The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.
From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."
The Islamic Republic “is so fanatical that it will try again to produce nuclear bombs and rebuild the axis,” the Israeli premier said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a reception marking the opening of the Colombian Embassy in Jerusalem, held at the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Oct. 14, 2026. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that his government is committed to completing the elimination of the Iranian regime and its proxy terrorist organization Hezbollah, after which peace with Lebanon will follow.
“I have spoken about this with [U.S. President Donald] Trump more than once, including the day before yesterday,” Netanyahu said while visiting the new Kiryat Shmona-Tel Hai University for the opening of the academic year, according to a statement from his office.
“Because as long as the regime remains alive, even if it is battered, wounded, and beaten, it is so fanatical that it will try again to do what it did a year ago, when we stopped it: produce nuclear bombs and rebuild the axis,” Israel’s longest-serving prime minister continued.
“Therefore, the only way to prevent this is to topple this regime, and then, in parallel, the elimination of Hezbollah will follow,” he said.
During the war, Israel has established a security zone in Southern Lebanon, pushing Hezbollah’s special Radwan Force back and “crushing” it, Netanyahu went on to say.
This security zone “is deep and empty. People have left, so it is completely different” from the area the Israel Defense Forces occupied from 1985 to 2000, Netanyahu continued, referring to roughly the same region Israeli forces are deployed in today.
After taking control of Beirut on Sept. 29, 1982, the IDF gradually withdrew southward, until it established a security zone along the Israel-Lebanon border that lasted 15 years.
Speaking alongside Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Netanyahu implored him to continue expanding the students’ knowledge and understanding, as well as embracing AI technology “with full force.”
“We are an intelligent people, and this is the future. It is already the present,” the premier added, according to the statement.
Katz: Hezbollah attacking Israel will cost it more Lebanese territory
Also on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned in an Arabic-language post on X that if Hezbollah joins an Iranian attack on the State of Israel, the IDF will move into additional areas within the Nabatieh and Litani region in Lebanon’s south, “whereby the territories occupied will be evacuated of their residents ... and made a permanent part of Israel’s security zone in Lebanon.”
He went on to list Israel’s achievements in the last round of combat north of its border.
The IDF “established a security zone inside Lebanese territory covering 700 square kilometers [270 square miles], stretching from the Mediterranean coast in the west to Beaufort Castle, the Ali al-Taher heights, and the outskirts of Mount Hermon in the east,” the defense minister said.
All 200,000 Shi’ite residents have been evacuated from this area up to the so-called Yellow Line, and the Israeli military continues to destroy terrorist infrastructure within the security zone, both underground and above ground, Katz continued.
The Yellow Line designates the security zone’s northern border with Lebanon.
In addition, more than 60 Lebanese villages in the area were demolished, said Katz.
“These included 23,000 homes that served, in every sense of the word, as Hezbollah positions and threatened the safety of Galilee residents,” he stressed.
“Southern Lebanon has never experienced a reality like this, even compared with the security zones established in the past: a security zone devoid of residents, terrorist infrastructure, and homes. This is the new security doctrine that I am leading together with the prime minister, in cooperation with the Israeli military, in confronting jihadist forces,” Katz noted.
He then vowed not to withdraw Israeli forces from the area until the Iranian-backed group is “disarmed throughout Lebanon and the threat to the residents of the north is eliminated.”
The military had prepared for a multi-day operation to take place on the weekend of October 10 that would have targeted civilian infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and regime targets.
A person holds a placard with a picture of US President Donald Trump alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as protesters gather near the United Nations office, on the day of the second round of nuclear talks between U.S. and Iran, in Geneva, Switzerland, February 17, 2026.(photo credit: Pierre Albouy/Reuters)
The IDF was ready to resume strikes against Iran and conduct a multi-day operation against the regime on the weekend of October 10, but canceled the operation after receiving opposition from US President Donald Trump, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
The report noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently campaigning to resume large-scale strikes against Iran, and recently instructed the IDF to plan for a new offensive.
The Israeli military had prepared several targets, including civilian infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and regime targets, three people familiar with the matter told the FT, adding that the operation was planned to be larger in scale than February's Operation Roaring Lion.
Trump reportedly opposed the plan, as he did not want to reignite a military conflict in the region ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections, the FT reported.
It was not clear whether the US was meant to join the operation directly, sources told FT, noting that it was "not an unreasonable scenario" that the two nations would jointly restart strikes in the coming weeks.
"There will either be a deal or an attack,” they said.
A member of a police force stands guard on a street, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran Wednesday, 1st April 2026 (credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA/REUTERS)
Netanyahu, Hegseth hold covert meeting at Israel's Ovda air base days before Israel's election
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Netanyahu met in Israel on Monday, two sources confirmed to Walla on Tuesday.
Reuters reported that Hegseth also confirmed the visit, but would not elaborate on the details of his talk with Netanyahu.
According to a KAN News report on Tuesday, the main topic of discussion was Iran.
Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly attended the meeting, but IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and other senior Israeli officials were not invited for confidentiality reasons.
US sources told The Jerusalem Post that representatives of the United Arab Emirates were not at the meeting, despite earlier reports saying otherwise.
Hegseth reportedly arrived at the meeting in a military transport plane rather than a US government plane to avoid raising suspicion about the covert meeting.
The unannounced meeting comes eight days before Israeli elections and amid US-Israel discussions to resume combat operations against Iran, according to the report.
SpaceX first placed a limit on some services in Ukraine on October 13 without warning. Ukrainian officials at the time feared the move by Musk's company may have been made at the request of Trump.
Elon Musk walks to attend the trial in his lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse, in Oakland, California, US, April 29, 2026.(photo credit: MANUEL ORBEGOZO/REUTERS)
SpaceX first placed a limit on some services in Ukraine on October 13 without warning. Ukrainian officials at the time feared the move by Musk's company may have been made at the request of US President Donald Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine was unable to use its interceptors against Russian drone attacks as a result of the restrictions on Saturday, saying that Ukraine had been told that they had been caused by technical issues.
Musk claims POTUS behind any decisions on speed limits as Trump denies responsibility
Trump said on Friday that he did not think he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing Starlink access in a way that affected its military operations against Russia and told reporters on Monday that he didn't know who was responsible but "would like to find out."
Servicemen of the 68th Oleksa Dovbush Separate Jaeger Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine set up Starlink satellite internet system, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine April 10, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia/File Photo)
Musk posted that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," to his X/Twitter account shortly after the slowdown was publicized.
According to the WSJ report, some US officials said that Musk acted without any order from Trump. However, a person familiar with the situation told WSJ that Musk had communicated with multiple senior administration officials, including Trump himself, before imposing the new speed cap.
This comes amidst strained US-Ukrainian ties, with Trump accusing Zelensky of sabotaging peace efforts and Zelensky accusing the Trump administration of withholding intelligence, which the White House has denied.
"There has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists on Tuesday.
Rubio added that he had had a 45-minute conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday. Zelensky said the topics included ballistic missile interceptors, early warning of Russian attacks and the situation with Starlink and Starshield satellite services.
Trump criticizes Zelensky's attack on Russian diesel
Trump has criticized Zelensky for attacking Russian diesel refineries, saying on October 10, days before the Starlink restrictions, that he told Zelensky, "You can do whatever you want to Russia, but don’t hit the refineries because that’s a world problem.’ And what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel. He better damn well stop.”
Trump reiterated his criticism in a Truth Social post on Sunday, saying that Zelensky "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did," calling on the Ukrainian leader to stop attacking Russian diesel facilities.
Musk has publicly agreed with Trump's criticism, responding to a video of Trump telling Zelensky to stop the attacks with "Zelensky has gone too far," on X, four days before drone operators reported losing unrestricted access to Starlink.
Ukraine is still “waiting for the official response from contacts with the Pentagon and SpaceX at the leaders' level to understand what has happened, but also to understand whether the connection has been restored or will be restored,” Ukraine's top diplomat in Washington, Denys Sienik, told the WSJ on Tuesday.
Amichai Stein and Reuters contributed to this report.
Israel is tracking Iran's efforts to rebuild its military capabilities, warning that renewed threats could force action despite upcoming elections.
Birds fly as smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 2, 2026.(photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)
Israel is monitoring Iranian efforts to rebuild its military capabilities following the damage Tehran sustained during Operation Roaring Lion, with security officials warning that developments could force Israel to defend itself despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's desire to avoid escalation ahead of the elections, according to assessments discussed in recent Israeli security consultations.
Intelligence indicating that Iran is working to restore its military capabilities following the blows it sustained during Operation Roaring Lion was examined during security discussions held in Israel.
In recent weeks, Iranian measures indicating renewed military preparations have been identified. Israeli officials believe that the completion of these preparations could significantly strengthen Iran's combat capabilities. Previous assessments have also highlighted the speed of Iran's military recovery following the conflict.
According to officials familiar with the discussions, "Netanyahu wants the elections to take place as planned and on schedule, something that would not be possible if Israel were in a state of emergency involving fighting against Iran."
Nevertheless, the officials stressed that the situation is changing in accordance with the pace of Iran's military preparations and activities, and that Israel's security assessments are being updated as developments unfold.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen during a presentation of Israel’s national security doctrine, in Jerusalem, October 18, 2026 (credit: MA'AYAN TOAF/GPO)
Israel does not rule out renewed military action against Iran
"It is impossible to completely rule out a situation in which developments on the ground would require Israel to defend itself," the officials said, despite the desire to avoid escalation ahead of the elections.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made a brief, unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, during which he met with Netanyahu at the Israeli Air Force's Ovda Airbase in southern Israel. The meeting between Netanyahu and Hegseth took place amid heightened security discussions.
The meeting was also attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Council head Shmuel Ben Ezra, and other senior officials.
Possible renewal of strikes against Iran
The previously unannounced visit took place amid ongoing Israeli-US security consultations concerning Iran and the possibility of renewed military operations against Iranian nuclear and military facilities.
Neither the Prime Minister's Office nor the Pentagon has issued an official statement regarding the content of the discussions. Hegseth's arrival in Israel was not preceded by a public announcement or the release of an official agenda.
The meeting was held at a military base in southern Israel rather than at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem or the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, against the backdrop of American military activity at the base and ongoing discussions between the two countries concerning Iran.
Donald Trump ran on a promise to end job-killing regulation, and now is the moment when we’re within sight of the fulfilment of that promise.
Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering a bill called the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act. That isn’t a very descriptive name, but the author of a fine Substack called Energy Talking Points has a better one — he calls it “Freedom-to-Build legislation,” and says that it’s the biggest attempt at permitting reform that the United States has made in 46 years.
One weird thing about this law is that it’s supported by pro-business and libertarian think tanks, like the Cato Institute, and also by a lot of left-wing NGOs like the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. How could such an odd alliance come together? Well, the short answer is that it involved some hardball politicking by an administration that takes its job a lot more seriously than any previous Republican administration of my lifetime.
But first, an explanation is in order of why permitting reform is so necessary, and why overhauling the system could reduce the cost of living and create hundreds of thousands of new American jobs.
At present, if you want to build a large infrastructure project in the U.S., such as a railway, power line, pipeline, wind farm, road, mine, or refinery, then you have to get a lot of permits, from federal agencies like the EPA, as well as from the state and the city that you’re in. But that on its own isn’t newsworthy — every country has building codes, pollution limits, and some form of environmental protection law.
But America is different from countries like Japan, Canada, and Australia (which have been outcompeting us in physical industry for a long time) because, in the United States (due to laws like NEPA that were signed by the traitorous Nixon Administration in the 1970s):
The environmental laws are vague. If you’re a builder, you must produce “environmental impact statements” (EISs) that spend hundreds or thousands of pages listing ways that your project might affect the environment, without any clear guidance on what impacts are and aren’t acceptable.
Building permits are easy to revoke if there’s a change in the administration. And it’s hard to persuade people to spend money on things like the Keystone XL Pipeline if you might have to stop work the moment that a different party is in the White House.
Some of these laws are enforced by private activists, not the government. Once you file your EIS, anyone can sue you on the grounds that it isn’t thorough enough… and the window to file a lawsuit stays open for six years.
There is no presumption of innocence. If the court sides with the activists, then you have to stop work on the project until you can write a newer, longer EIS, which (due to the vagueness of the laws, and the burden of proof being on the accused) usually takes years and years of litigation before it’s finished.
For an example of how long these EISs can be, just consider that, back in 2008, San Francisco spent two-and-a-half years writing a 1,353 page report to try to convince a judge to let it add new bike lanes to the city streets. Bike lanes! A project that liberals, in theory, are supposed to like! (Now imagine how much worse the problem is if you’re trying to build an oil pipeline or a uranium mine.)
These are the problems that the BAAJA is trying to mitigate. If passed, it would shorten the lawsuit window from six years to 150 days, restore the presumption of innocence so that work can continue while the suit is being decided, and allow developers to sue government agencies for damages when they revoke existing permits without an urgent reason. There are a lot of other details, too — I can’t summarize everything in the 417-page bill, but suffice it to say that it does a lot of things that are necessary and long overdue.
But with the permitting process that we have right now, it’s no wonder that American industry is a risky, low-yield investment. And it’s no wonder that more and more of our energy and tangible goods have to be imported from abroad each year. As a reminder of how bad things are, just look at this S&P500 survey of development time on mines in different countries. The United States came in second-to-last, ahead of only Zambia.
One major takeaway from the permitting situation is that most leftists love big government way more than they love the environment. Just think about how California approved its high-speed rail system in a 2008 ballot measure, has spent about $14 billion on it over the next 18 years, and still has no operational track. This is because California state permitting laws are even worse than federal laws. (It’s worth remembering that, back in the 1930s, before any of these laws were enacted, Americans were able to build the Empire State Building in barely a year, with much more primitive technology.)
So how did Donald Trump’s Republicans manage to get a bunch of green energy activists to see the light and support permitting reform? It was simple, really — the GOP just had to apply the law impartially.
When Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, he froze development on a lot of wind and solar farms.
There wasn’t any good free-market reason for him to do that. These projects were not boondoggles like Solyndra, the solar firm that the Obama Administration scandalously subsidized back in 2009. It turns out that, over the last decade or so, a lot of gradual technological improvements have made wind and solar the cheapest way to generate power on windy and/or sunny days, especially in places like Texas, which is now producing more solar energy than California.
Yes, you read that right. The moment that technological progress made solar panels profitable, the pro-business state that doesn’t care about climate change started installing way more of them than the state that yelps loudly about the environment… but that really just loves big government for its own sake.
What was the effect of Donald Trump’s decision to pull all of these wind and solar permits? It forced the Democrats to the negotiating table. Suddenly, a lot of left-wing engineers realized that the only way they would actually be able to install more green energy is if they lobbied for a permitting reform bill that would make all construction easier.
To be fair, there were a minority of Democrats who were agitating for permitting reform during the Biden years. These were people like Noah Smith, the centrist economics blogger who spends half his time accusing Donald Trump and his allies of being corrupt and bigoted, and the other half trying (and usually failing) to get his fellow Democrats to admit to obvious but inconvenient truths: like that being soft on crime mainly harms poor people, or that refusing to teach algebra in public schools doesn’t fight racism.
As long as Joe Biden was in the White House, the Noah Smith wing of the party could be ignored by the other Democrats, who were usually content to spend lots and lots of money on infrastructure subsidies, and not pay much attention to whether any infrastructure was actually built with that money. (Remember that whether or not anything gets built, a lot of money still moves into the pockets of activists and consulting firms, which is kind of the point).
But once the Republicans were in the driver’s seat, they could put hard pressure on the Democrats, by holding solar and wind projects to the same standards as any other infrastructure. That made it possible to hammer out a deal with just enough support from green energy activists that it might get passed. And if the Cato Institute and Vox both agree that the new legislation will bring down Americans’ electricity prices… well, they’re probably right.
And if this bill makes it all the way through Congress and to the president’s desk, then there’s a good chance that it will be remembered as the greatest accomplishment of Donald Trump’s second term.
After all, without reforms like this one, trying to bring back American jobs via tariffs and tougher immigration laws is a sorry half-measure. (It doesn’t really matter if you exclude foreign competition when Americans themselves have little or no economic freedom.) But if the new bill gets signed into law, then it will remain in place, and keep making American industry more competitive, even if most of Trump’s other policies are reversed by future executive orders.
That is why I’m calling my senators and representative and telling them that I support the BAAJA. And that’s why you should, too. After all, Donald Trump ran on a promise to end job-killing regulation, and now is the moment when we’re within sight of the fulfilment of that promise.
Twilight Patriot is the pen name of a young American who lives in South Carolina, where he is currently working on a graduate degree. You can read more of his writings at his substack.
If anyone is committing ethnic cleansing or genocide -- not just of Israelis, but of all Jews -- it is the Palestinians. Hamas states it quite plainly in its original covenant
Why are France and other parts of Europe going up in flames? No one tried to stop the marauders when they could. Many people, apparently, would rather be conquered by rapists, stabbers, car-rammers and beheaders than be called a racist.
There also seems to be a slight confusion about who are actually the racists here: the Westerners who incomprehensibly seem not to appreciate being raped, stabbed, car-rammed or beheaded, or the rioters and those who told them exactly which homes and businesses to smash, loot and burn. By a miraculous coincidence, it seems, not one Muslim shop in Marseille was damaged.
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out this week, the Jews have lived on that land for more than 3,000 years. Part of it is actually called Judea. How can you "occupy" land if you are its indigenous people?
If anyone is committing ethnic cleansing or genocide -- not just of Israelis, but of all Jews -- it is the Palestinians. Hamas states it quite plainly in its original covenant:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." – Hamas Covenant, Article 7, 1988.
At the same time, the UK refuses to proscribe a real terrorist group backed by Iran, the Houthis, who are causing immeasurable havoc in the Red Sea.
The incongruity of the UK's actions of rewarding terrorists while punishing a democracy is a sad reversal of what should be taking place -- for the future of the UK as well. Britain is already seen as no longer belonging to its own people. Now these weak leaders would presumably like to extend the same courtesy to Israel...
Hamas leaders have been repeatedly promising to attack Israel "time and again" until it is annihilated -- and Europe as well. Why are Europe's leaders racing to help them achieve that goal?
The twelve Western nations promoting these proposals, except for Poland and possibly Iceland, are plagued by social discord from unmitigated migration, particularly from Muslim nations.
Muslim claims need to be countered by reality: All of Israel, especially its heartland of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), belongs to the Jewish people whether by historical right, legal right (the Balfour Declaration), or by continual habitation for more than 3,000 years. Have Muslims been there for 3,000 years? Until the 7th century, Islam did not even exist. By every rubric, Jews are the rightful occupants and legitimate owners of all of Israel's land, not simply bits of it.
Other nations have no legal or moral right to interfere in Israel's internal affairs or to tell Israel what to do.... It is no secret that most Western nations -- and probably all of the Muslim world -- would be delighted if Netanyahu ceased to be in a leadership role after the elections. Anyone else would doubtless be more malleable about making sure that Israel could be destroyed.
Netanyahu has overcome all foes critically threatening Israel's survival these past years. He is a formidable opponent to those seeking Israel's downfall – which is why they want him gone. Why, then, should the Israelis also want him gone?
No sanctions or criticism will ever persuade Israel -- especially after the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023 -- that it is in Israel's best interests to have a bellicose Palestinian state in its very midst. Every fruit-fly in Israel understands that a Palestinian state would just be a base from which to try to destroy it.
Western leaders, instead of vainly seeking to impose on Israel a Palestinian state that is Israel's sworn enemy, might perhaps consider if such a state on their own border is something they might welcome.
"We will not be a doormat trampled by an anti-Semitic government, in a country conquered by radical Islam, trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel." — Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, September 8, 2026.
Britain, Canada, and France's proposed "solution" of an Islamic state within Israel's borders – ostensibly in the name of their own "fundamental national interest" -- read re-election by the newcomer voting bloc -- would undoubtedly lead to another disaster like October 7, 2023. Pictured: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the UN General Assembly on September 22, 2026. (Photo by Toby Melville/WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Why are France and other parts of Europe going up in flames? No one tried to stop the marauders when they could. Many people, apparently, would rather be conquered by rapists, stabbers, car-rammers and beheaders than be called a racist.
There also seems to be a slight confusion about who are actually the racists here: the Westerners who incomprehensibly seem not to appreciate being raped, stabbed, car-rammed or beheaded, or the rioters and those who told them exactly which homes and businesses to smash, loot and burn. By a miraculous coincidence, it seems, not one Muslim shop in Marseille was damaged.
"If you think tough men are dangerous," Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson said, "wait until you see what weak men are capable of."
His statement came to mind recently when the socialist-Marxist leaders of France, the UK and Canada – who are intractably in the throes of wrecking their own countries (here, here, and here) – made false accusations against the international community's favorite target for demonization, Israel, which historically has refused to take part in that plan.
On September 8, under the guise of promoting a "two-state solution" and endeavoring to force Israel to accept a non-existent "State of Palestine," the British and Canadian prime ministers, together with President Emmanuel Macron of France, issued a joint statement accusing purported Jewish "settler terrorists" of displacing Palestinians in the West Bank. This transfer was done, ran the claim, through what was in reality a blood libel accusing Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and of Israel's supposed "unlawful occupation" of the area. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out this week, the Jews have lived on that land for more than 3,000 years. Part of it is actually called Judea. How can you "occupy" land if you are its indigenous people?
If anyone is committing ethnic cleansing or genocide -- not just of Israelis, but of all Jews -- it is the Palestinians. Hamas states it quite plainly in its original covenant:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." – Hamas Covenant, Article 7, 1988
Professedly strong leaders, of course -- take Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, or Vladimir Putin -- can do irreparable damage to their countries, too.
These other three leaders, however, from Great Britain, Canada and France, recently undertook to impose economic sanctions against Jews living in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and called upon "other countries to do the same." Later, some did.
The opening sentence of their joint statement reads:
"A two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is critical for peace, stability, and security in the Middle East and beyond. It is a fundamental national interest for the UK, France and Canada to protect and secure this outcome."
At the same time, the UK refuses to proscribe a real terrorist group backed by Iran, the Houthis, who are causing immeasurable havoc in the Red Sea.
The incongruity of the UK's actions of rewarding terrorists while punishing a democracy is a sad reversal of what should be taking place -- for the future of the UK as well. Britain is already seen as no longer belonging to its own people. Now these weak leaders would presumably like to extend the same courtesy to Israel, to set up a chokehold in which the Palestinians would be the hitmen to finish the job that Hitler started, so that the Europeans could stand back, watch, then claim plausible deniability. At bottom, it is pure Jew-hate – if not with emotion, at least out of expediency. The result is the same.
Britain, Canada, and France's proposed "solution" of an Islamic state within Israel's borders – ostensibly in the name of their own "fundamental national interest" -- read re-election by the newcomer voting bloc -- would undoubtedly lead to another disaster like October 7, 2023. Hamas leaders have been repeatedly promising to attack Israel "time and again" until it is annihilated -- and Europe as well. Why are Europe's leaders racing to help them achieve that goal?
The death of Jews -- to appease their vociferous domestic minority -- would presumably be, in the eyes of these supine leaders, a small price to pay for another year in office.
Predictably, Hamas were fully supportive of the UK's move against Israel. Hamas spokesman Basem Naim responded that the sanctions were "a step in the right direction," but insisted that they were "insufficient" and urged the UK to punish Israel further. When murderous terror groups endorses a Western nation's policies against one of its own allies, something is clearly "off".
A group of eight Muslim-majority countries, including -- no surprise -- Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, also supported the call for sanctions.
Egypt, unfortunately for it, however, depends heavily on Israel for its natural gas requirements. Jordan relies on Israel for water, gas, and intelligence. Meanwhile the UAE could recently have been obliterated by Iran's missiles were it not for Israeli-supplied and operated missile defense batteries to intercept Iran's aerial bombardment. Apparently, these nations do not wish to publicly thank, or acknowledge, Israel for its support. What must be noted, though, is that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are currently involved in a heavy, if dangerous, flirtation with China – one they may live to regret, as have so many other countries that China has left at the altar.
Not to be outdone in the opportunity to castigate Israel once again, nine other Western nations, again in a statement, joined the UK, France and Canada in supporting the imposition of sanctions against trade with allegedly "illegal" Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The stated reason was, as usual, that Israel's actions were "undermining the possibility of a two-state solution."
The twelve Western nations promoting these proposals, except for Poland and possibly Iceland, are plagued by social discord from unmitigated migration, particularly from Muslim nations.
Muslim claims need to be countered by reality: All of Israel, especially its heartland of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), belongs to the Jewish people whether by historical right, legal right (the Balfour Declaration), or by continual habitation for more than 3,000 years. Have Muslims been there for 3,000 years? Until the 7th century, Islam did not even exist. By every rubric, Jews are the rightful occupants and legitimate owners of all of Israel's land, not simply bits of it.
Other nations have no legal or moral right to interfere in Israel's internal affairs or to tell Israel what to do. Israel is a sovereign, democratic nation under the rule of law. The present interference by the UK, France and Canada can rightly be understood as an uninvited and unjustified intrusion into Israel's coming election this month. It is no secret that most Western nations -- and probably all of the Muslim world -- would be delighted if Netanyahu ceased to be in a leadership role after the elections. Anyone else would doubtless be more malleable about making sure that Israel could be destroyed.
Netanyahu has overcome all foes critically threatening Israel's survival these past years. He is a formidable opponent to those seeking Israel's downfall – which is why they want him gone. Why, then, should the Israelis also want him gone?
No sanctions or criticism will ever persuade Israel -- especially after the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023 -- that it is in Israel's best interests to have a bellicose Palestinian state in its very midst. Every fruit-fly in Israel understands that a Palestinian state would just be a base from which to try to destroy it.
Western leaders, instead of vainly seeking to impose on Israel a Palestinian state that is Israel's sworn enemy, might perhaps consider if such a state on their own border is something they might welcome.
After the announcement by the UK, France and Canada, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar responded:
"After everything we have seen, after the Israeli concessions in the Oslo Accords and the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, the Second Intifada and October 7, the Israeli public utterly rejects the establishment of a jihadist terror state in the heart of our land."
Nothing could be clearer – or more accurate.
The attempt by Western nations to force a Palestinian state on Israel is just the latest example of Europe's colonialist imperialism -- of which Britain and France have a long history. This time, however, it will not work.
Sa'ar added:
"We did not return to our land after 2,000 years only to lose it under pressure from jihadists, Islamists, antisemites, far-leftists and wokes. Not only will you fail to harm us. You will harm yourselves and your own influence.... Whoever acts against Israel, Israel will act against them, and they will lose their influence and relevance in the region."
In his response, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said:
"We're an independent country, a sovereign country. If someone thinks that diplomacy is being played by applying sanctions or trying to bend our arm, we will take action as well.... Don't expect to dictate your ideas on us... the British Mandate of Palestine is over."
At the heart of the matter appears to lie a deep-seated Jew-hate. France ushered in modern-day antisemitism with the Dreyfus affair. Britain's dismal record towards Jews during the Mandate period – including its refusal to allow the ship Exodus to dock in Israel in 1947 despite carrying Holocaust survivors to freedom -- speak for themselves.
Antisemitism never dies; it adapts to the discourse of the day. It finds new life through weak, pathetic people who harbor Jew-hate. Now, a new opportunity for antisemitism has arisen: the grossly exaggerated claims of mistreatment of Palestinians by Jews living in the West Bank.
With September's declaration by more than 50 major Jewish groups, under the aegis of the internationally represented J50 Forum, that "Zionism is part of Jewish identity", the battlelines have been drawn. Judea and Samaria -- the West Bank -- constitute Israel's historic heartland. Anyone else there is an interloper.
The UK may lose the support of the US and Israel for its claim to the Falkland Islands, to which Argentina has a strong claim.
Israel is no longer the West's lapdog. Israel is a crucial, respected member of the Western alliance, and a major military and technologically superior power in its own right. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is characterized by Jonathan Tobin as "a third-rate power that is a shadow of its former self in terms of economic and military power."
In a scathing response to the UK's sanctions, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, stated:
"We will not be a doormat trampled by an anti-Semitic government, in a country conquered by radical Islam, trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel."
Exactly.
Nils A. Haug is an author and columnist. A lawyer by profession, he is member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, a faculty member at Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Dr Haug's particular field of interest is political theory connected to current events. Among degrees in Philosophy, English Literature, and Law, he holds an M.A. in Jewish Studies (cum laude) and a Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology. He is author of 'Politics, Law, and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and 'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.'. His work has been published by First Things Journal, The American Mind, Quadrant, Minding the Campus, Gatestone Institute, National Association of Scholars, Document Danmark, World Israel News, Israel Hayom, Jewish News Syndicate, Tribune Juive, Document Danmark, Zwiedzaj Polske,Schlaglicht Israel, Anglican Mainstream, Jewish Journal, The James Wilson Institute, The Australian Jurist, and others.
This time there are no guillotines. At least as of yet. But Paris is, once again, on the brink of falling.
Those attacking Paris and other major French cities are a mix of leftists/communists, disaffected youth, antifa, and Muslims. Emphasis on leftists/communists and Muslims.
These attacks are anything but spontaneous. They are fomented, planned, and funded by various subversive groups that are determined to bring about the destruction of the Western democracies. A Fox News investigation found that 54 radical groups were involved, very few of them 'students' as the media has been reporting.
We shall see how long the Fifth Republic lasts, but, merde, things don’t look good at the moment. Let’s hope a new version of Vichy France doesn’t come into existence, though things couldn’t get much worse for Jews in France as it is.
There is simply no doubt that Europe and America are under assault, though some of our politicians don’t appear to realize it.
And others embrace it. Europe is literally being invaded by a tsunami of Muslims, and is in mortal danger of having its culture, history and customs washed away forever.
If we wish to save ourselves — and Christendom — we must take action now. It should be obvious what steps need to be taken to save ourselves, but these measures will not be easy or without cost, as the New Jacobins are determined, well-funded, and crazy. That said, we can still save our societies without need of massive bloodshed or truly large-scale suffering. But the same could’ve been said in 1937 or 1938.
First, we must see clearly and think rationally and soberly about what lies ahead if we stay on our current path of appeasement. Worshiping only at the altars of political correctness, multiculturalism and tolerance of everything but standards and tradition will inevitably lead to our demise. Second, we must understand that earth isn’t a utopia.
Everything can’t be “free.” In fact, nothing is.
Pain and confrontation are, at times, unavoidable. When we choose to do nothing, pain will find us. Third, we must admit, once and for all, that evil exists … and always will, whether we try to ignore it or not. Decent people only add to this evil when they consciously refuse to judge it so. It is time for us to pull our heads out of the sand, put down our smartphones and stare reality in its face … or reality will slap us in the face ala 1939. It is time, again, for us to be adults.
Europe found the will to repel Muslim invaders in the past. It has come through the “Dark Ages" and World Wars I and II.
It is no exaggeration to state that the current crisis is just as serious. And that, should Europe fall this time, there will be no turning back. In 1900, there were roughly five Muslim-majority states. In 1955, there were about 22. Today, there are 53. Will the “City of Lights” - or Western Civilization - go dark again?
Europe cannot possibly survive the continued onslaught of Muslim immigrants. The ever-increasing numbers of Muslims, disenfranchised or not, with their much, much higher birth/fertility rates will eventually simply subsume existing European cultures. (The same is true of Canada. When Prime Minister Carney says “Muslim values” are “Canadian values,” he is simply informing Canadians what their future holds.)
Western nations have bent over backward to accommodate- and not offend- Muslim minorities. In many cases Western societies have changed their behavior in order to avoid appearing rigid or superior. What will happen to these nations when Muslims are the majorities? Anyone who has read the Koran and knows even a little about Sharia law understands that it is utterly and absolutely incompatible with a free and open society. That isn’t racism, intolerance, or bigotry, it is a simple fact, one that is becoming the defining issue of our time.
The countries that brought the world the Enlightenment, the Magna Carta, the Sistine Chapel, Beethoven and the Louvre- and that discovered America- are at great and existential risk of being overrun and overwhelmed. Ironically, both historic Christendom and modern secular Europe will be eviscerated if they cannot find the will to defend themselves. And the biggest irony is that it is Islam itself that is rigidly intolerant…of women’s rights, pork, alcohol, dogs, Christians, Jews, other “infidels,” and the very notion of Western style personal liberty.
So, toughen up, Europeans! Just because some holier-than-thou, political-correctness-besotted pseudo- academic-- or military-aged Muslim thug-- calls you a racist or a bigot doesn’t mean you are one. In fact, that is called “projection.”
So-called “progressives” are the biggest threat to Europe, Australia, Canada… and the U.S. They will not tolerate views that differ from their own, even as they glory in the decline and fall of the countries they infest. And attack.
An increase of almost 70 percent from one financial framework to the next is not merely a budget expansion -- it is fiscal megalomania.
Brussels’ budget negotiations are entering the home stretch. Ireland wants to put the brakes on Ursula von der Leyen’s spending frenzy, at least a little. That is not enough for the German chancellor. Europe’s well-known king of debt is playing the fiscal disciplinarian, putting on yet another media performance for the public.
Ursula von der Leyen has big plans for your money. The money and savings of your children are also attracting considerable interest among the circles of the European Commission in Brussels.
The plan of Brussels’ uncrowned queen is this: starting in 2028, the Commission’s annual budget is to rise from its current €170 billion to €285 billion -- a hefty increase of 68 percent. Von der Leyen wants to round things off at two trillion euros over seven years. The race looks like this: China has a five-year plan. Europe’s central planners are not merely catching up; they are adding another two years. Planning certainty may no longer apply to taxpayers, entrepreneurs, or even employees in the private sector, but for bureaucrats and the self-reproducing armies of civil servants, it remains the lifeblood of the system.
Let us be frank: an increase of almost 70 percent from one financial framework to the next is not merely a budget expansion. This fiscal megalomania conceals a systemic transformation. Brussels sees itself as responsible for everything. A military union is to be created. Europe wants to project power with greater force in the future.
The next phase of the green transformation will also come at a steep price: some €700 billion is to flow into the channels of the green extraction machine.
The latest business idea from Brussels’ redistribution experts, the enforcers of the subsidy economy, is to store captured CO2 beneath the seabed of the North and Baltic Seas. It takes a special kind of imagination to come up with something like that.
The project requires the construction of an entire infrastructure of pipelines, transport services, specialized loading ports, and complex drilling technology to inject the gas into depleted oil and gas reservoirs. Here, the future of our children is being sacrificed to fill the pockets of subsidy hunters and political favorites. A disgrace for this continent.
The EU’s military budget is supposed to grow to €131 billion over the seven-year period. As everyone knows, the war-hungry enemy in the East is merely waiting for the right moment to descend upon the countries of the West, seize the payments made by the German and French welfare systems, and then exploit their rich energy reserves and mineral resources.
One almost has to resort to irony to comment on this undeniable absurdity: a state-like structure being built above the euro-area countries themselves.
Decisive weeks lie ahead for the budget. In recent days, the Irish presidency of the EU Council has proposed cutting Brussels’ budget by €141 billion. That would mean roughly €20 billion less per year, or about eight percent less than the Commission’s original proposal. Even so, the budget would still expand by more than 55 percent.
This is not a proposal for austerity. It is a media stunt that solves neither the structural problems of the budget and the European Commission nor the problem of ever-rising contributions from member states to the EU debt club.
For the German chancellor, the Irish proposal was unacceptable. Friedrich Merz has something much bigger in mind. During his months in office, the man has acquired a reputation as a serious, honorable leader drilled in fiscal discipline. He now expects proposals to cut the EU budget by several hundred billion euros. At first, he kept secret where he intended to apply the sharp scalpel of his supposedly Alemannic fiscal discipline.
But jokes aside: based on bitter experience with this antagonist of the truth, we must conclude that he will, of course, support the European Commission’s plan to expand the power base of Brussels’ central planners. Higher national contributions are part of that plan. Germany, which will pay around €43 billion in gross contributions to the EU this year, would have to reckon with an annual financial burden rising by as much as 70 percent. That seems a little steep for a country in economic free fall.
There is more. Merz lets every new Brussels levy pass without objection. Whether it is the CO2 extraction mechanism or the new plastics levy, Berlin has not a word of criticism to offer. There is no advocate left for the German taxpayer, far and wide.
We are witnessing the chancellor’s familiar media camouflage: political theater straight out of the 1990s. He pretends to defend fiscal discipline, poses as the taxpayer’s advocate, and demands cuts to a budget plan that has already been inflated in advance. It is outrageous to assume that the people of this country are so stupid.
Merz conceals Brussels’ dishonest reality because it so strikingly resembles his own political career. Month after month, the European Commission, represented by its Directorate-General for Budget, turns up in the European capital markets to raise fresh credit through bond issues. This year alone, around €180 billion in fresh fiat credit is flowing into Ursula von der Leyen’s coffers. This credit -- backed collectively by the member states, despite such a practice being officially ruled out and prohibited -- is financing the whole circus. Sometimes it takes the form of gigantic wind farms in some of Europe’s most beautiful landscapes; sometimes, it is loss-making offshore wind parks; now, it is a pipeline system for the pointless transportation of CO2. These projects disfigure the landscape, drain capital markets of funds that could finance productive investment, and inflict wounds on Europe’s economy, society, and landscape that will not heal in our lifetimes.
According to his official position, Friedrich Merz rejects this practice of collective borrowing through Eurobonds. We must therefore assume that behind closed doors, the chancellor is one of its strongest advocates. He was presumably particularly pleased by the issuance of Next Generation EU, the €800 billion spectacle launched five years ago. After all, government debt is always good debt, no matter which artificial level of Europe’s hyperstructure it happens to be incurred on.
With this fiat money, socialists such as Pedro Sánchez in Spain finance parts of the pension system -- a vulgar exercise in buying votes with other people’s money. Taxpayers will have to foot the bill, and consumers will have no choice but to pay their share of this political profligacy through the inflation it generates. In August of last year, Brussels transferred more than €23 billion to Madrid, including €16 billion in loans.
A further €6.23 billion arrived in August of this year. Spain has received €78 billion in total so far. Italy, too, receives its share every year to help stabilize its budget.
Soon, repayment will fall due on the debt raised through Eurobonds. If Brussels wants to prevent a crash in national budgets, it will be forced to issue successor bonds. Whether it can then use financial repression to compel banks, investors, and private savers to buy official Eurobonds, or instead offer bonds at attractive interest rates that the market willingly takes up, no longer makes much difference. The European debt club has already struck the iceberg in the bond market. The only people left on the bridge of this doomed ship are the last political adventurers, so intoxicated by their own lust for power that they have failed to notice they have set the final chapter of their own story in motion.
Because diesel fuel powers a majority of U.S. farmers’ trucks, tractors, pumps and other harvest-preparation equipment, the increase in diesel costs has hit their industry at an inconvenient time before harvesting. Farmer's groups have praised the president's efforts, which may reduce perceived "affordability" issues for American consumers before the midterms.
President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Monday at a Kansas rally that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make $8 billion available for one-time payments to American farmers this harvest season through a new Harvest Fuel Relief Program, according to the USDA.
The payments aim to offset recently elevated diesel and other fuel-related costs that are squeezing agricultural producers during temporary market disruptions driven by overseas conflicts.
The administration described the aid as proportional support based on modeled losses for the 2026 crop year, so farmers can continue operations without interruption. The program comes as diesel prices have roughly doubled in many areas compared with last fall, adding thousands of dollars in costs for machinery, irrigation, and transport at the peak of harvest, as reported by The Kansas City Star.
Softening the impact of rising fuel costs
Diesel prices have surged amid global supply disruptions tied to the Iran conflict and reduced Russian refined-product exports after Ukrainian strikes on refineries.
The U.S. national average retail price for diesel stood at $6.32 per gallon as of October 20, compared with roughly $3.62 a year earlier, according to The American Automobile Association (AAA). Weekly data from the Energy Information Administration put the U.S. average near $6.28 for the week of October 19, reflecting a sharp year-over-year increase.
During the Biden administration, national average diesel prices peaked above $5.80 per gallon in mid-2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with gasoline also hitting a record near $5 per gallon in June of that year, per historical EIA records.
Praising the effort to ease concerns about rising costs, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Matt Frostic said in a statement that "We appreciate the administration recognizing how the high cost of inputs, especially diesel fuel prices during harvest time, is adding to the economic pain of America’s farmers. Corn growers are eager to learn more details about the Harvest Fuel Relief program design and implementation for the 2026 crop year."
The current spike reflects a combination of Middle East shipping constraints through the Strait of Hormuz and lower diesel export volumes from Russia, creating tighter global inventories just as U.S. harvest demand rises. The administration has taken parallel steps, including an earlier executive order expanding access to tax-exempt dyed diesel for off-road agricultural use, as detailed by Reuters.
Agricultural impact and farm operations
The National Farmers Union (NFU) was also appreciative of the president's efforts, but added that it is up to Congress to create a long-term solution, saying that "We need to provide long-term certainty and investment in diversifying our fuel sources with renewable options, not a cycle of ad hoc relief. That’s why Congress must commit to passing a strong farm bill that gives family farmers the stable footing they need.”
Farmers rely heavily on diesel for combines, grain trucks, irrigation pumps, and field preparation, particularly during the short fall harvest window.
USDA’s Economic Research Service has forecast fuel and oil expenses to rise 28.8% to $21.6 billion in 2026 while overall production expenses climb 4.5 percent and net farm income declines 2.6 percent in nominal terms, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
High diesel prices add thousands of dollars per operation on larger grain farms and can delay or reduce harvest efficiency if producers ration fuel or face cash-flow shortfalls. The relief may function as a short-term buffer by transferring a portion of the projected extra costs from individual farm balance sheets to the Commodity Credit Corporation, reducing the immediate pressure on farmers from price movements driven by overseas conflicts.
Similar CCC-backed programs have previously addressed temporary shocks from weather, trade, or input volatility, as noted in CBS News coverage. Payment timing will depend on the November rate announcements and subsequent application processing, with officials emphasizing the goal of supporting continuity of domestic food production while broader energy supply adjustments continue.
"Affordability" concerns addressed by potential effects, experts
Democratic operatives and legacy media have been attacking both Trump and the GOP on a so-called "affordability" crisis. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, said in a press release that “The affordability crisis didn’t start 10 months ago — families have been feeling this for years. But this administration has made it worse, from cutting healthcare to pushing sweeping tariffs that drive up prices."
Voters about to engage in the upcoming midterms are seeing headlines and articles asserting a gloomy picture. Politico reported that "More than half the country said the cost of living in their area is the worst they 'can ever remember it being' this August, about 55%.” An August poll from that same outfit claimed that six in ten people say the government should prioritize bringing down the cost of everyday essentials.
On the other hand, others call into question the use of the word "affordability" at all. No less a specialist publication than The Economist explained that "Affordability is a fuzzy term that can mean whatever feels true." Understanding that the word "affordability" is wholly subjective, the Manhattan Institute wrote that "Affordability has been an issue for years, but it became an acute problem when inflation spiked after the pandemic and there was a drop in real income. Inflation is still high, about 3%. But real income growth is still positive for most Americans, suggesting that income is rising to cover many of the goods and services that are increasing in price."
The data Commodity-specific rates for major Title I crops are expected in November, with details for other eligible commodities to follow, according to Fox Business. Title I crops generally consist of major crops for the U.S. such as corn, rice, wheat, soybeans, and cotton. Lowering the costs for producing those crops, in turn, most likely helps strengthen the affordability of food and clothing for the American consumer.
The details of how it works
The relief is authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and will be administered by the Farm Service Agency. Payments will use a uniform formula drawing on Farm Service Agency planted-acre reports, Economic Research Service cost-of-production estimates, and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates yields and prices to cover a portion of modeled losses.
Crop insurance is not required, though USDA encourages producers to use enhanced risk-management tools available under recent tax legislation. Producers of non-Title I commodities, including specialty crops and fishermen, can submit fuel-cost data to HarvestFuel@usda.gov for consideration. Eligible farmers are urged to create a Login.gov account linked to USDA ahead of the application period, as noted by UPI.
Amanda Head is White House Correspondent for Just the News. You can follow her here.
