flags in the shape of a heart. The badges were distributed by the Israeli-Palestinian Kanaan restaurant in the German capital.

Soli, a resident of Berlin, says she was followed by the three men and a young woman when she got off a train and that she took a photo of them after one of them shouted the anti-Israel slogan.

She says the woman then pulled her hair and when she fell to the ground, the men attacked her.

“I walked away and the young Arab woman came, told me to give her the phone, and said something else in Arabic that I didn’t understand,” Soli tells Channel 12. “She pulled my hair. I pulled back and she kicked me. I fell. The other three came and kicked me in the head.”

The outlet does not say if a complaint was filed with police.

Link

Home Front: WoT

Lawfare: Bay Area plaintiffs allege reps’ votes for Israel aid caused them emotional distress

2024-12-24

[IsraelTimes] Lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court claims Reps. Thompson and Huffman’s support for legislation led to ‘uncontrollable weeping, inability to sleep and distractions from work’

A group of Northern Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, residents has filed a class-action lawsuit against their congressional representatives, Democrats
...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy, white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects...
Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman, accusing them of causing harm to local communities and to Paleostinians 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...
by voting to send billions in US military aid to Israel.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Socialist paradise of San Francisco

...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964...
federal court, claims the politicians caused "moral and emotional/psychic injury" to taxpayers by voting for aid that, the plaintiffs allege, contributes to genocide in Gaza. Both Israel and the Biden administration reject that Israel is committing genocide in its war against Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
in Gaza.

The lawsuit is the latest example of how debates over Israel and Gaza have moved to the courts since the outbreak of the war following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack. Several months ago, federal courts dismissed a lawsuit by pro-Paleostinian groups, also filed in the Bay Area, accusing the Biden administration of complicity in a genocide. A federal appeals court panel confirmed a ruling by a lower court that the judiciary cannot intervene to change the government’s foreign policy.

Survivors of the Oct. 7 attack and Jewish groups have filed a series of suits over the attack against pro-Paleostinian nonprofits, 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...
’ Paleostinian aid agency UNRWA and foreign governments allied with Hamas. In addition, Jewish students have filed suit against multiple universities accusing them of not taking sufficient measures against antisemitism on campus.

The Bay Area case seeks to bar Thompson and Huffman from approving future military aid to Israel and demands damages for the emotional distress caused by war, including "uncontrollable weeping, inability to sleep, distractions from work, despair for the future of their children and humanity."

Oh no! Anyway…

At a presser outside the courthouse where the lawsuit was filed, Linda Helland, a Mendocino County resident and plaintiff, said the representatives’ votes make her and other constituents "complicit" in the violence. Another plaintiff, Paleostinian American Tarik Kanaana of Sonoma County, said Thompson’s actions amounted to aiding in "the killing of my own people."

Twenty one plaintiffs are named in the lawsuit but organizers are aiming to add as many as 1,000 participants if the court allows the lawsuit to proceed. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the lawsuit, with its focus on the rights of taxpayers, was designed differently than the one that was tossed out.

"We’re not asking the court to tell Congress to make policy," attorney Dean Royer told the Chronicle. "We’re asking the court to say taxpayer dollars cannot be used to fund genocide."

The positions of Thompson and Huffman reflect those of many Democratic politicians who back Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas, but have called for minimizing civilian casualties. In April, they voted in favor of a $26.4 billion military aid package for Israel. Thompson and Huffman have also expressed support for a ceasefire and long-term solutions, including a two-state framework that would see a Paleostinian state established alongside Israel.

"Congressman Thompson understands that it has been the civilian population that has paid the cost of Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and he remains gravely concerned about the scale of civilian loss in this war," read a statement from the congressman’s office to local media. "That’s why he has advocated and continues to advocate for the Biden Administration to work with the State Department and our allies to help secure a negotiated bilateral ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, and the establishment of a two-state solution to ensure peace and self-determination for the Paleostinian and Israeli people."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran condemns Zionist attacks on Yemeni fuel tanks in Hodeidah

2024-10-01

[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, condemned the Zionist entity's attacks on fuel tanks and the power station at the Port of Hodeidah.

Kanaani described these brutal attacks, which resulted in the destruction of the civilian infrastructure of the Port of Hodeidah in 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...
, as a reflection of the inhumane nature of the Zionist entity.

''The crimes of the Zionist entity are carried out under the unconditional support of the American regime, and Washington is a full partner in the crimes committed by the criminal gang ruling in Tel Aviv,'' he added. ''The supporters of this entity, including the US government, are directly responsible for the serious and unforeseen consequences of the continued Zionist crimes in Paleostine and Leb
Leb

...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. 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? It is the 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. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
, as well as the aggressive and reckless attacks on Yemen.''

Kanaani further explained that the Zionist entity's attacks on Yemen, as well as on the country's civilian and service infrastructure, constitute a flagrant and repeated violation of the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
Charter and international norms.

In conclusion, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson once again warned of the consequences of the Zionist entity's actions in provoking wars and threatening regional and international peace and security.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Ex-FPM MPs meet al-Rahi, discuss ways to ''save the country''

2024-09-06

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab and MPs Ibrahim Kanaan, Alain Aoun and Simon Abi Ramia met Thursday in Diman with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

Bou Saab and Aoun have been recently expelled from the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
while Abi Ramia and Kanaan have resigned from it.

A rift with FPM chief Jebran Bassil was the main reason behind the departures, with the MPs accusing Bassil of monopolizing decisions and the FPM accusing them of violating the Movement's charter and policies.''

''We came to take the patriarch's blessings to know how we can save the country,'' Kanaan said from Diman.''

''Loyalty is for the cause and we're still in our position and have not changed,'' Kanaan added.

Aoun for his part told MTV that ''those who lack loyalty and have betrayed the cause are the ones hurling insults at us.''

''I call on them to pray and meditate because our work is patriotic,'' Aoun added.

Speaking after the meeting, Kanaan said that ''the first required breakthrough is a presidential breakthrough, via a national alliance that we are seeking to create, in order to rescue Leb
Leb

...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. 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? It is the 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. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
from the state of chaos and current collapse and rebuild the governing institutions.''

''Our objective is to create a domestic, Christian and national dynamism that would create a breakthrough in the stalemate and we are extending our hands to everyone,'' the MP added.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Aoun backs Bassil over MPs firing, trusts Nasrallah and would be happy if Hezbollah won

2024-08-30

[NAHARNET] Although former President Michel Aoun
...former president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
stands against Hezbollah's festivities with Israel on Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. 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? It is the 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. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
's southern border, the former president is still keen on maintaining good relations with the Iran-backed group.

Aoun told pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper, in remarks published Thursday, that he would be happy if Hezbollah won the war with Israel, although he opposes it. "I would celebrate with them if they won, and would be sad if, God forbid, they lost."

Aoun explained that he opposes that tiny Lebanon participate in 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 an 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. "We have no common borders, no economic relations, and no joint defense agreement with Gaza," Aoun said, adding that although he does trust Hezbollah leader Sayyed
Sayyed

...Arabic term meaning your/his lordship. Groveling in His Exalted Presence is encouraged...
His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
, he does not trust the Israelis.

"Hezbollah's performance is rational, smart and politically correct and I have confidence in Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah," Aoun said, describing the FPM's relations with Hezbollah as "calm."

On another note, Aoun defended FPM chief Jebran Bassil after four FPM members - Ibrahim Kanaan, Elias Bou Saab, Alain Aoun, and Simon Abi Ramia — resigned or were expelled from the FPM's political council. "Bassil is not a dictator but a decision-maker, and they do not want that," Aoun said, adding that the four MPs have made mistakes, had new political inclinations and views, and took decisions without consulting the party. He also described Bou Saab of being "ungrateful".

"The FPM is still the strongest Christian party," Aoun said. "It is correcting itself and there is nothing wrong with that."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

US places new sanctions on Iran following nuclear escalations

2024-06-28

Have such piecemeal sanctions worked against Iran thus far?

[IsraelTimes] Sanctions announced by Blinken will affect companies in the UAE accused of being involved in the transport of Iranian petroleum or petrochemical products

The United States on Thursday issued fresh sanctions targeting 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 ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
in response to "continued nuclear escalations," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

...71st United States secretary of state and a leading light of the corrupt and inept Biden administration. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the corrupt and inept Obama administration. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. He was a foreign policy advisor for the Biden 2008 presidential campaign. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Blinken helped craft B.O.'s policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. We all saw how well each of those worked. After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a lobbying firm...
said in a statement.

"Over the past month, Iran has announced steps to further expand its nuclear program in ways that have no credible peaceful purpose," Blinken said.

"We remain committed to never letting Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, and we are prepared to use all elements of national power to ensure that outcome."

Iran’s mission to the United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Thursday’s action imposes sanctions on three companies based in the United Arab Emirates the US accused of being involved in the transport of Iranian petroleum or petrochemical products, as well as 11 associated vessels.

Earlier this month, the Group of Seven rich nations warned Iran against advancing its nuclear enrichment program and said they would be ready to enforce new measures if Tehran were to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia.

Iran rebuked the statement, calling on the G7 to distance itself from "destructive policies of the past," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.

Earlier in June, the UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution calling on Iran to step up cooperation with the watchdog and reverse its recent barring of inspectors.

Iran is enriching uranium to up to 60 percent purity, close to the 90 percent of weapons-grade, and has enough material enriched to that level, if enriched further, for three nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick.

Western powers say there is no credible civilian reason for that. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful but officials have recently said it could change its "nuclear doctrine" if it is attacked or its existence was threatened by arch-foe Israel. That has prompted alarm at the IAEA and in Western capitals.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas organized confab in 2021 to plot administration of ’liberated Palestine’

2024-04-23

[IsraelTimes] Terror group aimed to bring back Paleostinian refugees, kill Israeli fighters, use educated Jews for their expertise, and be recognized as Israel’s successor at UN

Two years before its October 7 assault on southern Israel, Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", drafted a "strategic vision" for the governing of "liberated Paleostine" after the supposed inevitable demise of the State of Israel.

At a conference held 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
in September 2021, Hamas and other Paleostinian factions discussed preparations for the future administration of the State of Paleostine, intended to make up the whole territory "from the river to the sea," including the area of the State of Israel.

The conclusions reached at the conference, titled "Promise of the Hereafter — Post-Liberation Paleostine," were publicized by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in an October 2021 report.

The confab was reportedly funded by Hamas and sponsored by Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

Today, it is apparent that the conference was not merely a rhetorical exercise, but the expression of a clear intent by Gazook terror factions to destroy Israel, the stated goal of their October 7 onslaught, when some 1,200 were brutally massacred and 253 kidnapped to Gaza.

That objective was reiterated by former leader Khaled Mashal, who stated in a January interview that October 7 proved that liberating Paleostine was a "realistic idea."

The concluding statement from the 2021 conference outlines the steps needed to launch the new state, including how to deal with the Jews and the weeding out of informants to "purge Paleostine and the Arab and Islamic homeland of the hypocrite scum that spread corruption in the land."

Participants agreed upon the necessity to draft a Paleostinian Declaration of Independence immediately after the "liberation." To be drafted by experts, the document was seen as a continuation of the Pact of ’Umar signed upon the Islamic conquest of Jerusalem in 638 CE with its Christian patriarch.

An announcement would then have been issued to the UN, declaring that the state of Paleostine succeeded the "occupation state" [i.e., Israel] and would inherit the rights previously granted to Israel at the UN, based on the Vienna Convention on the Succession of States, including agreements on existing land and maritime borders with neighboring countries.

The Jewish population of the newly formed state of Paleostine would be treated according to their status: Fighters would be killed; those attempting to flee could be allowed to do so or detained and prosecuted for their crimes; and those who surrendered could be either integrated into the new state or given time to leave.

The issue would be dealt with "humanely, as is characteristic for Islam," the statement read.

However,
you can observe a lot just by watching...
special treatment was to be granted to "educated Jews and experts in the areas of medicine, engineering, technology, and civilian and military industry," who were to be retained for some time so that they would not leave taking with them the knowledge they had acquired "while living in our land and enjoying its bounty."

The following step, according to the document, would be the return of Paleostinian refugees, through the establishment of temporary absorption centers near the borders with host countries [~~Lebanon~~ Hezbollahstan
<del>Lebanon</del> Hezbollahstan

...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers, a practice dating back to the heady days of human sacrifice to Baal Moloch...
, Syria and Jordan]. A "law of return" would be applied to them, and they would be issued identity cards, the statement read.

The international community and wealthy Paleostinians were to assist in the repatriation and integration process.

The new state would also issue its own currency, called New Paleostinian Junayh. Junayh (a term related to the English "guinea") was the currency used in Mandatory Paleostine, also known as the Paleostine pound or lira. It is also the name currently used in Arabic for the Egyptian pound.

"It should be introduced domestically even now so that people will become accustomed to it," the statement advised.

To protect the new state, the document called for "popular committees" of trained men and women to "guard the resources of the land and monitor them," since "Paleostinian fighters will be too busy." It is unclear what resources are meant.

On the same topic of "resources," conference chairman Kanaan Obeid said that the terror group learned a lesson from the 2005 Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip — when 21 settlements were evacuated and most of the residential buildings were destroyed. Later, some 3,000 state-of-the-art greenhouses were bought by foreign donors for $14 million and transferred to the Paleostinian Authority when it still ruled Gaza to jumpstart the agricultural sector in independent Gaza. The local population however looted and destroyed the structures.

"The resources of the settlements were lost," said Obeid.

Obeid reportedly served as the chairman of "The Promise of the Hereafter Institute," set up in 2014 with the stated goal of plotting out different aspects of the governance of the state of Paleostine after the "liberation" — including the economy, politics, security, and society.

The MEMRI report further noted that a Hamas politburo member relayed a speech by Sinwar at the conference, emphasizing the need to prepare for the day after the "liberation."

Referencing the May 2021 conflict against Israel, when, over 11 days, Hamas and Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
fired over 4,000 rockets and mortar shells at Israel, Sinwar said that that round of fighting "did not suddenly break out," but rather "the resistance had prepared for it with years of planning, training, military, and intelligence development."

The terror leader further predicted that the conflict with Israel "can end only with the implementation of the promise of victory and control that Allah gave us — that our people will live with dignity in its independent state with Jerusalem as its capital."

A former high-ranking Fatah member from Gaza who was well acquainted with the Hamas leadership recently spoke to Haaretz about another aspect of Hamas’s scheme for the "day after," namely the administrative division of "liberated Paleostine" into cantons.

The man said he was contacted by a well-known Hamas figure who informed him that Hamas was "preparing a full list of committee heads for the cantons that will be created in Paleostine." In 2021, he was reportedly offered the chairmanship of the "Zarnuqa" committee, named after the Arab village where his family lived before 1948, that was slated to cover the cities of Ramle and Rehovot.

The Fatah official reportedly reacted to the Hamas offer in disbelief: "You’re out of your minds."

Link

Africa Horn

Omdurman mosque fire sparks controversy: Sudanese army blames RSF

2024-03-22

[SUDANTRIBUNE] A massive fire heavily damaged the mosque and dome of the late Sufi leader Sheikh Hassan al-Fatih Qaribullah in Omdurman’s Wad Nubawi area. The fire also affected the site housing the Sheikh’s grave.

In a statement to Sudan
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...
Tribune, Sheikh Hassan al-Fateh’s son refuted claims that his father’s grave was exhumed. He clarified that the fire caused internal structural damage and a kaboom inside the dome, exposing the wooden grave cover. He added that despite knowing the mosque had been attacked, they remained silent and prevented filming to avoid stoking tensions without clear information.

Leaked video clips by Sudanese army soldiers showed the destruction and accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of being responsible. The videos sparked social media controversy, with accusations flying between the army and RSF supporters. Some blamed krazed killer groups, citing Sudan’s security vacuum, while others pointed to the RSF’s past control of Wad Nubawi.

A prominent RSF leader, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
, categorically denied involvement. He blamed the fire on "Takfiri

...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
s and ISIS", who, according to him, are fighting alongside the army. He further claimed the army recently sought help from krazed killer militias who are now active in Omdurman.

The RSF leader emphasized their withdrawal from Wad Nubawi on March 3rd and asserted that they protected mosques throughout their presence, including the one in question. He concluded by urging the international community to address the growing threat of terrorism in Sudan, a danger to the region and the world.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran-backed groups in Iraq, Syria said to evacuate ahead of feared US retaliation

2024-01-31

Monday. This may have something to do with why the American response is delayed...

[IsraelTimes] Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria are vacating their military posts in anticipation of a US retaliatory strike.

A source from the Islamic Resistance® in Iraq umbrella group tells al-Araby al-Jadeed that the group has evacuated its positions along the Iraq-Syria border, leaving only one or two guards to man each post, amid intensified reconnaissance activity by American aircraft in the area, which has led the militias to fret that the US response will come quickly.

After leaving their positions, militia leaders have reduced their use of mobile phones for fear of being tracked and targeted, the source adds to the London-based 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-owned outlet.

Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who heads the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, says Iran-backed fighters in east Syria also began evacuating their posts. He tells The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that the areas are the strongholds of Mayadeen and Boukamal.

US President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. ‘This Is A Man ThatDoes Not Seem Demented’...
said that the United States "will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing," after a dronezap killed three US service members and maimed dozens in a military base in northeastern Jordan yesterday. Biden has blamed the deadly attack on "radical Iran-backed militia groups."

The Islamic Resistance® in Iraq, an umbrella group for Iran-backed factions, earlier claimed launching explosive drone attacks targeting three areas in Syria, as well as one inside of "occupied Paleostine." The group has grabbed credit for dozens of attacks against bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas
Hamas

...one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
war began.

Three officials with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with journalists, said the drone attack against the base in Jordan was launched by one of the Iraqi groups. No faction has yet officially grabbed credit.

Iranian Foreign Ministry front man Nasser Kanaani has denied his country’s involvement.

Pentagon brushes off Iraqi militia’s claim it’ll stop attacking US troops: ‘Actions speak louder than words’

Tuesday.

[IsraelTimes] The Pentagon declines direct comment on a statement by Iran-aligned Kataib Hezbollah announcing the suspension of all its military operations against US troops in the region, saying only, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Pressed on the matter, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder says there have already been three attacks against US forces in the region since a January 28 drone attack on a base in Jordan that killed three soldiers and wounded more than 40 troops. He suggests a US response will follow.

“On the statement that’s out there, I don’t think we could be any more clear that we have called on the Iranian proxy groups to stop their attacks. They have not, and so, we will respond in a time and manner of our choosing,” Ryder tells a news briefing.

“When I say actions speak louder than words, you know, there [have] been three attacks, to my knowledge, since the 28th of January. And I’ll just leave it there.”

After deadly drone strike, Iran-backed Iraqi militia claims its pausing attacks on US forces

Earlier Tuesday.

[IsraelTimes] A pro-Iran group in Iraq says that it will halt its attacks on US troops, after Washington pledged a “very consequential” response to a drone attack that killed three of its soldiers.

“We’re announcing the suspension of our military and security operations against the occupying forces to avoid any embarrassment for the Iraqi government,” Kataeb Hezbollah writes on its website.

The United States blamed “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” for Sunday’s drone strike on a remote Jordan desert base near Syria and Iraq.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran dismisses European condemnation of satellite launch

2024-01-28

[Yahoo] Iran on Saturday dismissed three European countries’ condemnation of its launch of the Soraya satellite, saying peaceful technological advancement in the aerospace field was the country’s legitimate right.

France, Germany and Britain on Friday condemned the launch of the Soraya last week using the Ghaem-100 Space Launch Vehicle (SLV).

The SLV uses technology essential for the development of a long-range ballistic missile system, which could also allow Tehran to launch longer-range weapons, the countries said in a joint statement.

“Such interventionist statements,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani in a post on X, “will not make a dent in Iran’s determination to advance in science and technology.”

Iran, he said, “considers the use of peaceful technologies” as its given right.

Last week, the Soraya satellite, which is being developed by the research arm of the civilian Iranian Space Agency, was put into a 750 km (470 mile) orbit, the highest successfully reached by Iran, according to Iranian media.

The 50 kg (110 lb) satellite was launched by the Qaem 100, a three-stage solid-fuel rocket built by the elite military Revolutionary Guards, they said.

Tehran denies U.S. assertions that such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.

Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in the Middle East, has suffered several failed satellite launches in recent years due to technical issues.

Link

Home Front: Politix

US Congress passes bill to equip Peshmerga with air defenses

2023-12-17

[Rudaw] The United States Congress has passed a bill that includes equipping Peshmerga and Iraqi forces with air defense systems next year. The bill, the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), is now waiting for President Joe Biden’s signature.

“Not later than February 1, 2024, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall develop a plan of action to equip and train Iraqi security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga forces to defend against attack by missiles, rockets, and unmanned systems,” reads a provision in the $886 billion defense policy bill that was passed this week by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The plan must include “provision of available equipment to Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to counter the air and missile threats addressed in the report, to include air defense systems, to counter attack by missiles, rockets, and unmanned systems,” as well as training on using the equipment.

The plan must be implemented by the defense secretary within 90 days of its development, however, implementation can be delayed if it “would adversely impact United States stock and readiness,” the bill reads.

Representative Don Bacon, who introduced the provision, said it was to increase the defensive capabilities of Kurdish and Iraqi forces “under frequent attack by Iran and its proxy forces in the region.”

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have frequently carried out rocket and drone attacks on bases housing US forces in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, demanding the Americans leave the country. The militias renewed their attacks in mid-October, angry over Washington’s support for Israel in its war against Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. US troops have come under at least 89 separate attacks in the past two months, according to the Pentagon.

A pro-Iran Iraqi militia group under the name of “the Islamic Resistance in Iraq” has claimed responsibility. Washington has repeatedly condemned the strikes and called on Baghdad to put a stop to them. The US has also stated that it reserves the right to self-defense and has retaliated with air and drone strikes.

Last week, the US embassy in Baghdad was the target of a rocket attack. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani condemned attacks on diplomatic missions as terrorism. He issued a directive to pursue the perpetrators and reiterated Iraq’s commitment to protect diplomatic missions, but warned against any direct response without Baghdad’s approval.

The increase in attacks has imposed on the US a need to defend itself and its interests in the region, according to Bilal Wahab, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“The threat is tough… and the attacks are less random… The number of attacks has increased and became more dangerous, in terms of quality,” Wahab told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on Friday.

“Maybe the US does not want to get into a war with the militias or get into a war with Iran, these are strategic topics and big questions, but the matter of protecting itself, it is the basics of every force,” he said.

In June, after the air defense provision was introduced into the NDAA, Iran was not happy and requested an explanation from the Iraqi government.

“Both the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional authorities should act responsibly and adhere to maintaining the neighborly policy in relations with Iran," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani was quoted by the Tehran Times.

"The Iraqi government will definitely clarify this issue and the regional authorities should also explain in this regard and we should see what their explanation is in this regard," he added.

Both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region maintain good neighborly relations with Iran. The two countries have a new border security pact in which Iraq promised to disarm Iranian Kurdish opposition forces on the border. Iran has fired ballistic missiles at these groups in the Kurdistan Region. Tehran accuses them of stoking unrest in Iran.

On Thursday, Kurdistan Region’s Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian who commended Iraq for implementing the security agreement.

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