Middle East and Terrorism

Thursday, October 16, 2025

‘We are witnessing a type of civil war in Gaza’ - Yaakov Lappin

by Yaakov Lappin

As IDF troops hold to ceasefire lines, the terror group has launched a murderous campaign to eliminate internal rivals.

Hamas terrorists in Khan Yunis, the southern Gaza Strip. Oct. 13, 2025. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.

In the wake of the ceasefire agreement that has seen the Israel Defense Forces redeploy to new defensive lines in the Gaza Strip, Hamas has launched a brutal campaign to reassert its control over the parts of the Strip it holds, including the heart of Gaza City.

This effort has included ruthless suppression of dissent, leading to intense firefights with armed Gazan clans, and a wave of executions. The terror group’s actions signal an explicit rejection of the deal’s demilitarization clauses and the notion of a future governance arrangement that is free of Hamas influence.

Col. (res.) Amit Assa, a former senior member of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) with more than 30 years of experience, told JNS in recent days that “Hamas’s control, in the areas from which the IDF withdrew, is full control. There will be no local force that can stand against them, and any international force that receives a mandate to intervene will face significant security challenges.”

Assa pointed to recent declarations by Hamas leadership as proof the group has no intention of abiding by either the spirit or letter of the ceasefire.

“The statement by Khalil al-Hayya, who says that Hamas will continue to strengthen and establish its grip as its vision has not changed and is the destruction of the State of Israel, only proves Hamas’s disagreement with Trump’s conditions in the deal, in which the organization must disarm,” he assessed.

“This disagreement and the violent behavior on the ground will lead to another political attempt to impose the conditions on Hamas, and as expected, its refusal will bring about a renewed phase of the war, leading to Hamas’s complete surrender with the backing of the Trump administration,” said Assa.

The anti-Hamas militias located in the areas under Israeli military control will continue to manage the lives of Gazans in these areas and will constitute the infrastructure for establishing a regional “emirates plan” in the Gaza Strip and also in Judea and Samaria, according to the former Shin Bet official.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said Hamas “did take out a couple of gangs that were very bad,” adding, “That didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you.”

However, he continued, Hamas “will disarm.” The terrorist group “know I’m not playing games … and if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them, and it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm,” he said.

Lt. Col. (res.) Shaul Bartal, a senior research fellow at the Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University who has served in multiple security roles in Judea and Samaria, characterized the internal fighting as a form of Palestinian civil war.

“We are witnessing a type of civil war where anyone who does not agree with Hamas is immediately labeled a ‘supporter of the occupation.’ This civil war, in which Naim Naim, the son of [senior Hamas member] Bassem Naim, was killed [on Sunday], is one stage in Hamas’s return to power,” Bartal told JNS.

Bartal noted that widespread criticism of Hamas by the Gaza population due to the immense destruction in the Strip will complicate the group’s efforts to reimpose its authority.

“On the ground, this will translate into difficulty for Hamas in imposing its rule. It is possible that Israel is encouraging this, but there is no official confirmation of this,” he said.

He identified the primary opposition families engaged in the fighting as the Dughmush, Abu Samra and Abu Warda clans. The Israeli-backed Abu Shabab militia is believed to still be operating in southern Gaza, in areas under IDF control.

Bartal said that a government of technocrats is supposed to be established in Gaza, which will be “supervised by Qatar, Turkey and the Gulf states, because only in this way will the money be transferred for reconstruction.”

Under this scenario, Bartal added, the Palestinian Authority would have a nominal presence, allowing its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, to claim that Gaza is still part of his domain, “but in practice, nothing would move forward without Hamas’s agreement.”

Hamas forces have murdered dozens of Gazan clan members since the start of the ceasefire, according to international media reports. The clashes are concentrated in Jabalia in northern Gaza and Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Strip, according to the reports.

Hamas sources have announced a wide-ranging “security operation” to “eradicate collaborators with Israel,” targeting powerful opposition clans. This bloody campaign, which Hamas has branded “Purification before Liberation,” has involved public executions in Gaza City, often in front of a cheering crowd.

The fighting has been particularly intense in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City between Hamas security forces and the Dughmush clan.

Al Jazeera and local media reported that Hamas security forces claimed to have taken control of the clan’s “militia,” arresting around 60 armed men and killing more than 50 others, while suffering at least dozen casualties among their own ranks.

The violence has claimed high-profile casualties, including Saleh al-Jafarawi, a prominent Gazan social media activist who produced Hamas propaganda and celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. He was reportedly shot and killed during the fighting.

Yaakov Lappin is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He is the in-house analyst at the Miryam Institute; a research associate at the Alma Research and Education Center; and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He is a frequent guest commentator on international television news networks, including Sky News and i24 News. Lappin is the author of Virtual Caliphate: Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet. Follow him at: www.patreon.com/yaakovlappin.

Source: https://www.jns.org/we-are-witnessing-a-type-of-civil-war-in-gaza/

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With ceasefire in place, activists shift to long term objective, Israel's destruction - analysis - Michael Starr

by Michael Starr

Following the Gaza ceasefire, anti-Israel activists ramp up calls to dismantle Zionism, demanding arms embargoes, Palestinian sovereignty, and the right of return.

Protesters wave flags as students take part in an inter-university march in support of Palestinians, on the second anniversary of the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas from Gaza, at King's College London campus, Britain, October 7, 2025.

(photo credit: REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE)

With a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in effect after two years of pro-Palestinian protests demanding “ceasefire now,” anti-Israel activist groups have pivoted their advocacy toward several objectives to weaken Israel militarily or politically, with many expressing that the next step is the eradication of Israel.

Activist groups explained on their platforms, following the ceasefire’s implementation on Friday, that the ceasefire was only an initial demand by protesters, and their ultimate objective was to destroy Zionism.

Palestinian Youth Movement Montreal stated on Instagram on Thursday that “While a ceasefire has been a central demand of our movement, it only marks one phase of aggression: We remain committed to confronting and dismantling Zionism in all its forms.’

Another PYM chapter in New York City said of a Friday protest that the ceasefire was a respite for Gazans, and the continuation of the “struggle” to ensure “Zionism is never allowed to persist again” was on Western supporters.

Barnard College and Columbia University Jewish Voice for Peace, JVP University of Michigan, Jews for Justice DePaul University, Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front George Washington University, and AJSF American University issued a joint statement in which they held mainstream American Jewish institutions responsible for a supposed genocide in Gaza and committed to erasing “Zionism from every crevice of Jewish life.”

A student puts on their pro-Palestine graduation cap reading ''From the river to the sea'' at the People's Graduation, hosted for Mahmoud Khalil and other students unable to participate in Columbia and New York University's commencement ceremony, May 18, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis)

“We will continue to fight for the abolition of Zionism both in Palestine and in our own Jewish communities,” said the progressive groups.

The groups believed that the ceasefire had “fractured the Zionist entity” and would serve as the “first step to the inevitable fall of empire.”

Leeds Students Against Apartheid Coalition (LSAAC) said in a Thursday Instagram story that a ceasefire was “the bare minimum” and that their protests were “never about a ceasefire.”

“Our duty is to uphold the Thawabit [Palestinian fundamental principles], to ensure that Zionism is completely eradicated, and to fight until Palestinians have complete sovereignty over their land,” said four Leeds groups. “From the river to the sea.”

Groups associated with the Protect Palestine campaign sought to implement the destruction of Israel through the invasion of a multi-state military coalition. Supporters participated in a Saturday London protest under the banner of a One State Palestine Bloc, calling for an international force to invade the Levant, defeat the IDF, and “dismantle” the State of Israel.

Some groups only reoriented toward the concept of “liberating” the territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, implying the eradication of the State of Israel, though not outright stating as such.

The Instagram account Palestine Reveals stated on Thursday that the “fight for Palestinian liberation does not end with a ceasefire” but would continue until the “total liberation of all of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”

Other groups echoed this sentiment but added the immediate objectives of lifting the blockade around the Hamas-controlled territory and freeing further security prisoners held by Israel.

Montreal for Palestine protested at the Israeli consulate in Quebec City on Sunday, demanding that the blockade be lifted and that all prisoners and “every inch of Palestine” to be free.

“The ceasefire begins; our fight continues,” read a protest advertisement.

Toronto for Palestine said that the ceasefire didn’t wash away a supposed crime or “occupation,” and that it would continue to operate “until the siege is lifted and until total liberation.

The People’s Forum announced a protest in NYC on Saturday in order to demand the lifting of the blockade, noting it would continue to engage in protests “until total liberation.”

Other groups added the need for the implementation of a Palestinian right of return, which would see the inflow of millions of people with Palestinian heritage into Israel obtain citizenship, ending the Jewish majority in Israel.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign organized a Saturday protest in London, stating on social media that it would continue to protest until “the Palestinian people are free from the river to the sea.”

PSC director Ben Jamal called for a right of return in addition to an end to military “Occupation,” the dismantling of a supposed system of apartheid that exists “all over Palestine.”

PYM, in a Friday Instagram post, said that it must “struggle until the last jail cell of occupation is empty, every inch of Palestinian land liberated, and the right of return fulfilled.”

The Sameer Project said on Friday that the ceasefire was just a pause in a supposed genocide, but that “nothing is final until the siege over Gaza is lifted, apartheid ends in the West Bank, all our hostages in Israeli prisons are released, the 7 million Palestinians in the diaspora can return home, we are liberated, the occupation falls, and Palestine is freed, from the river to the sea.”

Austin for Palestine held a Thursday protest to “recommit to the long fight ahead for a global arms embargo, the release of all prisoners, and full liberation and return.”

Focus on arms embargo, boycott

Many groups elected to focus on achieving a ban on the sale and purchase of weapons to and from Israel, which they term a “two-way arms embargo.”

PYM stated that Western supporters “must organize for the implementation of an arms embargo. Our cities, legislatures, and workplaces can no longer be pipelines for genocide.”

On Friday and Saturday, hundreds of anti-Israel activists led by Geef Tegen Gas disrupted the Port of Rotterdam, demanding that arms to Israel cease to be moved through the shipping hub.

JVP said in a statement that “Even with this ceasefire in place, our movements will continue to call for an immediate and full arms embargo and an end to the complicity of US corporations that profit from ethnic cleansing.”

The progressive group continues that those “who have organized for a ceasefire” would not seek to “upend the financial, cultural, and political alliance that ties the US and Israel’s ongoing atrocities.”

Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, which is tied to the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, called for an intensification of activities by the Palestinian diaspora in order to isolate the “Zionist entity.”

Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) participant and Masar Badil co-founder Jaldia Abubakra said in a Monday statement that activists should work to impose “economic, cultural, and political boycotts on the occupation entity, in addition to exerting political pressure on governments around the world to stop all forms of support and recognition of the occupation, and especially to put an end to what is called ‘the two-state solution.’”

The Global Movement to Gaza and GSF called on protests throughout Spain and Europe on Wednesday, not only to lift the blockade and establish an arms embargo but also to completely isolate Israel with a complete break in diplomatic, economic, academic, and sporting relations.

“Free Palestine! From the River to the See [sic],” said GMG and GSF in a Monday Instagram post.

Both groups called for protests to demand trials and investigations into the supposed genocide in Gaza. Columbia JVP also indicated its support for a similar objective, stating that the “architects, profiteers, and abetters of genocide must face justice not only in the International Criminal Court but also in the court of public conscience. Zionism must fall.”

At the Saturday London protest, Your Party co-leader MP Zarah Sultana called for the UK government to “sever all diplomatic relations with the genocidal apartheid state of Israel, expel the ambassador, and shut down the embassy.”

Abubakra also called for lawfare to prosecute Israeli leaders and “war criminals” in domestic and international courts.

The ceasefire in Gaza has been reached, but just as the conflict with Hamas is not over until all the steps of President Donald Trump’s September 29 peace plan are implemented, the continuation of the conflict through other means will not end abroad until the underlying issues are addressed.

Michael Starr

Source: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-870550

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Drones smuggling heavy weapons into Israel from Egypt 'with impunity,' officials sound alarm - Ilana Curiel

by Ilana Curiel

'This is becoming an existential threat,' warns MK Zvi Succot as lawmakers review surge in weapons smuggling from Egypt; one resident reports 550 drone runs in three days: 'I sit on my porch and drones pass overhead. One day, they’ll drop a bomb on a kindergarten'

Nearly 900 drone smuggling attempts from Egypt into Israel were recorded in the past three months, according to testimony before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday.

The number marks a sharp rise from 464 attempts in the same period in 2024. Officials noted that the number of incursions declined after the IDF deployed new counter‑drone systems last month. The hearing was convened at the request of Religious Zionist Party MK Zvi Succot, with part of it held behind closed doors.

During the meetings, IMA leaders made clear that Israel’s physicians and medical institutions operate strictly in accordance with medical ethics, the Geneva Convention and international law, even during wartime. IMA Chair Professor Zion Hagay and Director-General Leah Wapner represented Israel’s medical community in discussions with dozens of delegates from around the world.

According to the two, they were ultimately able to influence the debate and prevent the proposal from reaching the conference agenda. “This achievement demonstrates the Israel Medical Association’s commitment to ethics, international values and professional cooperation around the world,” the IMA said in a statement. “It reinforces the standing of Israel’s medical community within the world’s leading medical organization.”

More than 120 countries are members of the WMA. Hagay said the initiative to remove Israel was driven mainly by delegates from Britain, Turkey, Chile, Uruguay and several nations in South Africa and Latin America, who accused Israel and its doctors of genocide.

British and Turkish pressure

About three months ago, members of the British Medical Association (BMA) voted to cut ties with their Israeli counterparts over the war in Gaza. In a joint statement last month, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the BMA called on governments and international organizations to push for an immediate ceasefire, respect for medical neutrality and humanitarian law, and investigations into what they described as “attacks on health care workers and facilities by Israeli forces, as well as arbitrary arrests and mistreatment of medical personnel in Gaza.”

'They accused us, the doctors of Israel, of having blood on our hands, and the atmosphere was extremely hostile. We didn’t give up and met with dozens of national representatives. In the end, we managed to turn the tables and remove the proposal from the agenda'

They also called for the release of all hostages before the recent hostage deal was signed, adequate access to humanitarian aid and an increase in medical evacuations from Gaza. Their statement claimed that at least 94% of hospitals in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, that hundreds of doctors and medical staff had been killed, and that dozens had been detained and reported severe abuse while in custody. “All this is illegal under international law,” the organizations wrote. They said they intended to raise these issues at the WMA General Assembly and hoped the world body would join their call, describing it as “the least we can do.”

According to the IMA, Hagay and Wapner held numerous meetings with representatives from countries across Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, the United States and Australia to explain Israeli doctors’ ethical obligations and commitment to international conventions.

“As a result of these talks, several countries changed their positions and acknowledged that Israeli doctors act solely to assist and care for anyone in need,” the IMA said. “In recent days, many nations also expressed relief over the hostage release agreement, the end of the war and the opportunity to begin regional recovery.”

Ilana Curiel

Source: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hkw93mptgl

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IDF fires warning rounds at suspects near Gaza ‘yellow line’ as West Bank raids continue - Amir Bohbot

by Amir Bohbot

The incidents come amid intermittent friction around the Gaza perimeter and in the West Bank.

An IDF vehicle operating in Gaza, September 22, 2025.

(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The Israel Defense Forces said it fired warning rounds overnight after several suspected Palestinians approached the “yellow line” buffer area along northern Gaza, while troops carried out a separate arrest sweep in the West Bank city of Kalkilya.

The military said details of the Gaza incident were under review.

According to initial reports, the suspects moved toward the designated security line, and armored units responded with tank shells and heavy machine-gun fire intended to drive them back. No additional details were immediately released.

Gaza's 'yellow line'

The “yellow line” refers to the repositioned line inside the Gaza Strip to which the IDF withdrew under the current ceasefire-hostage framework, leaving Israeli forces in control of roughly half of the territory as a security belt. Recent coverage by Israeli outlets has described the footprint as about 53% of the Strip.

IDF, Shin Bet seize weapons smuggled by Iran's IRGC to West Bank terrorists, October 8, 2025. (credit: SHIN BET)

In a separate overnight operation, IDF troops operated widely in the Kalkilya area to arrest suspects in terror activity and to locate weapons and dual-use materials used to manufacture arms, the military said.

The incidents come amid intermittent friction around the Gaza perimeter since the redeployment, with the IDF reporting recent warning fire in response to approaches toward the security line and tank fire at armed elements moving near Israeli positions.

Amir Bohbot

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-870565

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Hamas knows where additional remains of murdered hostages are, Israeli official tells 'Post' - Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff

by Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff

The terror group has previously stated that it cannot locate all the murdered hostages in the Strip.

An armed Hamas terrorist stands guard as a Red Cross vehicle arrives to receive from Hamas terrorists the remains of deceased hostages who had been held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, in Gaza City, October 14, 2025.

(photo credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)

Hamas knows very well where the remains belonging to at least some of the 21 hostages who have not been returned are located, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

The terror group has stated several times that it cannot locate all the murdered hostages in the strip, stressing as recently as earlier the same evening that it has already handed over all the hostages it could access.

Locating the remaining hostages would require extensive efforts and special equipment, the terror group claimed.

Remains of two hostages returned on Wednesday

The Red Cross received the remains of two deceased hostages from Hamas, the IDF confirmed on Wednesday.

Red Cross vehicles transport the bodies of deceased hostages who had been held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, after they were handed over by Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, October 14, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)

On Tuesday, Hamas released the body of a Gazan resident who assisted Israeli forces in locating underground terror tunnels during the war in place of a fallen hostage while delivering four bodies to Israel.

"Hamas released a body that is not that of a fallen soldier. We are clear when we say this: Hamas must return all the fallen hostages; we will not compromise and will spare no effort until all the fallen are returned," the statement read.

"Hamas committed to this before President Trump, and all the fallen must come home. Humanitarian aid has never been interrupted. For questions, please contact the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the IDF."

This is a developing story.

Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-870549

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Trump admits he authorized CIA operations in Venezuela, looking at land attacks in war with cartels - Misty Severi

by Misty Severi

The admission comes after Trump directed the Department of War earlier this month to act against drug cartels as though it was in an "armed conflict" with such organizations.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday admitted that he had authorized covert spy operations in Venezuela and said he was looking at possible land attacks on the South American country amid his war with drug cartels.

Trump was asked about reports that he approved a secret CIA operation in Venezuela during a press briefing at the White House, which he confirmed and said it was because they sent criminals into the U.S. and because of drug trafficking.

The president declined to specify what actions the spy agency was authorized to take, including whether they were allowed to "take out" Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, according to NBC News.

“I authorized for two reasons, really,” Trump said. “Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America. And the other thing are drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela."

The admission comes after Trump directed the Department of War earlier this month to act against drug cartels as though it was in an "armed conflict" with such organizations.

Trump also said he was considering whether to launch land attacks in Venezuela, which could mark an escalation in the conflict after he bombed multiple alleged Venezuelan drug ships.

“We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” Trump said. “We’ve had a couple of days where there isn’t a boat to be found.”

The president added that his attacks on alleged drug boats have saved countless American lives because they prevented narcotics like fentanyl from reaching the United States.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/security/trump-admits-he-authorized-cia-operations-venezuela-looking-land-attacks-war

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Democrats panic over redistricting numbers with pivotal SCOTUS decision looming - Amanda Head

by Amanda Head

If all states redistrict to the extent allowable, Republicans stand to gain more than Democrats.

Lawyers involved in a consequential case on election redistricting re-argued Louisiana v. Callais on Wednesday before the Supreme Court, whose ruling could set a landmark precedent for other states performing redistricting operations. Democrats and media organizations are using phrases like "gutting voting rights" to refer to the possible outcome of reshaping the application of the Voting Rights Act nationwide.

The stakes of the case “are only heightened by the backdrop of this national gerrymandering crisis,” former Democratic Attorney General Eric Holder, who leads Democrats’ main redistricting arm, said ahead of the high court hearing, according to Politico.

"We've been in redistricting battles for a very long time," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told Just The News earlier this week. "And you know, most recently, we drew a map that the courts basically directed us to draw, reluctantly. We had been saying we didn't think we could do this in a constitutional way. And they said, 'Do it anyway.'"

The landmark case, which was consolidated with Robinson v. Callais, challenges the constitutionality of Louisiana's congressional redistricting map enacted as Senate Bill 8 following the 2020 Census. The map created a second majority-Black congressional district to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting, but it faced lawsuits alleging unconstitutional racial gerrymandering under the Fourteenth Amendment.

In January 2024, the Louisiana Legislature approved the new map during a special session to address prior court orders requiring fair representation for Black voters, who comprise about one-third of the state's population. A three-judge federal district court panel ruled 2-1 in May 2024 that race had predominated in drawing the districts and blocked the map's use, prompting direct appeals to the Supreme Court.

Reality appears to be setting in for Democrats that when redistricting (or "gerrymandering" when it's on the opposing side) is maxed out, Republicans gain more seats, some publications and networks are spiking the decibels of the alarm bells.

"As I sat and listened to today’s oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, I was reminded of just how much is at stake in our country’s democracy," said Louisiana Democrat Rep. Cleo Fields. "This case marks a pivotal moment in not only Louisiana’s ongoing fight to protect fair representation, but states all across this nation as well. While I am cautiously optimistic following this morning’s hearing, we must remain vigilant and committed to defending the principles enshrined in Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965."

Axios ran the Wednesday morning headline, "Louisiana's Supreme Court case could gut Voting Rights Act," fearmongering that "the case could end the legal basis minority voters use when challenging maps that dilute their political influence" and that it "could leave many places in the country without a remedy, even in extreme cases of racial discrimination and racial vote dilution," according to Stuart Naifeh of the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund.

CNN on Wednesday discussed Democrats falling behind and warned its audience, "You go along in the states, Democrats run out of room. Republicans are able to gain plus seven House seats. That does not even take into account the potential gutting of the VRA before the Supreme Court."

The Supreme Court, weighted 6-3 conservative, opened with Chief Justice John Roberts expressing frank skepticism.

He began the hearing by questioning the applicability of the Court's 2023 Allen v. Milligan decision (a 5-4 ruling upholding VRA redistricting claims in Alabama, which he authored). He downplayed its precedent, noting it "took the existing precedent as a given" and subtly critiqued ongoing race-focused remedies as potentially indefinite, an argument that Justice Brett Kavanaugh also raised.

Kavanaugh, whose swing vote upheld the VRA in 2023 (with a concurrence calling for temporal boundaries), pressed attorneys on whether race-based remedies should "carry on indefinitely." He likened it to the Court's 2023 affirmative action ban, suggesting perpetual racial considerations undermine equal protection. This hints at his potential shift, which could flip the 2023 outcome.

Amanda Head

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/dems-panic-over-redistricting-numbers-pivotal-scotus-case-looming

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ACLU loses last-ditch effort to stop SCOTUS from evaluating state bans on males in girls' sports - Greg Piper

by Greg Piper

ACLU and transgender client Lindsay Hecox sought a no-exceptions stay of district court proceeding as SCOTUS decided whether to grant Idaho's petition, and trying to drop case now seems "somewhat manipulative," judge says.

When the Supreme Court agreed to consider whether Idaho and West Virginia can ban males from girls' sports, two weeks after upholding Tennessee's ban on medicalized gender transitions for minors, the transgender track athlete who defeated Idaho at trial and appeals courts got cold feet and tried to stop SCOTUS from hearing Idaho's part of the case.

Lindsay Hecox, who is male, decided to "cease playing women’s sports in any context covered by H.B. 500" and dismissed the suit with prejudice so it cannot be filed again, claiming that continuing the litigation through SCOTUS will threaten Hecox's "mental health, my safety, and my ability to graduate as soon as possible."

U.S. District Judge David Nye, whose injunction against Idaho's law as applied to Hecox was upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, doesn't think the ACLU-represented athlete is playing it straight.

The President Trump nominee, who saved Hecox's challenge three years ago when the 9th Circuit questioned whether the lapsed athlete would resume competing and thus maintain legal standing to sue Idaho, interpreted Hecox's late-breaking about-face as "somewhat manipulative to avoid Supreme Court review" and ruled it "should not be endorsed."

Nye granted Idaho's motion to strike Hecox's notice of voluntary dismissal, in the latest setback for the ACLU's quest to preempt state laws that favor sex over gender identity, through federal regulation and the federal courts, while keeping SCOTUS from hearing close cases.

Federal courts including President Biden's nominees blocked his administration's Title IX regulation conflating sex and gender identity as his lone term closed, leaving the first Trump administration's sex-based Title IX regulation in place. Second-term President Trump's executive orders against gender ideology left SCOTUS the ACLU's last hope.

That hope was dashed in June when a 6-3 court rejected the ACLU's argument, on behalf of transgender children's families, that gender identity is a protected trait like sex and race in the context of Tennessee's ban on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery as treatment options for gender-confused youth.

Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Clarence Thomas went even further in a concurrence, saying transgender individuals cannot qualify as a "suspect class" because they don't share "obvious, immutable, or distinguishing characteristics" of a discrete group.

The ruling was predicted in oral argument 10 months ago, when Justice Samuel Alito forced ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, a female who identifies as a man, to acknowledge the group had no evidence that suicides increase when gender-confused children are denied so-called gender-affirming treatment, undermining a key dogma of transgender activists.

Months before that SCOTUS argument, the ACLU also struggled to explain to the 9th Circuit why its precedent in favor of California's ban on talk therapy for minors with unwanted same-sex attraction didn't also favor Idaho's ban on gender-affirming treatment for minors.

“From day one in office, defending this law has been a top priority because Idaho’s daughters deserve fair competition based on biological reality," Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador said after Nye's ruling. "The district court has ruled that after years of litigation, Idaho has earned the right to present our case to the nation’s highest court."

When Idaho petitioned SCOTUS to review the 9th Circuit's block on the law, the "central" discussion in an "informal video conference" between Nye and the parties was their "desire to stay all proceedings in this case pending" the petition's outcome, Nye wrote.

They disagreed on one element, "whether briefing on an additional motion to intervene should be allowed during the stay," with the ACLU favoring a stay that bans "any action" and Idaho requesting an exemption for female athletes seeking to argue in Idaho's favor.

Nye agreed with the ACLU, emphasizing "any motion to intervene would have to wait until 'after the stay is lifted,'" the judge said, quoting his order.

When the ACLU backtracked based on Hecox's sudden reluctance, Labrador and Idaho's outside co-counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom told SCOTUS the challengers were trying to have their cake and eat it too, ignoring the "plain terms" of the stay.

They pointed to a 25-year-old precedent that prevented a "nude dancing club" from getting out of its own lawsuit against Erie, Pennsylvania's ban on publicly appearing in a "state of nudity" – which the club won in state court – after SCOTUS granted Erie's petition for review.

"Simply closing Kandyland is not sufficient to moot the case because Pap's is still incorporated under Pennsylvania law, and could again decide to operate a nude dancing establishment in Erie," the late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the court on the mootness issue.

The 9th Circuit block on its law gives Idaho an "ongoing injury," while "Hecox has a 'concrete stake in the outcome of this case' as a student at BSU who could still choose to play women’s sports, and this Court has an 'interest in preventing litigants from attempting to manipulate the Court’s jurisdiction,'" Idaho and ADF told the high court.

They emphasized Hecox's standing has been an issue throughout the five-year litigation. The athlete's "plans for college sports have been in constant flux and have rarely materialized as stated," whether women's track or Hecox's backup of women's club soccer.

When Idaho and ADF petitioned SCOTUS, "Hecox did not say anything about potentially withdrawing from women’s sports at BSU" but explicitly said the athlete was "playing women’s club soccer and running" in what was supposed to be Hecox's final year of college, which also turned out to be false, they said.

Instead, Hecox waited until 10 days before the state's merits brief was due before trying to withdraw the case in Nye's court and filing a "suggestion of mootness" with SCOTUS.

Nye's order Tuesday analyzes the "interplay between the Court’s stay order and Rule 41" of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the latter of which Hecox correctly followed by voluntarily dismissing the case "before the opposing party serves either an answer or a motion for summary judgment."

Hecox went so far as to tell Nye to butt out of the issue, claiming Rule 41 overrides the no-exceptions stay that Hecox and the ACLU themselves sought.

The issue is so close, based on Nye's own "independent research," that the judge emphasized his holding in favor of Idaho "applied solely to this case."

He gets Rule 41 dismissal notices "on almost a weekly basis," but about half the time a party contacts the court asking why he hasn't entered a dismissal order, which Rule 41 doesn't require for a case to be closed.

"For example, sometimes a pro se party is confused if the case is 'really closed' or a state agency is a party and requests a formal order from the Court confirming the case is terminated so that it can undertake other related action," so he'll "often oblige," Nye said.

While Rule 41 conditions dismissal without a court order on "various rules and provisions," none appears by itself to block Hecox's notice, he acknowledged, so Nye has to decide "how much weight the Court should give its own stay."

Since the 9th Circuit grants each of its courts the "inherent power to control [its] docket," Nye "sees no reason suggesting why that power should not apply to dismissal notices – when necessary," and since neither party nor Nye himself could find case law that clearly answers the question, Idaho narrowly wins the argument.

He's "somewhat persuaded by the idea that Hecox waived her right to file a notice of voluntary dismissal – at least temporarily," with no language in Rule 41 "suggesting dismissal is immune from wavier [sic]."

Plaintiffs are "bound by principles of fairness and economy," and given that Idaho "has defended this case vigorously for years," Nye said it would be "fundamentally unfair to abandon the issue now on the eve of a final resolution." Hecox agreed to a no-exceptions stay and "cannot escape the realities of that agreement … simply because she has had a change of heart."

In the footnote in which Nye worried about mootness as manipulation, he reiterated the consistent throughline of the five-year lawsuit: "While it appears more likely than before that Hecox will not reengage in collegiate sports, she could still change her mind."

Greg Piper

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/state-houses/aclu-loses-last-ditch-effort-stop-scotus-evaluating-state-bans-males-girls

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Who was Bedouin IDF tracker, slain Gaza hostage Muhammad al-Atarash? - Jerusalem Post Staff

by Jerusalem Post Staff

Atarash, from the southern Bedouin village of Sa'wa, was a tracker in the IDF's Bedouin Trackers Unit in the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division.

Muhammad al-Atarash

(photo credit: Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Bedouin Israeli M.-Sgt. Muhammad al-Atarash was killed in combat while attempting to defend Israelis from the Hamas invasion and massacre of October 7, 2023.

Atarash, from the southern Bedouin village of Sa'wa, was a tracker in the IDF's Bedouin Trackers Unit in the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division.

He was 39 years old at the time of his death. He is survived by his parents, siblings, two wives, and 13 children.

For the first two months following his killing, his family was not made aware of his fate. Only in December were they informed that he had been killed and his body taken into the Gaza Strip, where it was held for over two years.

A drone view shows Palestinian Bedouin structures and tents in the village of Ein al-Auja, in the Jordan Valley, March 9, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)

Atarash's brother: It was so hard that he had no grave

Salem al-Atarash, his brother, called on the State of Israel to do everything possible to bring back the remaining hostages and fallen captives.

"It was so hard that he had no grave. Two years without a grave. When there was a wedding or a family event, I always felt something was missing - life wasn’t whole.

"We were terrified that Hamas would one day announce it didn’t know where the other hostages were. We truly feared that moment. The other families whose loved ones are still held there - they are like my brothers and sisters.

"We must bring them home for burial. There’s no life; it’s over. There is no life until they are brought back for burial. I know their pain, I know what’s going through their minds. We went through it ourselves," his brother said.

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-870644

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Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Hamas executes Gazans amid fierce clashes with local clans - JNS Staff

by JNS Staff

The terrorist group reportedly killed 32 “gang” members in Gaza City.

Hamas terrorists stand await the arrival of vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the south of Deir el-Balah, the central Gaza Strip, before handing over the second batch of hostages to be released, on Oct. 13, 2025. Photo by Bashar Taleb via Getty Images.

Hamas terrorists have executed 32 Palestinians amid fierce clashes in recent days with militia groups opposed to the Islamist group, Reuters reported on Monday.

The news agency cited a “Palestinian security source” as saying that they belonged to a Gaza City “gang.” The official also said that six Hamas terrorists were killed in the violence, claiming it was a targeted operation against members of a “dangerous gang affiliated with a family in Gaza City.” Twenty-four people were arrested and 30 others were wounded, the official said.

Video circulating on social media Tuesday appeared to show masked Hamas gunmen publicly executing men in what CNN reported was the Sabra neighborhood in western Gaza City, in an incident that likely took place after the ceasefire with Israel entered into force last Friday.

Radaa, a Hamas-affiliated security force, said in a statement that it carried out a “precise operation” in central Gaza City that killed several wanted men and suspected criminals.

Palestinian NGO the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights termed it the “extrajudicial execution of citizens,” CNN reported, calling for an investigation into the incident and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

The office of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killings as “heinous crimes” and “a blatant violation of human rights,” according to the official P.A. news agency Wafa.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry tweeted the execution video Tuesday, writing: “The ceasefire isn’t 100 hours old yet. Hamas is killing Palestinians. The terror group rules through fear—executing civilians, torturing dissenters, shooting those who dare protest. Palestinians seeking food or freedom are met with bullets, not compassion. It’s not resistance—It’s tyranny. Hamas must go.”

Asked about his message for Hamas after the reports that the terrorist group is rearming and reinstituting itself as a police force and shooting rival clans, Trump said Monday on Air Force One that “they do want to stop the problems and they’ve been open about it. We gave them approval for a period of time. You have to understand. They’ve lost probably 60,000 people. That’s a lot of retribution …, and the ones that are living right now were in many cases very young when this all started, and we are having them watch that there’s not going to be big crime, some of the problems that you have.

“When you have areas like this that have been literally demolished. You have two million people, probably it will be less than that, but you have two million people going back to buildings that have been demolished, and a lot of bad things can happen. We want it to be safe. I think it’s going to be fine. Who knows for sure, Katie [the reporter who asked the question], but I think it’s going to be fine.”

Trump later said he will hold Hamas to its pledge to disarm and accused the terrorist group of misrepresenting the number of dead hostages it holds.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, the president said his “people” were told by Hamas that it would disarm, as is called for in the Israel-Hamas peace plan that Trump put together with mediation from key Arab leaders.

Israel and Hamas both agreed to the plan, setting into motion the ceasefire and the subsequent exchange of hostages and Palestinian security prisoners.

“I spoke to Hamas, and I said, ‘You’re going to disarm, right?’ ‘Yes, sir. We’re going to disarm.’ That’s what they told me,” Trump told reporters, initially describing it as a direct conversation.

“We have told them we want them to disarm, and they will disarm. And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them, and it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm,” Trump said.

He later explained that Hamas’s affirmed pledge to disarm was delivered to him not by the terrorist group directly, but by “people,” likely referring to U.S. peace deal negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

JNS Staff

Source: https://www.jns.org/hamas-executes-gazans-amid-fierce-clashes-with-local-clans/

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