Israeli envoy to UN’s Albanese, FPA’s Williams: Murder, rape make Hamas a terrorist group - JNS Staff

 

by JNS Staff

“Calling yourself a political party does not provide you refuge from being a murderer," Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said.

 

Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the United States, speaks at an event marking Israel's 77th Independence Day at the envoy's official residence in Washington, May 5, 2025. Photo by Shmulik Almany/Israeli Embassy in Washington.

“Hamas is first and foremost a group of murderers,” Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said on Saturday, speaking in response to international figures’ recent characterization of the terrorist group as a political party.

Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Palestinian rights, and Ian Williams, president of the Foreign Press Association New York, “both excused Hamas” by considering it a legitimate political party, Leiter said in a recorded message posted on X.

Leiter continued his remarks on Saturday, saying, “Calling yourself a political party does not provide you refuge from being a murderer. Hamas is a political party, yes, but in its charter—its political charter—it clearly calls for the annihilation of Israel and the murder of Jews.

“The fact that [Hamas] couches themselves in terms of politics doesn’t excuse them, doesn’t let them off the hook, it means that they must be defeated, like their predecessors: like the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, like Stalin in the Soviet Union, like the Arrow Cross in Hungary, like the Ustaše in Croatia,” the ambassador said.

“These are all political parties, but they’re murderous political parties, and they have to be defeated—like the Nazis had to be defeated. They, too, Francesca, were elected by the people,” the Israeli official said.

In footage shared by UN Watch on Friday, Albanese, speaking to an audience, appeared to ridicule the framing of Hamas as an evil organization. It is unclear when the comments were made.

“But Hamas, Hamas, Hamas …, I don’t think people have any idea what Hamas is,” the U.N. official said in Italian. “Hamas is a political force that won the 2005 [actually 2006—JNS] elections—whether we like it or not. Hamas built schools, public facilities, hospitals. It was simply the authority, the de facto authority,” she said. 

Francesca Albanese: “People continue to say ‘But Hamas, Hamas, Hamas’... I don't think people have any idea what Hamas is. Hamas is a political force that won the 2005 elections—whether we like it or not. Hamas built schools, public facilities, hospitals. It was simply the… pic.twitter.com/F9sGqAJPY2

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) August 15, 2025

Leiter lambasted the suggestion that Hamas’s electoral victory can trump morality.

“The United States was actually founded [on the basis of morality]. There are truths that are self-evident, that are undeniable, that are irreversible. And one of them is that you can’t advance your political platform through murder, through rape, as Hamas attempts to do in implementing the first paragraph of their charter to annihilate Israel and to kill Jews,” Leiter stressed.

“Israel’s war against Hamas is not only to defend its people and its nation and its borders. It is also a war against the moral depravity that is being advanced by people like Francesca Albanese and Ian Williams. It’s to remind the world that there are values that no election and no political platform can possibly justify,” the Israeli ambassador said.

.@FranceskAlbs and Ian Williams @FPANewYork, if you consider a terrorist organization to be a legitimate political entity, that reflects either deliberate bias or a serious lack of judgment. Such a view is indefensible. pic.twitter.com/CkOz5MLGr3

— Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter (@yechielleiter) August 15, 2025

On Tuesday, Williams spoke to CNN about slain Gazan Anas al-Sharif, whom Israel said was a Hamas operative who posed as a journalist.

“Frankly, I don’t care whether al-Sharif was in Hamas or not. We don’t kill journalists for being Republicans or Democrats or, in Britain, Labour Party,” Williams said.

The Foreign Press Association president moreover stated that Palestinian reporters should be trusted while the Israeli government “has to be taken with a hundred grains of salt, because what they say has no relation to reality.”

Hamas is a political organization as well as a terrorist organization, he continued.

When asked to clarify what he meant by “not caring” whether al-Sharif was in Hamas or not, Williams replied that he does not believe Israel, which “lied and lied and lied.” Al-Sharif has been working “24 hours” as a journalist and thus “did not have time to work in a cell on the side.”

Williams then complained that Israel has not permitted foreign reporters to enter Gaza, adding that when it does, “I would make sure that they compose their wills before they go, because the [Israel Defense Forces] has no compunction.”

WATCH | Foreign Press Association president Ian Williams rejected CNN’s framing that echoed Israeli military talking points to justify murdering Anas Al-Sharif.

“Frankly, I don’t care whether Al-Sharif was in Hamas or not. We don’t kill journalists for being Republicans or… pic.twitter.com/4252SKBld0

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) August 11, 2025

 

JNS Staff 

Source: https://www.jns.org/israeli-envoy-to-uns-albanese-fpas-williams-murder-rape-make-hamas-a-terrorist-group/

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Lebanese PM condemns Hezbollah threat of civil war - JNS Staff

 

by JNS Staff

“There is no state without exclusive control of weapons,” Nawaf Salam said regarding the plan to disarm the Iranian-backed terror group.

 

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem. Photo by Sebastian Baryli via Wikimedia Commons.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced on Friday Hezbollah’s warning that disarming the Shi’ite terrorist group could instigate a civil war in the country.

The Lebanese premier branded remarks made earlier in the day by Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem as “misleading” and “propaganda directed at Hezbollah’s supporters,” according to the Saudi-owned, London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, as part of an interview to be published in full on Sunday.

The Hezbollah leader said during a religious ceremony in the-Shi’ite majority city of Baalbek, situated in northeastern Lebanon, that disarming his Iranian-backed group is “unacceptable,” according to Arab News.

“We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together—or Lebanon will have no life if you stand on the other side and try to confront us and eliminate us,” Qassem was quoted as saying in a speech.

Salam, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, said, “No Lebanese today—not just the wise among them, but all Lebanese, young and old, men and women, in the south or the north—wants to return to civil war. This direct or indirect threat of civil war is shameful. No Lebanese wants to go back to that.”

He criticized Qassem’s accusation that the Lebanese government was acting on behalf of “American-Israeli orders.

“This government is a national Lebanese government. It makes its decisions through the Cabinet and is not subject to external dictates but to the demands of the Lebanese people. I believe the overwhelming majority of Lebanese support the government’s decision to implement a plan to restrict weapons to the state. I have no doubt about that,” Salam said.

He continued, “It is a shame to claim this government is acting under dictates. I do not want to enter into disputes, but I know who is truly subject to dictates, who listens to them, and who has considered himself an extension of external powers,” in a reference to Hezbollah and Iran.

“No one in this government considers themselves an extension of any foreign side,” the Lebanese prime minister said.

Salam went on to lash out against Qassem’s framing of a state monopoly on force as unusual.

“There is no state without exclusive control of weapons. There cannot be two, three, four or five decision-making centers,” he said.

“Sheikh Naim speaks as though the government is introducing something unprecedented. The issue of exclusive weapons under state authority has been raised since the Taif Accord, which he himself recalled. At Taif, we all agreed to extend the state’s authority over all Lebanese territory.”

The 1989 Taif Agreement was cemented in Saudi Arabia to end the 15-year Lebanese Civil War in the attempt to reassert Lebanese authority in the country, which was undermined by Syrian forces.

“No one should say this is what U.S. envoy Tom Barrack or French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian want, or that it is the result of foreign dictates. This has always been a Lebanese demand, delayed for 10, 20, 30 years. The time has come,” Salam told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He noted that stability in Lebanon is a precondition to attract investment for reconstruction. “This will not happen unless people feel safe. That requires exclusive control of weapons by the state,” the Lebanese prime minister said.

Backlash to Qassem’s speech

In his speech in Baalbek, Hezbollah’s leader thanked Iran for “supporting us with money, weapons, capabilities, and media and political positions,” Arab News reported.

“There is still room for discussion, for adjustments, and for a political resolution before the situation escalates to a confrontation no one wants,” Qassem said.

But, he warned, if disarmament is imposed on the terrorist group, “we are ready, and we have no other choice. … At that point, there will be a protest in the street, all across Lebanon, that will reach the American embassy.”

Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar reiterated on Friday the firm stance of the prime minister, telling Arab News that “the party outside the legitimacy that refuses to surrender its weapons to the state bears responsibility” for any clash with Lebanon’s armed forces.

“Hezbollah wants to take us down to a destructive path,” he warned.

A slew of Lebanese ministers, lawmakers and political leaders joined the condemnations of Hezbollah’s bellicose rhetoric, Arab News reported, with parliamentarian George Okais of the Christian-based Lebanese Forces party stressing that November’s ceasefire agreement with Israel was approved by the entire Cabinet, including ministers from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, another Shi’ite terrorist group.

Phased disarming of Hezbollah

The United States has presented Lebanon with a phased proposal aimed at disarming Hezbollah terrorists and ending Israel’s military operations in the country, Reuters reported last week.

The plan by envoy Barrack, which was discussed at a Lebanese Cabinet meeting on Aug. 7, calls for Hezbollah to be stripped of its weapons by the end of the year.

On Nov. 26, Jerusalem and Beirut reached a deal aimed at ending more than a year of cross-border clashes between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah. The terrorist group began attacking the Jewish state in support of Hamas following its terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

JNS Staff

Source: https://www.jns.org/lebanese-pm-condemns-hezbollah-threat-of-civil-war/

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

The Trump-Putin Alaska Summit Is About More Than the Ukraine War - Fred Fleitz

 

by Fred Fleitz

At the Alaska summit, Trump aims to press Putin for a Ukraine cease-fire, vowing “severe consequences” if Russia resists ending the war.

 

 

Although the stated purpose of today’s Trump-Putin summit in Alaska is to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine, the meeting will also be an important demonstration of how Trump is restoring America’s leadership on the world stage and establishing himself as one of America’s most powerful and influential presidents.

Trump’s critics predictably claim Putin manipulated him with his proposal to hold a summit to stop the crippling energy sanctions that Trump was about to impose on Russia and to buy time to continue the war.

Putin may be planning to use the summit to manipulate Trump. If he does, I believe Trump will abruptly end the meeting and implement the energy sanctions. Indeed, Trump warned this week that there will be “severe consequences” if he determines Putin is not serious at the summit about ending the war. It is clear that in recent weeks, Trump has become increasingly angry with Putin for defying his diplomatic efforts to end the war. CNN reported on Wednesday that Trump’s anger with Putin was “palpable.”

Given Trump’s much-reported frustration with Putin and several decisive foreign policy moves by the president during his second term, especially Trump’s decision to bomb Iran, I believe Putin realizes that Trump will react harshly against Russia if he does not come to the summit ready to negotiate an end to the war or presses for demands that Trump views as unreasonable.

Trump is sure to encourage Putin to agree to a cease-fire. He will argue that he is the only leader on the world stage—now and in the foreseeable future—who will ever make the Russian leader a deal to halt the war that will end Russia’s isolation and restore Russia’s economy. This is consistent with Trump’s landmark speech in Saudi Arabia last May, when he said America should no longer have permanent enemies and that he wants to promote a new world order of global security through trade and prosperity.

Trump will also discuss other global issues with Putin on which the U.S. and Russia might cooperate, such as global trade, the Israel-Hamas war, Iran’s nuclear weapons program, North Korea, Arctic energy cooperation, and terrorism. Such discussions could be part of a broader deal to begin new U.S.-Russia partnerships on global security and economic matters.

Several Trump critics have criticized the summit as a “win” for Putin and an ill-advised concession by Trump that rewards Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. This claim is false. American and Russian presidents should meet and speak by phone frequently to promote good relations and global security. Trump believes U.S. presidents should meet with the leaders of all states, both friends and foes. This is good statesmanship. President Biden was at fault for causing U.S.-Russian relations to seriously deteriorate by not speaking to Putin after February 2022, even by phone. Instead, Biden constantly demonized Putin, including calling him a war criminal and likening the Russian leader to Hamas.

President Trump deserves credit for the extensive efforts he and his team have taken to consult with Ukrainian President Zelensky and European leaders about the summit despite their strong reservations about the meeting and objections that they have been excluded.

Trump’s one-on-one meeting with Putin is reasonable. After all, Trump has met with Zelinsky and many European leaders one-on-one, some on multiple occasions. European leaders want to be at the summit because they don’t trust Trump and think they know better than him on how to deal with Putin. If this is true, one has to ask why Europe did nothing to end the war in Ukraine before Trump was elected. And why did French and British leaders never invite Putin for summits with them in London or Paris over the past three years to discuss a cease-fire in the Ukraine War?

In phone calls this week and a so-called “emergency” virtual summit on Wednesday, convened by Germany with European and Ukrainian leaders, President Trump and his national security team listened to their concerns about the Alaska summit. European leaders also outlined their red lines for the Alaska meeting: a cease-fire as a prerequisite for further talks; any territorial discussions must start from the current battle lines; security guarantees; Ukraine’s participation in the negotiations; and support from the U.S., Europe, and Ukraine for any peace deal.

European leaders and Zelensky reportedly were reassured after the virtual summit because Trump told them his objective for the Alaska summit will be to obtain a cease-fire. Trump also said Russia and Ukraine had to negotiate territorial issues: this would not be negotiated in Alaska. In addition, Trump said security guarantees would be part of a peace agreement.

Trump promised to call Zelensky immediately after the Alaska summit and, if this summit is successful, to hold a follow-up summit soon afterward with Putin and Zelensky and possibly European leaders.

There are major differences going into the Alaska summit between Putin and Zelensky on territory, Ukraine’s future in Europe, and Ukraine’s defense. Addressing these issues will require significant compromises by both sides to get a cease-fire or peace agreement. Trump will use the Alaska summit to assess whether Putin is prepared to make a peace deal that both sides can support. Some demands by Putin, such as Ukraine giving up land it controls in the Donbas to Russia or demilitarizing Ukraine, are unacceptable to Zelensky and will block any peace plan. Trump hopes his leadership, dealmaking skills, and good relationship with Putin will enable him to bridge these gaps to convince both sides to make the compromises necessary to end the war.

As President, Donald Trump has established himself as a powerful leader and one of history’s leading peacemakers, having brokered peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Cambodia and Thailand, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, Serbia and Kosovo, and with the Abraham Accords. NATO states agreed to increase their defense spending in response to Trump’s demands. Trump’s decision to bomb Iran stunned Iranian leaders and demonstrated decisive leadership by an American president that was sorely lacking during the Biden presidency.

Putin is facing a devastated economy, a ruinous war, and unprecedented diplomatic and economic isolation, as well as a competent and decisive American president who is offering his country a way out. Hopefully, Putin is traveling to Alaska because he has decided to take a chance with Trump and agree to end the war. If he doesn’t, there will be severe consequences for Russia and global security.

The summit might not be successful. Trump may walk away from a bad deal. But regardless of whether the summit succeeds or fails, this event is another sign of how the global leadership that President Trump is demonstrating indicates that his second term will be a historic and consequential presidency.

Fred Fleitz previously served as National Security Council chief of staff, a CIA analyst, and a House Intelligence Committee staff member. He is the Vice Chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security.

Source: https://amgreatness.com/2025/08/15/the-trump-putin-alaska-summit-is-about-more-than-the-ukraine-war/

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Hamas Has Left Netanyahu with No Option but to Occupy Gaza - Con Coughlin

 

by Con Coughlin

Hamas's terrorist leadership was encouraged to adopt this hard-line position after a succession of naive Western leaders announced their intention to recognise a Palestinian state at next month's meeting of the UN Security Council, even though there is actually no such Palestinian state in existence.

 

• Hamas's terrorist leadership has demonstrated unequivocally it has no interest in agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

• One of the main sticking points in the Qatar talks was Hamas's insistence that it remains in control of Gaza, despite a number of Arab states issuing a joint declaration for the terrorist organisation to disband and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.

• Hamas's terrorist leadership was encouraged to adopt this hard-line position after a succession of naive Western leaders announced their intention to recognise a Palestinian state at next month's meeting of the UN Security Council, even though there is actually no such Palestinian state in existence.

• The pitfalls of this completely unnecessary diplomatic grandstanding, which may well effectively cause the murder of the remaining 50 hostages who might still to be alive, were clearly evident when Hamas responded to Starmer's pledge by publicly hailing it as a "victory."

• It is unclear how recognizing a terrorist state committed to obliterating its neighbour will bring about any kind of "peace."

• US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, alluding to the novel Frankenstein, responded to Macron's declaration: "Macron's unilateral 'declaration' of a 'Palestinian' state didn't say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called 'Franc-en-Stine.'"

• Hamas's intransigence has left Netanyahu with little option but to maintain military operations in Gaza until Israel has achieved its ultimate objective in the war -- namely the complete destruction of the terrorist organisation's military and political infrastructure in Gaza.

Hamas's terrorist leadership was encouraged to reject a ceasefire in Gaza after a succession of naive Western leaders announced their intention to recognise a Palestinian state next month. Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau and the terror organisation's former Gaza "Health Minister", said that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's move meant that "victory and liberation are closer than we expected", and that "international support for Palestinian self-determination shows we are moving in the right direction." Pictured: Naim in Istanbul on February 8, 2025. (Photo by Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)

The international condemnation Israel has received after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his plan to assume control of Gaza overlooks one critical fact. Netanyahu has no option other than to embark on this course of military action because Hamas's terrorist leadership has demonstrated unequivocally it has no interest in agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

From the moment he returned to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump had made resolving the Gaza crisis one of his key foreign policy objectives. To this end, his negotiating team, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff, engaged in lengthy and extensive discussions in the Gulf state of Qatar with the express intention of implementing a lasting ceasefire.

As recently as early July, hopes were running high that a deal might be possible, especially after the Trump administration indicated that Israel had agreed to the "necessary conditions" to finalise a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the US would "work with all parties to end the War".

"I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE."

Trump's optimism, though, proved short-lived. It was not long before Hamas once again showed its true colours by showing no genuine interest in a deal, prompting the US to abruptly cut short its involvement by withdrawing its negotiating team from the Qatar talks.

Witkoff made his displeasure known, remarking that Hamas's response to the ceasefire deal "shows a lack of desire" to reach a deal.

"While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith. We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza."

One of the main sticking points in the Qatar talks was Hamas's insistence that it remains in control of Gaza, despite a number of Arab states issuing a joint declaration for the terrorist organisation to disband and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas's response was to issue its own declaration, insisting that it would not disarm until a Palestinian state had been created and recognised. Rejecting suggestions made by Witkoff that the terror group had "expressed its willingness" to lay down its arms, the leadership of Hamas, which is a proscribed terror group in the US, UK and EU, issued a statement claiming its right to remain the de facto ruler in Gaza.

Hamas issued a statement arguing that it could not yield its right to "resistance and its weapons" unless an "independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" was established.

As Netanyahu has been consistently clear that he will not tolerate Hamas remaining in Gaza in any shape or form, the terrorists' intransigence has effectively brought efforts to implement a ceasefire in Gaza to a standstill.

Furthermore, it now transpires that Hamas's terrorist leadership was encouraged to adopt this hard-line position after a succession of naive Western leaders announced their intention to recognise a Palestinian state at next month's meeting of the UN Security Council, even though there is actually no such Palestinian state in existence.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been particularly vocal on the subject, being the first Western leader to publicly declare his intention to recognise a Palestinian state next month.

In a post on X, Macron wrote:

"Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine."

It is unclear how recognizing a terrorist state committed to obliterating its neighbour will bring about any kind of "peace."

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, alluding to the novel Frankenstein, responded to Macron's declaration:

"Macron's unilateral 'declaration' of a 'Palestinian' state didn't say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called 'Franc-en-Stine.'"

Other Western leaders soon followed suit. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer attempted to blackmail Israel by suggesting the UK will recognise a Palestinian state if Israel does not end its military operations in Gaza. Meanwhile, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney joined the growing clamour among naive Western leaders to recognise a non-existent Palestinian state, and, this week, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as well.

The pitfalls of this completely unnecessary diplomatic grandstanding, which may well effectively cause the murder of the remaining 50 hostages who might still to be alive, were clearly evident when Hamas responded to Starmer's pledge by publicly hailing it as a "victory."

Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau and the terror organisation's former Gaza "Health Minister", said that Starmer's move meant that "victory and liberation are closer than we expected", and that "international support for Palestinian self-determination shows we are moving in the right direction."

Apart from encouraging Hamas to refuse to accept the ceasefire terms negotiated by the Trump administration, the rush among Western leaders to acknowledge Palestinian statehood was also condemned by the governments of the US and Israel, and by former Israeli hostages who denounced the initiative as moral blackmail and rewarding terrorism.

Emily Damari, a British-Israeli hostage freed earlier this year after 471 days in captivity, directly accused Starmer of "rewarding terror".

"This move does not advance peace – it risks rewarding terror. It sends a dangerous message: that violence earns legitimacy," she said.

"By legitimising a state entity while Hamas still controls Gaza and continues its campaign of terror, you are not promoting a solution; you are prolonging the conflict. Recognition under these conditions emboldens extremists and undermines any hope for genuine peace. Shame on you."

Hamas's intransigence has left Netanyahu with little option but to maintain military operations in Gaza until Israel has achieved its ultimate objective in the war -- namely the complete destruction of the terrorist organisation's military and political infrastructure in Gaza.

Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21831/hamas-israel-occupy-gaza

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Gaza Part One: The Situation - Thaddeus McCotter and Andrew Zack

 

by Thaddeus McCotter and Andrew Zack

Hamas wages war through terror and propaganda, while Israel is blamed for crimes it did not commit—facts ignored as the world embraces a false narrative.

 

This is the first installment of a three-part series on the Gaza situation, political fallout, root causes, and real-world ramifications.

The movement among key members of the international community to recognize a Palestinian state must be seen in the broader context of the war between Israel and Hamas—beginning with an analysis of the facts on the ground, free from the deceits of propaganda.

First and foremost, Hamas is a radical Islamist terrorist organization that continues to hold both living hostages and the bodies of those they have already slain—a reality far too many in the feckless international community ignore.

Hamas is a radical Sunni Muslim organization that has repeatedly declared its intent not only to destroy the State of Israel but also to murder as many Jews as possible, regardless of nationality. As a confirmed proponent of Islamic jihadism, Hamas also seeks to recreate a second Caliphate, in which Islam would reign supreme over the entire world. Hamas, therefore, also seeks to subjugate Christians (dhimmitude) and will kill as many of them as is necessary to attain this aim. As the jihadist slogan goes, first the Saturday people (the Jews), then the Sunday people (the Christians).

A barbarous cog in the global jihad movement, Hamas has evidenced its rejection of Western values of democracy and human rights through murder, rape, and kidnapping in pursuit of power.

Hamas launched the war on October 7, 2023, when it invaded Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and foreign residents, and kidnapping 250 people. Hamas murdered its victims in incredibly barbaric ways, including burning families to death, beheading babies, and raping and mutilating women before slaughtering them. Hamas filmed their vile atrocities and broadcast them on public media so the world could witness their crimes and cruelty, and either cower or celebrate in the face of them.

The attacked and aggrieved nation, Israel, didn’t immediately counterattack. When it did, the Israel Defense Forces (“the IDF”) made an unprecedented attempt to protect Gaza’s citizens. Before attacking certain areas, the IDF called Gazans on their cell phones and dropped leaflets announcing where the attacks would take place and where the Gazans should go to avoid being caught in a war zone. While civilians have died, the civilian-to-soldier death ratio has been historically low. Expert military historians, including John Spencer, have hailed the IDF for its efforts to minimize civilian casualties.

But protecting Gazans has never been a priority for Hamas. Not content with intentionally and demonstrably inflating the number of civilian casualties, including the deaths of children, Hamas has deliberately adopted a strategy of maximizing civilian casualties by operating from hospitals, schools, and crowded neighborhoods, forcing the IDF to fight in civilian areas. Most sinisterly, Hamas invested billions of dollars (which it siphoned off the massive amounts of aid Gaza has received from the EU and other countries) to build a massive underground tunnel system that is larger than any subway system in the world. It only lets its soldiers shelter in the tunnels. If Hamas allowed civilians to take shelter in the tunnel system during hostilities, civilian casualties would be minimized.

But in Hamas’ cynical calculations, fewer Gazan civilian deaths mean their goals are further away. And, make no mistake, Hamas’ inhuman strategy has worked: the vast majority of people in the world, including many in the United States, believe Hamas’ perverse propaganda that the IDF is the one who commits war crimes by targeting and killing tens of thousands of civilians and that Hamas is a ragtag group of freedom fighters liberating the oppressed.

Yet, real freedom fighters don’t keep Israeli hostages (both alive and dead) in their terrorist tunnels. Approximately 20 hostages remain alive, while around 30 are confirmed dead. Hostages who were let go in exchanges that freed thousands of Hamas terrorists from Israeli jails report that they were tortured, deprived of food, and otherwise kept in inhumane conditions. The Red Cross has not seen a single hostage in captivity and apparently has made no effort to do so. Except for the United States, the world has been silent about the plight of the hostages and has not demanded their release as a precondition of the IDF entering into a ceasefire. Unconscionably, it seems that if Hamas kidnaps a victim and puts them in one of their tunnels, the international community puts the victim down the memory hole.

The world demands that Israel feed the Gazans, even though their elected leaders launched a brutal invasion; moreover, it insists that Israel continue providing fuel, water, and electricity to Gaza during the hostilities. This is unprecedented in the annals of war. A country that launched a defensive incursion in response to a terrorist provocation is not required to provide the latter’s population with sustenance. If they are now responsible for doing so, it will increase terrorist and other attacks by organizations such as Hamas. The equation will be brutally simple: Hamas can kill Israeli civilians and be rewarded with food for Gaza’s civilians. It is insane and injurious, and not just in the present instance of Gaza. For example, in another present instance, while defending itself against an act of aggression, should Ukraine have to feed Russian civilians?

But logic and the facts on the ground in Gaza hold little attraction for organizations such as the United Nations, which for many years has been an extremely hostile forum against Israel. Its “refugee relief” agency, UNRWA, has proven to be riddled with Hamas members. Among other things, Hamas has controlled UNRWA’s distribution of food and other aid to Gazan civilians, often stealing it at gunpoint and even killing relief workers, truckers, and desperate civilians. Hamas then sells the food and other needed goods at exorbitant prices to Gazan civilians, using the proceeds to finance its operations and pay its operatives.

This is not merely a criminal enterprise. Rather, it is part of a terrorist organization’s deliberate strategy to enforce food insecurity and/or famine conditions—or at least the appearance of it—and blame Israel. Hamas has deliberately sabotaged the efforts of an American- and Israeli-backed food relief group to feed the civilian population, including shooting at IDF soldiers guarding the food supplies and the relief workers, as well as shooting at and killing Gazan civilians who attempt to obtain food from this group.

Nevertheless, despite Hamas’s efforts, the relief group has distributed approximately eighty-five million meals in two months. According to a July 31, 2025, article in the Wall Street Journal, since October 7, 2023, Israel has coordinated and facilitated the entry into Gaza of more than 1.86 million tons of humanitarian assistance.

Nonetheless, this is a fact on the ground that is lost in the fog of incessant Hamas propaganda. In a grotesque display of willful and malicious ignorance, world opinion, including many people in the United States, uncritically accepted this Hamas libel and overwhelmingly declared Israel guilty of starving Gazans and conducting other war crimes, despite overwhelming and conclusive evidence to the contrary that proves that Hamas is the cause of all these crises.

Hamas’s latest blood libel against Israel has exacerbated existing root causes, spawning global political fallout with real-world consequences for Israelis and Gazans alike.

***

An American Greatness contributor, the Hon. Thaddeus G. McCotter (M.C., Ret.) served Michigan’s 11th Congressional district from 2003 to 2012. He served as Chair of the Republican House Policy Committee and as a member of the Financial Services, Joint Economic, Budget, Small Business, and International Relations Committees. Not a lobbyist, he is also a contributor to Chronicles, a frequent public speaker and moderator for public policy seminars, and a co-host of “John Batchelor: Eye on the World” on CBS radio, among sundry media appearances.

Andrew Zack is a Detroit-area attorney who is observing these events with great trepidation. 

Thaddeus McCotter and Andrew Zack

Source: https://amgreatness.com/2025/08/16/gaza-part-one-the-situation/

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Trump agrees with Putin that Ukraine must cede land as part of any deal to end war: news reports - Jospeh Weber

 

by Jospeh Weber

Trump is set to meet Monday at the White House with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

 

President Donald Trump has told his European counterparts he has agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand that Ukraine make territorial concessions to end the countries' roughly three-year-long war, according to multiple news reports Saturday.

Among the news outlets to report on Trump's purported decision was The Los Angeles Times, based on information from a "European official."

Trump, after meeting Putin on Friday in Alaska, also emerged adopting Putin’s position that ceasefire negotiations be put off in favor of more comprehensive talks.

Trump is set to meet Monday at the White House with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Jospeh Weber

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/trump-agrees-putin-ukraine-must-cede-land-part-any-deal-end-war-news-reports

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Trump administration suspends visas for visitors coming from Gaza - John Solomon

 

by John Solomon

 

Officials said they suspended the visas until the issuing process is revamped.

  

The State Department on Saturday abruptly halted issuing visas for foreigners seeking to travel to the United States from Gaza.

Officials said they suspended the visas until the issuing process is revamped.

"All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days," the State Department announced on X. 

John Solomon

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/security/trump-administration-suspends-visas-visitors-coming-gaza

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Washington on Monday after Putin summit, signaling potential progress - John Solomon

 

by John Solomon

Zelenskyy's announcement came just hours after Trump finished an historic summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Saturday he has accepted an invitation to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, a fresh signal of progress in the U.S. bid to end Russia's war against Kyiv.

Zelenskyy's announcement came just hours after Trump finished an historic summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where both men said there was progress towards a peace deal without offering specific details.

"On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war," Zelenskyy posted on X. "I am grateful for the invitation."

Trump told reporters at the end of his summit Friday with Putin that he had to make calls to world leaders, including Zelenskyy, and that some issues remained unresolved, but that good progress had been made in his push to get a ceasefire and eventual peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

 

John Solomon

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/zelenskyy-meet-trump-washington-monday-after-putin-summit

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Hamas claims to mediators its ready to discuss partial deal, sources tell 'Post' - Amichai Stein

 

by Amichai Stein

“We will agree to a deal on the condition that all the hostages are released in a single phase and in accordance with our terms for ending the war," the PMO said.

 

Illustrative image of Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

(photo credit: Getty images/MAHMUD HAMS/AFP, Adam Smigielski)

 

Hamas has sent a message to the mediators, expressing readiness to discuss a partial agreement, two sources with knowledge told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday. 

The mediators have made it clear to Hamas that Israel is serious about its intent to capture Gaza City, urging them to agree to specific terms for a deal.

Israel will only agree to a deal that releases all hostages in a single phase and on its terms for ending the war, the Prime Minister's Office said that evening in a statement.

The terms include "disarming Hamas; demilitarizing the Strip; Israeli security control over the Strip; and establishing a governing authority that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority and will live in peace with Israel,” according to the statement.

This is the first time that the Prime Minister's Office has called for a comprehensive deal free of ambiguity. 

Israelis demonstrate in Tel Aviv for an immediate hostage deal, August 16, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)

Two sources familiar with the negotiation details indicated that a partial deal could be formulated in a short timeframe; however, they spoke with a note of caution, as similar situations have occurred multiple times before. 

Last week, following his two press conferences, Netanyahu gave the Post an ambiguous "yes and no" response and declined to provide a clear answer on whether he would reject a partial deal if it were on the table.

Only a comprehensive deal is under consideration 

Meanwhile, various sources are conveying that "only a comprehensive deal for the release of all hostages is under consideration."

Nevertheless, it appears that the prime minister is not entirely closing the door on a partial agreement.

On Thursday, Mossad director David Barnea told Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Doha, Qatar, that a partial deal is off the table, the Post previously reported, citing an Israeli official. 

Qatar and Egypt have been https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-863679 for a deal that would include the release of all hostages and an end to the war, as of the end of last week.

Amichai Stein

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-864382

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Iran Wants Negotiations for One Reason — To Survive and Strike Later - Majid Rafizadeh

 

by Majid Rafizadeh

In such a position, the leadership in Tehran is willing to agree to almost any terms if it means securing breathing space, lifting sanctions and accessing funds to rebuild. They know that negotiations can give them exactly what they need: relief from "maximum pressure" without actually abandoning their nuclear ambitions.

 

• This is the same regime that has built its entire political identity around hatred for America, branding the U.S. the "Great Satan" and chanting "Death to America" at every major gathering.

• Some of Iran's leading scientists and engineers, who were driving its nuclear weapons effort, have been eliminated. This is not the position of strength from which Iran prefers to negotiate. This is the position of a regime struggling to keep its most prized military project afloat.

• In such a position, the leadership in Tehran is willing to agree to almost any terms if it means securing breathing space, lifting sanctions and accessing funds to rebuild. They know that negotiations can give them exactly what they need: relief from "maximum pressure" without actually abandoning their nuclear ambitions.

• The culmination of America's empowerment of Iran was the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre of Israelis. When you give the Iranian regime financial relief, you are funding terrorism.

• The worst mistake the West could make right now is to relieve the pressure at the very moment it has started to work. Just as in 2015, a deal will not defang this regime — it will recharge it.

• The Iranian regime has another game in mind, and that game ends with Iran as a stronger, more dangerous enemy. This is not the moment to sit at the table. It is the moment to stand unbudgeably firm.

The Iranian regime, long marked by hostility and defiance toward the United States and its allies, is suddenly portraying itself as eager to talk. This is the same regime that has built its entire political identity around hatred for America, branding the U.S. the "Great Satan" and chanting "Death to America" at every major gathering. Pictured: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes a public speech in November 2022, in which vowed: "Death to America will happen. In the new order I am talking about, America will no longer have any important role." (Image source: MEMRI)

The Iranian regime, long marked by hostility and defiance toward the United States and its allies, is suddenly portraying itself as eager to talk.

Reports confirm that Tehran is now negotiating with the EU3 — France, the United Kingdom and Germany — and has even stated that it is open to discussions with the United States. This is the same regime that has built its entire political identity around hatred for America, branding the U.S. the "Great Satan" and chanting "Death to America" at every major gathering. It is the same ruling elite that has repeatedly vowed to export its Islamist revolution far beyond the Middle East, aiming especially to destabilize and infiltrate Western nations. The question then becomes: why would such a fanatical and ideologically rigid regime suddenly want to sit at the table with its sworn enemies?

The answer is not goodwill, reform or a sudden change of heart. It is weakness. The reality is that Iran has been dealt a series of crushing blows in recent months, and now a drought.

U.S. and Israeli strikes severely damaged Iran's nuclear program — damage so extensive that even Iranian officials admit that key infrastructure has been disrupted. Facilities, centrifuges and stockpiles have been degraded or destroyed. Some of Iran's leading scientists and engineers, who were driving its nuclear weapons effort, have been eliminated. This is not the position of strength from which Iran prefers to negotiate. This is the position of a regime struggling to keep its most prized military project afloat.

In such a position, the leadership in Tehran is willing to agree to almost any terms if it means securing breathing space, lifting sanctions and accessing funds to rebuild. They know that negotiations can give them exactly what they need: relief from "maximum pressure" without actually abandoning their nuclear ambitions. As history has shown, they can sign agreements, pocket the benefits, and secretly continue advancing toward a nuclear weapon, just as they did after the 2015 JCPOA "nuclear deal."

Another critical factor is the Iran's military and political vulnerability after the recent 12-day war. That adventure inflicted enormous costs on Iran's military assets, its regional network of proxies, and even its core leadership. Key facilities were struck. Commanders and operatives were killed. The regime emerged battered. For the first time in years, the ruling elite must have felt that if another wave of strikes were unleashed, their survival could be at stake. That is why Tehran is now putting on a diplomatic smile and speaking of negotiating. It is a calculated survival strategy. By appearing cooperative, they hope to buy time to repair their military capabilities, rebuild their networks, and, once they are in a stronger position, exact revenge. Their goal is not to make peace — it is to live to continue fighting.

On the economic front, the picture is equally dire for the regime. Iran's economy is collapsing under the weight of U.S. sanctions, international isolation, and structural corruption. The national currency has been in freefall, eroding the savings and salaries of ordinary Iranians. The regime is desperate for hard currency and access to the global financial system. That is most likely is why they see no risk in sitting down for talks that could repair their damaged nuclear program.

A deal that results in the expiration of UN sanctions and the lifting of U.S. measures would flood the regime with money. As history has shown, this money will not go to the Iranian people — it will go to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hezbollah, Hamas and other terror groups. We have seen this movie. When the Obama administration signed the JCPOA, pallets of cash and billions of dollars in sanctions relief flowed into Tehran's coffers. The IRGC used this windfall to expand its regional influence, arm its proxies, and escalate attacks on the U.S. and its allies. From 2021 until 2025, Iran attacked more than 350 U.S assets in the Middle East.

The culmination of America's empowerment of Iran was the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre of Israelis. When you give the Iranian regime financial relief, you are funding terrorism.

That current talks are not a two-way street; they are just a one-way gift to the Iranian regime, which is the only party that benefits. By negotiating now, the U.S. would give Iran the oxygen it needs to recover from its military losses, repair its nuclear program and rearm its proxies. In return, the U.S. gets nothing but airy empty promises and unverifiable pledges. The Iranian regime has proven time and again that once it gets what it wants, it will cheat, conceal and violate any agreement. Negotiating now would be throwing a lifeline to a drowning enemy.

The sudden eagerness of the Iranian regime to engage in nuclear talks is just a sign of deception and desperation. The worst mistake the West could make right now is to relieve the pressure at the very moment it has started to work. Just as in 2015, a deal will not defang this regime — it will recharge it. The Obama-era JCPOA nuclear agreement taught us this lesson in blood and betrayal. If we empower Iran now with talks and deals, they will simply return with greater vengeance, better weapons and more aggressive proxies.

The Iranian regime has another game in mind, and that game ends with Iran as a stronger, more dangerous enemy. This is not the moment to sit at the table. It is the moment to stand unbudgeably firm.

• Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter) 

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21833/iran-wants-negotiations-to-survive

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

UN watchdog altered key metric, lowering bar to declare Gaza famine - JNS Staff

 

by JNS Staff

The latest report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification introduced a new malnutrition measure, which it has not traditionally used for such determinations.

 

Palestinians receive a hot meal prepared by volunteers in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on June 13, 2024. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.

The U.N.-affiliated Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) recently declared a “worst-case scenario of famine” in Gaza, though quietly adjusted one of its core measurement standards in the process, making it easier to issue such a designation, reported The Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday.

In its July 29 assessment, the IPC—a coalition of Western governments, U.N. agencies, and humanitarian groups—reported that “mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths” in the Hamas-controlled territory.

The New York Times, NPR, CNN and ABC News cited the report to link Israeli aid restrictions to mass starvation.

Unlike past evaluations, the IPC’s latest report introduced a new malnutrition measure—the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC)—which it has not traditionally used for famine determinations, the Free Beacon discovered.

The IPC also halved the percentage threshold of children suffering malnutrition that is necessary to establish a famine determination to 15%. Historically, famine has been declared when 30% of children suffer acute malnutrition, measured by weight and height calculations, a more labor-intensive and precise method than MUAC, which involves a simple arm measurement.

Most Popular

Toronto Film Festival cancels screening of Oct. 7 documentaryAug. 13, 2025

Zamir approves plans for IDF’s Gaza City operationAug. 13, 2025

IDF chief of staff articulates ‘new strategic approach’Aug. 14, 2025

The revised criteria appeared only in a small note with an asterisk beneath a chart titled “When is Famine Classified?” and were not mentioned in the IPC’s official “Famine Fact Sheet.”

The organization’s technical manual lists MUAC as a supplementary data point, not a primary basis for famine classification. The manual underscores that the IPC can only provide a “famine classification” once it has “reliable data” using weight and height measurements, or one other metric that is not MUAC.

The change has raised concerns among veteran aid workers. “It’s a pretty big shift in standards,” one of them told the Free Beacon. “Lowering the bar makes it easier for a famine determination to be made.” Another noted that past famine declarations in Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan relied on the higher 30% weight-for-height benchmark.

In Gaza, the IPC’s MUAC-based findings show acute malnutrition is under 8% for children in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, and 16.5% in Gaza City—just above the new 15% threshold but far below the previous 30% standard.

The July report also cited “over 20,000 children” treated for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, including more than 3,000 severely malnourished, and at least 16 recent hunger-related child deaths. However, these figures were drawn from “internal documents” that are not publicly available.

Much of the IPC’s data comes from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry and affiliated organizations, including Ard el Insan, an aid group, which has faced allegations of ties to the militant group, the Free Beacon noted.

The IPC did not respond to the Free Beacon’s questions regarding its altered methodology or the reliability of its sources.

JNS Staff

Source: https://www.jns.org/un-watchdog-altered-key-metric-lowering-bar-to-declare-gaza-famine/

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Israel gives ‘collaborators’ tortured by Ramallah $29m in PA funds - Akiva Van Koningsveld

 

by Akiva Van Koningsveld

"It is important that everyone out there who helps Israel in various ways knows that, when the time comes, Israel will assist them," the victims' attorneys said.

 

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionism Party, at the Knesset on July 22, 2024. Photo by Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90.

Israel has transferred 110 million shekels (approximately $29 million) in frozen Palestinian Authority tax revenues to 52 Palestinians who were arrested and tortured by the P.A. for assisting Israeli security forces in preventing terrorist attacks, Hebrew media reported on Tuesday.

The transfer of the funds marked the conclusion of a legal battle led by the Arbus, Kedem, Tzur law firm, which has represented the Palestinian victims, as well as Israeli terror victims, in Jerusalem District Court proceedings.

“This is a dramatic step by the State of Israel,” attorneys Barak Kedem and Aryeh Arbus told Israel National News, noting that “even today, dozens of Palestinians come to our office who were tortured by Abu Mazen’s P.A., solely because they helped Israel prevent terrorism,” referring to P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“It is important that everyone out there who helps Israel in various ways knows that, when the time comes, Israel will assist them,” they added.

A spokesman for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told JNS on Tuesday that every court decision requiring the P.A. to pay damages to terror victims or to Palestinians persecuted for aiding Israel is now executed promptly, with funds deducted from Ramallah’s tax revenues.

Jerusalem collects 600 million to 700 million shekels ($162 million to $189 million) in tax and tariff revenue on behalf of Ramallah every month under the terms of the Oslo Accords, signed in the 1990s.

“For years, the Palestinian Authority encouraged terror without paying a price. No more,” Smotrich’s spokesman said, adding that verdicts totaling billions of shekels have been enforced to date.

The lawsuits were based on a precedent-setting Supreme Court ruling from 2021, which determined that Israeli courts are authorized to hear claims against the P.A., which it said does not enjoy state immunity.

Medical files submitted in the various lawsuits proved P.A. officers beat their victims all over their bodies with rifles, batons and electric cables. They were denied sleep and access to a toilet, forced to drink soap and had teeth broken. Family members were also threatened.

Judge Miriam Ilany ruled in December that Ramallah “is responsible for the unlawful imprisonment and torture of the cooperators,” adding that the conduct “constitutes a blatant violation of basic human rights.”

“It is hard to believe that the Israeli courts would recognize a defense that cooperation with Israel is an act of treason in favor of the Israeli enemy,” she said. “In addition, those acts of ‘treason’ were intended to prevent acts of terrorism against Israel and against Israelis, which the P.A. pledged to prevent in the [Oslo Accords] interim agreement.”

Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, which the Jewish state signed with Palestinian terror leader Yasser Arafat in the 1990s, the newly created P.A. was tasked with fighting terrorism in parts of Judea and Samaria.

The P.A. has one of the largest per capita security forces in the world, trained and armed by the United States and other Western nations. Some countries want the P.A. to assume control of Gaza after the war against Hamas ends, a move that Jerusalem has so far resisted.

Akiva Van Koningsveld

Source: https://www.jns.org/israel-gives-collaborators-tortured-by-ramallah-29m-in-pa-funds/

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

In Gaza, tribal fighters and diplomats eye the same prize - Waseem Abu Mahadi

 

by Waseem Abu Mahadi

Gazan resident Mahmoud Hamdan says that Palestinians, caught between Israel and Hamas, have 'no clear political alternative'

 

Palestinians carry aid supplies they collected from trucks that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip August 10, 2025.

(photo credit: Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)

 

As Israel moves to seize Gaza City, dismantle Hamas, and keep a long-term military presence, local medical staff reported at least 48 dead Tuesday in strikes across Gaza City and Khan Yunis. Five more people, including two children, have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory’s health ministry said.

For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org

Critics warn that Netanyahu’s Oct. 7, 2025, deadline for seizing Gaza City could uproot thousands more residents and further deepen the political vacuum left by Hamas’ retreat and the Palestinian Authority’s 18-year absence.

That gap is already being contested on the ground: clan-based militias are stepping into governance roles, mediating disputes and escorting aid convoys in parts of the Strip. Rooted in Bedouin and clan traditions, these kinship systems have long mediated disputes, distributed aid and maintained social order when formal government structures faltered. The war has brought them back to the forefront, operating as de facto municipal authorities in many neighborhoods.

A Hamas-free pocket in eastern Rafah — controlled by the clan-based “Popular Forces” of Yasser Abu Shabab — has emerged as an example of an alternative local order. Its future is uncertain, but the enclave is drawing attention as both an anomaly and a possible preview of postwar governance.

The Yasser Abu Shabab – Popular Forces Facebook page — followed by more than 30,000 people — describes the group as “The voice of truth against terrorism for a safe homeland for all” and labels its feed as the group’s “media office.” Operating in the eastern sector of Rafah, near the Gaza–Egypt border, the group showcases its activities through frequent online updates.

Image of militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab. (credit: SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)

In a July 30 video, Abu Shabab said his forces carried out a “special operation” evacuating dozens of civilians from Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat and Khan Yunis to “safe areas” under their control in eastern Rafah. The group said it spent months building the refuge to shelter Gazans “still suffering from Hamas' looting and repression.” On July 31, it said its fighters “secured and imported dozens of trucks” carrying flour and other supplies, and on Aug. 6, it reported escorting “a large number of trucks” loaded with food, flour and cooking oil out of its territory.

Hamas's replacement

Omar Salim, 22, a student from Rafah, told The Media Line that Yasser Abu Shabab and his fighters were one of the few realistic options for ending Hamas' rule.

“What Yasser Abu Shabab’s popular forces are doing is probably the best option we’ve got right now. We just want peace — we don’t want to be ruled by armed groups like Hamas that drag us into war. We’re sick of it,” Salim said.

“Sure, they still need to get better organized, but they’re working on it. These days, a lot of families are moving into areas controlled by the popular forces because they feel safer there than in the neighborhoods where Hamas militias are still around.”

In Deir al-Balah, Ibrahim Ahmed, 36, who worked at a local mobile phone shop until the 2023 war began, described the chaos and deprivation now gripping Gaza as “mired in uncertainty,” with many “grappling with anxiety about what lies ahead.” People rush to stockpile food and medicine, he said, “but soaring prices and persistent shortages complicate these efforts.”

Ahmed told The Media Line he sees no alliances among the warring factions. “Israeli forces have largely subdued Hamas, which now clings to a mere handful of weapons, primarily to instill fear among civilians and quash dissent,” he said.

“Hamas' claims about readiness to resist an Israeli takeover of Gaza City are hollow media posturing — a facade for maintaining their waning influence.”

He added that the Palestinian Authority “appears increasingly irrelevant,” while armed groups like Abu Shabab “navigate freely within Israeli-controlled territories” and avoid conflict with Israeli forces. “This dynamic suggests Israel may turn to these clans during a potential period of military governance, positioning them as a counterbalance to both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority,” Ahmed warned. “Mr. Netanyahu and the Israeli military are cultivating a new power structure. But Gaza risks descending into civil war and chaos.”

Meanwhile, Hamas' feared counterintelligence Sahm unit continues to kill, torture, maim and intimidate Palestinians in Gaza, with the group posting graphic images and videos of its actions on a Telegram channel believed to be operated from Belgium.

The footage shows detainees beaten, bound and in some cases executed, as the unit seeks to stamp out suspected dissent or collaboration. Other Facebook videos last week showed a convoy of masked, rifle-waving fighters patrolling a Gaza neighborhood.

On the platform — one of the few spaces where Gazans can safely vent about the suffering caused by Israel’s war and Hamas' grip on their streets — users mocked the fighters’ covered faces and apparent comfort amid civilian hunger and deprivation.

Mahmoud Hamdan, 41, a father of three from Gaza City, said a military operation to reclaim the city is “unlikely to unite factions; instead, it may deepen divisions, fragment communities and increase violence.”

“Palestinian civilians suffer the most,” Hamdan told The Media Line, “trapped between Israel and Hamas, with no control or refuge in their homes amid the chaos.” He sees “no clear political alternative” — neither from clan factions nor possible Arab troop involvement. In his view, the main aim is “strengthening Netanyahu’s power,” with the prime minister “manipulating the situation with Hamas to justify his controversial political moves.”

Hamdan’s fears of Gaza sliding toward civil war come as even some of Hamas' staunchest foreign patrons signal a shift.

Pivoting from years of alignment with Hamas, Qatar and Turkey — two of the movement’s most reliable political and financial backers joined other Arab and Muslim-majority states on July 29, 2025, in a joint declaration urging the group to return control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and disarm.

At the same time, a new technocratic governance plan is being advanced by former Israeli intelligence operative Ari Ben-Menashe, now a Montréal-based lobbyist, who is positioning West Bank businessman Samir Hulileh to lead a transitional administration under an Arab League framework acceptable to the Trump administration — if not all elements of the Netanyahu cabinet.

That includes far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has openly called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and the resettlement of the Strip with Jewish Israelis, a vision sharply at odds with any internationally backed governance arrangement.

The Hulileh concept envisions securing $53 billion in Gulf and European reconstruction funding, expanded border crossings, and up to 1,000 aid trucks a day — a top-down blueprint dependent on Arab and US endorsement.

Hulileh, 68, is a Ramallah-based economist and former senior Palestinian Authority official with no political or professional ties to Gaza. Born in Kuwait in 1957, he earned a master’s in economics from the American University of Beirut.

He later served as CEO of the Palestine Development and Investment Company, one of the largest investment holding firms in the territories.

A close confidant of US-Palestinian billionaire Bashar Masri, founder of Rawabi and head of Massar International, Hulileh has been involved in major West Bank development projects. Masri’s investment network and political connections, including with the Trump administration, could help secure foreign capital and diplomatic support for the plan.

Speaking to the Palestinian Ajyal radio on Tuesday, Hulileh said, “In July 2024, I received a call from a Canadian contractor who was working closely with the US administration and the Pentagon on their search for moderate Palestinian figures.” Hulileh added, “I then reached out to President Mahmoud Abbas informally, hoping to gain his essential support and endorsement for the initiative,” saying “Israel firmly rejected the proposal, as did several Arab states that were expected to provide financial backing.”

The Palestinian presidency has rejected the idea, saying it would aid Israeli efforts to separate Gaza from the West Bank.

While Hulileh’s candidacy reflects a top-down, internationally backed vision for Gaza’s governance, Yasser Abu Shabab’s “Popular Forces” is a homegrown operation run through Gaza’s tribal networks. Azzam Shaath, a political analyst from Deir al-Balah, told The Media Line the rise of Abu Shabab stems from “the exceptional circumstances created by the Israeli war on the Strip.” He argued that Israel has tried to cultivate tribal and local leadership as alternatives to Hamas and the Palestinian Authority but “has failed to produce any credible Palestinian civil body capable of managing aid or leading Gaza after the war.”

Shaath said Israel works with Abu Shabab “to sow further instability, dismantle Hamas' rule and create the illusion of viable Palestinian alternatives.” In reality, he views the group as “a temporary, reactive phenomenon that will likely fade once the war ends and Palestinian factions agree on a unified governing committee.” “As long as the conflict drags on, Abu Shabab will keep a limited foothold by exploiting the security vacuum and the absence of formal governance.”

Waseem Abu Mahadi

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-864292

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter