Middle East and Terrorism: 2025-01-19

Saturday, January 25, 2025

IDF: Hamas failed to uphold agreement, worried over Bibas family's wellbeing - Jerusalem Post Staff

by Jerusalem Post Staff

“We remain steadfast in our determination to bring home Arbel Yehud, as well as Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Kfir and Ariel, whose wellbeing is of utmost concern.”

Hamas terrorists hand over four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza City, January 25, 2025

(photo credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)

The IDF’s commitment to securing the return of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza remains steadfast, IDF Chief Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stated on Saturday. Speaking at a press briefing, Hagari provided updates on efforts to reunite families with their loved ones.

“Since the October 7 massacre, our mission has been clear: to bring home all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Today, as part of this ongoing effort, we welcomed back four more hostages after 477 days in captivity,” Hagari said.

The hostages—IDF soldiers Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag, Naama Levy, and Karina Ariev—were among those abducted during the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.

“Today, we salute and embrace these brave soldiers and their families as they reunite after such a long and painful separation,” Hagari added.

The spokesperson also addressed the broader situation, emphasizing the urgency of freeing the remaining 90 hostages still in Hamas captivity.

Hamas terrorists hand over four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza City, January 25, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)

“Hamas didn't meet its obligations to prioritize the release of Israeli female civilian hostages,” he noted. “We remain steadfast in our determination to bring home Arbel Yehud, as well as Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Kfir and Ariel, whose wellbeing is of utmost concern.”

Hagari acknowledged the efforts of international mediators, including the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.

“We deeply appreciate their work and expect them to ensure Hamas adheres to its commitments under the agreement,” he said.

Hagari reaffirmed the IDF’s ongoing operations to protect Israeli citizens and their unwavering commitment to bringing all hostages home, saying, “Our mission is not over until every hostage is returned safely."

Addressing key questions

When asked why IDF soldier Agam Berger remains in captivity, Hagari praised her bravery.

“Agam is a courageous soldier. We are committed to her safe return and will spare no effort to bring her home,” he said.

Regarding whether the IDF has received a list of deceased hostages, Hagari clarified, “Not yet. When we receive the list, we will update the families first, followed by the public.”

Hagari also addressed speculation about the IDF’s presence in Netzarim following the release of hostages. “We are bound by the terms of the agreement. At this time, I cannot elaborate further,” he said.

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-839165

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Hezbollah no longer strategic threat, but Israeli determination key - David Isaac

by David Isaac

The test now is whether Israel will perform the necessary “maintenance” to keep the Lebanese terrorist group down.

Bystanders and rescuers gather near the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on Sept. 27, 2024. Photo by Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images.

Badly battered by Israel’s military operation in Lebanon, Hezbollah has been beaten, but not eliminated, analysts tell JNS. They paint an optimistic picture, saying that Hezbollah’s days as a strategic threat to Israel are over.

Within 24 hours of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel’s south, the Shi’ite militia launched a rocket strike on the Jewish state. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group’s goal was to stretch Israel’s resources and force it to fight on two fronts.

Seeking to avoid that scenario, Israel played defense for nearly a year as Hezbollah fired more than 10,000 missiles from Lebanon, forcing 60,000 Israelis to flee their homes in the north for temporary shelter elsewhere. (Residents are expected to return in early March.)

Israel finally struck back in a series of remarkable operations starting on Sept. 17 and 18, 2024, detonating explosives hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies used by the Iranian-backed terror group. On Sept. 27, Israeli airstrikes killed Nasrallah. On Oct. 1, Israel invaded Lebanon, laying waste to much of Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure.

“Hezbollah has been hit dramatically. Its leadership has been toppled, its command structure decimated. Seventy percent of its strategic capabilities have been destroyed,” IDF Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi, founder and CEO of the Israel Defense & Security Forum, told JNS.

Hezbollah had been a serious threat, but in two weeks Israel brought it to its knees, he said. Hezbollah was further weakened when Sunni Islamists took over Syria, depriving Hezbollah of a major resupply route from Iran.

“We have been talking for years about the fact that Hezbollah can shoot 2,000 to 3,000 rockets a day at Tel Aviv. It didn’t happen, not because potentially they couldn’t do it. It didn’t happen because Israel hit their capabilities in such a way that they lost their ability to make decisions. They literally lost their heads. They couldn’t announce a full-scale attack. There was nobody to announce it,” Avivi said.

The maintenance test

Daniel Schueftan, chairman of the National Security Studies Center at the University of Haifa, agrees. “The most important change that happened, and this is really dramatic, is that Hezbollah stopped being a strategic threat to Israel. It’s still a major nuisance, but that is of a profoundly different order of magnitude,” he told JNS.

The test now is whether Israel will perform the necessary “maintenance” to keep Hezbollah down. “Namely, can we continue to kill them and destroy them regardless of their attempt to embed themselves more deeply in the Lebanese state and in the Lebanese population,” Schueftan said.

Completely eliminating Hezbollah isn’t realistic, he added. “The same way you can’t eliminate cockroaches under your sink. You can only, from time to time, kill enough of them so that they will not disrupt your life and they will not take over.”

To keep Hezbollah from rebuilding, Israel must be ready to defy not only radicalism, but radicalism’s abettors in the Western world, from media outlets such as the BBC and The New York Times, to world bodies such as the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the Vatican, which under Pope Francis has espoused anti-Israel positions, he said.

Israel must also withstand pressure from its chief ally, the United States, should the new administration continue with the misguided approach of the last, Schueftan said.

The Houthis in Yemen are perhaps the best illustration of the “Biden approach,” he said.

The Houthis had for years threatened vital U.S. interests, as when they attacked Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities in September 2019, cutting its production by half. Biden’s administration responded by delisting the Houthis from the U.S. terror list in February 2021. The Biden team was forced to backtrack in January 2024 after the rebels targeting shipping in the Red Sea, and relist the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity—less severe than listing it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on the U.S. secretary of state to designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization within 30 days.

“Their [the Biden administration’s] idea was that if somebody is trying to kill you, bring him a banana and then he will become your friend. It is an unbelievable misperception about practically everything that has to do with radical forces,” Schueftan lamented.

“Maybe it will not be misguided under Trump. We don’t know yet,” he added.

Avivi agrees. “The challenge for Israel is to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its power. The big question is what will happen after the 60-day ceasefire [with Lebanon].” Avivi expressed optimism that Israel will show the necessary determination, having done so since the ceasefire went into effect on Nov. 27.

Avivi said that while Israel is required to vacate Southern Lebanon, it is maintaining a perimeter—“an area that it will flatten completely two to three kilometers inside Lebanon. Israel doesn’t intend to let people go back to this area.”

He doesn’t see any impact of the recent Hamas ceasefire on Hezbollah. The two issues are decoupled. Hezbollah had vowed to attack Israel so long as Israel fought Hamas, but the terror group’s resolve quickly dissipated under relentless Israeli attack. Hezbollah sued for peace even as Israel continued its war in Gaza.

Still, Schueftan warned that Hezbollah doesn’t consider itself defeated, only beaten. The terror group will attempt to rebuild back in a better way, one that affords it Western protection, particularly from the progressive left, “because what the progressives are all about is to make self-defense impossible under the banner of human rights.”

David Isaac

Source: https://www.jns.org/hezbollah-no-longer-strategic-threat-but-israeli-determination-key/

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Rubio’s first foreign trip aimed at confronting Panama Canal security, immigration head on - Steven Richards

by Steven Richards

Rubio’s Latin American trip highlights the region’s importance to U.S. national security and immigration crisis.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to travel to Panama and other Latin American countries in his first trip abroad, signaling the importance of the region for a second Trump administration that is laser focused on the Chinese threat in the Western Hemisphere.

Rubio’s first foreign trip as secretary also presents an opportunity to address the immigration crisis in ways ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris failed to do in countries that are important stopover points on the journey to the U.S. southern border.

The trip, which will reportedly take place in late January to early February, will see the newly confirmed secretary and chief foreign policy officer of the second Trump administration travel to Panama and likely other Central American countries that were the focus of Biden administration efforts to curb illegal immigration but also are ground zero of expanding Chinese influence in America’s backyard.

China threat to the Panama Canal

In recent years, China has taken an important role in Latin America, becoming the region’s top trade partner and investing directly in infrastructure and energy projects. The communist power has also expanded ties with friendly regimes that can create headaches for the United States in its own backyard, like Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.

China’s influence in Panama has been steadily growing since 2017, when the small Latin American country cut off diplomatic relations with Taiwan and formally recognized the Chinese government led by the Chinese Communist Party. In 2018, Panama was the first country in the region to sign up for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, an infrastructure investment program designed to expand China’s economic and strategic influence across the globe.

In his confirmation hearing, Rubio did not shy away from clearly defining the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party to the United States. One former CIA operations officer told Just the News that China’s growing role represents a national security threat that Trump is eager to mitigate.

“The issue there is that for the last few years, the Chinese government has made some effective investments with the Panamanian government has taken more and more gradual control over the canal that poses a significant national security risk the United States,” Rick de la Torre told the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show.

This includes control of port facilities on either side of the canal by China and Hong Kong-based companies. A consortium of Chinese companies was also awarded a contract in 2018 to construct a bridge over the canal. Chinese companies have also invested in energy and water management facilities in the small country.

“You could imagine then a scenario not too far in the distance where the, let's say, the Chinese government, decides to take military action against the the island of Taiwan. What? How do we get…the Atlantic Fleet, into the Pacific Theater, if not through the Panama Canal, right?” He continued.

In a treaty with the United States, Panama promised to preserve the neutrality of the canal, which is vital for the United States to be able to move its warships efficiently across oceans, but also for commercial shipping. The U.S. also reserved the right to intervene militarily if the neutrality of the canal is threatened.

De la Torres says China’s investments in Panama may be designed to exert pressure and exercise control over a vital strategic area to the United States.

“So these alliances that China has been doing in Latin America, with a lot of the despots there and through corrupt means, what they're doing is they're they're gaining a stronger footprint in Latin America, where now they could continue to take more and more control of strategic areas that are important to us,” de la Torre said.

Fixing the Immigration Crisis

Near the beginning of their term, Vice President Harris was tasked by President Biden to address the “root causes” of illegal immigration by specific engagement and investment in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, but her efforts ultimately failed to secure a reduction in illegal immigration, which rose to record highs during the administration.

Rubio’s trip to the region comes amid a flurry of executive orders from President Trump gutting his predecessor’s immigration policy and implementing new rules to crack down on the flow of illegal immigrants.

While Rubio’s trip is likely to feature discussions with Panama about the canal, immigration is certain to play a role in meetings with the several Central American countries through which migrants pass on the way to the U.S. southern border. Though tentative, Rubio is expected visit at least one of the Northern Triangle countries: Guatemala.

State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce made clear that immigration would be a focus of the trip and promising the new administration would not “continue ignore the region as other administrations have.”

“Engaging with our neighbors is a vital element in addressing migration, supply chains and economic growth, which are key to Secretary Rubio’s pursuit of foreign policy focused on making America strong, prosperous, and safe,” Bruce said in a statement to Politico.

Though the Biden administration said that it was working to solve the “root causes” of illegal immigration under the leadership of Vice President Harris, some of the its moves appeared counterproductive.

For example, shortly after Biden entered office, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States would be abandoning Asylum Cooperative Agreements signed with the Northern Triangle countries during the Trump administration.

These agreements are designed to reduce the burden of migration flows on the signatories by permitting asylees to claim asylum in only one of the countries party to the agreement. These agreements are also known as “safe third country” agreements. Before 2019, the United States only had one such agreement, with Canada, but that year, the Trump administration signed agreements with the three Central American countries.

The State Department declined to comment on whether Secretary Rubio would work to renegotiate the Asylum Cooperative Agreements with the Northern Triangle nations in a bid to stem the flow of asylum seekers.

In addition to the canal, Panama is also home to the Darien Gap—a stretch of dense rainforest and mountainous terrain that connects North and South America—a key crossing point for migrants heading north and a focus of Trump border czar Tom Homan.

“Shutting down the Darien Gap is going to protect our national security. It’s going to save thousands of lives,” Homan said in an interview with NBC News shortly before the inauguration.

"Each country has to resolve its problems”

In recent years, migrants from Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador and even China, have flowed through the gap aided by the Panamanian government of former President Ricardo Martinelli—who was banned from running for reelection after being convicted of money laundering.

More than 700,000 migrants crossed the gap in the last two years, but the administration is likely to find a partner in the new Panamanian government and facilitate some dealmaking by Rubio on the issue.

President José Raúl Mulino, who took office last year, promised to end the flow of illegal immigration through the country after his inauguration and promised to seek a cooperative agreement with the United States on immigration.

“I won’t allow Panama to be an open path for thousands of people who enter our country illegally, supported by an international organization related to drug trafficking and human trafficking,” Mulino said last July. “I understand that there are deep-rooted reasons for migration, but each country has to resolve its problems,” he said, signaling a shift in the government’s policy.

Steven Richards

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/diplomacy/secretary-rubios-first-foreign-trip-aimed-confronting-panama-canal-security

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Three Novel Ways to Bring Those Receiving Biden’s Preemptive Pardons to Justice - Richard Truesdell and Keith Lehmann

by Richard Truesdell and Keith Lehmann

Use some of the same methods the Biden DOJ used against Trump and members of his administration.

They collectively came to power in 2021 under dubious electoral circumstances in 2020 and then proceeded to wield that power with all of the care and nuance of napalm. Laws and the Constitution be damned, they thought they were untouchable. And they worked hard to make the people pay dearly for resistance to their authority. Witness the January 6 Select Committee.

Comprised of a comically corrupt and deceitful collection of rank partisans from both parties, the J6 Committee had two distinct goals: To prosecute American citizens participating in the J6 protests without any due process, many of whom were thrown in prison for merely being in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, and to hang the entirety of the Capitol riot on that day around the neck of outgoing-president Donald Trump.

Evidence was suppressed or destroyed. Witnesses were coached or threatened. Transcribed interviews held under oath were hidden. To have called this a kangaroo court is nowhere near harsh enough to explain the gross serial violations of legal and Constitutional laws by these Congressional conspirators. And they have now been rewarded for their lawlessness with preemptive presidential pardons.

The blatant use of these pardons to shield criminality is just another example of how Democrats have been deploying extra-legal ways to punish their enemies. Hmmm…maybe we should look at how we can follow their lead against these “untouchables” who think they got away with behaviors that would have put anyone else in prison.

Get Liz Cheney, Bennie Thompson, Adam Kinzinger, and Jamie Raskin (and other J6 Committee Members): The Cassidy Hutchinson Path

On Monday, hours before ex-President Joe Biden (how we love saying that term ex-President Biden) handed the White House keys to Donald Trump, the entire J6 Committee was granted immunity through preemptive pardons. One figure who was not pardoned was Cassidy Hutchinson, a one-time Trump aide, who testified before the J6 Committee after discussing the case with J6 Committee Vice-Chair Liz Cheney without the presence of her lawyer. Cheney, who suborned false testimony from Hutchinson, put Cassidy in the unenviable position of possibly being the only person participating in the J6 show trial who could be convicted of perjury and could face years in federal prison.

The sight of proven criminality by never-Trumper Republican Liz Cheney being exonerated by a Democrat in the White House is ironic. That Cheney led a mid-level aide into a perjury trap, who could be convicted and go to prison, would demonstrate a miscarriage of justice that most Americans would not tolerate. Public opinion can only be ignored for so long, as Democrats found out on November 5, 2024.

Let’s hope that Hutchinson will be given the opportunity to recant her testimony and implicate Cheney and the rest of the J6 Committee even though inoculated with the broad grant of immunity, none will likely ever see the inside of a prison cell.

And that brings us to the second path…

Sue and Prosecute Those Pardoned in State Courts: The Fani Willis Path

Sue and prosecute Liz Cheney through Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill for not representing the will of her constituents in being the point person on the J6 Committee in prosecuting Trump. Could Cheney and the other J6 Committee members be held accountable for election interference? While Cheney is shielded by her presidential pardon, and having been a sitting member of Congress at the time, she might not enjoy these legal protections in state proceedings. At least that’s what Democrats claimed in the Georgia election interference case as well as their coordinated efforts to remove Trump from various state ballots prior to the Republican National Convention last Summer.

The same holds true for Shifty Adam Schiff. While the California AG would not deploy his office against Schiff, what would stop Attorneys General in other states from deploying this well-used Soros/Democrat tactic? The Democrats have let this genie out of the bottle with the state-focused Fani Willis method. Can other states’ Attorneys General start proceedings against Schiff not burdened by the legal albatross of having slept with their prosecutors in a quid pro quo exchange of money for lavish trips? Make the case that the actions of Schiff et. al. constitute election interference, especially with their attempts to remove Trump from various state ballots.

While we might rail against such practices, had it not been for the corruption in the Fani Willis election interference prosecution, the Georgia case might have gone forward prior to the 2024 election. We need to know the origins of this case (a Soros-backed group perhaps). Had it gone forward in the summer and fall of 2024, right now we might have a Kamala Harris presidency.

God help us all if that happened. And the third path…

Joe Biden and His Crimes Before the Start of His Presidency: The Merrick Garland Path

Of all three methods, this might seem to be the most vindictive and reeks of retribution, but after what Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland did for four years, who cares? The Democrats set the precedent, now turn it around and weaponize it against Biden and especially Garland. Using the Hur investigation as the foundation to reinstate the charges that as vice president, when he lacked SCOTUS-decided presidential immunity, Biden knowingly and willfully took personal documents he was not entitled to then stored them in his Delaware garage next to his prized Corvette, committed exactly the same acts that gave Garland the pretext to raid Mar-A-Lago and rifle through the current First Lady’s underwear drawer.

Garland has actually boasted that he authorized the raid. Does this make him legally culpable? Through this action did Garland, at the time the nation’s top law enforcement officer, violate the constitutional rights of Trump and his documents case associated defendants? It’s a novel legal theory, but in the aftermath of the New York Alvin Bragg prosecution of Trump, it’s certainly worth exploring.

There is no reason why the Trump administration can’t tie up Garland with endless legal bills and use exactly the same lawfare that he deployed against Trump for almost four years. Start the process through James Comer’s Oversight Committee with a re-energized DOJ led by new Attorney General Pam Bondi. To our knowledge, unlike Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Garland did not receive the same “get out of jail free” card of presidential immunity. Could this oversight, pun intended, be the key to unlocking the massive corruption of Garland and the Biden administration?

With Democrats so fond of using Hitler references in describing Trump, we can paraphrase what he said in 1941 before invading the Soviet Union, “You only have to kick in the door and the whole (stinking) structure will come crashing down.” What would the poetic justice be if this strategy was deployed against these vile and evil Democrats and Republican turncoats like Cheney and Kinzinger? Banish them from polite society and let them rot alongside the other irrelevant media corpses that are walking the halls of collapsing MSNBC and CNN.

***

Richard Truesdell is a former consumer electronics retail executive and automotive travel photojournalist. In the last 25 years, he has visited more than 35 countries on six continents. A former high school history teacher with a BA in Political Science from Waynesburg University, he is a lifelong Conservative moderate who has turned his thoughts and keyboard to political commentary and popular culture. A cross-section of his writings can be found here.

Keith Lehmann is a retired consumer electronics industry executive who has written extensively on technology, transportation, and international travel. Living in Southern California for over fifty years, he has first-hand exposure to societal and cultural happenings of the left and submits decidedly realism-based, Conservative viewpoints, much of which can be found on his Substack.

Richard Truesdell and Keith Lehmann

Source: https://amgreatness.com/2025/01/24/three-novel-ways-to-bring-those-receiving-bidens-preemptive-pardons-to-justice/

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Trump DOJ asks Supreme Court to freeze student debt, environment cases - Chris Pandolfo

by Chris Pandolfo

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to freeze several pending cases on student loans and the environment

Donald Trump's

Justice Department on Friday asked the Supreme Court to freeze a handful of cases, including a challenge to one of former President Biden's student loan bailouts.

Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris filed several motions Friday asking the court to halt proceedings in the student loan case and three environmental cases while the new administration will "reassess the basis for and soundness" of Biden's policies.

The Supreme Court was expected to hear oral arguments for these cases in March or April and issue decisions later this term. But Trump's DOJ requested that the high court halt all written brief deadlines, which would put them on indefinite hold.

BIDEN'S LATEST ROUND OF STUDENT LOAN HANDOUTS BRINGS ADMIN TOTAL TO MORE THAN 5 MILLION

President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address after being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (CHIP SOMODEVILLA/FP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Under former President Joe Biden, more than 5 million Americans had their student debt canceled through actions taken by the Department of Education. But Biden's actions faced numerous legal challenges, with GOP critics alleging he went beyond the scope of his authority by acting without Congress.

In this case, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals had blocked the Biden administration's borrower defense rule, which would have expanded student debt relief for borrowers who were defrauded by their schools. The court found that Biden's rule had "numerous statutory and regulatory shortcomings." Biden appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case earlier this month.

NEW YORK REPUBLICAN PROPOSES TO SLASH STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES

Activists attend a rally outside of the White House to call on U.S. President Joe Biden to cancel student debt on July 27, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Now, that case is on hold, and it is possible the Trump administration will revoke the rule change, rendering the issue moot.

The three environmental cases have to do with regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency during the Biden administration that were challenged.

Biden canceled student loan debt for more than 5 million Americans. (REUTERS/Bonnie Cash / Reuters Photos)

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It is not unusual for a new presidential administration to reverse its position on legal cases inherited from the prior administration. After Biden took office, the DOJ asked the Supreme Court to freeze a challenge to Trump's attempt to use military funds to construct a border wall. Biden halted the spending and the court dismissed the case.

The Biden administration took similar action with a case that challenged Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy. The Supreme Court eventually tossed the case as moot after Biden rescinded the policy.

Chris Pandolfo

Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-doj-asks-supreme-court-freeze-student-debt-environment-cases

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Ways and Means chairman promises Trump tax cuts renewal, relief for tip workers and seniors - Ben Whedon

by Ben Whedon

Smith will likely play a key role in shaping the legislative agenda for Republicans as they work to implement key economic provisions, especially tax and spending cuts.

With President Donald Trump back in the White House and Republicans in the majority of both chambers, the GOP’s top leadership is gearing up for a series of battles to implement his key campaign promises. One powerful House chairman says he has a vision for victory.

“Republicans have control of the White House, the House and the Senate, because of President Trump,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith said Friday on the Just the News, No Noise television show. “We would not have any of those if it was not for what he campaigned on, what he pushed for.”

The House Ways and Means Committee is the body essentially in charge of all the revenues coming into the country, he added. “And so we're focused on, what are those policies that can be pro-growth, that can bring in those revenues, that can reduce deficit spending?”

Smith will likely play a key role in shaping the legislative agenda for Republicans as they work to implement those key economic provisions, especially tax and spending cuts.

Extending the Trump tax cuts

Among the top priorities for the chamber will be the extension of the Trump tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Those cuts included doubling of the standard deduction, adjustments to individual income tax rates, and the lowering of the corporate income tax to 21%.

Their extension is expected to trigger a battle over the debt limit. Trump previously attempted to address that complication during the transition as Congress debated a continuing resolution. A debt limit suspension didn’t make it into the final package. Smith, for his part, warned of the impact of delaying an extension.

“We have to extend and make permanent President Trump's tax cuts that will be expiring at the end of this year,” he said. “If we don't, every single American will face the highest tax increase in the history of our country, and failure is not an option. We will not allow that to happen.”

He went on to excoriate his colleagues on the other side of the aisle who preferred to address the matter in December, saying “[t]here's 26 million small businesses right now that's making the decisions of how to invest in their companies worried, do they have a tax rate of 43.4% or a tax rate of 23.4%? Congress needs to do their job.”

No tax on tips, Social Security, and others

Trump also made a number of other income tax-related proposals, including ending taxation on tips and social security income, which Smith indicated would be among the chamber’s top priorities.

“We are the party of the working class. No tax on tips is in the Republican Party platform,” Smith said.

Smith acknowledged that the procedural rules in Congress would make it difficult for them to end taxation on social security income, but was optimistic that the GOP could provide some form of tax relief for seniors in the meantime.

To address Social Security, Smith contended that any significant changes would necessarily be “bipartisan” because “partisan changes will never, ever last.” He further highlighted projections that the program will become insolvent by 2032 or 2033.

Wrestling with the debt

Trump and Republicans more broadly have campaigned extensively on addressing the national debt, which has increased dramatically in recent years, in part due to bipartisan COVID-19 spending packages. With Republicans pledging tax cuts, Smith insisted that the only other option to address the deficit would be to boost the nation’s economy overall.

“We need to increase our GDP. If you increase our GDP to 3% that's not a huge number,” he said. “If you increase that by 3% you'll bring in more than $3 trillion of revenues into the coffers that will help lower the deficits.”

Such efforts will not come at the expense of spending cuts, he insisted, highlighting the importance of reducing waste in the mandatory and discretionary spending categories.

“Over the last 50 years, revenues coming into the country have consistently stayed flat at 17% of GDP,” Smith said. “However, spending has typically been about 20% of GDP[...], in the last five years, we have seen spending of a percent of GDP being 26% that's why you're seeing record deficits.”

The disparity between revenue and expenditures led Smith to insist “[w]e also have to cut some serious spending.” Among his top targets for cuts are ongoing COVID-19-era programs that he said would address “at least over $100 billion” if Congress pulled funding.

Trade and manufacturing

Trump himself has promised to implement wide-ranging tariffs on goods from foreign adversaries and allies alike and to renegotiate agreements with those powers to help stimulate domestic production growth and the repatriation of manufacturing jobs.

“We have to make sure that our country is secured with our supply chains when it comes to food, when it comes to energy, when it comes to health care, we need to be secure,” he warned. “If we're not, that means our country is dependent on another nation, and we need to help bring these supply chains back to the United States.”

“And those are the policies that we will be pushing and advocating for in this tax bill, but also in the trade policies moving forward,” Smith said. “We need to make sure American manufacturers, American workers, American farmers are first, not foreign manufacturers, foreign farmers, and foreign workers.”

Ben Whedon

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/congress/wkdtrump-tax-cut-extension-top-priority-power-gop-committee-chairman

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Hunter Biden's name, signature, and shared bank account showed up in $60M fraud investigation - Steven Richards

by Steven Richards

Members of Congress have expressed interest in continuing to probe the Biden family even after sweeping pardons to finally get to the truth.

When a million-dollar securities fraud wrapped up two of Hunter Biden’s business partners at Burnham Asset Management, Hunter Biden escaped scrutiny. However, bank records and corporate document drafts now show one of the future first son’s shared bank accounts was used in the fraudulent bond transaction.

After his partners were arrested and charged in the scheme, Biden moved immediately to distance himself from the firm. He later told lawmakers during the impeachment inquiry into his father, former President Joe Biden, that the proposed work with Burnham never came to fruition.

Any personal liability for his association with the company at the center of the fraud scheme has now been wiped out, after former President Joe Biden delivered a sweeping pardon for his son from 2014 to the present day.

But, members of Congress have expressed interest in continuing their probe into what the House GOP impeachment inquiry concluded last year was a Biden family influence peddling scheme especially after a final report from the special counsel prosecuting Hunter Biden left several unanswered questions.

Last year Just the News reported the first evidence that the younger Biden was much more closely associated with the entities involved in the tribal bonds fraud. Corporate records show that Hunter Biden served as Vice Chairman of Burnham and was promised an $800,000 yearly salary. A signature analysis confirmed Biden signed the employment agreement with Burnham dated April 15, 2015.

These documents were first collected by the SEC and FBI agents back in 2016, obtained by Congress during the impeachment inquiry, and recently shared with Just the News. New documents from the same probe of the tribal bond fraud show that Hunter Biden was closer to the action than previously known.

For example, a bank account he shared with one business partner was used in part of the bond transaction scrutinized by federal authorities. One individual close to the bond transaction told Just the News that the bonds were transferred to and from the RSB account to associate them specifically with the Biden name, evoking a pattern identified by House Republican investigators that suggested Hunter Biden was trading on his last name to secure lucrative deals.

Additionally, a draft private placement memorandum for the bond transaction floated Hunter Biden as a potential board member for the entity set to issue the bonds for the tribal entity, according to the documents obtained by Just the News.

Abbe Lowell, lawyer for Hunter Biden, did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News about the bank records.

The bank account

The bank records show $15 million-worth of initial Wakpamni municipal bonds were transferred out of the Rosemont Seneca Bohai, LLC bank account, listed under the name of Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer, just days before Biden signed the Burnham employment agreement. This transaction was identified by investigators as part of a wider $60 million fraud scheme for which Archer and several other co-defendants were prosecuted.

According to the Justice Department, from March 2014 to April 2016, Archer and another partner, Jason Galanis, along with several other co-defendants, were charged with defrauding an Oglala Sioux Native American tribal entity by inducing it to issue bonds, but then failed to invest them as they promised. Archer and Galanis were ultimately convicted, though a judge recently ruled that Archer should be re-sentenced.

After his former partners were arrested, Hunter Biden’s lawyer at the time, George Mesires, released a statement immediately distancing his client from the alleged scheme at Burnham and claimed Archer and Galanis had used Biden’s name without his knowledge.

“The defendants...invoked and used Hunter’s name—without his knowledge—to lend their business venture more credibility,” Mesires said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “As soon as Hunter learned of the illegal conduct, and that his name was being used in this unauthorized and inappropriate manner, Hunter took immediate steps to ensure that his business interests would not be associated with the Burnham Group or with any of the defendants."

But, the records reviewed by Just the News and congressional testimony from Devon Archer show Rosemont Seneca Bohai and its bank account were closely associated with Hunter Biden. Additionally, evidence provided to the House Ways and Means Committee by two IRS whistleblowers during the impeachment probe show that Hunter Biden was, at one time, the corporate secretary of the firm.

Archer confirmed Hunter Biden’s association with the firm and its bank account in his impeachment testimony.

“Hunter was a corporate secretary of RSB. We had a handshake 50-50 ownership. And he conducted, you know, banking business with the COO,” Archer told congressional investigators during his July 2023 testimony.

The Rosemont Seneca Bohai account was also the primary vehicle for Hunter Biden to receive his salary from the controversial Ukrainian energy company, Burisma Holdings. The company landed at the center of allegations from House Republicans that the Biden family was engaged in an influence peddling scheme using their name and family patriarch’s position as vice president.

The same bank statement for 2015 reviewed by Just the News records the monthly payments from Burisma, and transfers to Hunter Biden in and out of that account.

You can see excerpts from the bank statement below:

RSB Bank Account Client Statement.pdf

Proposed leadership role

In addition to the bank transfers, a draft private placement memorandum for the bond offering on behalf of the Wakpamni Lake Community—a subsidiary of the Oglala Sioux Nation—shows that Hunter Biden was floated as a board member in the early stages of the deal. The draft memo, which lays out the plans for the tribal bond offering proposed Hunter Biden serve as a director of a new entity, Sovereign Re Capital Holdings Inc., the bond issuer.

The entry includes a short bio that highlights Biden’s work for the Boies, Schiller, Flexner, LLP law firm and various Rosemont Seneca firms. It also highlights his Honorary Co-Chair role on the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee, the same year his father was inaugurated as vice president. He is listed alongside his longtime business partner Devon Archer, who testified to the House impeachment inquiry in 2023.

You can read the memo below:

WakpamniBondsMemoHB.pdf

It is unclear whether the structure outlined in the draft document was ever involved in the bond transaction or if Hunter Biden was actually offered the role.

But, during Archer’s trial for the fraudulent scheme, his attorney Matthew L. Schwartz, claimed that Hunter Biden “was part of this deal.” This claim was disputed by Hunter Biden’s then-lawyer, who tried to distance Biden from the Burnham firm and fraud scheme when Archer and Galanis were arrested.

After the bond scheme came under renewed scrutiny during the House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry, Hunter Biden reiterated to congressional investigators in his testimony that he never became part of the Burnham investment.

“And did you have any active participation in Burnham, either as an equity holder, director, or officer?” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., asked Biden in his impeachment inquiry deposition earlier this year.

“No. I don't think that ever came to fruition. I think that there was a proposal that I'd be a part of that, but it all fell apart in all of this,” Biden replied.

One Senator believes it may be possible to bring Hunter Biden back for more questioning. Now that he is protected by his father’s expansive pardon, Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., says Hunter Biden cannot exercise his fifth amendment right to avoid incriminating himself.

“But what is interesting is, with Hunter Biden's pardon, he has no Fifth Amendment right not to testify and tell the truth, and so he could be, we could prosecute him for lying to Congress,” Sen. Johnson told the John Solomon Reports podcast earlier this month. “He's going to have to answer truthfully. So that's a real possibility.”

Steven Richards

Source: https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/bank-records-show-hunter-biden-had-deeper-ties-60-million-fraud

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Abu Obeida's theological points show glimpse into Hamas's way of thinking - analysis - Ohad Merlin

by Ohad Merlin

A look at the Quranic verses chosen by Al-Qassam’s spokesperson in his speech this week allows a glimpse into Hamas’s religiously motivated modus operandi.

Hamas spokesperson, Abu Obeida.

(photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X)

Earlier this week, the spokesman for the Al-Qassam militia, Abu Obeida, released a pre-recorded speech on the occasion of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The speech featured some predictable content, including lauding the Gazan population for what he deemed a ‘victory,’ calling to ‘escalate’ frictions against Israeli forces in Judea and Samaria, commending the Islamic Republic and its proxies, and warning against the failure of normalization with Israel.

However, one peculiar point stood out: a theological one, which may provide a glimpse into the modus operandi and way of thinking of Hamas and its militia. The Al-Qassam spokesman chose to open his speech with the following verses from the Quran (17:4):

“And We (meaning Allah) warned the Children of Israel in the Scripture, ‘You will certainly cause corruption in the land twice, and you will become extremely arrogant. When the first of the two warnings would come to pass, We would send against you some of Our servants of great might, who would ravage your homes. This would be a warning fulfilled… And when the second warning would come to pass, your enemies would be left to totally disgrace you and enter that place of worship as they entered it the first time, and utterly destroy whatever would fall into their hands.”

Most Jews who read these verses would understand almost immediately that they refer to the destruction of the First and Second Temples, albeit in a slightly altered version. The question remains: why would Abu Obeida begin his speech with these quotes specifically?

Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida delivers a speech following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, January 19, 2025 (credit: Hamas Armed Wing Media/Handout via REUTERS)

It is plausible that the Al-Qassam militia’s spokesman was using this Quranic reference to allude to what he deemed are the current ‘sins’ of the Children of Israel, to explain the background for Hamas' massacre against Israel on October 7, 2023: ‘corruption’ and ‘arrogance.’ In this context, Abu Obeida explains Hamas’s role as that of "the servants of Allah" who were chosen by God himself to execute a heavenly retaliation against Israel. It is not implausible that he even waved the Quranic warning that next time they will really enter “the place of worship” (‘masjid,’ or mosque in the original Arabic version) as referring to the "freeing of Al-Aqsa” in their view.

This self-perception of Hamas as carriers of the Allah’s mission of to “punish sinners” can also be found in Hamas’s chosen name for the October 7th massacre and the war that ensued: “Toufan Al-Aqsa,” popularly translated as the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” but more accurately translated as the “Al-Aqsa Deluge.” Just as Noah’s deluge was sent to drown the sinners, so too Hamas potentially view themselves as carrying that heavenly message to purge the land of the “Israeli” sins.

It should be noted that Islamist actors have been trying for decades to break the link between the ancient Israelites and Judeans – and the current Jews. This link, which for most Jews is obvious and seen as an organic process of a nation’s historical development, is seen as a vital target for some forces, who are acting relentlessly to ignore, deny and erase any link between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, facilitating the claim that Jews are ‘colonialists’ who usurped a land that is not theirs.

In this context, one may claim that Abu Obeida’s quote may serve, in fact, as an implied admittance of modern Israel’s relation to the ancient one: if Hamas are the Romans or Babylonians, who were sent to purge the land of the Israelite’s sin, this could be somewhat of an admission that ancient Israelites and modern Jews are one and the same.

The ‘true’ Israel

However, it appears that, in Hamas’s theology, Hamas are not merely the Romans or the Babylonians who come to punish the Jews – but can rather also be the Israelites themselves. The logo chosen for the ‘Al-Aqsa Deluge’ also showcases, in addition to a Qassam militant holding a Quran, a flag of the Shahada (bearing witness of Allah’s oneness) and an M16 rifle, a verse from the Quran (5:23) stylized in the shape of the Dome of the Rock, which reads: "Enter upon them through the gate, and when you enter it, you will be the victors."

This Quranic verse chosen to describe in a chilling way the plan to infiltrate the gates of the kibbutzim and the posts on October 7th, is brought in its original context as part of the Quranic version of the Biblical affair of the Twelve Spies: Moses calls the Israelites to enter the land that Allah has promised them, but they hesitate out of fear of the giants that roam the land: "We will never enter it until they (the giants) have gone out from it." Here, two God-fearing and nameless men – Joshua and Caleb in the Biblical version – tell them this exact quote: "Enter them at the gate!"

In other words, Hamas has chosen to invoke the verse that calls the Israelites to enter at the gate and defeat the giants who roam and occupy the promised land – as a method of branding their own actions. Here it is almost clear that, as far as they are concerned, Hamas are the true Israelites, and the Jews in the State of Israel are the giants and sinners.

This notion of supersession, consistent with Islamic texts accusing Jews (and Christians) of distorting the Holy Scriptures and the true religion of Allah, should be taken into account when dealing with Hamas’s ideology.

As the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas’s Islamist approach, promoted by governments in Qatar and Türkiye, also features many instances of antisemitism, from a direct reference to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in their founding charter – to leaders prophesying a cosmic massacre against the Jews in the End of Days led by faithful men of faith. Rather than laic, terms such as ‘nationalism’ or ‘anti-imperialism,’ often imposed on other ideologies out of a narrow Eurocentric prism, any analysis, research or decision making which involves Hamas must take into account supersessionism, messianism and antisemitism, all part and parcel of the ideological incentives driving them and their followers.

Ohad Merlin

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-838938

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NC Sen. Thom Tillis authors bill to allow litigation against sanctuary cities - Alan Wooten

by Alan Wooten

The law, if passed, would permit victims, and families of victims, to sue for compensatory damages. Sen. Tillis and 10 other GOP senators are the cosponsors.

(The Center Square) -

Raids by ICE enforcement that captured so much media attention Thursday may pale by comparison to the litigation possibilities opened by a bill from a North Carolina senator.

Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities would permit victims, and families of victims, to sue for compensatory damages against a state or political subdivision of a state. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis authored the bill and introduced it Wednesday with fellow North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd and nine other cosponsors.

“For far too long, we have watched local jurisdictions in North Carolina and across the country ignore the lawful notification and detainer requests made by ICE agents and instead release dangerous criminals back into their communities, putting innocent lives at risk,” Tillis said. “I am committed to working with President Trump to end illegal immigration and fight sanctuary cities that prioritize reckless, lawless policies over public safety.

“It is clear that liberal politicians want to put political ideology ahead of the safety of their constituents. It is time for Congress to step in and hold sanctuary cities accountable.”

ICE is the acronym for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

North Carolina lawmakers at the end of last year, by veto override, enacted a state law requiring all 100 county sheriffs to cooperate with ICE.

Republicans have majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives. Second-term Republican President Donald Trump, roaring into the White House like a freight train, has spent his first four days reversing numerous policies and acts of the Biden and Obama administrations, with open national borders a chief priority.

A release from Tillis says the bill would establish “a private right of action for any individual, spouse, parent or child who is a victim of murder, rape or any felony (as defined by the state), to bring an action against a state or political subdivision of a state if the entity declined to honor a lawful immigration detainer request for an alien by the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, this legislation would require a state or political subdivision of a state to waive immunity as a condition of receiving certain federal grants.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the other nine cosponsors included no Democrats among Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Katie Boyd Britt of Alabama, Ted Cruz of Texas, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Dr. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Tim Sheehy of Montana and Mike Rounds of South Dakota.

Alan Wooten

Source: https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/congressional-proposal-would-allow-litigation-against-sanctuary-cities

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Who are the Palestinian terrorist prisoners released as part of Gaza hostage deal? - Jerusalem Post Staff

by Jerusalem Post Staff

114 prisoners were released from Ofer Prison and were brought to Ramallah, 16 were taken to Gaza and 70 were deported to Egypt.

Palestinian terrorists from Fatah carry their weapons during a parade in the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus, September 29, 2023

(photo credit: NASSER ISHTAYEH/FLASH90)

As part of the agreed hostage, prisoner exchange deal, Israel released 200 terrorist prisoners on Saturday, according to Arab media reports.

According to the reports, 114 prisoners were released from Ofer Prison and were transferred to the Palestinian city of Ramallah, 16 were taken to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, and 70 were deported to Egypt.

Egyptian media reported that the 70 prisoners will stay in Cairo for about a week and then will be transferred to other locations.

Among those released was 67-year-old Mohammad Al-Tous, the longest-serving Palestinian terrorist prisoner. Al-Tous spent 39 years in Israeli prisons for a 1985 terror attack he committed.

Raed Al-Saadi, 57, was also released on Saturday during the prisoner release. Al-Saadi was imprisoned in 1989 for carrying out attacks during the First Intifada, killing IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians. According to Arab media, Al-Saadi was supposed to be released in 2014 as part of a prisoner swap deal.

Red Cross vehicle is seen near the Ofer Prison, near Jerusalem, January 19, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/SINAN ABU MAYZER)

Part of the 70 deported terrorist prisoners were the Abu Hmeid brothers, Mohammad and Sharif from Ramallah. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison. Nasser, the oldest brother, died in prison from cancer in late 2022, and his body is being held in Israel, according to Arab reports. He was a leader of the Fatah-affiliated armed terrorist group, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

One of the prisoners released was one of the six escapees from the Gilboa prison in 2021, according to the New York Times.

Who else is on the list of released prisoners?

Here is a list of the prisoners who were released on Saturday:

Ibrahim Khalil Ahmad Salah
Mahmoud Isa / Mahmoud Ahmad As'ad
Abdul Latif Muhammad Lutfi Ahmad Hamada
Ahmad Mustafa Ahmad Al-Shibani
Muhammad Awda Is'hak Shuhada Awda
Nasr Muhammad Yusuf Naji
Sharif Muhammad Yusuf Naji
Wa'il Na'im Ahmad Al-Jaghoub
Wissam Sa'id Musa Al-Abbasi
Saleh Subhi Dawood Dar Musa
Muhammad Nasr al-Din Saleh Al-Malah
Salim Muhammad Salim Hajj
Thabit Azmi Suleiman Mardawi
Muhammad Nabil Amir Muhammad Arqan
Imad Rashid Abdul Rahman Kamil
Rabi' Rafeeq Sharif Abu Al-Rub
Jad Ibrahim Musa Mu'alla
Ibrahim Muhammad Ahmad Halabiya
Mahmoud Sadeqi Suleiman Radwan
Sa'id Abdul Allah Sa'id Al-Banna
Ramadan Eid Ramdhan Mishahra
Khalil Muslim Muhammad Barq'ah
Iyad Yaser Mahmoud Masalmah
Tha'er Khalid Omar Oweidat
Layla Ayoub Muhammad Abu Arjaliyah
Yaser Muhammad Obaid Rabayah
Jihad Yusuf Isma'il Al-Najjar
Jasser Afif Muhammad Raddad
Samir Abdul Fattah Rida Tubasi
Basel Atef Muhammad Makhlouf

Zaid Ibrahim Ahmad BeseisiYaser Mahmoud Abu BakrMahmoud Ali Abdul RadaidaNafith Naif Salim Al-Hajj HusseinNaji Ibrahim Hassan BasharatAs'ad Yusuf Hamid Za'arabRa'if Ramez Helmi Al-FarraMuhammad Qasim Ahmad AradahMuhammad Muhammad Yusuf NajiMunif Muhammad Mahmoud JanadiyahShadi Abdul Samih Suleiman ZaidWa'il Mahmoud Muhammad Ali QasimFahmi Eid Ramadan MishahraKhalid Sabir Muhammad Abu AmshaSalah al-Din Muhammad Ibrahim Abu JalbushMahmoud Hamad Mahmoud SharaytahIyad Ziad Abdul Fattah Al-ShurfaIbrahim Isa Khalil IbrahimIyad Mahmoud Abdul Rahim NassarAli Hassan Abdul Allah Al-RajbiMuhammad Shakir Alaan Mu'allaAhmad Mustafa Yasin FanniFahd Abdul Allah Muhammad SawalhiMahmoud Atiyah Hassan KleibiNour Muhammad Shukri JaberIyad Ibrahim Hassan JaradatYahya Hashim Abdul Fattah Al-HaymuniSamer Abdul Samih Ahmad Al-AtreshMuhammad Na'im Salman QawasmehMuhammad Hussein Fayez JaradatAhmad Dheeb Abdul Rahman DaheediAbdul Rahman Ghassan Mahmoud WashahYusuf Abdul Latif Khidr MahdawiKhalid Dheeb Hassan Abu HamdAmmar Ahed Badi' Al-ShoubkiIbrahim Yusuf Ibrahim AtiyahYusuf Ata Dheab Ahmad Al-Hajj Muhammad HamdanHussam Adnan Tawfiq AbedSa'id Abdul Samih Suleiman Zaid (Al-Kilani)Fayez Abdul Majid Jaber HamidNasr Muhammad Yusuf DawoodMuhammad Hussein Awda Al-BarghouthiMuhammad Samir Ahmad RajbiMuhammad Omar Abdul Allah Ahmad ZaidMuhammad Sami Abdul Hamid Al-IzzaAhmad Saleh Ahmad MusaSa'id Nasr Mahmoud Ar'arMu'tasim Muhammad Salim SalimAta Sa'id Ya'qub Abu RamouzHamza Salama Suleiman Abu SawawinAhmad Badi' Mustafa HusseinNu'man Ali Ahmad RayhanMuhammad Zuhair Salim Abu Draz

Mahmoud Kamil Muhammad AtaunahMuhammad Abdul Khaleq Ahmad Abu Sa'dahMu'taz Subhi Hassan Za'rourIyad Hosni Al-Sayed Al-JazzarSalah Riyadh Muhammad MagadabaRiyadh Abdul Qader Radi' ArafatIbrahim Salim Musa Abu SineenahTamer Rajeh Isa RajbiMuhammad Jamil Hassan KafayahShadi Samir Abdul Wahab HalawahMuhammad Mahmoud TababMansour Wajih Faris BasharahBakr Muhammad Suleiman KhrouishNasr Faisal Muhammad BadawiMuhammad Ismail Hassan Al-HroubAhmad Ibrahim Muhammad Abu HamdaMuhammad Yunus Ali Abu HankeMahmoud Samer Tawfiq JabarinAz-Zayd Musa DariyaAbdul Allah Muhammad Ahmad HadiyaTha'er Jamal Muhammad Ta'amrahMuhammad Murad Yaser FarhatHussam Muhammad Jum'a Khalil Za'ninOmar Ismail Omar Wadi

Baha' Dawood Ibrahim AwaisatSa'id Osama Isa HarmasMahdi Iyad Talib AkashMusa Fawaz Musa QubaitatMuhammad Zuwid Hamdi Al-AghaAbdul Rahman Taha Abdul Rahman Ba'loushahAyman Muhammad Ali FawajrahMuhammad Ahmad Abdul Hamid Al-Tous

Ra'ed Muhammad Sharif Al-Sa'adiAli Suleiman Sa'id Al-Sa'adiHamza Muhammad Hassan MatroukSadeqi Samer Sadeqi JabrRami Ibrahim Na'im NajjarYunus Ali Abdul Munim Al-JabariMuhammad Isa Mahmoud Al-BarbariAnas Qasim Falah Aqra'Zaid Ziyad Jamil AmirAbdul Aziz Hamad Mahmoud Mar'iAhmad Muhammad Abdullah HadrjJawad Ziyad Abdul Ma'ti ShalkhtiA'rafah Abdul Rahman Rashid Abu SarourTamer Yunus Ahmad WridehMuqaddad Muhammad Ibrahim Al-HayehMuhammad Musa Muhammad BadrYaser Yaseen Musa Al-TurwahSuhaib Jabbar Ahmad Al-FaqihAshraf Jamal Abdul Qader AmmarMuhammad Fahim Mahmoud Shalalda

Hammam Jamal Badawi

Masalmah Akram Faisal Muhammad BadawiAkram Faisal Muhammad BadawiAlaa Ra'ed Saleh ZaghirBilal Ahmad Adeeb Abu ZaidMahmoud Sa'id Muhammad Abu AsbahMadhat Fawzi Musa Abu SinimahTarek Abdul Fattah Khalid YahyaTamer Shawkat Ahmad KhdeirRa'ed Muhammad Ibrahim Badwan

Tahir Khamees Ahmad MatarIbrahim Jamal Mahmoud HamadAbdul Aziz Yahya Hamid Masa'idOmar Muhammad Shawkat MahajnehAli Abdul Nasir Ahmad MahameedWa'il Hassan Fahed Abu RidaAshraf Munir Hamid Al-ZaghayirYunes Ali Muhammad Masa'adAhmad Khalid Dawood HamidOmar Saleh Muhammad Faiq Al-SharifNaseem Rashid Abdul Wadud Al-ZaatriAbdul Allah Adnan Yahya Al-SharbatiMurad Walid Khalid Al-BarghouthiMu'ayed Shukri Abdul Hamid HamadHashim Nasr Ahmad Al-SousAmmar Sadeqi Suleiman Abu GhalousSajad Ahmad Sadeqi Abu GhalousJa'far Fawzi Qasim Abu HananiBahjat Mahmoud Jamil ShaqiratAbdul Ma'iz Dheeb Ibrahim Al-Jaba'Louay Sha'ir Shakib

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-839185

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‘Ceasefire’ Claims First Deaths After Hamas Gaza Rampage - Daniel Greenfield

by Daniel Greenfield

This is the first blood shed as a result of the 'ceasefire'. It won't be the last.

What’s a terrorist ceasefire without a body count?

No, there won’t be any rallies, protests or ICC investigations into this because (and this is not so secret), they were not supporting the Arab Muslims in Gaza, who they otherwise would not care about, they were supporting Hamas. And they were supporting Hamas, with hardly a clue about it, because it was fighting Israel and by extension America, Western civilization, and the free world.

So Hamas demonstrating that it is still in charge in Gaza by publicly executing a bunch of locals won’t meet with anything more than shrugs.

The latest Hamas killing spree is also the latest of the wages of the Biden-Witkoff-Qatar ceasefire which has allowed the Islamic terrorist group to rally and claim victory, securing the release of terrorists while blocking Israel’s ability to fight against it.

This is the first blood shed as a result of the ‘ceasefire’. It won’t be the last.

Graphic warning: How Hamas thugs treat their own people. Yet they are supported by so many in the west https://t.co/dfMUUSwoDh
— Jake Wallis Simons (@JakeWSimons) January 23, 2025

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/ceasefire-claims-first-deaths-after-hamas-gaza-rampage/

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