Gatestone Institute

China Trapping Biden on Artificial Intelligence
by Gordon G. Chang • January 31, 2024 at 5:00 am
[N]o, America should not want to enter into any AI agreement with the People's Republic of China on "nuclear C2" — command and control — or any other matter.
An agreement requiring a human to make launch decisions would, as a practical matter, be unenforceable.
None of China, Russia, or the United States would allow others to pore over millions of lines of their computer code.....
America does not need another feel-good agreement with China. It already has them, especially the Biological Weapons Convention, which has no enforcement mechanisms.The Chinese regime wants to talk about artificial intelligence largely because it is trailing the U.S. and thinks an agreement would help it catch up.... [and] pave the way for China to access the U.S. technology it does not already have. more
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20358/china-ai-trap

Time to End UNRWA's Jihad against Israel
by Bassam Tawil • January 29, 2024 at 5:00 am

"Hamas is involved in everything. Hamas has their hands on UNRWA administration workers. Hamas manages UNRWA. They are those in charge in the agency. From the day Hamas came to power, they took control of everything. The UNRWA employees are from Hamas. The heads of the departments and the senior staff are Hamas members." —Palestinian from the Gaza Strip to an Israeli officer in a recorded call, X (Twitter) December 27, 2023.

It is now clear that the UN heads were lying when they said they were unaware of the involvement of their employees with terror groups. In fact, they knew but did their utmost to appease Hamas.

In a moment of rare honesty, in 2021 the UN acknowledged that UNRWA's school curriculum referred to Israel as "the enemy," taught children mathematics by counting "martyred terrorists," and included the phrase "Jihad is one of the doors to paradise" in Arabic grammar lessons.

"Before UNRWA, this terrorist accomplice [Abdallah Mehjez] worked for the BBC..." — Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.

"Now is the time for reform. Reform for rehabilitation - so that the minds of Palestinian children can no longer be poisoned. So that there can be a shared vision of peace in this land." — Lt. Col. (res.) Peter Lerner, X (Twitter), January 27, 2024.

Western taxpayers should not be funding terror groups disguised as humanitarian organizations.

UNRWA was established to support the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees, not to support the development of terrorism.

It is time to dismantle UNRWA and end the farce of Palestinian "refugees." There are no real refugees. There are millions of Palestinians living -- often in unspeakable conditions (so that Israel can be blamed) -- under the control of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

It is the UN that enables and perpetuates this human rights abuse. These Palestinians live under Palestinian and Arab regimes that should long ago have absorbed them instead of keeping them in "refugee camps" with the cheery "humanitarian" promise that they will one day flood Israel, turn the Jews into a persecuted minority in their own country, then bring about its demise.


It is now clear that the UN heads were lying when they said they were unaware of the involvement of their employees with terror groups. In fact, they knew but did their utmost to appease Hamas. Pictured: UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini speaks at the Global Refugee Forum, in Geneva, Switzerland on December 13, 2023. (Photo by Jean-Guy Python/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), has announced that he decided to fire several employees of his agency after Israeli authorities provided information about their "alleged" involvement in Hamas's massacre of Israelis on October 7, 2023.

"To protect the Agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay," Lazzarini said. "Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "horrified" by the Israeli accusations.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20356/unrwa-jihad-against-israel

Civilian Deaths in Gaza: Relatively Low.
by Alan M. Dershowitz • January 28, 2024 at 5:00 am

Critics of Israel almost never cite comparable data from other military encounters. This omission creates the false impression that the civilian death tolls in Gaza are among the highest in history, when they are in fact among the lowest.

The New York Times' conclusion that the new data suggests that it is "wrong to accuse [Israel] of wanting to maximize civilian deaths" is highly relevant to the false charges of genocide that are being considered by the International Court of Justice.

The decreasing civilian death rate among Gazans should also end the campaign to impose a ceasefire on Israel before the IDF completes its legitimate mission to destroy Hamas' military capacity. Successfully completing that mission will save civilian lives in the long run, by reducing Hamas' capacity to keep its promise of repeating the barbarism of October 7 and also by reducing its use of civilian shields.

The time has come, indeed it is long overdue, for the world to stop imposing a double standard on the nation-state of the Jewish people. Double standards are a form of bigotry, and when bigotry is addressed to the only nation-state of the Jewish people, it becomes a form of international anti-Semitism against the Jew among nations. It must stop.


Israel's military actions have produced far fewer deaths and a far lower ratio of civilian-to-combatant deaths than in any comparable urban warfare. This is especially significant considering the reality that Hamas deliberately increases civilian deaths by using women and children as human shields and by hiding its military personnel and equipment among civilians. Pictured: Gazans, protected by the Israeli military, walk along a safe corridor in the northern Gaza Strip, leaving the battle zone towards the southern Gaza Strip, on November 10, 2023. Hamas terrorists had ordered Gazans not to move to safety, and shot at them as they tried to flee. (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)
You wouldn't know it from the hectoring decision just rendered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel, but the death toll among civilians in Gaza — even including children and women — is among the lowest in the history of comparable warfare. Over the past several months, it has become even lower.

According to The New York Times, "The daily death toll in Gaza has more than halved in the past month," and has fallen almost two-thirds since late October. Moreover, the percentage of civilian to combatant causalities has gone down considerably as well.

In a massive understatement, The New York Times also reported that these considerable reductions in civilian deaths have been "somewhat overlooked" by the media and critics. "Somewhat"! They have been totally buried and ignored. The New York Times also opined that Israel's "harshest critics are wrong to accuse it of wanting to maximize civilian deaths."

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20343/gaza-civilian-deaths



Iran-Pakistan: The Beautiful Vase Has Been Chipped
by Amir Taheri • January 28, 2024 at 4:00 am

Despite attempts by both sides to pretend that the recent clashes were a passing storm, it is clear that something deeper and more lasting may be involved.

Tehran is sore that China decided to locate the trade-cum-security hub it wants to build in the Indian Ocean in the Pakistani port of Gawadar on the Arabian Sea rather than in the Iranian port of Gavatar a few kilometers to its west.

Tehran fears that China's choice indicates Beijing's lack of confidence in Iran's stability once the "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenei bows off stage, while Pakistan would retain a measure of stability because its system does not depend on a single leader.

Both Tehran and Islamabad are anxious to patch things up as quickly as possible. But one thing is clear: the beautiful vase filled with flowers has been chipped.


Despite attempts by Iran and Pakistan to pretend that the recent clashes were a passing storm, it is clear that something deeper and more lasting may be involved. Pictured: An anti-Iran protest in Lahore, Pakistan on January 19, 2024, after Iran launched an airstrike in Baluchistan province. (Photo by Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images)
If you had asked me just a couple of weeks ago, I might have assured you that Pakistan is the last county with which the Islamic Republic of Iran would pick a fight.

I might have cited many reasons for that opinion.

First, A recent demise of the classical reasons for antagonism between nation-states. Their border, almost 1,000 kilometers long, was fully demarcated in 1964, ending ambiguities left behind by the British when they withdrew from the subcontinent in 1947. Relations were never marred by irredentist pressures on either side.

Nor did Iran and Pakistan compete over access to natural resources, including water, or competition over markets.

History, too, designated Iran and Pakistan as natural friends. Iran had been a source of inspiration for two generations of Muslims in the subcontinent who dreamt of a separate homeland. Many of them even adopted surnames that indicated an Iranian rather than Indian origin: Gailani, Isfahani, Shirazi etc.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20344/iran-pakistan

The Biden Administration and the Iranian Regime's Nuclear Weapons
by Majid Rafizadeh • January 27, 2024 at 5:00 am

In a noteworthy development, for the first time, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a warning, signaling that Iran now holds a sufficient quantity of highly enriched uranium capable of producing multiple nuclear warheads.

The regime has been actively supporting Hamas against Israel, providing assistance to Yemen's Houthi terror group to attack ships in the Red Sea, escalating tensions with Pakistan, and providing weaponry to Russia for use against Ukraine. These multifaceted engagements in regional and global conflicts indicate the regime's likely view of nuclear weapons as a means to further its strategic objectives.

In the midst of these ongoing conflicts, the last thing we need is an aggressive regime, with terrorist inclinations -- and clearly no intention, despite every opportunity the West has given it, of "coming in from the cold" -- possessing nuclear weapons.


For the first time, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a warning, signaling that Iran now holds a sufficient quantity of highly enriched uranium capable of producing multiple nuclear warheads. This development prompted IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to denounce Iran's actions. Pictured: Grossi speaks during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria on November 22, 2023. (Photo by Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images)
The Biden administration's nuclear policy concerning Iran's nuclear program and its ability to acquire nuclear weapons is a complete disaster. Under the Biden administration's leadership, Iran has made significant advances in its nuclear program that surpass the progress achieved under any previous administrations.

In a noteworthy development, for the first time, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a warning, signaling that Iran now holds a sufficient quantity of highly enriched uranium capable of producing multiple nuclear warheads. This development, reported by Bloomberg on January 18, prompted IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to denounce Iran's actions. Grossi also told The National newspaper, "Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state which is enriching uranium at this very, very high level".

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20341/iran-nuclear-weapons

A Hundred Days after Gaza's October 7 (Part 2 of 4)
Inconvenient History from the SS Einsatzgruppen to Hamas
by Gwythian Prins • January 26, 2024 at 5:00 am

The BBC has used UNRWA voices -- preferably, it seems, antipodean ones -- as purportedly objective third-party commentators. That is deeply irresponsible journalism, and the BBC most likely knows why that is so.

Thus, according to the Covenant and echoing the Mufti in 1943... there is not, and cannot anywhere be a Jewish state in this world. It is what is written: here we are told that Jews in Palestine are incompatible with "true statehood" and the Mufti will tell us that it is Allah's will that Jews shall forever stateless.

It is important to remember that these are thrice legitimate Jewish lands: once from original patrimony; once by international mandate and the third time by force of arms after successfully countering assaults in 1948, 1967 and 1973. Anti-Semitic exceptionalism, however, means that only the Jewish state is not allowed to enjoy the peace of victory that winning wars brings to other nations.

Ever since the Abraham Accords, were adopted on 15 September 2020, many regional states have shown that they would prefer to skirt around the ever-rejectionist "Palestinians" and to normalise relations with the amazing mighty midget Israel, which is the region's creative powerhouse in every cultural and technological domain, as well as, by necessity, its dominant military power. Most significantly that includes the Saudis, whom Iran's Ayatollahs have declared their sworn enemies.

In his platform speech, [the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin] al-Husseini responded by stating that Germany "understood the Jews perfectly and decided to find a final solution to the Jewish menace," and... "Allah has determined that there never will be a stable arrangement for the Jews, and that no state should be established for them."

Thus, in anti-Semitic ideology... the inconvenient history which can be traced in evidence from the SS liquidation task forces -- the Einsatzgruppen -- to Hamas, is detailed, documented and direct.

Adolf Hitler meets with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, on November 28, 1941. (Image source: German Federal Archive)
Death, torture, abduction, ending an era in Israel that began in 1948, came literally on the wings of that morning, 7 October, 2023. The hopes and ambitions for peace springing from Camp David and the Oslo Accords, all the rational faith in diplomacy through the quadrilles of the chanceries, were set back to nothing. That realisation is seeping across the traumatised populace of Israel. Nothing can ever be the same again.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20338/ss-einsatzgruppen-to-hamas

A Hundred Days after Gaza's October 7
Part I: Double Helix over Gaza
by Gwythian Prins • January 24, 2024 at 5:00 am

History has the form of a double helix: history is indeed the DNA of living memory. There is what actually happened and there is what people believe happened. They are not the same but they are inseparable....

Hamas had told Israel that it intended to focus on helping its people in Gaza and that it did not want war. Israel, to show good faith, had even provided work permits for thousands of Palestinians to enter Israel every day for better wages than in Gaza. What Israel did not know was that many of them were spies who would tell Hamas exactly where in the villages to attack.

An elated youth called Mahmoud called home to his father and mother in Gaza using a murdered Israeli woman's phone to boast about how he had just killed ten Jews with his own hands ("oh my son God bless you"... "Mom, your son is a hero"). Part of the recording was played to the judges of the ICJ as part of the State of Israel's must-see rebuttal of South Africa's accusations.

Jeffrey Gettleman, in The New York Times on 28th December, published details of the unimaginable mass depravity committed by Gazan men on Israeli women....

Many of the first responses to these events, as with the Holocaust, were denials that such savageries had ever taken place.


Pictured: A Hamas terrorist holds two of the many Israeli children that Hamas murdered or abducted and brought as hostages to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. (Image source: Hamas/X [Twitter])
Almost four months to the day, and not in a good way, the world has turned upside down.

In a risibly threadbare case, the victim of a depraved genocidal attack was accused at the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague of committing genocide. Lacking evidence of mens rea (criminal intention) that is prerequisite, or indeed any vestige of substantive evidence, South Africa sought to invert the object and purpose of the Genocide Convention of December 1948, which is specific to the "crime of crimes". The accused is not just any victim, but the Jewish state, whose re-establishment in the May of the same year that the Convention was brought into effect was no coincidence.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20337/october-7-hundred-days

Wanted: Palestinian Leaders Who Will Condemn Terrorism
by Bassam Tawil • January 23, 2024 at 5:00 am

If the Biden administration thinks that the Palestinian Authority leaders will cease inciting Palestinians against Israel, they need to think again.

How can Palestinian leaders, who are terrified of Hamas and even more terrified of their own people, be expected to prevent the terrorists from attacking Israel in the event that these leaders were handed a state?

In addition, why would Israel – or anyone else – trust any Palestinian leader who considers Islamist murderers, rapists and baby-killers as "part of the Palestinian national, social and political fabric"?

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has refrained from publicly denouncing the Iran-backed Hamas terror group for its barbaric attacks on Israelis. In fact, Abbas and the Palestinian Authority have stepped up their anti-Israel rhetoric since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. Pictured: Abbas (L) meets with Hamas leader Khaled Maashal (R) and Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani (C) on August 21, 2014 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Thaer Ghanaim/PPO via Getty Images)
More than three months have passed since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, during which hundreds of Israelis were murdered, beheaded, raped, mutilated, and kidnapped -- and it is still hard to find any senior Palestinian Authority official who is prepared to condemn the atrocities.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has held a number of meetings over the past few weeks with senior US administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, has refrained from publicly denouncing the Iran-backed Hamas terror group for its barbaric attacks on Israelis.

Abbas, it appears, fears a backlash from his people and other Arabs if he speaks out against the murder of Israeli women, children, and the elderly. One word against Hamas and its terrorism, and Abbas' people might well label him a "traitor" and "collaborator" with Israel.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20325/palestinian-leaders-terrorism

Biden Administration's 'Pathway' to a Palestinian Terror State
by Bassam Tawil • January 18, 2024 at 5:00 am

By continuing to obsessively stick to the creation of a Palestinian state, the Biden administration is actually sending a message to Iran and its terror proxies that terrorism pays - that if they inflict more pain and casualties on Israel, the Americans will reward them with a state of their own next to Israel to facilitate their mission of continuing their Jihadist murder spree against Jews and finally obliterate Israel.

The poll further showed that if presidential elections were held today, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would receive 78% of the vote, as opposed to only 16% for Abbas.

The poll found that 64% of the Palestinians oppose the idea of a two-state solution, while 53% support a return to the "armed struggle" against Israel.

All polls conducted by the same center have consistently shown that a majority of the Palestinians believe that Hamas is more deserving of representing them than the PA. This means that if and when a Palestinian state is established, as the Biden administration is hoping, it will be ruled by Hamas and its masters in Iran... overlooking the few miles from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport.

The idea that creating another Arab state alongside Israel would "isolate" or "marginalize" Iran and its proxies is as wrong as it is dangerous. In reality, the establishment of a Palestinian state on any part of the West Bank or Gaza Strip would incentivize Iran and its clients to escalate their Jihad against Israel: it would send them the message that the more Jews you murder, the more land you get.

[T]his conflict is not about a settlement or a checkpoint or Jerusalem, but about Israel's right to exist in any form in the Middle East. What Blinken and the Biden administration seem unable to grasp is that there are still too many people among the Palestinians, and many other Arabs and Muslims, who have yet to come to terms with the right of a nation that is not Islamic to remain in its home in the Middle East.

Blinken is suggesting not a pathway to peace, but a prize to Hamas and the Palestinians for committing genocide.


By continuing to obsessively stick to the creation of a Palestinian state, the Biden administration is actually sending a message to Iran and its terror proxies that terrorism pays - that if they inflict more pain and casualties on Israel, the Americans will reward them with a state of their own next to Israel to facilitate their mission of continuing their Jihadist murder spree against Jews and finally obliterate Israel. Pictured: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan on October 13, 2023. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
As Iran and its proxies in the Middle East are continuing the jihad (holy war) to murder Jews and eliminate Israel, the Biden administration has not abandoned their dream of creating a Palestinian terror state on Israel's doorstep. The last thing the Middle East needs is another Iran-dominated terror state that would destabilize security and stability and pose an existential threat to Israel.

In the past few years, everyone has seen how Iran has been working non-stop to export its Islamic Revolution. With the help of Iran's proxies in the Gaza Strip (Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad), Lebanon (Hezbollah), Yemen (Houthis) and Iraq and Syria (multiple militias operating under various names), Iran's mullahs have consistently targeted not only Israel and the US, but Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20317/biden-administration-palestinian-terror-state

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20315/palestinian-suffering
How to End the Suffering of the Palestinians
by Bassam Tawil
January 16, 2024 at 5:00 am

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Palestinians in Lebanon are "prevented from employment in 39 professions such as medicine, law and engineering... are socially marginalized, have very limited civil, social, political and economic rights, including restricted access to the Government of Lebanon's public health, educational and social services and face significant restrictions on their right to work..." — United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees, updated September 2020.

Arab citizens of Israel.... can own, buy and sell property, can vote and run in national and local elections, have equal access to free public healthcare, education and other services.... Many Arab Israelis serve in senior positions in hospitals, universities and colleges, courts, the civil service, and even in the Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces.

Neither Syria nor Lebanon grants citizenship to the Palestinians living there...

[W]hat is happening inside the Syrian detention centers against the Palestinians is "a war crime by all standards." – Action Group for Palestinians of Syria, alquds.co.uk, November 29, 2023.

By ignoring the profound suffering of the Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon, these self-proclaimed "pro-Palestinian" activists and groups are once again proving that their goal is not to help Palestinians, but only to make Israel into a pariah state.

If these activists and groups want to end the suffering of the Palestinians, they should be demanding that the Arab countries end their discriminatory and repressive measures against their Palestinian brethren. The activists and groups should also be raising the plight of the Palestinians at every available international platform instead of blaming Israel.

The real anti-Palestinians are not the Israelis at all, but the same old racist Jew-haters and antisemites who cannot be bothered to learn the truth when it comes to the actual human rights abuse of Palestinians: it is delivered from the hands of Arabs.


By ignoring the profound suffering of the Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon, the self-proclaimed "pro-Palestinian" activists and groups are once again proving that their goal is not to help Palestinians, but only to make Israel into a pariah state. Pictured: Rashidieh Refugee Camp for Palestinians in Lebanon. (Photo by Patrick Baz/AFP via Getty Images)
As the world's attention is focused on the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, including South Africa's false "genocide" charges against Israel at the International Court of Justice, in Syria Palestinians are worried about a new government law that considers them "foreigners."

By labeling the Palestinians as "foreigners," the Syrian government is seeking to deprive them of the ability to purchase real estate. Like the majority of the Syrians, most of the Palestinians are Arab Muslims.

The latest move came after Syria, on December 20, 2023, presented a Law on Foreign Ownership of Real Estate, which imposes severe restrictions on non-Syrian nationals that make it essentially impossible for them to purchase real estate in Syria. The restrictions include the need to obtain prior permission from the Ministry of Interior. An owner would not be able to sell a property without the approval of the ministry. If a "foreigner" wants to purchase an apartment, its size must be no larger than 140 square meters, or roughly 1,500 square feet.

Syria is not the only Arab country that discriminates against Palestinians in almost all walks of life and relates to them as "foreigners."

In Lebanon, Palestinians are also considered to be foreigners who do not carry documentation from their countries of origin.

According to the Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights:

"This foreigner classification has allowed successive Lebanese governments to circumvent their obligations and responsibilities enshrined in a number of international and regional treaties and protocols – and their own legislation...

[T]here is no consideration of the consequences of the protracted status of Palestinian refugees [in Lebanon]. For many years, this unjustifiable policy has been compounding the deterioration in the livelihood conditions of the growing population of refugees...[who] have spent more than seven decades in Lebanon without access to their civil, social, and economic rights."

Palestinians in Lebanon are "prevented from employment in 39 professions such as medicine, law and engineering," according to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

"PRS [Palestinian refugees from Syria], like Syrian Refugees, do not benefit from any labour law facilitation... As a result, 93 per cent of employed PRS work in the informal private sector, leaving them vulnerable to abuse... Palestine refugees consistently report experiencing discrimination in hiring practices and opportunities for employment... PRS are socially marginalized, have very limited civil, social, political and economic rights, including restricted access to the Government of Lebanon's public health, educational and social services and face significant restrictions on their right to work and right to own property.... Since the adoption of Law 296/2001, Palestine refugees are prevented from legally acquiring and transferring immovable property in Lebanon."

Arab citizens of Israel, by contrast, enjoy more rights than Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon. The Arab Israelis have Israeli citizenship, can own, buy and sell property, can vote and run in national and local elections, have equal access to free public healthcare, education and other services. Neither Syria nor Lebanon grants citizenship to the Palestinians living there – and the Palestinians there are deprived of many basic rights, including access to jobs, education and healthcare.

In Israel, thousands of Arab Israelis have purchased houses in predominately Jewish neighborhoods across the country. Many Arab Israelis serve in senior positions in hospitals, universities and colleges, courts, the civil service, and even in the Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces.

In Syria, Lebanon and many Arab countries, there are zero Palestinians serving in senior government positions.

In December 2022, furthermore, Israel announced that it will fund a $6.1 million program to train and integrate more than 2,000 Arab Israeli women and men into the local high-tech industry over the next two years. During the same year, more than 10,000 workers from the Arab population were employed in the tech industry.

In December 2023, Israel unveiled a new initiative aimed at bolstering the integration of young Arab Israelis into the job market. The $28 million program is designed to address unemployment and reduce disparities within Arab society.

The plan aims to provide youths from Israel's Arab society with a comprehensive package covering personal; development, professional and occupational guidance, as well as preparation for academic pursuits. The plan, operated in 11 cities and towns, will encompass four months of general activities, after which, each participant will choose a specific professional track for focused advancement.

In Syria, the Union of Palestinian Jurists in Syria immediately called on the Syrian prime minister to retract the new law, saying it would have negative repercussions on the economic, legal and humanitarian conditions of the Palestinians.

Karim, a lawyer and human rights activist in Damascus who preferred to use only his first name, said the decision does indeed treat the Palestinians in Syria like foreigners regarding the right to property ownership, and sets the same restrictions on them, such as the requirement to obtain, in advance, the approval of the Ministry of the Interior, and to have a family in Syria.

Orwa, a 26-year-old Palestinian accountant from Damascus, told Al-Jazeera TV:

"With this decision, my dream of buying an apartment has evaporated. I was born and lived all my life in Syria. There should be no distinction between us the Palestinians and the Syrians."

The General Commission for Palestinian Arab Refugees also denounced the Syrian decision, for defining non-Syrians, including Palestinians, as "foreigners" and depriving them of property rights.

The commission said that the decision has raised great concern among Palestinians residing in Syria. It called on the Syrian government to revise the law to exempt Palestinians from it.

It is not as if the conditions of the 450,000 Palestinians living in Syria have been decent until now.

Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011, 4,214 Palestinians living there have been killed and more than 15,000 wounded, according to the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria (AGPS).

More than 90% of Palestinian refugees in Syria live below the poverty line amid Syria's crushing economic and living crises, a deteriorating security situation, and a decline in all aspects of financial, social, educational, medical, and other aspects of life, according to AGPS.

AGPS revealed in a recent report that 3,076 Palestinians are currently being detained in the prisons of the Syrian security services, while another 333 have gone missing. Among those who disappeared are children, women, the elderly, journalists, political activists, human rights advocates, relief and humanitarian workers, doctors, and nurses.

The report indicated that the Syrian authorities are responsible for about 90% of "enforced disappearances," while the rest are in the hands of armed opposition factions.

AGPS renewed its call on the Syrian authorities to release and disclose the whereabouts of the Palestinian detainees, stressing that what is happening inside the Syrian detention centers against the Palestinians is "a war crime by all standards."

Fayez Abu Eid, a spokesperson for AGPS, told the Al-Quds Al-Arabi news website that members of Syrian security services have killed 643 Palestinian refugees under torture in its detention centers, including women, children and the elderly.

Abu Eid said he believes the number of detainees and victims of torture is even higher due to the absence of official statistics issued by the Syrian security forces, as well as the fear of some families to speak out for fear of retribution.

According to the spokesperson, 129 Palestinian women in Syrian prisons are still in a state of "enforced disappearance." The fate of the female detainees is still unknown. The Syrian security services conceal their names, which makes documenting information about them effectively impossible.

According to testimonies documented by AGPS, Palestinian detainees in Syrian prisons have been subjected to many forms of torture, physical and psychological abuse, as well as sexual assault.

Those who are condemning Israel for defending itself against the savagery and terrorism of Hamas care nothing about the plight of the Palestinians in Syria or any Arab country. So-called pro-Palestinian groups in the US do not speak out against Arab crimes against the Palestinians: they are too busy unjustly demonizing Israel.

By ignoring the profound suffering of the Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon, these self-proclaimed "pro-Palestinian" activists and groups are once again proving that their goal is not to help Palestinians, but only to make Israel into a pariah state.

If these activists and groups want to end the suffering of the Palestinians, they should be demanding that the Arab countries end their discriminatory and repressive measures against their Palestinian brethren. The activists and groups should also be raising the plight of the Palestinians at every available international platform instead of blaming Israel.

The real anti-Palestinians are not the Israelis at all, but the same old racist Jew-haters and antisemites (see here, here, here, here, here and here) who cannot be bothered to learn the truth when it comes to the actual human rights abuse of Palestinians: it is delivered from the hands of Arabs.
Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.

How Equity Grade Inflation Hurts Jews, Asians and Other Disfavored Minorities
by Alan M. Dershowitz • January 15, 2024 at 5:00 am

Diversity equity and inclusion require that groups – rather than individuals – be treated "equitably", and that preferred groups be advantaged in hiring, admissions and other benefits.

This is all part of the DEI attack on meritocracy. DEI demands that individuals be judged by the color of their skin and their identity rather than the content of their character — or their grades.

DEI now demands that schools begin with the goal of achieving equity grading by any means, including non-blind grading, grade inflation or grade abolition. Anything to undercut the equality of meritocratic blind grading that didn't achieve the goals of DEI.

The negative impact of equity grading is incalculable. It stifles learning, hard work and creativity. It fails to prepare students for the competitive world they will inevitably face after they finish being coddled by universities. It will destroy the competitive advantages American universities used to have.


(Image source: iStock/Getty Images Plus)
A recent study showed that grade inflation has become rampant at American universities. What used to be C+ has now become an A-, as more than 3/4 of students in elite universities get grades of A or A-.

This grade inflation is a direct result of the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracies and their twin concept of intersectionality. DEI requires that groups – rather than individuals – be treated "equitably", and that preferred groups be advantaged in hiring, admissions and other benefits.

Jews and other disfavored minorities are thus discriminated against in grading. The only way individuals from disfavored groups can compete against favored groups is by achieving better grades. But if everyone gets the same A grades, the favored groups will get the job and admission benefits.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20303/equity-grade-inflation

Iran's Growing Ballistic Missile Threat
by Majid Rafizadeh • January 13, 2024 at 5:00 am

Because of the apparent lack of oversight from world leaders, especially the United States, the rising provision of ballistic missiles by Iran to non-state actors --including terrorist and militia groups, as well as rogue states -- now presents a significant source of concern for global security.

The regime continues to hide behind its proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Those are Iran's human shields. That is why they have proxies in the first place: then it is the proxies doing the dirty work and being attacked, not Iran.

Unfortunately, unless Iran's leaders themselves feel seriously disrupted, why would they ever stop? The Obama and Biden administrations tried giving Iran billions of dollars in "carrots." Clearly that was a flop. The answer, all the same, is not: "Maybe there weren't enough carrots. So next time, we will give more of them!"

To stabilize the Middle East, it is essential to apply ongoing pressure on the Iranian leaders themselves, to disrupt their accelerating programs to produce nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them, and to convince them, the old-fashioned way, that their hegemonic dreams of taking over the Middle East simply will not work.
The period of the Biden administration's leadership has witnessed notable strides in Iran's ballistic missile capabilities. These encompass advances in range, accuracy and payload capacity. Because of the apparent lack of oversight from world leaders, especially the United States, the rising provision of ballistic missiles by Iran to non-state actors --including terrorist and militia groups, as well as rogue states -- now presents a significant source of concern for global security.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20299/iran-ballistic-missiles

The International Court Of "Injustice" Begins Its Blood Libel Trial Against Israel
by Alan M. Dershowitz • January 12, 2024 at 5:00 am

What is the International Court of Justice? It is not international, because it excludes judges from certain countries. It is not a real court, because the judges are selected by their countries and many of them simply follow the instructions of those who appointed them. And it has never done justice, because it has long been biased against Israel. It is the United Nations court, and that tells you all you need to know about it.

The United Nations has become the megaphone of bigotry and anti-Semitism.... Both the United Nations and its court are shams.

It is the Hamas charter that calls for genocide against the Jews of Israel, and it is South Africa that is harboring Hamas terrorists and defending its murders and rapes. It should be Hamas that is on trial for attempted genocide and South Africa that is on trial for complicity with Hamas. Instead, the nation-state of the Jewish people is being accused of a blood libel, despite going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties in its legitimate efforts to destroy Hamas.

The evidence is indisputable that Hamas has committed numerous war crimes.

Were the International Court of Justice to falsely conclude that Israel was guilty of genocide, it would destroy whatever remaining credibility that court might have. If that were to happen, the United States and some other nations should and probably would leave the court: it would not deserve the legitimacy afforded by membership of any decent country.


What is the International Court of Justice? It is not international, because it excludes judges from certain countries. It is not a real court, because the judges are selected by their countries and many of them simply follow the instructions of those who appointed them. And it has never done justice, because it has long been biased against Israel. The United Nations has become the megaphone of bigotry and anti-Semitism. Both the United Nations and its court are shams. Pictured: Judges in the International Court of Justice take their seats to hear the blood libel accusation against Israel, brought by South Africa, in The Hague on January 11, 2024. (Photo by Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
The blood libel accusation against Israel has now begun in The Hague. The failed nation of South Africa has brought genocide charges against Israel in the International Court of Justice.

What is the International Court of Justice? It is not international, because it excludes judges from certain countries. It is not a real court, because the judges are selected by their countries and many of them simply follow the instructions of those who appointed them. And it has never done justice, because it has long been biased against Israel. It is the United Nations court, and that tells you all you need to know about it. The United Nations has become the megaphone of bigotry and anti-Semitism. As an Israeli diplomat once put it, if Algeria introduced a resolution that the earth is flat and that Israel flattened it, it would win 120 to 27 with 32 abstentions. And you can name the countries in each of the groups before any evidence is presented.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20298/international-court-of-injustice-israel

Is Qatar, That Built Hamas's Empire of Terrorism, An Honest Broker?
by Bassam Tawil • January 11, 2024 at 5:00 am

If the ruler of Qatar really wanted to end the hostage saga, all he has to do is issue an ultimatum to Hamas that if the hostages are not released within, say, 48 hours, he will expel all the Hamas leaders who are still in Qatar and stop funding and providing political support to the group. Arab dictators are not known to be merciful toward those who defy them.

Apparently, Qatar does not feel that it is under any pressure from the Biden administration to end the ordeal of the hostages.

If Hamas released the hostages and laid down its weapons, the war would end tomorrow. However, with Biden and Blinken handling both Iran and Hamas's patrons in Qatar with kid gloves, Doha and Tehran have no reason whatever to stop it.


If Hamas released the hostages and laid down its weapons, the war would end tomorrow. However, with President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken handling both Iran and Hamas's patrons in Qatar with kid gloves, Doha and Tehran have no reason whatever to stop it. Pictured: Blinken and Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at a press conference in Doha on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)
The Biden administration is evidently continuing to pretend that Qatar, the Gulf state that funds and sponsors Hamas, is an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Qatar, in addition to the billions of dollars it has been pouring on Hamas, is still hosting several leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist terror group, whose members, on October 7, 2023, beheaded, raped, tortured, burned alive more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds more.

Not only is Qatar far from being a neutral mediator, it is massively biased in favor of Hamas and other Islamist terror groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria.

Qatar's Al-Jazeera Arabic-language television channel has long served as a central platform for actively promoting the messages of Hamas and other Iranian terror proxies in the Middle East.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20297/qatar-built-hamas-terrorism

How Biden Can Immediately End Iranian-backed Attacks in the Red Sea
by Con Coughlin • January 8, 2024 at 5:00 am

The Biden administration needs to understand that, when it comes to dealing with autocratic states like Russia and Iran, brute force is the only language they understand, whereas the slightest hint of weakness will be gleefully exploited to their benefit.

It would be preferable to have Iran concerned about US action, whether military or addressing the regime's hold on power.

Rather than worrying about the response US-led military action might provoke from Iran, the US and its allies need to demonstrate that they will decisively confront the terror tactics adopted by Iran and its proxies, and authorise the uncompromising military action that will end the Houthis' attacks on key shipping routes once and for all.


If the Biden administration is really serious about tackling the threat posed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels to international shipping in the Red Sea, it needs to authorise the type of decisive military action that will deter the Iranian proxy from undertaking further attacks. Pictured: Houthi fast attack boats from Yemen surround and capture the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea off Hudaydah, Yemen on November 20, 2023. (Photo by Houthi Movement via Getty Images)
If the Biden administration is really serious about tackling the threat posed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels to international shipping in the Red Sea, it needs to authorise the type of decisive military action that will deter the Iranian proxy from undertaking further attacks.

At a time when Iran is reluctant to provoke a direct confrontation with the US and its allies in response to the Gaza crisis, Tehran has instead opted to use its various proxies in the Middle East to do its dirty work.

This has resulted in Hezbollah, the Shia Muslim terrorist organisation that Iran controls in southern Lebanon, to launch daily attacks against northern Israel, while Iranian-backed militias have targeted US military assets in Syria and Iraq more than 100 times just since mid-October and at least 151 times since President Joe Biden has been in office, to drive the US out of the oil-rich Middle East.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20279/houthi-iran-attacks-red-sea

Lebanon Hosts Terrorists, Points Massive Arsenal at Israel, Then Complains When Israel Defends Itself
by Bassam Tawil • January 9, 2024 at 5:00 am

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah revealed in a speech that his terror militia had conducted around 670 armed attacks against Israel since October 8.

Instead of blaming Hamas and Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into another war, the Lebanese government is rushing to accuse Israel of killing a Hamas fugitive and violating Lebanese airspace to attack Syria.

Instead of criticizing Israel for defending its citizens against the Hezbollah and Hamas attacks, the Lebanese government should enforce Security Council Resolution 1701, according to which Hezbollah was supposed to withdraw all its terrorists north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon has been in flagrant violation of Resolution 1701 since 2006, of course with no consequences. Similarly, the UN has never enforced its own Article 2(4) under which member states are not permitted to threaten each other. The UN, it would seem, is actually an instigator and conservator of war.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken should be addressing Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations about their accountability, concessions and compromises; not Israel.

It is high time for the UN and all its agencies, including the Security Council, to toss out anti-Israel complaints, including the latest one from Lebanon. Failing to do so will just once again expose the double standards -- really, no standards -- of the UN and once again throw the Middle East and the US into further violence and bloodshed.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20295/lebanon-hosts-terrorists


Lebanon Hosts Terrorists, Points Massive Arsenal at Israel, Then Complains When Israel Defends Itself
by Bassam Tawil • January 9, 2024 at 5:00 am

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah revealed in a speech that his terror militia had conducted around 670 armed attacks against Israel since October 8.

Instead of blaming Hamas and Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into another war, the Lebanese government is rushing to accuse Israel of killing a Hamas fugitive and violating Lebanese airspace to attack Syria.

Instead of criticizing Israel for defending its citizens against the Hezbollah and Hamas attacks, the Lebanese government should enforce Security Council Resolution 1701, according to which Hezbollah was supposed to withdraw all its terrorists north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon has been in flagrant violation of Resolution 1701 since 2006, of course with no consequences. Similarly, the UN has never enforced its own Article 2(4) under which member states are not permitted to threaten each other. The UN, it would seem, is actually an instigator and conservator of war.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken should be addressing Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations about their accountability, concessions and compromises; not Israel.

It is high time for the UN and all its agencies, including the Security Council, to toss out anti-Israel complaints, including the latest one from Lebanon. Failing to do so will just once again expose the double standards -- really, no standards -- of the UN and once again throw the Middle East and the US into further violence and bloodshed.


Instead of blaming Hamas and Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into another war, the Lebanese government is rushing to accuse Israel of killing a Hamas fugitive and violating Lebanese airspace to attack Syria. Pictured: A banner glorifying Hezbollah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah hangs on the building where a drone attack killed senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images)
In the past few decades, Lebanon has allowed the Hezbollah terror militia and several Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas, to use its territory to plan and launch attacks against Israel. Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – the three major officially-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations operating in Lebanon – are all armed and funded by Iran.

The Lebanese government and army have done nothing to stop these terrorist organizations from establishing military bases, placing an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles -- some precision-guided, in addition to "new weapons" -- along its 75-mile southern border, and turning Lebanon into a launching pad for attacking Israel, a country smaller than New Jersey (Israel: 22,145 sq.km, 8,630 sq.mi; New Jersey: 22,590 sq.km, 8,722 sq.mi). Many of the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are currently based in areas controlled by Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and other parts of the country.

Continue Reading Article Lebanon Hosts Terrorists, Points Massive Arsenal at Israel, Then Complains When Israel Defends Itself
by Bassam Tawil • January 9, 2024 at 5:00 am

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah revealed in a speech that his terror militia had conducted around 670 armed attacks against Israel since October 8.

Instead of blaming Hamas and Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into another war, the Lebanese government is rushing to accuse Israel of killing a Hamas fugitive and violating Lebanese airspace to attack Syria.

Instead of criticizing Israel for defending its citizens against the Hezbollah and Hamas attacks, the Lebanese government should enforce Security Council Resolution 1701, according to which Hezbollah was supposed to withdraw all its terrorists north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon has been in flagrant violation of Resolution 1701 since 2006, of course with no consequences. Similarly, the UN has never enforced its own Article 2(4) under which member states are not permitted to threaten each other. The UN, it would seem, is actually an instigator and conservator of war.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken should be addressing Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations about their accountability, concessions and compromises; not Israel.

It is high time for the UN and all its agencies, including the Security Council, to toss out anti-Israel complaints, including the latest one from Lebanon. Failing to do so will just once again expose the double standards -- really, no standards -- of the UN and once again throw the Middle East and the US into further violence and bloodshed.


Instead of blaming Hamas and Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into another war, the Lebanese government is rushing to accuse Israel of killing a Hamas fugitive and violating Lebanese airspace to attack Syria. Pictured: A banner glorifying Hezbollah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah hangs on the building where a drone attack killed senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images)
In the past few decades, Lebanon has allowed the Hezbollah terror militia and several Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas, to use its territory to plan and launch attacks against Israel. Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – the three major officially-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations operating in Lebanon – are all armed and funded by Iran.

The Lebanese government and army have done nothing to stop these terrorist organizations from establishing military bases, placing an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles -- some precision-guided, in addition to "new weapons" -- along its 75-mile southern border, and turning Lebanon into a launching pad for attacking Israel, a country smaller than New Jersey (Israel: 22,145 sq.km, 8,630 sq.mi; New Jersey: 22,590 sq.km, 8,722 sq.mi). Many of the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are currently based in areas controlled by Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and other parts of the country.

2024: The Year Iran Will Go Nuclear If Western Powers Do Not Act
by Majid Rafizadeh • January 6, 2024 at 5:00 am

If the US fails to remove Iran's nuclear capability -- and not just (literally) buy time to enable it -- the catastrophes that follow will surely go down as US President Joe Biden's legacy, as well as the legacy of those around him.

From the Iranian regime's perspective, the failure of the Western powers to counter its nuclear program serves as the most explicit endorsement one can provide that it should continue developing its nuclear-weapons without any fear of negative consequences.

Tehran evidently just uses these funds to expand its influence in various regions, including Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and South America.

Considering Iran's track record of failing to honor any commitments, efforts at diplomacy are destined to fail.
Should the Biden administration persist in pursuing a leadership approach perceived as lacking in strength, and should the Biden administration continue to pursue a strategy characterized by conciliation and concession towards the Iranian regime, 2024 will mark the year that the Islamic Republic of Iran acquires nuclear weapons, heralding a pivotal development in their military capabilities and devastating, far-reaching repercussions for regional and international security. If the US fails to remove Iran's nuclear capability -- and not just (literally) buy time to enable it -- the catastrophes that follow will surely go down as US President Joe Biden's legacy, as well as the legacy of those around him.

Iran has substantially increased its production rate of uranium, which, after tripling its output in the past few weeks, is now nearing weapons-grade levels, according to a recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/

Groups That Support Hamas
by John Wilson • January 5, 2024 at 5:00 am

Surprisingly, by far the largest group supporting Hamas appears to be TikTok.

"Some have argued that there is a constitutional right to TikTok, that banning it would violate Americans' rights under the First Amendment. But the First Amendment surely does not require us to allow social media apps controlled by foreign adversaries to dominate the U.S. market." — US Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, The Free Press, November 2, 2023.

Other groups leading anti-Israel protests reportedly include....

There appears to be more moral rot around than is good for any nation. The US, the UK and countries in Europe that encourage racism and other ways of pitting groups against one another -- which for many now is "Big Business" -- would do well to get rid of all of it, the sooner the better.


Surprisingly, by far the largest group supporting Hamas appears to be the social media app TikTok.
Even before the bodies of roughly 1,200 people in Israel , including dozens of children, were cold after being tortured, raped and massacred on October 7 by the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas, not just Palestinians and Arabs, but people in the West could be seen demonstrating in support of the torturers, murderers and rapists. Even the otherwise outraged hashtag women's groups have yet to be heard from, with at least one politician in the US, a woman, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), actually "downplaying" the atrocities and other members of the public denying that they had even happened.

Who are these people and groups supporting a terrorist group, Hamas?

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20275/groups-that-support-hamas

Why The Palestinian Authority Is No Better than Hamas
by Bassam Tawil • January 4, 2024 at 5:00 am

The Biden administration has yet to spell out what it means when it talks about a "revitalized" Palestinian Authority.

If the Biden administration is hoping that the PA leadership will halt its ongoing campaign of incitement against Israel in the mosques, media and the rhetoric of Palestinian officials, it is living in a dream world. If the Biden administration believes that the PA, as part of a "revitalization" process, will cease its endless glorification of terrorists and systematically rewarding them with monthly stipends for murdering Israelis, it is also in for a rude awakening.

The Biden administration... can continue to dream about "revamping" the PA, but... every Palestinian child knows that this will never happen as long as Palestinian leaders continue to pay handsomely for the murder of Jews and call for the elimination of Israel.

As the Biden administration doubtless knows, replacing Hamas with the PA will change nothing in the Gaza Strip.


The Biden administration... can continue to dream about "revamping" the PA, but... every Palestinian child knows that this will never happen as long as Palestinian leaders continue to pay handsomely for the murder of Jews and call for the elimination of Israel. Pictured: On July 23, 2018, at a ceremony honoring Palestinian terrorists, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said: "We will neither reduce nor withhold the allowances of the families of martyrs, prisoners, and released prisoners... if we had one single penny left, we would spend it on the families of the martyrs and the prisoners." (Image source: MEMRI)
As the Biden administration continues to promote the idea of having a "revitalized" Palestinian Authority (PA) govern the Gaza Strip the day after the current Israel-Hamas war, PA leaders are again proving why they are not much different from the Iran-backed Islamist terrorists who want to destroy Israel and murder Jews.

After the January 2 assassination in Beirut, Lebanon, of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas "political bureau," who was behind countless terroir attacks against Israelis over the past decade, PA leaders were quick to praise him as a "martyr" and a "hero" and condemn Israel for allegedly killing the top Hamas terrorist. This glorification of an arch-terrorist is nothing less than a full endorsement of Hamas's Jihad (holy war) on Israel, as outlined in its 1988 charter, which states that "Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes." (Article 8)

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20274/palestinian-authority-hamas

Why Christian Leaders Ignore Attacks on Their Community
by Bassam Tawil • January 2, 2024 at 5:00 am

As of this writing, no Christian leader had anything to say about Hezbollah's missile attack on a church.

When Muslims commit such crimes against Christians in the Gaza Strip, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and other countries, no one, including the Western media, takes notice. Why? It is not about Israel. No Jews are at fault.

Where were the pope and other Christian organizations, one wonders, when Christians living under the terrorist group Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, were being systematically targeted and persecuted?

How ironic, then, that the latest attempt to label Israel as a country that targets Christians coincided with the massacre in Nigeria perpetrated against Christians celebrating Christmas. More than 160 Christians were murdered in coordinated attacks by Islamist militant groups that took place between December 23-25. Nigeria has been a hotbed for Christian persecution in recent years, with the country, in 2022, leading the world in Christians killed for their faith. When such atrocities are committed, we rarely hear the voices of those who claim to care about the well-being and safety of Christians around the world.

Worse, those who are ignoring the attacks on Christians are giving a green light to Hamas, Hezbollah and other Islamists to destroy Christian holy sites and murder Christians.


On December 26, Hezbollah hit St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church in Iqrit, Israel, with two anti-tank guided missiles, wounding ten people. Pictured: St. Mary's, photographed on December 19, 2020. (Image source: Bukvoed/Wikimedia Commons)
On December 26, Iran's Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah attacked St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church in Iqrit, northern Israel. An anti-tank guided missile fired from Lebanon directly hit the church, severely wounding an 85-year-old civilian. Nine Israeli soldiers who rushed to rescue the churchgoer were then wounded by a second missile strike. Hezbollah boasted about the attack and posted a video of its missiles hitting the church.

The attack did not elicit any response from any major Christian organization in the West. By contrast, the pope was quick to denounce the killing of two Christian women in the Gaza Strip, falsely insinuating, however, that Israel was responsible.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20272/christian-leaders-ignore-attacks

Hamas in London
by Robert Williams • January 1, 2024 at 5:00 am
At least four groups with links to Hamas are reportedly behind several of the marches: The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), the Palestinian Forum for Britain, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and the Friends of al-Aqsa.

"[M]embership of the Muslim Brotherhood remained (and still remains) a secret." — UK government report, "Muslim Brotherhood Review: Main Findings," December 17, 2015

Too often, unfortunately, those many propaganda goals evidently correspond to what the organizations behind the never-ending pro-Hamas protests in London -- and around the world -- seek to obtain: Creating sympathy for Hamas and the Gazans, demonizing Israel, which is fighting terrorism for all of us so that we will not have to, and increasing pressure for a permanent ceasefire that will enable Hamas to survive.

"Unfortunately, Hamas's bloodlust is not limited to Israel and Jews but also extends to Europe and Christians. I want to remind you that in the past, Hamas members expressed the Islamic intention to conquer Europe." — Israel's Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, in a letter sent to about 20 European leaders warning of "a massive network of Hams operatives and the growing activism of Hamas across Europe," December 2023.

Uprooting Hamas in the UK anytime in the near future, given the lack of enthusiasm that the Met Police have shown in the wake of the pro-Hamas demonstrations, sadly seems unlikely.


Uprooting Hamas in the UK anytime in the near future, given the lack of enthusiasm that the Met Police have shown in the wake of the pro-Hamas demonstrations, sadly seems unlikely. Pictured: A protester holds a placard while taking part in the "National March For Palestine" in London on November 11, 2023 (Photo by Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
The pro-Hamas protests in London are not, apparently, as organic and spontaneous as their organizers would like them to seem.

At least four groups with links to Hamas are reportedly behind several of the marches: The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), the Palestinian Forum for Britain, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and the Friends of al-Aqsa. The same groups were behind the largest protest so far, on November 11 in London, where it is estimated that around 300,000 people participated.

Supporting Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organization in the UK, could lead to up to 14 years in prison.

The MAB was co-founded and directed for almost a decade by Muhammad Kathem Sawalha, who in the late 1980s was a Hamas leader in Samaria in the West Bank, where he reportedly "masterminded" Hamas's terrorist strategy. He fled to the UK in the late 1990s and, incredibly, obtained British citizenship, despite being on Israel's most-wanted list.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20264/hamas-in-london

Who Supports Hamas?
by Alan M. Dershowitz • December 28, 2023 at 5:00 am

Many of the current protests that now demand a unilateral ceasefire – including the attempts to shut down Christmas celebrations -- are orchestrated by some of the same radical groups that organized the pro-Hamas demonstrations before Israel went into Gaza.

Demonstrations and protests by groups such as the Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace or the National Lawyers Guild seem anything but spontaneous and grassroots responses to "Israel's military actions in Gaza." They are not demonstrations against what Israel does; they are protests against what Israel is, namely the democratic nation-state of the Jewish people.

Recall that these protests began before Israel counterattacked against Hamas. They were in full bloom on October 8, even while the bodies of 1,200 murdered Israelis, including babies burned alive, were still being gathered and counted, and the roughly 240 hostages taken by Hamas to Gaza identified.

Where are the calls for anything that would actually help the Palestinians or make their lives better: freedom of speech, equal justice under the law, freedom of the press, better job opportunities, and an end to government corruption and abuse?

The protests are exclusively anti-Israel, anti-American, pro-Hamas, and pro-terrorism.

So when you watch an anti-Israel demonstration on television, please understand who is behind it and what are their ultimate goals, because the next target is American democracy -- and you.


Many of the current protests that now demand a unilateral ceasefire – including the attempts to shut down Christmas celebrations -- are orchestrated by some of the same radical groups that organized the pro-Hamas demonstrations before Israel went into Gaza. Pictured: Demonstrators protest against Israel on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on November 7, 2023. (Photo by Kena Betankur/AFP via Getty Images)
The main groups that comprise the bulk of organizers and demonstrators who have supported the Hamas barbarism against Israel are:

1) Radical Islamic groups that, like the Islamic Republic of Iran after the 1979 revolution, regard Israel as the "Little Satan" and America as the "Big Satan."

2) American revolutionary groups who used to be affiliated with Communism but now call themselves radical socialists or workers parties. Their goal is to overthrow our government and they attach themselves to every disruptive movement in the hope of garnering support and creating distrust for American democracy.

3) Old-fashioned anti-Semites who hate anything associated with Jews and concoct conspiracy theories that blame "the Jews" for all evils.

4) Useful idiots who have little or no knowledge of the issues but march in lockstep with all "woke," "hard left," and "anti-colonial" causes on the theory that "if it's left, it must be right."

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20261/who-supports-hamas

Pakistan Deporting Afghans Who Seek Asylum from Taliban
by Uzay Bulut • December 29, 2023 at 5:00 am

"Those at particular risk are civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, former government officials and security force members, and of course women and girls as a whole, who, as a result of the abhorrent policies currently in place in Afghanistan, are banned from secondary and tertiary education, working in many sectors and other aspects of daily and public life." – UN High Commissioner for Refugees, ohchr.org, October 27, 2023

"Asad and his family fled Afghanistan in 2021 when his friends and colleagues were murdered after the Taliban came to power. 'I am on several lists maintained by the Taliban and I am certain I will be killed if I go back...'" -- Amnesty International, amnesty.org, November 10, 2023

The terrorism that Pakistan complains about comes from the Taliban in Afghanistan – that Pakistan supported for decades -- not from the Afghan asylum seekers in Pakistan.

What Pakistan has done.... is to counter terrorists that challenge its own authority while actively supporting other terrorists who challenge other governments – particularly in India and the West.

There are no "good jihadist terrorists."

What has caused an increase in terrorism in Pakistan is not Afghan people trying to survive in Pakistan, but Pakistan's own policies that, for decades, have empowered jihadist terrorists domestically and abroad.


Pictured: Afghan refugees, after their expulsion arrival from Pakistan, arrive in Takhta Pul district of Kandahar province, Afghanistan on December 18, 2023. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/AFP via Getty Images)
Pakistan has started mass deportation of undocumented Afghans in the country. The move sends hundreds of thousands who fled the Taliban when they took over in 2021 after American troops withdrew, and violates principles of refugee non-refoulement. If forcibly returned, these refugees are at risk of persecution.

Pakistan claims its mass deportations of these Afghans is due to "increased terrorism" in the country -- but it was the government of Pakistan that for decades supported the Taliban in Afghanistan. Ever since they took over the country in 2021, Afghanistan has just become a safe haven for terrorist groups.

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20263/pakistan-deporting-afghans

'If We Like, We Will Kill You, Too': The Persecution of Christians, November 2023
by Raymond Ibrahim • December 24, 2023 at 5:00 am

A few November headlines from the ongoing jihadist-genocide of Christians in Nigeria follow...

Coptic Christians suffer the double injustice of living under systematic discrimination by the Egyptian government, and also from regular members of Egyptian society who attack Copts and their property with impunity. The reality for Copts in Egypt is one of life as second-class citizens.

"Most of the native population converted to Islam over six centuries to escape the jizya [protection tax] and humiliations of dhimmi status. The term 'Copt' came to define the native Christian population that had not converted to Islam..." — Coptic Solidarity, a human rights organization, in a report titled, "Advocacy of Hatred Based on Religion or Belief."


On November 23, a Muslim man of Algerian origin stabbed a group of preschool children attending Saint Mary's Catholic primary school in Dublin, as the children were leaving school. Three children — two girls and a boy aged between 5 and 6 — and a care assistant who tried to defend them, were stabbed in the assault. In response to the stabbing, angry Irish citizens took to the streets and rioted (pictured) that evening. (Photo by Peter Murphy/AFP via Getty Images)
The following are among the abuses and murders inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of November 2023.

The Muslim Slaughter of Christians

Pakistan: A Muslim man murdered a young Christian because he was "driven by a strong hatred for Christians and Jews." On Nov. 9, around 3 a.m., Muhammad Zubair broke into a Christian household while everyone was asleep. After opening fire on Farhan Qamar, 20, the youngest of four siblings, the intruder held the entire family hostage at gunpoint for nearly 40 minutes, preventing them from going near the fatally injured youth. According to the slain man's father, Ul Qamar:

Continue Reading Article https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20242/persecution-of-christians-november