Thanks to the West's 'Useful Idiots,' Iran's Terror Proxies Celebrate Recognition of 'Palestinian State' by Moving Jihad to West Bank - Khaled Abu Toameh

 

by Khaled Abu Toameh

Even if the war in the Gaza Strip ends, Qatar, Iran, Hamas and PIJ will never give up the fight to destroy Israel and replace it with a radical Islamist state.

 

• The groups and their patrons in Tehran do not care if Palestinians in the West Bank are killed and displaced as a result of their terrorism. Iran's mullahs and their Palestinian proxies have only one thing in mind: murdering Jews and eliminating Israel.

• Those Western countries [France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, among others]... have chosen to ignore that the PA is unwilling to confront the terror groups in the West Bank.

• In the eyes of the Iranian regime, Hamas and PIJ, these moves could not have taken place were it not for the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

• "Why are the countries recognizing a Palestinian state today? Before October 7, did any country dare recognize a Palestinian state? The fruits of October 7 are what caused the entire world to open its eyes...." — Ghazi Hamad, senior Hamas official, to Qatar's Al-Jazeera, August 2, 2025.

• Even if the war in the Gaza Strip ends, Qatar, Iran, Hamas and PIJ will never give up the fight to destroy Israel and replace it with a radical Islamist state. The attempt to transform the West Bank into a second base for jihad highlights that ending the war in the Gaza Strip will not end the dream of wiping Israel off the map.

As all eyes are fixed on the Hamas-Israel war in the Gaza Strip, the Iranian regime and its Palestinian terror proxies are working to move the fighting to the West Bank. IDF forces this month found dozens of rockets (pictured) and explosives in a building in the area of Ramallah. (Photo by IDF Spokesman's Office)

As all eyes are fixed on the Hamas-Israel war in the Gaza Strip, the Iranian regime and its Palestinian terror proxies are working to move the fighting to the West Bank.

Recently, armed cells belonging to Iranian-backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have escalated their terrorist attacks in the West Bank against Israeli soldiers and civilians. The Palestinian groups responsible for the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip over the past two years are even trying to fire rockets from the West Bank into the rest of Israel. The groups and their patrons in Tehran do not care if Palestinians in the West Bank are killed and displaced as a result of their terrorism. Iran's mullahs and their Palestinian proxies have only one thing in mind: murdering Jews and eliminating Israel.

Last week, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they discovered a rocket in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem. Earlier, another rocket was reportedly fired at Israel from the village of Kufr Ni'meh, located near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinians. After the attack, IDF forces found dozens of rockets and explosives in a building in the area of Ramallah.

Israeli security sources described the seized weapons and the firing of the rocket as a "game changer" in the West Bank. These sources asserted that Iranian-linked elements were behind the scheme to turn the West Bank into a further battlefield against Israel.

"Intelligence assessments indicate that armed groups in the West Bank are seeking to manufacture rockets locally to target Israeli cities in central and northern Israel, such as Kfar Saba, Ra'anana, Netanya, Hadera, Afula, and Beit She'an... Iran has also reportedly recently supplied mortar shells and ammunition to armed [Palestinian] factions in West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem."

These Palestinian armed groups, known as "The Battalions," are affiliated with the armed wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and several years ago began operating in the West Bank. For the past two years, dozens of their members have been killed or arrested by Israeli security forces. Since the beginning of 2025 the IDF has been waging a relentless war on the terrorist groups, especially in Jenin and Tulkarem. Just when it seemed that the Israeli security forces had succeeded in their mission, the armed groups resurfaced, this time equipped with rockets designed to attack Israeli cities.

In the past week, PIJ's armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, issued a number of statements in which it claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers. The Jenin Battalion said:

"We detonated explosive devices targeting military reinforcements in the town of Silat ad-Daher near Jenin."

The Ramallah Battalion, for its part, proclaimed:

"Our fighters succeeded at exactly 10.40 AM today in detonating a number of explosive devices of the Sijjil-2 type at a military point near the [Israeli] settlement of Psagot."

It was the first time that Palestinians had heard of the Ramallah Battalion. Until recently, such groups had emerged only in the northern West Bank, especially in the areas of Jenin and Tulkarem. Notably, Ramallah serves as the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority (PA), as well as of its security forces, which have so far failed to prevent the Iranian-backed terrorists from operating in the city.

On September 25, Israeli security forces killed two senior members of PIJ's armed wing in the northern West Bank: Mohammed Qassem and Ala'a Jawdat. PIJ said in a statement after the terrorists were eliminated:

"We affirm that we will remain steadfast on the path of jihad [holy war] and resistance until liberation [of all of Palestine] and the return [of all Palestinian refugees and their descendants to Israel]."

Hamas also mourned the slain terrorists and vowed:

"The assassination of resistance fighters in the West Bank will only increase our people's determination to escalate the confrontation and resistance [against Israel]."

Iran's effort to copy the Gaza Strip's model of "resistance" against Israel to the West Bank coincides with increased talk about the need for a "two-state solution" and recognition of a Palestinian state by Canada, the UK, Australia, France and other countries. These countries have decided that the West Bank should be part of the proposed Palestinian state, meanwhile totally ignoring Iran's ongoing efforts to transform the Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps there into another base for jihad to kill Jews and destroy Israel.

Those Western countries, in addition, have chosen to ignore that the PA is unwilling to confront the terror groups in the West Bank. Under the current circumstances, it is obvious that the West Bank would be used as a launching pad to attack Israel, the same way the Gaza Strip was used on October 7, 2023.

The expansion of Iran's terror proxies in the West Bank is undoubtedly linked to the growing talk about the "two-state solution" and recognition of a Palestinian state. In the eyes of the Iranian regime, Hamas and PIJ, these moves could not have taken place were it not for the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Last month, senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told Qatar's Al-Jazeera television network:

"Why are the countries recognizing a Palestinian state today? Before October 7, did any country dare recognize a Palestinian state? The fruits of October 7 are what caused the entire world to open its eyes to the Palestinian issue – and they are moving toward it with force."

Western countries that have chosen unilaterally to recognize a Palestinian state have in fact emboldened the Iranian regime and its Palestinian jihadist proxies.

The leaders of Iran, Hamas and PIJ view Western leaders such as France's Emmanuel Macron, the UK's Keir Starmer, and Australia's Anthony Albanese as "useful idiots" in their jihad to eradicate Israel.

Even if the war in the Gaza Strip ends, Qatar (here, here and here), Iran (here, here and here), Hamas and PIJ will never give up the fight to destroy Israel and replace it with a radical Islamist state. The attempt to transform the West Bank into a second base for jihad highlights that ending the war in the Gaza Strip will not end the dream of wiping Israel off the map.

• Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)

 

Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21940/jihad-west-bank

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Comey Faces Indictment, but His Real Crimes Remain Untouched - Victor Davis Hanson

 

by Victor Davis Hanson

James Comey’s indictment may grab headlines, but the real scandal is how many of his past abuses still escape legal or moral accountability.

 

We have no idea whether the current DOJ indictments will lead to a conviction of James Comey, namely that he authorized FBI subordinates to leak to the media and then lied about it, obstructing Congress in the process.

It may come down to the word of Comey, a known fabricator, against the testimony of his former subordinate, Andrew McCabe, an admitted liar. Take your pick.

We know, however, that Comey is not facing a Trumpian $500 million in potential fines, nor 93 indictments, nor the scrutiny of five different local, state, and federal prosecutors. Nor, like some of the J6 arrested, will he be sent to solitary confinement to await a trial in a year or two or be charged with “illegal parading.”

We also know of the crimes or unethical conduct for which James Comey is not currently being indicted or investigated.

He is not being charged with pleading amnesia or ignorance in 2018—e.g., “I didn’t know,” “I couldn’t recall,” “I didn’t remember”—a reported 245 times while under oath to House investigators and misleading them.

He is not being charged with leaking in 2017 a confidential FBI memo of a conversation with then President Trump—which he improperly stored in his personal safe, in violation of FBI protocols—to the New York Times via a third-party Columbia professor.

He is not being charged for falsely assuring the President of the United States in 2017 that he was not the object of the current Crossfire Hurricane “Russian collusion” investigation—when, in fact, Trump, as the Mueller investigation revealed, was the real target of almost that entire ruse.

He is not being charged for deliberately leaking an FBI memo of a conversation with President Trump for the purpose of injuring him by prompting the appointment of his friend and predecessor, Robert Mueller, as a special counsel to investigate the supposed crimes of Donald Trump. Comey’s gambit resulted in a 22-month and $30 million administration hiatus, only to find no actionable wrongdoing by Trump.

He is not being investigated for usurping the role of the DOJ in 2016 when, as an FBI investigator, he served simultaneously as investigator and prosecutor, creating a conflict of interest.

He was tasked with both finding evidence of Hillary Clinton’s alleged wrongdoing and also making the federal prosecutorial decision whether to indict her for transmitting classified material over an unsecured email server. And after finding evidence of her culpability, he chose not to indict her on the grounds that her candidacy at the time meant no reasonable prosecutor (of which he was then not supposed to be one) would bring such a case against her.

He is not being investigated for improperly disclosing his newly reopened investigative case against Hillary Clinton on the eve of the 2016 election. Nor is he being investigated for predetermining that Hillary Clinton was innocent of the charges of unlawfully transmitting confidential material before his own FBI investigation was complete—and before Comey’s FBI had even interviewed her.

He is not being investigated for tasking Peter Strzok to alter his own original condemnation of Clinton’s conduct by replacing the initial and correct term “gross negligence,” a phrase that denotes a federal crime, with “extreme carelessness,” which involves no criminal liability.

He is not being investigated for, nor charged with, birthing the entire governmental role in the Russian collusion hoax that warped the 2016 presidential election and transition by his use of the discredited Christopher Steele as an FBI confidant/source.

He is not being investigated for using the fraudulent Steele dossier as a “central and essential” document to obtain a FISA court writ to improperly surveil Carter Page—an act that even he later admitted was wrong.

He is not being investigated for stumbling upon a rock mosaic on a beach arranged to read “8647” (“get rid of/remove Trump”) and then on social media nonchalantly posting that clear threat to injure/remove/eject the current president.

He is not being investigated for stating to the country that it was unclear whether Trump did or did not cavort with Moscow prostitutes—as alleged solely by the discredited, spurious Steele dossier, which he, as FBI director, knowingly helped disseminate and knew was bogus.

Under Comey, the FBI used the fabulist Steele as a “confidential human source” to produce his fantasies before firing him—only to later offer him a reported “up to $1 million” to confirm anything in his dossier, in a vain bid to salvage the FBI’s rapidly eroding reputation.

He is not being charged with or investigated for not acting in 2016 on Hillary Clinton’s overt use of fabricated material to mask her own criminal exposure and siccing the FBI on her political opponent. Or, as the FBI itself put it of Clinton’s ruse: “US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.”

He is not being investigated for attempting in 2017 to entrap or ambush then-National Security Advisor designate retired Gen. Michael Flynn by sending two FBI agents (including the ubiquitous Peter Strzok) to interview him—in expectation—after Comey subordinate Andrew McCabe’s disingenuous call to mislead Flynn into thinking he need not have a lawyer present—that Flynn would likely be naive and vulnerable without counsel.

Or, as Comey later bragged publicly about his gambit:

“We did not tell the White House, ‘Hey, we’re going to come talk to your guy.’ In a more organized administration, or a more experienced administration, they would not have let that happen.”

So Comey’s problem is not really legal, at least not entirely.

It is moral and ethical. It is no exaggeration that no single person has been more responsible than Comey for tarnishing the reputation of the FBI between 2015 and 2017—and with it the Washington administrative establishment itself.

Comey is not the victim of an arbitrary grand jury indictment.

Instead, he is fortunate that he does not face both more legal jeopardy and social ostracism for all the harm he has done his country, mostly to please the powers that be in the Obama administration, the media, the liberal bipartisan Washington establishment—and his own exaggerated sense of self.

In the weeks to come, we may see more indictments of many Washington grandees. The media will allege Trump “revenge,” but the legal system will adjudicate—not the New York Times, NPR, or the DNC—whether any of these indictments are proper and lead to convictions.

We do not know whether John Bolton transmitted classified information improperly that was intercepted by foreign intelligence agencies.

But we do know that Bolton was chastised by a federal judge for including information in his campaign-cycle memoir that was either likely classified or confidential and whose publication was injurious to his nation’s security. In the judge’s own words, Bolton “gambled with the national security of the United States,” and he “exposed his country to harm and himself to civil and potentially criminal liability.”

We do not know whether former Interim FBI Director Andrew McCabe or FBI Director James Comey was lying when Comey denied he greenlighted subordinates like McCabe to leak confidential FBI information to the media.

But we do know that McCabe did confess that he lied on four occasions to federal investigators and was not prosecuted by then Attorney General Bill Barr—and not because McCabe did not lie under oath, but because Barr thought he could not convince a Washington jury to convict a high-ranking FBI official. And so he never even made the effort.

We do not know whether former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper improperly rejected intelligence reports finding no Trump-Russian collusion, but pressed ahead to spread that Russian collusion ruse at the prompt of then-President Barack Obama.

But we do know that James Clapper lied under oath, with impunity, to the US Congress—and did admit that he did (“least untruthful” answer) when he swore that the NSA did not spy on American citizens. And he likely lied again when he swore that he did not leak elements of the dossier to CNN.

We do not know whether former CIA Director John Brennan, like Clapper and Comey, ignored intelligence reports finding no basis for Russian-Trump collusion and yet went ahead to use the CIA to help promote that fabrication to injure 2016 candidate Trump.

But we do know that Brennan lied under oath to the U.S. Congress, and with impunity, when he swore that the CIA did not surveil Senate staffers’ computers. He lied again with impunity when he claimed that Obama’s predator drone targeted assassinations had not killed any collateral civilians.

All of these officials—well, aside from the Alvin Bragg, Letitia James, Jack Smith, and Fani Willis lawfare circus—have so far faced no consequences for their lies and impropriety.

Indeed, some of them are more likely to have profited from lying by being hired as MSNBC or CNN analysts, where they ‘analyzed’ the very hoaxes they helped birth. By such exemptions, they have sent the message over the last decade that the elite Washington administrative class is a law unto itself and without any moral bearings whatsoever.

The final irony? All of them have posed as our moral censors, whether peddling the Russian collusion hoax, the laptop disinformation caper, or the lawfare walls-are-closing-in-on-Trump farces.

Does it really constitute a “revenge tour” belatedly to seek some sort of legal accounting for these alleged crimes?

Or over the last decade, has it not been both immoral and injurious to the American sense of equality under the law not to treat these officials as any other American—without their money and connections—would be treated? 

Victor Davis Hanson

Source: https://amgreatness.com/2025/09/29/comey-faces-indictment/

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Netanyahu agrees to Trump's peace plan, US President confirms - Corrine Baum, James Genn

 

by Corrine Baum, James Genn

If Hamas rejects, Israel has full backing to "do what you would," Trump said

 

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 29, 2025.

(photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)

US President Donald Trump stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to his plan to create peace in Gaza following a meeting in the White House on Monday.

What did Trump say at the White House press conference?

Trump said that the US would be involved in Israel's security after the ceasefire agreement.

The president said that if his deal were accepted by Hamas, all of the hostages, living and dead, would be released almost immediately.

Trump intends to end the war itself, and said that he was "hearing that Hamas wants to get this done."

He also stated that during his meeting with Netanyahu, the Israeli PM clearly stated his opposition to a Palestinian state.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 29, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)

Trump slammed other countries that had "foolishly" recognized a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly last week.

He noted that if Hamas rejects the deal that Israel has agreed to, he would give Israel the backing to destroy Hamas.

"And if Hamas rejects the deal, which is always possible, they're the only one left. Everyone else has accepted it, but I have a feeling that we're going to have a positive answer," he said. "But if not, as you know, Bibi, you have our full backing to do what you would." 

In addition, he said Israel and others were "beyond very close" to reaching an agreement on ending the Israel-Hamas War in the Gaza Strip.

Trump, standing alongside Netanyahu, said the agreement would involve Arab countries and should help to achieve a broader peace in the Middle East.

"At least we're at a minimum, very, very close. And I think we're beyond very close," Trump told reporters. "And I want to thank Bibi for really getting in there and doing a job."

Trump affirmed that Israelis want a return to peace and want the hostages home. He also added that there were "many Palestinians who wish to live in peace," adding that they had a "rough life under Hamas.

Trump stated that he believes Iran will one day become a member of the Abraham Accords.

He concluded his statement by again calling on Hamas to accept his plan, calling it an "extremely fair proposal."

What did Netanyahu say at the White House press conference?

Netanyahu stated that Trump was Israel's greatest friend in Washington. 

"You are the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House," the prime minister said, adding that "it's not even close." 

He also said that Trump's plan achieves all of Israel's war aims.

Netanyahu outlined his cabinet's "day after" plan for Gaza and the end of the war. 

The objectives included: the disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarization of Gaza, the return of the hostages, Israel maintaining security parameters within the enclave, and the establishment of a peaceful civilian administration in the Gaza Strip.

The prime minister also said that there would be no role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza until it underwent major transformations.

Netanyahu said that Trump's plan provides a "realistic path for Gaza." 

What is Trump's plan?

Trump released his plan to end the Israel-Hamas War.

Notably, the statement said that within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.

The released statement states that Gaza will be "a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors," and that the enclave will be redeveloped for the citizens of Gaza, "who have suffered more than enough."

If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed-upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.

Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th, 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.

Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.

Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025, agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.  

Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under the January 19, 2025 agreement.

Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza.

This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the “Board of Peace,” which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump, with other members and heads of State to be announced, including former prime minister Tony Blair.

This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump’s peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza.

This body will call on the best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.

A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East.

Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunities, and hope for the future of Gaza.

A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.

No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza."

This is a developing story. 

Corrine Baum, James Genn

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-869014

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Spain blocks American ships carrying weapons for Israel - Anna Aronheim

 

by Anna Aronheim

The two American bases in southern Spain are officially shared by the two allies, but Washington often uses it as a hub for troops, weapons, fuel and supplies bound further east.

 

People hold anti-war placards during a protest to call for a ceasefire in Gaza to mark 100 days since the start of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Madrid, Spain, January 20, 2024.

(photo credit: REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)

American ships loaded with arms for Israel were blocked from transiting through the Rota (Cádiz) and Morón de la Frontera (Seville) bases, the Spanish El Pais newspaper reported Monday.

“Rota and Moron are not a backdoor,” a source was quoted by the paper as saying. "Rota and Morón are bases under Spanish sovereignty, under the command of a Spanish military officer, and everything that happens there must be authorized by the Spanish authorities," a source was quoted by the paper as saying.

The Spanish government, which has called Israel’s military actions a genocide, says it stopped exporting arms to Israel as of Oct.2, 2023, and has recognized a Palestinian state in May 2024. The move comes as Madrid continues to cancel arms contracts with Israeli companies.

The two American bases in southern Spain are officially shared by the two allies, but Washington often uses them as a hub for troops, weapons, fuel, and supplies bound further east. The bases were also used by 15 American KC-135 tanker aircraft during the war between Israel and Iran in June as the US flew its bombers towards Iranian targets ahead of Operation Midnight Hammer.

But, according to the 1988 Madrid-Washington military cooperation agreement regarding the base, America must obtain authorisation from the local administration to transfer “ammunition and explosives” to third countries. 

A pro-Palestinian protest is seen in Bilbao, Spain, June 4, 2025 (credit: Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)

And while Spain initially waived its right to know the final destination of the cargo and could not legally inspect them as they transferred through, it significantly limited their ability to stop the cargo. A 2011 operational amendment tightened the rules and obliged Washington to disclose flight origins, destinations, and descriptions of mission objectives and cargo. 

Article 25 of the treaty also explicitly excludes missions carrying “controversial cargo or passengers”  which require case-by-case approval by Spain.

Though Madrid is obliged to respect the bilateral defense agreement with Washington, the report noted that America is fully aware of the controversy surrounding the arms bound for Israel.

According to El Pais, six F-35 Adir fighter jets on their way to Israel from the US in March avoided stopping over at those bases, choosing instead to stop in the Azores before flying through the Strait of Gibraltar.

In September, a US State Department spokesperson said that limiting access to Spanish ports and airspace to ships and planes carrying weapons for Israel was “deeply concerning.”

“It is deeply concerning that​ Spain, a NATO member, has chosen to potentially limit US operations and to turn its back on Israel on the same day six individuals were killed in Jerusalem. These measures embolden terrorists,” the spokesperson said in an email sent to Reuters. 

Anna Aronheim

Source: https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-868993

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Mossad: 'Hamas not interested in military confrontation' two weeks before Oct. 7 - N12 - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

"The broad interest of the Hamas leadership in Gaza is to avoid escalation," said the document.

 

Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, walks during an anti-Israel military show by Hamas terroristsin the southern Gaza Strip November 11, 2019.

(photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS)

The Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel, published a detailed paper in which it was determined that Hamas is not interested in a military confrontation just two weeks before the October 7 attack, N12 reported on Saturday night. 

The document, titled "Increasing Popular Pressure - A Calculated Policy on the Part of Hamas's Leadership in Gaza to Increase Civilian Exchanges," stated that "It is clear that the Hamas leadership in Gaza is not interested in a military confrontation with Israel at this time, but it also does not shy away from it if it is forced upon it," said N12. 

The document, which was published whilst incendiary balloons were being launched from the Gaza Strip, insisted on presenting a picture in which the terror organization strived for civil discourse rather than a military conflict. 

Hamas position could change, but unlikely, said Mossad 

N12 said it also clarified that Hamas's position could change, but emphasized that at the time, "the broad interest of the Hamas leadership in Gaza is to avoid escalation." 

Four months before October 7, Mossah head Dedi Barnea said he supported a benefits program for Gaza, intending to bring about long-term peace with Hamas, according to Channel 12. 

A Palestinian member of Hamas security forces stands outside the main commercial crossing with Gaza, Kerem Shalom, in the southern Gaza strip August 11, 2020. (credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS)

Mossad denies fault 

The Mossad responded by saying, "The division of responsibility between the intelligence agencies as defined by the political echelon since 2005 determined, among other things, that the Mossad holds no responsibility for strategic warning of power movements in the Palestinian arena, and therefore the weight of the document for decision-making was low to negligible." 

"The Mossad was not operationally engaged in the Gaza Strip, neither in collecting intelligence, nor in deploying agents, nor in carrying out special operations." 

 

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-868920

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FBI lab report, contradictory witness statement inject fresh mystery in unsolved J6 pipe bomb case - Steven Richards and John Solomon

 

by Steven Richards and John Solomon

The devices had destructive potential but never went off despite being reportedly planted 16 hours ahead of time set with one hour timers. And one witness told investigators that at least one of the bombs may not have been planted the night before.

The unsolved case of two pipe bombs planted at the major political parties' headquarters in Washington D.C. before the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot is facing new mystery after FBI Director Kash Patel transmitted to Congress the lab analysis and interviews with a key witness who is challenging the official timeline of events.

The documents obtained by Just the News show that both bombs — one planted at the Democratic National Committee and the other at the Republican National Committee — were filled with chemical building blocks of black powder, each was equipped with a 60-minute kitchen timer, and each had destructive potential.

But most notably, the FBI laboratory report never uses the word “viable” to describe either bomb. Both devices never exploded and were discovered about 16 hours after the FBI claimed they were planted outside both major party headquarters. 

"When properly assembled and initiated, an IED of this sort can cause property damage, bodily injury, or death," the lab report stated. The report offered no clear explanation why the bombs — which it called "Improvised Explosive Devices" — did not detonate.

You can read that report here.

FBILabAnalysisJ6PipeBombs.pdf

Timeline of when bombs planted, discovered under review

The documents turned over by Patel to the House Judiciary Committee and its special Jan. 6 investigative subcommittee also raise questions about that timeline. They include interviews with a key witness who said the RNC device still had 20 minutes remaining on its timer when she discovered it the following day.

That witness raised the possibility that at least the RNC pipe bomb was planted just before it was discovered and not the night before as the FBI claimed.

The mystifying evidence now has congressional investigators exploring stunning new theories, including whether the bombs were made to look real but not to explode to create a diversion during the Jan. 6 protest or whether someone came back and set the timers later on one or both of the devices.

"The single greatest action that facilitated the protester's ease of entry into the Capitol on January 6 was the placing of the pipe bombs, and the diversionary effect that had on security resources which would have otherwise been at the Capitol," said Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., the chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee that is investigating the law enforcement response to Jan. 6.

"After that day, the FBI was zealous in pursuing those trespassing at the Capitol, but quite lacking in their pursuit of whomever placed the pipe bombs," he added. "One focus of this Committee will be highlighting the bizarre facts surrounding the pipe bomb case, hoping to bring much needed clarity on this subject to the American people.”

Lawmakers pilloried the FBI in a January report for the security failures surrounding the pipe bombs and the “chaotic response of federal law enforcement after their discovery,” Just the News previously reported. They also criticized the bureau for failing to provide “substantive updates” to Congress about the status of its investigation into the two bombs. 

The congressional panel also raised questions about how the FBI determined that both pipe bombs were “viable” explosive devices given that both were equipped with 60-minute kitchen timers, but were allegedly planted approximately 16 hours before they were discovered.

Patel hampered by previous admin's shoddy detective work four years ago

The newly released internal memos are the most comprehensive insight to date into the bureau’s investigation of the pipe bombs. No suspect has been apprehended, despite the offer of a large reward and extensive, timestamped security footage and a detailed description of the suspect’s attire–making the bombs one of the great unsolved mysteries of Jan. 6. 

After four years of frustration with limited cooperation from former Director Chris Wray's FBI, congressional investigators are pleased by the transparency offered by the new director.

But Patel inherited the J6 pipe bomb case four years after the incident and was left with files that lay bare a shoddy initial investigation.

For instance, federal law enforcement only interviewed the witness who discovered the RNC pipe bomb five days after the incident, and only after she submitted a tip to the FBI. 

Witness speaks out, wanted to provide assistance

“I am the person that discovered and alerted the guards to the pipe bomb found next to the RNC on January 6. I wanted to identify myself in case there are additional details I can provide that might be useful to the investigation,” the tipster wrote. 

“I did not see nor do I recognize the person of interest socialized in the media. However, I can confirm that the device must have been placed between 12pm-12:40pm EST, because it was not present when I went down to the area to start laundry (~12pm), but it was present when I returned to continue laundry (~12:40pm),” she told the bureau.

The woman is identified as a worker at the U.S. Commerce Department. Congressional investigators told Just the News they have confirmed she also worked at the agency inside a program that coordinates first responder communications for police agencies.

Her tip raises questions about the discrepancy between the witnesses’ timeline and the security footage obtained and released by the FBI. That footage shows that the suspect planted the bomb in an alley outside the RNC building at “approximately 8:16 PM” on the night of Jan. 5, the FBI said.

This is about 16 hours before the witness encountered the device, which she insisted was planted that afternoon, not the day before.  While doing laundry on Jan. 6, the witness said she “observed a suspicious device next to the exterior gate,” according to the FBI summary of her interview. 

“At first glance she thought someone missed the trash can. After a more intentional look, she observed the wires, pipe, and clock attached to the device which led her to believe it could be an explosive device,” the summary says. “The dial of the clock was set to the number 20.” 

Though she initially thought the device was a “prank,” the witness decided to notify RNC security, the summary shows.

You can read the witness interviews here.

J6PipeBombWitnessInterviews.pdf

The witness later identified herself to the media as Karlin Younger. In an interview with Business Insider, Younger recounted her experience finding the bomb, which matches closely with her FBI interview. Her public statements also appear to confirm the fact that federal authorities never spoke with her that day, and didn’t at all until she reached out through the tip line

Wray waited more than a year before canvassing for information

The delay was not the only apparent misstep in the FBI’s pipe bomb probe under Wray's watch. A whistleblower previously told Congress that the bureau waited more than a year to request field offices to canvas informants for information on the devices, Just the News previously reported. 

The whistleblower, described as a "senior FBI special agent," told lawmakers that the request was "'unusual' because it was transmitted more than a year after the FBI had begun the investigation, and it raises questions about the progress and extent of the FBI’s investigation.

Steven Richards and John Solomon

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/security/monfbi-lab-report-contradictory-witness-interview-offer-new-mystery-unsolved-j6

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Trump Derangement Syndrome comes for heralded off-label autism treatment after president endorses - Greg Piper

 

by Greg Piper

Chemo side-effect drug has long been used to treat autism, with quickly observed improvements and little risk to children, but it's not a moneymaker. Trump endorsement prompts CBS to change old story from promising to skeptical.

 

The medical establishment and mainstream media are uniting against the Trump administration's re-purposing of an inexpensive drug to treat an epidemic, calling it "unproven," not "backed by science," "not a cure" and "shocking" to endorse, with The New York Times emphasizing no profit-driven drug company suggested it.

In President Trump's first term, it was ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. In his second, it's prescription leucovorin to treat autism spectrum disorder.

Long used to treat chemotherapy side effects, leucovorin calcium tablets got approved last week by the Food and Drug Administration to treat "cerebral folate deficiency" (CFD), whose clinical symptoms include "global developmental delays with autistic features," following its own "systematic analysis of literature" from 2009 through last year.

"Published case reports provided patient-level data on over 40 patients," adult and child, with most of those given leucovorin treatment showing "substantial improvement of symptoms of CFD that would not be expected when compared to the natural history of CFD due to FOLR1 gene variants," the Federal Register notice says.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted leucovorin to treat autism Monday with Trump and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, but it was quickly overshadowed by the other autism-related recommendation that pregnant women limit their use of Tylenol, which prompted a new TikTok challenge. 

Almost 4 million views…and it’s total disinformation.

At today’s press conference, @POTUS and HHS officials discussed *prescription* leucovorin, which can only be taken in consultation with a doctor.

It is not to be conflated with ANY over-the-counter drugs or supplements. https://t.co/873Yxq1uhN

— HHS.gov (@HHSGov) September 23, 2025

Tylenol maker Kenvue surreptitiously reversed its own eight-year-old recommendation that pregnant women not take Tylenol at all, reaffirmed two years later, in response to the federal recommendation, now claiming it's "safe when used as directed" by pregnant women.

Officials went on Trump's favorite medium to direct attention back to leucovorin, also known as folinic acid — not to be confused with the synthetic form of folate known as folic acid — but cited varying uncredited estimates of its effectiveness against autism.

Oz told Fox News on Tuesday that he consulted both major academic centers and other practitioners on treating autism with leucovorin, and found the latter more receptive. All but one clinician, a self-identified "purist," told Oz they would use it for autism in their own kids.

"The clinical trials will probably take five years" so he's telling parents of young children that leucovorin "has a good theoretical argument in favor of it and has already been studied in a couple hundred kids," claiming half "seem to have some benefit." 

The FDA label change will make the drug available via Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, Oz said. Multiple agencies plan to gather data from parents every three months on "whether your child is speaking better or behaving differently."

Leucovorin's approval was the "most exciting part of the announcement that got left out of a lot of the coverage," Makary told C-SPAN, predicting it "may help 50-60% of kids with autism" by letting folate bypass antibody-blocked receptors on the blood-brain barrier. He also cited unnamed studies that show two in three kids will "see improvements."

.@DrOzCMS: We are making prescription leucovorin available as a therapeutic for autism-related symptoms.

This is a huge step forward for research into treatments for autism — but more importantly, it's HOPE for families who, until now, have had very limited options. pic.twitter.com/BvcmVXywpJ

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 23, 2025

Published in smaller journals because autism research 'outside Overton window'

Robert Malone, mRNA vaccine pioneer-turned-critic, exhaustively described leucovorin and its mechanism in a Thursday essay and pointed to peer-reviewed research on the treatment and role of "folate receptor autoantibodies" in autism going back to 2008, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Molecular Psychiatry twice and Nutrients.

"Notice anything about these publications and journals?" Malone wrote. "These findings are not being published in ‘big' journals," showing that "this basic and clinical research area has been treated as if any research or findings relating to ASD diagnosis and treatment are outside the Overton window of allowable medical and scientific discourse."

Precigenetic CEO Parmita Mishra, who calls herself "neurodivergent" and "a brain methylation researcher," provided lengthy background on the research ahead of Kennedy's announcement. "There is no approved drug for autism’s core biology" but "in a subset of cases, folinic acid helped with communication and cognition," she said.

Published in smaller journals because autism research 'outside Overton window' Robert Malone, mRNA vaccine pioneer-turned-critic, exhaustively described leucovorin and its mechanism in a Thursday essay and pointed to peer-reviewed research on the treatment and role of "folate receptor autoantibodies" in autism going back to 2008, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Molecular Psychiatry twice and Nutrients. "Notice anything about these publications and journals?" Malone wrote. "These findings are not being published in ‘big' journals," showing that "this basic and clinical research area has been treated as if any research or findings relating to ASD diagnosis and treatment are outside the Overton window of allowable medical and scientific discourse." Precigenetic CEO Parmita Mishra, who calls herself "neurodivergent" and "a brain methylation researcher," provided lengthy background on the research ahead of Kennedy's announcement. "There is no approved drug for autism’s core biology" but "in a subset of cases, folinic acid helped with communication and cognition," she said.

Advocacy group Autism Speaks agreed "leucovorin shows promise in improving speech in minimally verbal children" while calling for "larger, well-controlled clinical trials" to confirm its efficacy and safety, saying it's "encouraged by the recent, increased focus on autism" and the increased investment in research.

The University of Virginia health system's Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Pediatrics is not "at this time" prescribing leucovorin for autism treatment, despite caregivers for children asking about it "for quite a few months," UVA Health developmental behavioral pediatrician Beth Ellen Davis told the Public Ivy's in-house publication.

CBS News medical contributor and doctor Celine Gounder wrote a hopeful feature in February on leucovorin as an off-label autism treatment with only "mild" side effects, profiling a boy diagnosed with autism at two-and-a-half years old whose parents claim he spoke his first words three days after starting leucovorin at age 3. 

She touted the research for leucovorin to treat autism, including three randomized controlled trials in India, France and the U.S., in which pediatric neurologist Richard Frye has studied it for more than a decade.

Drug makers have no incentive to get leucovorin approved by the FDA to treat autism because it's "an old drug, and you can get it for a very low price," Frye told Gounder.

Frye's 2012 study in Molecular Psychiatry found about a third of treated children with CFD, given the same leucorovin calcium tablets the FDA approved this week, "demonstrated moderate to much improvement" in "verbal communication, receptive and expressive language, attention and stereotypical behavior." 

He confirmed the results four years later in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, published a month before Trump's 2016 election victory. 

Gounder added or replaced several paragraphs in her seven-month-old story after the Trump administration touted the treatment (see text comparison below). The tone became much more skeptical, with Gounder implying the FDA was reckless by approving the treatment without phase-three trials despite previously touting its off-label benefits versus its low risks. 

leucovorin-cbs-new-versus-original.pdf

She added several new quotes from Frye pouring cold water on the approval, saying the FDA "may have been a little premature" and some leucovorin formulations aren't tolerated well in kids. Frye is miffed that his group didn't get funding from the feds' Autism Data Science Initiative and that "he was not consulted on the design of upcoming leucovorin trials."

The Times also emphasized the procedural oddity, extensively quoted critics of the approval and noted Oz was a former "pitchman" for folinic-acid maker iHerb while conceding he stepped down from the company and divested his stock months earlier.

CNN's report features a 4-year-old boy whose guardian said he struggled to say "two-word sentences" or answer to his name before going on leucovorin, without first taking an antibody test, and within "a couple months" the boy could tell the guardian "about the other kids at school and answer follow-up questions."

The boy experienced one of the known side effects, increased hyperactivity, "but it’s within tolerable limits" and has largely subsided, the guardian told CNN. “Our theory is that his world grew so big, so fast, he was having a problem digesting it."

Greg Piper

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/health/trump-derangement-syndrome-comes-heralded-label-autism-treatment-after

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'All the talk about Hamas disappearing is disconnected from reality', says Hamas expert - 103FM

 

by 103FM

Hamas plans to take over the Palestinian Authority within five to ten years, Hamas expert Eyal Ofer warned.

 

Hamas members stand at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, February 7, 2025.

(photo credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters)

After two years of war in the Gaza Strip, Hamas still exists, controls the strip, and holds Israeli hostages. Eyal Ofer, expert on Hamas's economy, spoke about the implications of the war on the terrorist group's standing on 103Fm Sunday. 

Ofer said that Israel is paying a very high price in the international arena for its recent fighting, arguing that "we could have been in a better position if we had not let these 800,000 return to the Gaza Strip in the first place," referring to the civilians who have evacuated Gaza City following Israel's recent ground invasion.

Ofer also discussed the possibility of Hamas's acceptance of a proposal for ending the war. "This is the most important thing for Hamas. I base myself on open information from what appears on Gazan channels," he explained. "They are talking amongst themselves. According to their reports, Israel is bombing two main areas: one is in the northwest of the city in the Shati refugee camp, and the other is in the southeast of the city in the Sabra camp." 

He said that it is interesting that in the last 24 hours, reports stated that two clans had received offers from Israel to be recipients of humanitarian aid, like Abu Shabaab, leader of the Popular Forces, an anti-Hamas armed group operating in Gaza. 

According to Gazan sources, the clans rejected the offers and published statements that they were with Hamas. 

Hamas members from the Qassam brigade, the military wing of Hamas, attend the funeral of Mazen Faqha in Gaza City, Saturday, March, 25, 2017. (credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters)

Ofer explained that Hamas's rule has been "crumbling for nearly six months" due to Israel's elimination of "all the people of civilian life, financial people, and police officers." 

However, Hamas has garnered more than 10,000 fighters, with some reports saying 20,000. There are unconfirmed reports that many of them are being transferred, carrying weapons, to al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian zone, and Deir al-Balah, a central Gazan area. 

Thinking in the long term 

Ofer urged Israeli officials not to think only in the short term. 

"Hamas has said it clearly," he stated. "It understands that formally, it will not remain in power in Gaza. In the short term, Hamas will agree to expert committees. They will say, 'We will not act against the Arab forces that will enter,' but Hamas always thinks in the long term." 

"They actually plan to take over within five to ten years," he concluded. "All the talk about Hamas disappearing is disconnected from reality." 

103FM

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-868919

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Syria’s Fragile Peace: Will Sharaa Be Able to Keep Quiet in His Country? - Jonathan Spyer

 

by Jonathan Spyer

The new government in Damascus -- has a clear interest in an arrangement that would prevent further Israeli military actions on Syrian soil and over Syrian skies.

 

Even as Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa is fêted at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Syria remains divided, with the Sunni Islamist central government unable to reconcile or provide security and exclusive governance to the country’s large non-Sunni and non-Arab minorities; in New York City on September 26, 2025. Shutterstock 

A security agreement between Israel and Syria regarding arrangements in southern Syria appears feasible and possibly imminent. There are obvious short-term gains for both sides in such an agreement, which appear to be providing momentum in the contacts between the sides. Perhaps most importantly, the United States Administration clearly wants a deal of this kind, which would provide a significant diplomatic achievement for Washington in the Middle East context.

The new government in Damascus similarly has a clear interest in an arrangement that would prevent further Israeli military actions on Syrian soil and over Syrian skies.

Well-connected Israeli journalist Ben Caspit, writing at al-Monitor this week, quoted Israeli sources as suggesting that Israel also has a particular incentive in concluding an agreement with Syria at the present time, because it would buy Jerusalem more time and leeway to pursue its offensive in Gaza. The new government in Damascus similarly has a clear interest in an arrangement that would prevent further Israeli military actions on Syrian soil and over Syrian skies.

But while an agreement of some kind appears possible, the future direction and prospects for future stability in Syria remain far less clear. Even as President Ahmed Sharaa is fêted at the UN General Assembly in New York, Syria remains divided, with the Sunni Islamist central government unable to reconcile or provide security and exclusive governance to the country’s large non-Sunni and non Arab minorities. The tempo of events in New York suggests that the US administration has chosen to back the Sharaa government, in the hope that one way or another, Damascus will, in the period ahead, impose its will across the country, and make the problems go away. This prospect, however, remains far from certain.

Large-scale violence in Syria

Syria has already witnessed three instances of large-scale sectarian strife since the toppling of the Assad regime last December. These were: the massacres of Alawi Syrians in the western coastal area in March, attacks on Druze in the Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya in April and May, and the large-scale massacres of Druze in Swaida in July. Sunni Islamist supporters of the current government carried out all these actions.
THE ISSUES between the new government and the Alawi and Druze populations remain unresolved, and daily acts of violence continue.

According to one Asyrian Alawi source, “We are in an extremely difficult situation, especially women. Since the 7th of March, there have been documented abductions, and rape cases are happening almost daily. The most recent one was a gang rape in a village very close to my own. These crimes are not isolated incidents but part of a pattern of systematic intimidation and destruction of our community fabric.” The source summed up the situation facing the Alawis as “surrounded by suspicion, demonization, and escalating targeted violence.”

The situation of the Druze in the south remains similarly uncertain. Hundreds of Druze men and women kidnapped during the July violence remain missing, their fate unknown.

A Druze leader quoted by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said this week that the government in Damascus was obstructing the conclusion of a prisoner exchange deal (armed Druze factions are still holding 34 members of government security forces).

It is unclear what impact a security arrangement between Israel and the Sharaa government would have on the situation of the Druze. Israel is likely to insist on safeguards for the Druze communities in any future arrangement.

The most important obstacle to the consolidation of Turkish-backed Sunni Islamist rule across Syria remains the presence of the Kurdish-dominated Autonomous Administration of North East Syria, and its formidable armed element, the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Support for federalism and even for secession and alignment with Israel remains widespread in the Druze-majority Sweida province, where demonstrators have raised Israeli flags in recent weeks.

Perhaps the most significant and ominous developments, however, are taking place further north.

Currently, the most important obstacle to the consolidation of Turkish-backed Sunni Islamist rule across Syria remains the presence of the Kurdish-dominated Autonomous Administration of North East Syria (AANES), and its formidable armed element, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The AANES controls around 30% of Syrian territory. Its area of governance is the most peaceful and orderly part of Syria. Its armed force numbers around 100,000 fighters. While multi ethnic in nature, the SDF is built around the core of the Kurdish volunteer Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG).

The question of the integration of both the civil and military aspects of the AANES into the new Syrian governing structures remains unresolved.

On March 10, an agreement was reached in Damascus between the Sharaa government and the AANES. Implementation of the agreement, however, has been slow, and fundamental disagreements appear to remain. Indeed, it is difficult to see how these two fundamentally different bodies can be formally reconciled.

The emergent government in Damascus is conservative, overtly Sunni Arab, and religious in nature. It favors a centralized Syria, with authority concentrated in Damascus. The AANES wants a federal, decentralized Syria, and to maintain its autonomous structures, including its own security formations, albeit within a formally united Syria.

Recent statements suggest that the central government, and more importantly its Turkish backers, are aware of the essentially irreconcilable aims of the two governing bodies in Syria, and intend to contest the issue by force.

Turkish foreign minister and former intelligence chief Hakan Fidan, a close associate of President Erdogan, said earlier this month that “the SDF is stalling in implementing the March agreement with Damascus, banking on renewed instability to improve its negotiating position.” Fidan added that “Turkey will not stand idly by in the face of these threats.”

An unnamed Syrian official, meanwhile, told the Reuters news agency earlier this month that Turkey may back a military operation against the SDF if the agreement for the latter’s integration and disbandment is not implemented by the end of the year. The official added that the US has effectively granted Turkey and its allies in Damascus “freedom of action” in Syria should they wish to undertake such action.

The track record of Islamist governance in the Levant—which so far comprises the former regimes of Hamas in Gaza and ISIS in parts of Iraq and Syria—would not appear to give great cause for optimism.

While this is probably an exaggeration, it is clearly the case that Washington, for now, is backing the Sharaa government and appears to be distancing itself from the SDF, which was its key Syrian ally in the fight against ISIS.

The US interest is straightforward – it wants quiet in Syria. It appears that currently, backing Sharaa and Turkey’s efforts to establish a centralized, Sunni Islamist regime offers the best pathway to this. Since this is the prevailing direction of opinion in Washington, Israel is also adapting to the current atmosphere. It remains, however, deeply questionable whether the emergent regime in Damascus will prove able to maintain the quiet and order that the West is seeking, given its own religious and ideological preferences and those of the forces on which it depends and does not entirely control.

The future fortunes of the AANES and of other minority projects in Syria will depend on the government’s success in this regard. The track record of Islamist governance in the Levant – which so far comprises the former regimes of Hamas in Gaza and ISIS in parts of Iraq and Syria – would not appear to give great cause for optimism. The coming months will tell.

Published originally on September 26, 2025.

Jonathan Spyer oversees the Forum’s content and is editor of the Middle East Quarterly. Mr. Spyer, a journalist, reports for Janes Intelligence Review, writes a column for the Jerusalem Post, and is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and The Australian. He frequently reports from Syria and Iraq. He has a B.A. from the London School of Economics, an M.A. from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. He is the author of two books: The Transforming Fire: The Rise of the Israel-Islamist Conflict (2010) and Days of the Fall: A Reporter’s Journey in the Syria and Iraq Wars (2017).

Source: https://www.meforum.org/mef-online/syrias-fragile-peace-will-sharaa-be-able-to-keep-quiet-in-his-country

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