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."
Tom Barrack told reporters that Washington does not hold a “common understanding” with the Jewish state about how to move forward with the new Syrian government.
Tom
Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey, and Syrian President Ahmed
al-Sharaa at the Syrian Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, May
2025. Credit: Ambassador Tom Barrack via Wikimedia Commons.
Israel’s military operation in Syria
“complicates matters” and is “not helpful,” according to Tom Barrack,
U.S. ambassador to Turkey, special envoy to Syria and a close friend of
U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he said
that Washington lacks a “common understanding” with the Jewish state on
the right way to handle Syria, with the Trump administration aiming to
guide Damascus to stability.
The Trump administration lifted sanctions
that it had imposed on the government of deposed Syrian President Bashar
Assad and delisted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, headed by Syrian President
Ahmed al-Sharaa, over concerns from Jerusalem. Al-Sharaa is a designated
U.S. terrorist, and HTS is a terror group formerly aligned with
Al-Qaeda.
“In my opinion, Israel is not aggressive,”
but Jerusalem’s actions in Syria are “not helpful” because “we do not
have a common understanding,” Barrack told reporters.
Upon Assad’s exile, Israel immediately
breached the demilitarized zone separating Israel and Syria to protect
its border amid the geographical chaos. Jerusalem also carried out
airstrikes to decimate the new government’s military capabilities.
In recent weeks, Israel intervened in a
tribal clash between Druze and Bedouin, in which the Druze community of
the southern Syrian city of Sweida suffered brutal murders and other
assaults.
Fiercely protective of the Druze, who live
on both sides of the Israeli-Syrian border, Israel struck Bedouins,
Syrian government forces, the Syrian Defense Ministry and an area in the
vicinity of the presidential palace before the U.S. government
intervened.
Hosam Saraya, a U.S. citizen, was among
those who were killed in the attacks on Sweida’s Druze. He and six of
his relatives, whom the Oklahoma resident was visiting, were executed.
Barrack told reporters that the gunmen,
who wore uniforms that resembled those of Syrian forces and who took
part in killing Saraya, will be held accountable.
The Syrian government is cooperating with the FBI, as the latter investigates, according to Barrack.
“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” the envoy
said. “The al-Sharaa government is cooperating fully and has indicated,
as we have, that we’re going to find out who is accountable, and
whoever is accountable is going to be punished.”
The FBI is attempting to identify the uniforms, primarily relying on a short video clip of the incident, he said.
Washington has broader, regional concerns
and is trying to work with Turkey—an Israeli adversary—among other
countries to bring about its goals for Syrian stability, according to
Barrack.
“Israel is very sensitive about its borders right now,” he told reporters. “Syria does not want war with Israel.”
The envoy said that the Jewish state wants
a clear line of sight through to Iran, without interference from
countries along that path.
“They want a clean zone between themselves
and Iran, consisting of reliable partners,” he said. “They want a view
of Iran and say that no one will interfere with us from here to Iran.”
Barrack also described Turkey as
“cooperating incredibly well,” and said that the Syrian government “is
also cooperating incredibly well in accepting this help.”
There is a buffer zone of sorts between
Turkey and the Syrian Druze, and one between Turkey and the Syrian
Democratic Forces, Barrack said. For years, Washington backed the Syrian
Democratic Forces, but it is now in limbo within the Trump
administration’s regional strategy.
This “should serve as a call to action for other humanitarian groups, including the U.N., to step up and collaborate with us so that there is more aid for more people,” said John Acree, of GHF.
Aid readied for delivery to Gazans in 2025. Credit: Courtesy of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced
on Friday that it had reached a milestone of delivering 100 million
total meals to Palestinians in Gaza since beginning operations roughly
two months ago.
“Gaza is one of the most complex operating
environments in the world, and we are very proud of the incredible work
our dedicated team has accomplished while operating in a very dangerous
and active war zone,” said Rev. Johnnie Moore, executive chairman of
GHF.
“However, the milestone is bittersweet given the continued shortage of aid coming into Gaza from other humanitarian groups who either lack the ability to safely deliver it or the willingness to work with those who can,” he said.
John Acree, interim executive director of
GHF, stated that, as the organization continues on its mission to feed
the people of Gaza, this milestone “should serve as a call to action for
other humanitarian groups, including the U.N., to step up and
collaborate with us so that there is more aid for more people.”
“Together we can end the cycle of chaos
and looting and ensure there is enough aid for all who need it, wherever
they live in Gaza,” Acree stated.
Chinese engineers accessed Pentagon systems via Microsoft’s cloud—raising alarms over Big Tech’s ties to America’s top adversary.
“When it comes time to hang the capitalists, they will vie with each
other for the rope contract.” While the statement has been variously
(and erroneously)
attributed to Lenin, Stalin, and Marx, the point remains as true today
as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow—if there is a tomorrow for free
people and free markets.
In the wake of a disturbing ProPublica investigation,
Microsoft executives and the United States Department of Defense (DOD)
bureaucrats are busy trying to cover their butts and close the barn door
on potential Chinese espionage by fixing the digital escort program. As
CNBC
reports, “Microsoft on Friday revised its practices to ensure that
engineers in China no longer provide technical support to U.S. defense
clients using the company’s cloud services.”
While it is too early to determine whether communist China has
penetrated the DOD’s classified information stored in its cloud, it is
high time to ask, “How in the world did this happen?”
Sure, it is a rhetorical question, but it is helpful to review yet
again how the cozy confluence of American multinational corporatists,
bureaucrats, and Chinese communists triangulates to imperil our national
security.
To begin, a cursory sketch of the digital escort program, per Breitbart:
The ProPublica report revealed
that Chinese-based Microsoft engineers had been helping maintain
Defense Department computer systems, potentially exposing sensitive
military data to cybersecurity risks. The report revealed that
Microsoft’s Chinese Azure engineers were overseen by “digital escorts”
in the U.S., who typically had less technical expertise than the
employees they managed overseas.
A China-based Microsoft engineer submits a
digital “ticket” to perform maintenance. A U.S.-based escort picks up
the ticket. The two meet virtually, where the engineer relays commands
for the escort to input into the federal cloud system, without the
escort necessarily understanding the code. This provides an opening to
potentially insert malicious code that goes undetected.
Allowing the people of communist China, where laws mandate that
people of all walks of life—including tech— collude in its cyber
espionage or else, access to our DOD systems sounds insane. And it is.
But there is a cold, hard illogic at work: money.
Microsoft was afraid of falling behind its cloud storage competitors
when the U.S. government began soliciting Big Tech corporations to
handle its billions of dollars of business. Microsoft had a liability.
No, it was not that Americans could not do the same work as the
corporation’s Chinese workers; it was that the American workers were too
expensive. What to do?
Enter the digital escort service.
Though having no qualms with discriminating against American workers
because they cost too much, Microsoft applied a DEI-like rationalization
that it would be wrong to distinguish based upon nationality between
its roster of international employees.
Next, Microsoft convinced DOD bureaucrats that an American escort,
who was likely abjectly untrained in detecting cyber espionage (if they
were tasked with even looking for it), would suffice to protect American
national security from the captive people of our avowed enemy.
Microsoft’s successful argument to the DOD bureaucrats? That’s
because the DOD did not know the “provenance” of who from what country
was working on many of their tech issues. Why should this case be any
different?
Now, if you had responded by ensuring that the DOD knew every single
one of the people working on its tech issues, you could never be a
government bureaucrat. (Consider yourself blessed.)
But you could be the Secretary of Defense: “Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth described the architecture as ‘a legacy system created over a
decade ago, during the Obama administration,’ and deemed it ‘obviously
unacceptable, especially in today’s digital threat environment.’” The
current DOD has vowed to “review its systems to identify any similar
activities and take necessary actions to ensure the security of its
cloud services.”
On its part, Microsoft “remain(s) committed to providing the most
secure services possible to the US government, including working with
our national security partners to evaluate and adjust our security
protocols as needed.” Is this a case of them having an epiphany about
protecting national security? Perhaps, but it is undoubtedly also
concerned about market share:
“This change primarily affects Microsoft’s Azure cloud services
division, which analysts estimate generates more than 25 percent of the
company’s revenue, making it larger than Google Cloud but smaller than
Amazon Web Services.”
There is no indication that the communist Chinese regime intends to cease its cyber espionage against the United States.
It is unknown if Microsoft and the DOD are closing the barn door on
communist China’s cyber espionage in time. What is known is that the
continuing and chummy relationship between America’s Big Tech and
government bureaucrats in the face of communist China’s unrestricted
warfare augurs ill for our national security, though it does bode well
for those selling the rope to hang us all.
In the short run, anyway.
***
An American Greatness contributor, the Hon. Thaddeus
G. McCotter (M.C., Ret.) served Michigan’s 11th Congressional district
from 2003–2012. 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.
“Hamas propagandists have no place in our country,” said Bruno Retailleau, France’s interior minister.
U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with French Foreign Minister
Jean-Noël Barrot at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., May 1
2025. Credit: Freddie Everett/U.S. State Department.
France suspended a program to relocate
Gaza refugees on Friday pending an investigation into how the country
admitted a Palestinian woman, who made social media posts about wanting
to “kill all the Jews.”
Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, told Franceinfo radio in an interview on Friday that “no evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn the consequences of this investigation.”
“All those who entered France will be
subject to a new check following the flaws in the security screening,”
Barrot said, adding that the offender “has no place in France” and would
be deported.
French officials have not identified the
woman, but unconfirmed screenshots of a now-deleted social media account
show Nour Atalla, 25, of Gaza, re-posting a video of Adolf Hitler with
the caption “kill the Jews everywhere. I don’t want a Jewish lineage on
this earth. You must kill them before they kill you.”
Atalla had reportedly been accepted to Sciences Po Lille university but has now been expelled.
France has accepted about 600 Gazans into
the country since Oct. 7 in a program that focuses on taking in teachers
and students from the coastal enclave.
France’s interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, called Atalla’s posts “unacceptable and concerning.”
“I immediately requested the closure of
this hateful account and instructed the prefect to refer the matter to
the judiciary,” Retailleau wrote. “Hamas propagandists have no place in our country.”
Several enemy gunmen emerged from a tunnel shaft with their hands over their heads, after their plan to flee the area failed.
Israeli soldiers in Beit Hanoun, the northern Gaza Strip. Credit: IDF.
Hamas terrorists surrendered to Israeli
soldiers during an IDF operation in the Beit Hanoun area of northeastern
Gaza, the military said on Saturday.
Troops from the Givati Infantry Brigade’s
Combat Team, operating under the 162nd Armored Division, identified
several terrorists emerging from a tunnel shaft earlier in the day.
In footage released by the IDF, the
terrorists were seen exiting an underground shaft wearing nothing but
underwear. They placed their hands over their heads and turned
themselves in to the troops.
The soldiers questioned them on the spot,
learning that the terrorists had planned to flee after another terrorist
who was with them in the tunnel died in a clash with IDF soldiers, the
army said.
The prisoners disclosed information about a nearby weapons cache and led the troops to it, the military added.
“Numerous weapons were seized at the site,
including vests, magazines, grenades and firearms. Inside the tunnel,
equipment for prolonged stays was found—food, water and hygiene
supplies,” the IDF said.
The Hamas gunmen were transferred for
further interrogation by security forces, the weapons found were
confiscated, and the tunnel is now being examined by combat engineering
units operating in the area.
תיעוד מיוחד מבית חאנון: מחבלים בחמאס נכנעים ללוחמי צק״ח גבעתי שמכריעים את גדוד בית חאנון
היום, פעלו לוחמי צוות הקרב החטיבתי של גבעתי, בפיקוד אוגדה 162, במרחב בית חאנון שבצפון רצועת עזה.
במהלך הפעילות, זיהו הלוחמים מספר מחבלים שיצאו מתוך פיר מנהרה במרחב, המחבלים נכנעו לכוחות… pic.twitter.com/UTTCgs06iQ
Hamas’s Beit Hanoun Battalion, which posed
a threat to Kibbutz Nir Am and the city of Sderot, “has surrendered and
is being defeated by Givati Brigade forces,” the IDF said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz tweeted:
“Hamas terrorists are surrendering in Beit Hanoun. They emerge from the
tunnels into the devastated city.” He added that the military was
destroying its enemies above and below ground.
Also on Saturday, the IDF announced that
it killed terrorist Salah al-Din Za’atra, the deputy commander of
Hamas’s Al-Furqan Battalion, aka the Sheikh Radwan Battalion, based in
Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan district.
Za’atra, who was slain on July 24, previously served as the commander of the battalion’s combat support company, the army said.
Meanwhile over the weekend, IDF troops
identified four Hamas terrorists near an area in northern Gaza where the
troops were operating and directed an aircraft that struck and
eliminated them, the military added. Several terrorists were also killed
by shell fire, the IDF said.
In southern Gaza, IDF troops eliminated terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure, the military stated.
“IDF troops continue to operate to locate and dismantle terrorist infrastructure above and below ground,” the IDF said.
The IDF has been operating systematically throughout the Strip since it launched “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” on May 4.
On July 27, the military announced
that troops from the 646th “Marom Foxes” Reservist Paratroopers Brigade
had dismantled a Hamas tunnel and hundreds of terrorist infrastructure
sites during operations over the past three months across several areas
of the Gaza Strip.
Operating under the 99th Infantry
Division, soldiers targeted locations in the Netzarim Corridor, Gaza
City’s Shejaiya and Daraj Tuffah neighborhoods and Beit Hanoun.
The IDF said troops uncovered and destroyed military structures,
weapons caches and firing and observation positions used by terrorist
organizations.
Approximately 400 terrorists were killed in coordinated operations with the Israeli Air Force, according to the military.
In recent days, the 646th Brigade, supported by the elite Yahalom engineering unit, located and dismantled a 500-meter-long Hamas tunnel in Beit Hanoun, as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt the group’s underground networks.
[T]he roster of international figures supporting the NCRI has grown broader and more senior, and mainstream media coverage more significant, even in Italy, which has not traditionally played a central role in Iran-related diplomacy.
The recent Free Iran World Summit
in Italy was repeatedly interrupted by chants from the packed crowd
including, “Bound by the blood of the fallen, we remain unyielding to
the end.” But with escalating tensions in the Middle East, Western
sentiment appears to be shifting toward groups like the National Council
of Resistance of Iran that call for overthrowing of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The chants at last week's summit – repeated not only by members of the Iranian diaspora on hand at Rome’s Palazzo dei Congressi
but also via video link by many hundreds more at Ashraf-3, the
headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) in
Albania – are common at rallies organized by NCRI, a Paris-based
coalition that sees itself as an Iranian government in exile and the
political wing of the Iranian dissident group MEK.
But the roster of international figures supporting the NCRI has grown broader and more senior, and mainstream media coverage more significant, even in Italy, which has not traditionally played a central role in Iran-related diplomacy.
As a result, the NCRI’s long-standing message that the world must
stop what it called an “appeasement strategy” toward Tehran and support
the rights of Iranians to overthrow the ruling Iranian regime appears to
be gaining momentum.
“The regime is weak,” NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi said in Rome,
speaking before a towering LED screen that showed scenes from Ashraf-3
and “Free Iran” banners. “It survives through terror, executions, and
foreign aggression. But change is coming, and we are ready for it.”
In addition to Rajavi, the summit featured remarks from several
high-profile political figures, including Charles Michel, a former
President of the European Council; former Italian Prime Minister Matteo
Renzi; Michele Alliot-Marie, a former French minister who held the
defense, interior, foreign affairs, and justice portfolios; James
Cleverly, a former Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary in the U.K.; and
former New York Mayor and Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.
“Iran’s dictatorship is afraid, and it’s facing a credible
alternative,” said Michel, who left his European Council role in
December. “Change is coming.”
The program was
broadcast live to Ashraf-3, where attendees sat in neat rows and in
uniform dress. It was also translated in real time for those in
attendance in Rome into English, Italian, French and Farsi.
“Meetings like this fit into the trend of recognizing the importance
and the complexities of the situation in Iran,” Hans-Ulrich Seidt, a
veteran German diplomat who has served as his country’s ambassador to
Afghanistan and South Korea, told Just the News. Seidt is an example of a recent convert among NCRI supporters, learning about the organization after the fall of the Assad regime after half a century in power in Syria late last year.
“What happened in Syria … that could happen in Iran,” Seidt said.
“It’s clear that the mullahs’ regime cannot stand, and that the NCRI is
the only democratic alternative.”
The U.S. State Department calls Iran’s Islamic government "the
world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism and has spent billions of
dollars bankrolling terrorist proxies while neglecting the needs of
Iranian citizens at home."
President Trump said in his first term: "The future of Iran belongs
to its people. They are the rightful heirs to a rich culture and an
ancient land. And they deserve a nation that does justice to their
dreams, honor to their history, and glory to God."
In early June, Israel began bombing
nuclear facilities and other sites across Iran. And the two countries
have been trading deadly attacks since then. Later in the month, the
U.S. military launched a series of coordinated bombing attacks on threeIraniannuclear facilities – marking a major escalation of the ongoing Middle East conflicts.
The Trump administration has faced heavy backlash over its handling of the Epstein investigation, including its promise to release Epstein's alleged "client list," which it has since said does not exist.
President Donald Trump on Friday
night said he would like the federal government to "release everything"
that it has on the disgraced, late financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey
Epstein as long as innocents aren't hurt in the process.
The Trump administration has faced heavy backlash over its handling
of the Epstein investigation, including its promise to release Epstein's
alleged "client list," which it has since said does not exist. But Trump has pushed the Justice Department to provide more transparency on the matter.
Trump last month directed
Attorney General Pam Bondi to release relevant grand jury testimony
related to Epstein, but a judge in Florida denied the request saying
that legal precedent doesn't allow it.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also interviewed Epstein's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell last week about her relationship with the deceased felon.
“I think [Blanche] probably wanted to know, you know, just to get a
feeling of it, because we’d like to release everything, but we don’t
want people to get hurt that shouldn’t be hurt,” Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty. “I want to release everything. I just don’t want people to get hurt."
Trump reminded viewers that he has the right to pardon Maxwell if he
decides to, but claimed no one has formally requested the pardon.
Maxwell is currently trying to appeal her sex-trafficking conviction,
for which she is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
[T]his recognition serves as a reward for terrorism. It offers no humanitarian benefit. As US President Donald Trump put it: "What Macron says is irrelevant—it won't change anything." The sole concrete outcome is the political legitimization of a jihadist, anti-Semitic, genocidal movement.
International law —
particularly Article 1 of the 1933 Montevideo Convention — defines the
criteria for statehood: a permanent population, a defined territory, an
effective government, and the capacity to engage in relations with other
states. Yet neither of the two Palestinian political entities meets
these criteria.
By choosing to recognize a "Palestinian state" that clearly fails
to meet these established criteria, France departs from any
international law. Macron's declaration is not a matter of legal
recognition, but a political gesture — ideological and electoral —
masquerading as diplomacy.
[T]his recognition serves as a reward for terrorism. It offers no
humanitarian benefit. As US President Donald Trump put it: "What Macron
says is irrelevant—it won't change anything." The sole concrete outcome
is the political legitimization of a jihadist, anti-Semitic, genocidal
movement.
On 24 July 2025, France announced its decision to recognize
the existence of a "Palestinian state" in September. President Emmanuel
Macron portrayed this move as an act of "justice" and "peace." In
reality, however, this recognition constitutes a geopolitical fiction.
Once again, France finds itself on the wrong side of history. Not on the
side of human rights. Not on the side of peace. But on the side of
lies, dishonor and collaboration with the enemies of humanity. Pictured:
Macron meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas at the
UN General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic
Marin/AFP via Getty Images)
On 24 July 2025, France announced its decision to recognize
the existence of a "Palestinian state" in September. President Emmanuel
Macron portrayed this move as an act of "justice" and "peace." In
reality, however, this recognition constitutes a geopolitical fiction —
contrary to international law, flagrantly at odds with the facts on the
ground, and laden with profoundly harmful moral implications.
1. What State?
International law — particularly Article 1 of the 1933 Montevideo
Convention — defines the criteria for statehood: a permanent population,
a defined territory, an effective government, and the capacity to
engage in relations with other states. Yet neither of the two
Palestinian political entities meets these criteria.
On one side stands the Palestinian Authority (PA), headed by Mahmoud Abbas—a feeble administrative remnant, ostentatiously corrupt, loathed by his people and devoid of democratic legitimacy. No presidential election has been held since
2005. The PA's limited authority extends over only a portion of the
West Bank, and even there, it operates with the conditional consent of
Israel and under the close oversight of the Israeli military, on which it depends for its own security.
On the other side lies the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamist
organization Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the European
Union, the United States,
Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan. Hamas, which
perpetrated the massacre of October 7, 2023, is not a state actor, but a
theocratic militia. It is waging war not only against Israel but also against Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction. Hamas, in a coup,forcibly expelled the Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip in 2007 in a Palestinian civil war that has claimed hundreds of lives over the years.
Thus, the "Palestinian state" that France purports to recognize
possesses no unified government, no monopoly on the legitimate use of
force, and no effective sovereignty. It exists solely on the papers of a
few diplomatic offices — not in reality.
2. What Territory?
Recognizing a state entails recognizing its control over a territory —
even if disputed at the margins. Yet here too, confusion reigns, and
for good reason: Palestinian territorial claims are anything but
coherent. The 1949 armistice lines (frequently but mistakenly called the
"1967 borders") have never been recognized as international boundaries,
either by Israel or by key UN resolutions, including Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967. That resolution calls for withdrawal to "secure and recognized boundaries" but leaves their definition open.
Hamas, by contrast, rejects any notion of coexistence with Israel. Its founding covenant from 1988 (revised
in 2017) continues to call explicitly for Israel's destruction, and the
2017 revision claims all the land "from the River Jordan in the east to
the Mediterranean in the west" — that is, all of Israel, the West Bank
and Gaza. This vision necessarily entails the eradication of the State
of Israel and the displacement — or extermination — of its people.
To recognize a state with no defined territory — and whose
territorial claims involve ethnic cleansing — is to lend legitimacy to a
genocidal project.
3. What Authority?
Since the launch of Israel's Operation Swords of Iron in response to
the jihadist slaughter of October 7, 2023, Hamas has lost control over
large portions of the Gaza Strip. The IDF now conducts daily operations
there, systematically dismantling Hamas's military infrastructure and
administrative apparatus. The so-called Hamas "government" no longer
possesses functioning ministries, a budget, or significant logistical
capability. Its leadership is either dead, exiled, or in hiding.
In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority has lost credibility. It is widely perceived
as corrupt, authoritarian and subservient to Israel. It controls
neither borders nor resources. It cannot even maintain public order in
many areas, such as Jenin and Nablus, which have devolved into strongholds of lawless paramilitary factions.
In sum, there is no Palestinian authority exercising sovereign control over any territory.
A Legal Fiction, a Moral Disaster
Under international law, the recognition of a state is a sovereign act — discretionary, but not arbitrary.
It presupposes, in principle, the existence of objective facts
demonstrating a genuine state within the legal meaning of the term. By
choosing to recognize a "Palestinian state" that clearly fails to meet
these established criteria, France departs from any international law.
Macron's declaration is not a matter of legal recognition, but a
political gesture — ideological and electoral — masquerading as
diplomacy.
The timing only compounds the problem. One year and eight months
after the atrocities of October 7, 2023 — acts of barbarism targeting
civilians, including women, children, the elderly and even babies — this recognition serves as a reward for terrorism. It offers no humanitarian benefit. As US President Donald Trump put
it: "What Macron says is irrelevant—it won't change anything." The sole
concrete outcome is the political legitimization of a jihadist,
anti-Semitic, genocidal movement.
For those who still doubt that reality, Hamas leaders have
articulated their aims with chilling clarity. In an interview on October
24, 2023 with Lebanese television channel LBC, Ghazi Hamad, a member of
Hamas's political bureau, declared:
"We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do this again
and again. The Al-Aqsa Flood is just the first time, and there will be a
second, a third, a fourth, because we have the determination, the
resolve, and the capabilities to fight."
When asked whether this meant the annihilation of Israel, he responded without hesitation: "Yes, of course."
Once again, France finds itself on the wrong side of history. Not on
the side of human rights. Not on the side of peace. But on the side of
lies, dishonor and collaboration with the enemies of humanity.
Drieu Godefridi is a jurist (University Saint-Louis,
University of Louvain), philosopher (University Saint-Louis, University
of Louvain) and PhD in legal theory (Paris IV-Sorbonne). He is an
entrepreneur, CEO of a European private education group and director of
PAN Medias Group. He is the author of The Green Reich (2020).
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Trump sent Steve Witkoff to the region "in an effort to save lives and end this crisis"
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff
and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee arrived in Israel on
Thursday to inspect food distribution in Gaza, amid growing concerns of a
humanitarian crisis.
Witkoff was expected to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation and a possible ceasefire
after arriving in Israel Thursday afternoon, according to an official
who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that
President Trump sent Witkoff to the region “in an effort to save lives
and end this crisis,” calling the president “a humanitarian with a big
heart.”
“The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas
to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social
Thursday morning.
More than 600 Palestinians were wounded and at least 91 were killed
while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health
Ministry said on Thursday.
The Israel Defense Forces said that the Palestinians surrounded aid
trucks and the Israeli military fired warning shots into the crowd, but
reported no awareness of injuries as a result.
According to a security official who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, the gunfire came from within the crowd and resulted from
altercations between Palestinians attempting to access aid.
Food aid being airdropped has led to stampedes and skirmishes as hungry crowds scream and fight for the parcels.
The amount of food aid getting into Gaza has been much lower than the
500 to 600 trucks per day that aid organizations say are needed.
Israel's defense body in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza
said 270 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, along with 32 pallets
of aid that were airdropped.
New declassified documents offer startling revelations about the Hillary Clinton campaign's alleged plan in 2016 to tie Trump to Russia through FBI and media
This week, Washington was rocked by new releases in
the declassification of material related to the origins of the Russian
investigation. The material shows further evidence of a secret plan by
the Clinton campaign to use the FBI and media to spread a false claim
that Donald Trump
was a Russian asset. With this material, the public is finally seeing
how officials and reporters set into motion what may be the greatest
hoax ever perpetrated in American politics.
There
never was a Russian collusion conspiracy. This is the emerging story of
the real Russian conspiracy to manufacture a false narrative that
succeeded in devouring much of the first term of the Trump
administration.
What is emerging in these documents is a political
illusion carefully constructed by government officials and a willing
media. The brilliance of the trick was getting reporters to buy into the
illusion; to own it like members of an audience called to the stage by
an illusionist.
The effort closely followed the three steps of the classic magic trick: The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige.
The Pledge
The
trick began with the pledge, the stage where the public is set up by
showing ordinary events with the suggestion that it is about to
transform into something extraordinary. The key is to make something
seem real that is actually not.
The Clinton campaign delivered the
pledge by secretly funding the Steele dossier, using Fusion GPS and a
former British spy named Christopher Steele, to create a salacious
account of Trump being an agent of Russia.
It was Elias who was the general counsel to the Clinton presidential campaign when it funded the infamous Steele dossier and pushed the false Alfa Bank conspiracy. (His fellow Perkins Coie partner, Michael Sussmann, was indicted but acquitted in a criminal trial.)
Later,
John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, appeared before Congress for
questioning on the Steele dossier. Podesta emphatically denied any contractual agreement with Fusion GPS. Sitting beside him was Elias, who reportedly said nothing to correct the misleading information given to Congress.
The FEC ultimately sanctioned the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee over the handling of the funding of the dossier through his prior firm.
The Turn
The
next step is the turn when the ordinary becomes something
extraordinary. This required the involvement of the government. The
Clinton team worked behind the scenes to feed the dossier to the FBI. It
would be the criminal investigation that would transform the ordinary
accounts, like Carter Page speaking in Moscow, into an elaborate Russian
plot. Even though the FBI was
warned early on that Page was a CIA asset, not a Russian asset, the
Clinton team found eager officials in the Obama administration to assist
in the illusion.
The
newly disclosed evidence shows how the turn was made. In July 2016,
Brennan briefed former President Obama on Hillary Clinton’s "plan" to
tie then-candidate Trump to Russia as "a means of distracting the public
from her use of a private email server." The original Russia
investigation — funded by Clinton’s campaign — was launched days after
this briefing.
Months later, it would be Brennan who overruled his own CIA analysts in
his ordering of a second last-minute assessment at the end of the Obama
administration in support of the Russian allegations. It would help
make the turn with the all-consuming Russian investigation that would
follow.
Career
analysts were not buying the turn. They objected that the reliance on
the Steele dossier "ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and
ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment." One CIA
analyst told investigators that
"[Brennan] refused to remove it, and when confronted with the dossier’s
main flaws, [Brennan] responded, ‘Yes, but doesn’t it ring true?’"
That is the key to the turn; it needs only to be enough to fool the audience.
The Prestige
The
final stage is called the Prestige, where the magician faces the
toughest part of the trick. As explained in the 2006 movie "The
Prestige," the viewer is "looking for the secret... but you won't find
it, because, of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want
to know. You want to be fooled." However, "making something disappear
isn't enough; you have to bring it back."
The
difference is that this trick was designed to derail Trump and it
worked. In the end, however, the Special Counsel and Inspector General
both rejected the Russian collusion claims. The public then reelected
Trump. Now, the prestige may be revealed by the CIA.
Reports
indicate that the CIA is about to declassify material showing that
foreign sources were also in on the trick. The information reportedly
indicates that foreign sources were aware of the move to create a
Russian collusion scandal and expected that the FBI would play a role in
the plan. That was before the bureau launched its controversial Crossfire Hurricane probe.
One source said the foreign intelligence predicted the move "with alarming specificity."
The
most recently declassified material shows that the Russian actors in
2016 hacked emails from the Open Society Foundations, formerly known as
the Soros Foundation. The emails show an even wider circle of activists
and allies who were aware of the Clinton conspiracy.
Leonard
Bernardo, who was the regional director for Eurasia at the Open Society
Foundations, explained that "during the first stage of the campaign,
due to lack of direct evidence, it was decided to disseminate the
necessary information through the FBI-affiliated…from where the
information would then be disseminated through leading U.S.
publications."
Bernardo added, "Julie (Clinton Campaign Advisor)
says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump. Now it
is good for a post-convention bounce. Later, the FBI will put more oil
into the fire."
The media (including the Washington Post and New York Times,
which won Pulitzer prizes for reporting on the debunked claims) are
apoplectic in dismissing these disclosures. The last thing they will do
is report on how they helped sell a political hoax. The problem is that
they never said it was a trick. They said it was the truth. That is why CIA Director John Ratcliff's big reveals have this town on the edge of its seat.
It
appears that everyone was in on the trick: the U.S. government, the
media, even foreign governments. The only chumps were the American
people. Now they are about to see how it was done.
Jonathan Turleyis a Fox News Media contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public
Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of "The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage" (Simon & Schuster, June 18, 2024).
