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Israeli Forces Shoot Worker, Intensify West Bank Invasions

IMEMC | April 19, 2026

Israeli occupation forces intensified their violations across the occupied West Bank on Saturday, shooting and injuring a Palestinian worker near a military roadblock south of Hebron while carrying out multiple invasions, assaults, and abductions in several districts.

Israeli soldiers shot and injured a young man near the ath‑Thaheriya “Meitar” military roadblock south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.

Media sources said the soldiers opened fire at Palestinian workers near the Annexation Wall close to the military roadblock, injuring one of them with live ammunition before he was transferred to hospital. … Full article

Elderly woman injured in settler attack on farmers in al-Khalil

Palestinian Information Center – April 19, 2026

AL-KHALIL – An elderly Palestinian woman sustained injuries on Saturday after being assaulted by extremist Jewish settlers in the town of Sa’ir, northeast of al-Khalil in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources reported that settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while they were cultivating their swaths of land in the Wadi Khanis area of Sa’ir.

An elderly woman identified as Umm Hussein Jabbarin was injured in the settler attack before she was transferred to a medical center by a Red Crescent ambulance crew.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces stormed the same area and kidnaped the woman’s sons, Hussein, Anas, and Issa Jabarin, after settlers assaulted her and other members of the family.

In separate incidents on Sunday, settler groups set fire to a house and a car, destroyed olive trees and a fence, and seized a building in the West Bank.

According to media sources, a horde of settlers attacked the village of Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah, setting fire to the home of As’ad Tuffa’ha and a car belonging to another citizen.

In Bethlehem, settlers uprooted dozens of newly planted olive saplings in the Ush al-Ghurab area of Beit Sahour town and attacked homes in the Jabel Harasa area.

In al-Khalil, settlers seized a historic Jordanian military post known as “Rajm al-Naqa” in the village of al-Rashayda and connected it to a water network.

Another group of settlers vandalized a fence surrounding large tracts of land belonging to Palestinian citizens in the Huwara area of Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil.

Israeli army kills 1 Palestinian, wounds another in Gaza

MEMO | April 19, 2026

A Palestinian was killed and another was seriously injured on Sunday by Israeli gunfire in northern and central parts of the Gaza Strip, medical sources told Anadolu.

A Palestinian was killed after Israeli military vehicles opened fire toward tents of displaced people in Halawa camp east of Jabalia in northern Gaza, the sources said.

A 16-year-old male was also seriously injured and taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after being targeted by an Israeli quadcopter drone in the Al-Tahlia area of Deir al-Balah, in the central part of the strip.

The casualties were the latest in ongoing Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement in effect in the Palestinian enclave since October 2025.

Israeli army vehicles and helicopters opened fire toward areas east of the central governorate, local sources also told Anadolu.

In the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli artillery shelled areas east of the city of Khan Younis, coinciding with heavy gunfire from vehicles and helicopters, while naval vessels targeted the city’s coastline with shells and machine gun fire. … Full article

Ex-intel officer questions Israeli strategy in Lebanon as losses mount

Al Mayadeen | April 19, 2026

A former Israeli Military Intelligence officer has questioned the Israeli occupation’s strategy in southern Lebanon, pointing to mounting losses since the ceasefire took effect.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Neriah told i24 News that Hezbollah has emerged stronger from the war despite extensive Israeli bombing and attacks, noting that the group “represents the resistance against Israel, and this is its primary source of strength.”

“If we are sustaining daily losses in Lebanon, how long can we endure this situation?” he asked. … continue

Netanyahu’s ‘total victory’ to total flop

By Robert Inlakesh | Al Mayadeen | April 19, 2026

Promising annihilation, dominance, and total victory, the Israeli leadership has found itself in a predicament no closer to victory on any front. Tactical victories sold as strategic ones have been exposed; instead of meticulously planned operations, Tel Aviv engages in aggression without any discernible long-term strategy to achieve its stated aims. … continue

Trump: US Forces Attack, Seize Iranian Cargo Ship

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | April 19, 2026

President Donald Trump claimed an Iranian-flagged vessel attempted to break the US blockade. US forces attacked and boarded the cargo ship.

“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them,” the President wrote on Truth Social Sunday. “The U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop.”

He continued, “The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom. Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel.”

Last week, Trump ordered the US Navy to blockade Iranian ports. The Touska is the first vessel intercepted by the US enforcing the blockade. The President said he ordered the blockade due to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. … Full article

IRNA denies 2nd round of negotiations reports

Al Mayadeen | April 19, 2026

Iran has not yet made a decision on whether it will engage in a new round of negotiations with the United States, local media reported on Sunday. IRNA news agency said that “there is no clear prospect of fruitful negotiations.”

IRNA denied reports that a second round of negotiations had been held in Islamabad, stating that they were “incorrect.” The state news agency reported that Washington’s “maximalism and excessive and unrealistic demands,” along with “frequent changes of positions, constant contradictions, and the continuation of the so-called naval blockade.”

The agency added that under these conditions, “there is no clear prospect of fruitful negotiations.”

It also indicated that the reports being circulated by the United States are nothing more than “media games, part of a pattern of exchanging accusations and exerting pressure on Iran.”

On another note, citing unnamed sources, the Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported that Tehran has not finalized its position on participating in the proposed talks. They also described the current climate as “not very positive,” with Fars quoting a source as saying that lifting a US blockade on Iranian ports would be a prerequisite for any negotiations. … continue

Iran Warns Window for Diplomacy Is Rapidly Closing

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | April 19, 2026

A senior Iranian official said President Donald Trump’s maximalist demands and erratic behavior are harming the diplomatic process.

“Our assessment is that Trump effectively lacks both a coherent plan and the capacity to secure even a temporary agreement. His decision-making appears to be grounded in Israeli political and security assessments, conveyed to him on a daily basis,” a senior Iranian official told Drop Site News. “There hasn’t been any real progress. Both sides are just signaling behind the scenes that they’re open to reaching an agreement.”

Last week, Trump celebrated Tehran’s opening of the Strait of Hormuz. However, he refused to lift the US blockade of Iranian ports, leading Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz. He also gave a series of statements claiming Iran agreed to major concessions on its nuclear program.

Top Iranian officials denied that Tehran had agreed to give the US its enriched material. Iran says it will not end the conflict until the US recognizes its control over the Strait of Hormuz, pays war reparations, and pledges never to attack Iran again.

On Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was sending representatives to Pakistan to present Iran with his final offer. He threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges if Tehran rejected his proposal.

Trump has threatened to destroy the civilian infrastructure of Iran multiple times during the nearly two-month-long war. Earlier this month, he said he was prepared to eliminate Iran’s civilization before agreeing to a two-week truce.

The Iranian official speaking with Drop Site explained that if current negotiations fail and the war resumes, Tehran will cut off talks with the US for an extended period. “The Islamabad negotiations provided President Trump with an appropriate opportunity to exit the war,” the official explained. “Should [Trump] nevertheless choose to continue the conflict, Iran will, for a prolonged period, suspend diplomatic channels and will seek, within the context of the conflict, to impose significantly greater costs on United States interests.”

Israel attacks three nations for alleged backing of Iran

RT | April 19, 2026

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations has lashed out at his French, Chinese, and Pakistani counterparts, accusing their countries of effectively backing Iran by allegedly striking deals to secure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The rebuke appears to stem from media reports which recently indicated that commercial vessels from all three countries were able to transit the Strait of Hormuz during the blockade, in some cases with Iranian authorization, despite broader restrictions on shipping imposed by Tehran. … continue

German court orders BioNTech to hand over internal safety, toxicity, and manufacturing records on Comirnaty vaccine

Court affirms injured patients’ right to access manufacturer data, forcing disclosure.

By Jon Fleetwood | April 15, 2026

In a major procedural victory for vaccine-injured plaintiffs, a German court has ordered BioNTech to turn over internal data on its Comirnaty mRNA COVID-19 vaccine—affirming that individuals claiming harm have the right to access the manufacturer’s own records to challenge its safety claims and pursue damages.

The Regional Court of Aurich (Landgericht Aurich), in case 5 O 1106/24, issued a certified partial judgment (“Teilurteil”) ordering BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH to provide detailed information on the vaccine’s effects, side effects, and underlying biological and manufacturing characteristics.

The court’s order states, translated and paraphrased for readability:

The defendant is ordered … to provide information … on the effects and side effects known to it … as well as on other findings that may be relevant for the assessment of the justifiability of harmful effects …

The ruling directly addresses a core imbalance that has defined vaccine injury litigation: injured individuals have been expected to prove causation while being denied access to the very data needed to do so.

This decision breaks that barrier.

Independent journalist Bastian Barucker first reported on the ruling.

REPORT: US Now Global Outlier Ignoring Vaccine Injured as UK Inquiry Acknowledges Harms

By Jefferey Jaxen | April 17, 2026

Baroness Hallett is the Chair of the UK’s COVID-19 Inquiry – an independent public investigation established to examine the country’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Module 4’ was just released today and it dealt primarily with those harmed by the rushed rollout of an experimental mRNA jab. … continue

The Gratitude of the Captured

An Essay on the Four Walls That Make the Injured Defend the Injury

Lies are Unbekoming | April 12, 2026

1. The Testimony That Should Not Exist

A woman films herself from a hospital bed. Her left side will not move. Her speech is slurred. She took the COVID vaccine three weeks earlier and had a stroke within days. The camera shakes because she is holding it with the hand that still works. And she says, into the lens, that she is glad she took it. Because it could have been worse.

By every ordinary standard of how people respond to injury, the woman in the bed should be angry. She should want to know what happened to her body, who gave her the injection, what was in it, why she was not warned. Instead she is defending the thing that harmed her, and she is doing it sincerely, from a bed she may never leave.

The pattern repeated at scale throughout 2021 and 2022. Myocarditis in young men, received with gratitude. Sudden hearing loss, received with gratitude. Menstrual disruption, miscarriage, Bell’s palsy, shingles, tinnitus, cognitive fog — received with gratitude. The injured gave television interviews thanking the health authorities. They wrote newspaper columns urging others to take the product that had injured them. They volunteered at vaccination centres. The more severe the injury, the more fervent the testimony.

The COVID case is the clearest and most recent instance of something older. Chemotherapy patients credit the treatment with saving them while enduring a devastation that is the treatment.¹ Flu shot recipients who get the flu report that the shot made it milder — a claim no one can check. Statin patients who develop muscle weakness, diabetes and cognitive decline continue taking the drug in gratitude for a heart attack that may never have been coming.² SSRI patients who cannot feel, cannot sleep without the pill, cannot leave the house without the prescription, describe the drug as having saved their lives.³ Parents whose children regress after vaccination defend the schedule that preceded the regression.

The gratitude is real. That is what makes it devastating. These patients are not lying or performing. They feel what they say they feel. They are captured, and the gratitude is what their captivity looks like when it speaks.

What follows rests on one claim. The phenomenon is an engineered room, not a cognitive error or a cultural drift. Four walls stand around the captured person, each sealing a different exit, built by identifiable actors serving documented interests. The same four walls stand around every major medical intervention of our time.

The essay names the walls, shows them at work across several medical domains, names their architects, and ends where it must — with the one act that brings them down. … continue

Settlers attack Bedouin community in West Bank, storm other areas

Palestinian Information Center – April 18, 2026

WEST BANK – A horde of extremist Jewish settlers attacked the Wadi Abul-Hayat Bedouin community west of the al-Auja area, north of Jericho, and stormed other parts of the occupied West Bank on Saturday.

Al-Baidar Human Rights Organization reported that a number of settlers broke into and ransacked homes and terrorized children inside the Wadi Abul-Hayat community, where seven families live, noting that the families had already been displaced three times.

The rights group warned that recurring settler attacks against Bedouin communities in the area pose a serious threat to residents’ safety and stability.

In another incident, settlers stormed the hamlet of Khirbet al-Rakeez in Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil, carrying out provocations against local residents.

In northern Ramallah, settlers set up a new structure in their illegal outpost in the Turmus Ayya plain near villagers’ homes.

In northern Nablus, settlers stormed the Wadi al-Hisan area of Asira ash-Shamaliya, grazing livestock in farmers’ fields and obstructing their work.

In southern al-Khalil, a settler guarded by Israeli soldiers used a bulldozer to destroy swaths of Palestinian-owned farmland in Khirbet Rabud near Dura City.

Israeli Forces Kill Civilian, Wound Others in Northern Gaza

IMEMC | April 18, 2026

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded several others on Friday after opening fire on displaced families in northern Gaza, amid continued attacks and rising casualty figures across the besieged Strip.

Field reporters confirmed that Israeli soldiers stationed in the northern Gaza Strip fired heavy machine‑gun rounds toward tents sheltering displaced families in the Tal ath‑Thahab area of Beit Lahia, killing one civilian, and injuring several others.

Residents said the gunfire struck an area densely populated with families who had already been displaced multiple times since the start of the assault.

The attack in Beit Lahia occurred as Israeli forces continued to target civilians across several areas of the Gaza Strip throughout the day. … continue

Israeli soldiers kill UNICEF truck drivers delivering water to Gaza families

The Cradle | April 18, 2026

Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinian truck drivers hired by UNICEF and injured two others during routine water delivery operations at a filling point in northern Gaza on 17 April.

“UNICEF is outraged by the killing of two drivers of trucks contracted by UNICEF to provide clean water to families in the Gaza Strip,” a statement from the UN agency reads.

UNICEF added the victims were “killed by Israeli fire in an incident that took place early this morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza.” The attack occurred during normal operations, with no changes in the convoy’s movements or procedures that morning.

UNICEF has since told its contractors to stand down at the site until conditions are safe enough to return.

“The Mansoura water filling point is currently the only operational truck filling point for the Mekorot water supply line serving Gaza City,” UNICEF said, highlighting the significance of the disruption.

“UNICEF and humanitarian partners use it multiple times a day to sustain critical water trucking operations for hundreds of thousands of people, including children.” … continue

Hezbollah denies involvement in deadly attack on UNIFIL in south Lebanon

Al-Mayadeen | April 18, 2026

Hezbollah has denied any involvement in an incident targeting United Nations observers in southern Lebanon earlier today.

In a statement, the group said it “calls for caution in issuing judgments and responsibilities regarding the incident,” urging restraint until facts are fully established.

The movement specifically rejected any responsibility for the incident involving UNIFIL forces in the al-Ghandourieh–Bint Jbeil area, stressing that blame should not be assigned before the Lebanese Army completes its investigation and clarifies the circumstances.

Emphasis on coordination and stability

Hezbollah also highlighted the importance of maintaining cooperation between local residents, UNIFIL, and the Lebanese Army. It emphasized the need for coordination between the army and UN peacekeepers, particularly given the current sensitive conditions.

The group further “expressed surprise at the [parties] that rushed to throw accusations arbitrarily, while remaining silent when Israeli forces target UNIFIL personnel.” … continue

The prospect of an expanded and far more violent war

By Kurt Nimmo | Another Day in the Empire | April 18, 2026

… Earlier this month, Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich declared an official start to the Greater Israel project. He included Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine in the project. Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, Zionists have strived to weaken neighboring states, dismantle their military capacity, and worked to reshape the balance of power in West Asia. The original plan called for occupying and ethnically cleansing the entirety of Palestine, all of Jordan, south Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, and northern Saudi Arabia.

The Nazis had a similar plan during their occupation of Europe in the Second World War. It was called the “Greater Germanic Reich” (Großgermanisches Reich). In the autumn of 1933, Adolf Hitler made plans to annex territories including Bohemia, parts of western Poland, and Austria to Germany. He also aimed to create satellite or puppet states that would lack independent economies or policies. Nazi racial theories classified the Germanic peoples of Europe as part of a racially superior Nordic subset within the broader Aryan race, which they considered to be the sole true bearers of civilized culture.

In Deuteronomy, the Jewish God chooses Israel to be his holy (kadosh) and treasured (segulah) people. Deuteronomy 14:2 states God has chosen the Jews “to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” According to the Torah, “Eretz Israel” (“Land of Israel” in Hebrew), now defined as “Greater Israel,” was “given” to the “children of Abraham” and serves as the basis for “a merger of religious fundamentalism and modern political ethno-nationalism, whereby ancient texts are used to justify a modern military expansionist state.” In regard to Lebanon, the Zionists believe Greater Israel extends up to the Sidon and Litani rivers.

According to Amichai Friedman, a rabbi in the Israeli Army, “This land is ours, the whole land, including Gaza, including Lebanon,” while Daniella Weiss, a Jewish ethnonationalist and former mayor of Kedumim, called for the “invasion of Lebanon” immediately after the war in Gaza. … continue

Dutch parliament urges suspension of EU-Israel deal over Israeli crimes

Press TV – April 17, 2026

A majority in the Dutch House of Representatives has backed a proposal calling on the Netherlands’ government to push for the suspension of the trade component of the EU-Israel Association Agreement at the bloc over the regime’s crimes against Palestinians.

During a parliamentary debate on Thursday, the political party called Democrats 66 (D66) and Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), which are part of the ruling coalition, stressed that Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, and recent legislative developments raise serious human rights concerns. They backed exploring EU-level measures, including suspending trade provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which entered into force in 2000 and includes a clause stipulating that cooperation between the parties is contingent on respect for human rights and democratic principles. […]

The adopted motion urges the Dutch government to take a leading role within the EU in advocating for the suspension of the agreement’s trade component.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen is now expected to raise the issue with EU member states during the foreign ministers’ meeting on April 21. But any decision to suspend the accord would require consensus among all member countries. … Full article

Canada’s Carney Revives Online Censorship Bill

The bill that died with Trudeau’s election call is back, and so is the advisory panel that wrote it.

By Christina Maas | Reclaim The Net | April 18, 2026

Canada’s Liberal government is preparing to revive legislation that would hand the state new powers over what Canadians can say online, with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s team signaling that a rebooted “online harms” law is coming. […]

One of the members back at the table is Bernie Farber of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. The advisory group helps shape what the government will treat as hateful, harmful, or dangerous.

That definition, once written into law, determines which posts get deleted, which accounts get silenced, and which Canadians face fines or house arrest for saying the wrong thing online. … Read full article

Britain is turning into a Zionist police state to protect Israel

By Tarik Cyril Amar | RT | April 18, 2026

Imagine you know about a brutal gang of serial killers openly committing one sadistic crime after the other. Imagine you recognize your obvious moral obligation to do something to stop or at least impede these crimes as best you can, but your country’s morally perverse and politically corrupt authorities are in cahoots with the murderers, so you cannot simply call the police.

Indeed, if you try to resist the killers and their accomplices, the police and state prosecutors will relentlessly go after you instead of them, and in effect, protect the criminals. Imagine, finally, that while you cannot strike the killers directly, you can make committing their heinous crimes harder for them by disrupting their business activities and alerting the public to their scandalously uninhibited activities and shocking power in your society.

That is the situation in which the activists of the British direct-action group Palestine Action find themselves. Except it is even worse than the schematic thought experiment sketched above, because, in reality, we are not speaking about a gang of serial killers but a whole state. Small but extremely aggressive and far too well armed – including with entirely ‘rogue’ nuclear weapons – that state is committed to a relentless agenda of proudly announced (Amalek and all that) genocide and gleeful ethnic cleansingsystematic torture and sexual violence on a mass scale, ceaseless territorial aggression (attacking more countries last year than any other country on the planet), ethnic (in this case Jewish) supremacist racism and apartheid as anchored in its laws, and the conquest of ‘lebensraum’ (a term let slip in that state’s own mainstream media).

And that monster of a state is closely, almost symbiotically allied, even capable of intermittently dominating the single most powerful country on the planet, which also happens to hold international law and basic ethics in open contempt – the US. That state, in addition, has extraordinary and nefarious influence in many other countries of the West, that odd place so proud of its ‘values’ and so complicit in genocide at the same time. Palestine Action, in short, is up against Israel and its form of internationally virulent fascism – Zionism. … Full article

Where Is American Foreign Policy Made?

American policy is clearly being made in Israel, by Israel, and for the benefit of Israel.

By Bryan Anthony Reo – New Eastern Outlook – April 18, 2026

… Can any American honestly claim that permitting and indeed facilitating the Israeli seizure of the majority of southern Lebanon (in what is an obvious naked land grab) under the guise of establishing a “security buffer zone” is somehow in the interests of Americans?

Can any American honestly claim that permitting and indeed facilitating the Israeli seizure of southwestern Syria (in what is an obvious naked land grab) under the guise of establishing a “security buffer zone” is somehow in the interests of Americans?

Can any American honestly claim that permitting and indeed facilitating the Israeli obliteration, population cleansing, and annexation of Gaza (in what is an obvious naked land grab) under the guise of establishing a “security buffer zone” is somehow in the interests of Americans?

Who decided these policies were not only in the interests of Americans but were in the *best interests* of Americans?

Why are American taxpayers paying for Israeli armaments, settlements, bomb shelters, an Iron Dome, the most elite air force in the region, and everything else that Israel demands?

None of this even addresses the simple fact that not only is the USA going broke paying for Israel, we’re making major enemies across entire regions and then incurring further debt having to fight those new enemies.

Israel is a Bottomless Vortex For American Money

The United States has given Israel no less than $300 billion in direct assistance since 1948.

None of that includes “soft” forms of assistance such as loans that are forgiven or rolled over into other loans that are never going to be paid back, diversion of American wealth via private donations by disloyal dual-citizen (“passport paper Americans”) such as Sheldon Adelson and Ben Shapiro, whose passports say the USA but whose hearts have always been with Israel and in Israel.

The $300 billion amount also does not take into account the immense tribute money paid to Egypt to bribe their successive corrupt administrations to tolerate Israeli militarism in the region and to sit back and do nothing while Israel runs roughshod over the Palestinians, Lebanese, and Syrians. Similarly large bribes have also been paid to Jordan on a regular basis to procure similar complicity on the part of the Jordanian regime.

The $300 billion amount also fails to account for the money spent in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent occupation, a war that was undertaken entirely for the benefit of Israel in the furtherance of Israeli geopolitical interests via the strategic goal of weakening rival powers that were competing with Israel for power and influence in the region. The direct cost of the Iraq War was around $3 trillion , although this cost is expected to exceed $6 trillion due to long-term interest on debt and the medical costs associated with veterans’ care.

It is not unreasonable to say that the Zionist State of Israel has cost the United States upwards of ten trillion dollars, while providing absolutely nothing to the United States.

Israel Costs America Much, Provides No Discernible Benefit

If Israel allows us access to an airbase from which American forces launch a strike against Iran, that is not Israel helping the United States to pursue American interests; that is Israel facilitating for America to do Israel’s bidding for it. That is Israel allowing the USA to operate from an Israeli facility for the sole and express purpose of securing Israeli objectives. … Full article

Think the Iran war is a disaster? Blame these DC think tanks first.

By Jim Lobe | Responsible Statecraft | April 14, 2026

If the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran is ultimately assessed as a defeat, some measure of blame could be cast on five pro-Israel “think tanks” that consistently promoted military action against the Islamic Republic in the eight months before it began, according to analyses by four different widely used AI programs.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the Hudson Institute, and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) ranked among the top six think tanks identified by the AI models as the “most prominent in promoting military action against Tehran” during the period between the “Twelve-Day War” in June 2025 and the current war’s launch on February 28.

A fifth think tank, the more traditionally right-wing Heritage Foundation, was also included by three of the apps as among the top six think tanks promoting military actions against Iran.

Unsurprisingly, four platforms – Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok – identified the same five Washington-based institutions as also having played leading roles in promoting the U.S. invasion of Iraq 23 years ago.

Of the five, FDD, AEI, Hudson, and WINEP fall squarely into the neoconservative camp of U.S. foreign policy hawks in that support for Israel is a central principle of their world views and work. Indeed, the organization that claimed the top spot for prominence in promoting war against Iran in all four AI apps was FDD, whose original submission to the IRS in 2001 described its mission as “provid(ing) education to enhance Israel’s image in North America and the public’s understanding of issues affecting Israeli-Arab relations.”

The Heritage Foundation — which identifies itself as pursuing an “America First” foreign policy — has long promoted close ties with Israel. A “Special Report” published by Heritage in March 20025 called for transforming U.S.-Israeli relations from a mere “special relationship” to a “strategic partnership.”

“Experts” from all five organizations repeatedly propounded some or all of the same themes — that Iran’s nuclear program and missile arsenal posed an unacceptable threat to Israel and eventually to the U.S. homeland, that the regime was still “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” and that it was at the weakest point since the 1979 Revolution.

They pressed these points in congressional testimony, on the op-ed and news pages of major print and online publications, in broadcast television and radio interviews, and on social media, notably X, in what were clearly efforts to persuade elites and the public to accept the necessity of military action against the Islamic Republic. These arguments echoed the same themes as those propagated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as well-known pro-Israel hawks in the U.S. Congress, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, in their appearances on U.S. broadcast media.

As can be seen in the table below, three of the AI apps identified several additional neoconservative-led think tanks among the six most prominent promoters of military action, including the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), the Center for Security Policy (CSP), and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which was founded by neoconservative military analyst Kimberly Kagan in 2007. “While ISW positions itself as analytical rather than explicitly advocacy-oriented, its framing of Iranian threats consistently supported the case for military actions,” according to Claude.

Over the past quarter century, the foreign policy orientation of FDD, AEI, Hudson, JINSA, and CSP has been hardline neoconservative; their positions, particularly with respect to the Middle East, have generally reflected the views of Netanyahu’s Likud Party. … Full article

Israeli forces blow up homes in southern Lebanon in violation of ceasefire

Press TV – April 18, 2026

Israeli forces have carried out house demolitions in several southern Lebanese border towns despite a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, according to local media reports.

Explosions were heard across multiple locations as residential areas near the frontier were targeted.

Israeli officials have stated that the goal is to destroy parts of Lebanese border towns to prevent residents from returning.

Human rights groups have drawn parallels to similar Israeli tactics used in Gaza, warning that such actions could constitute ethnic cleansing.

Lebanon’s Al-Manar correspondent reported that Israeli troops conducted large-scale house detonation operations, describing the moves as violations of the ceasefire in an attempt to compensate for battlefield failures.

The report also noted that Israeli drones were flying over towns adjacent to areas where occupation forces remain deployed.

In a separate incident, an Israeli airstrike on a car and a motorcycle on the Kounin-Bint Jbeil highway resulted in one fatality and one injury.

The development comes after US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the occupying regime and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.

Under the agreement, the Israeli regime is barred from carrying out offensives against the Arab country, including its civilian and state infrastructure. … Full article

Iran defends limits on Strait of Hormuz passage

The Islamic Republic once again shut the strategic waterway due to what it described as US “piracy”

RT | April 18, 2026

Iran said the renewed restrictions on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz are justified under international law and necessary to counter hostile actions, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei has said in an interview with RT.

Iranian military officials said on Saturday that Tehran had reasserted “strict control” over the strategic route, which carries about 20% of global oil, citing the continued US blockade of its ports, just a day after declaring it open. The Revolutionary Guard Navy Command later said the strait would remain under Iranian military control as long as US restrictions stay in place.

“There was no safe and secure passage in this waterway,” Baqaei told RT on Saturday, adding that as a coastal state Iran has the right under international law to take measures against what it sees as hostile actions. … continue

‘We warned you’: Hormuz Strait back to pervious state amid US blockade

Al Mayadeen | April 18, 2026

Iran’s military announced that the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous operational status, placing it under “strict management and control” by the country’s armed forces, following repeated violations of prior understandings by the United States.

In a statement, the spokesperson of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said Iran had earlier agreed, in good faith and within the framework of negotiations, to allow the managed passage of a limited number of oil tankers and commercial vessels through the strategic waterway.

However, the spokesperson stated, the United States had failed to uphold its commitments, amid Washington’s continued acts of “piracy and maritime robbery” under the guise of a naval blockade.

The statement added that, in response, Iran has reinstated full control measures over the strait, emphasizing that the passage of vessels will remain tightly regulated unless the US fully lifts restrictions on Iranian shipping routes, both inbound and outbound.

“As long as the United States does not completely lift the restrictions on the passage of vessels from Iran to destination and from destination to Iran, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will be strictly controlled and remain as before,” the spokesperson said. … continue

Iran rejects uranium transfer, warns of response to naval blockade

Al Mayadeen | April 18, 2026

Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejects uranium transfer abroad and warns of a firm response to any naval blockade, as Tehran sets red lines ahead of the next round of negotiations with the US. … Read article

Trump taps military-grade flu pandemic architect to lead CDC amid simultaneous gain-of-function and vax development

Nominee authored US military pandemic influenza policy and directed surveillance, vaccination, and compliance systems

By Jon Fleetwood | April 17, 2026

President Donald Trump has tapped Dr. Erica Schwartz—a military-trained architect of influenza pandemic surveillance, vaccination, and compliance systems—to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), elevating a systems-level influenza operator to the top of the nation’s public health apparatus.

The nomination comes as the Trump administration continues funding influenza gain-of-function research, advances influenza vaccine development under its “Gold Standard” framework, signs into law a multi-billion-dollar influenza pandemic preparedness omnibus directing federal funding toward outbreak response systems, and maintains coordination with the World Health Organization’s global influenza network despite formally withdrawing.

The U.S. government is advancing the influenza pathogen side, the vaccine response, and the deployment system—and now seeks to put a military-grade influenza pandemic architect in charge of the CDC. … continue

NAT SEC ARCHIVE – CUBA: The Bay of Pigs Never Ended, It Just Mutated

By Freddie Ponton | 21st Century Wire | April 17, 2026

More than a month after Cuba charged six exiles with terrorism over the attack and publicly tied at least two of them to a prior terrorism list shared with Washington, Trump’s State Department is still “reviewing” the case while FBI agents move quietly in and out of Havana. At the same time, newly declassified Bay of Pigs files from the National Security Archive (NSA) lay bare an earlier era of U.S. covert war against Cuba built on wishful thinking and deniable violence, casting a long shadow over how this latest incident is understood in Havana. In Miami and Washington, officials talk about “clarifying events.” In Cuba, people talk about a Florida based militant network that used a U.S.registered boat to launch an armed infiltration under the cover of the blockade that is choking the island.

The old war returns

A stolen speedboat left the Florida Keys before dawn, crossed into Cuban waters, and turned a quiet stretch off Villa Clara into a battlefield on 25 February 2026. Cuban authorities said the vessel carried rifles, pistols, scoped AR-style weapons, night optics, radios, body armour, a drone, and nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition, while international outlets later confirmed the Florida origin, the stolen registration, and the presence of U.S. citizens among the dead and wounded. At least one of the dead and one of the injured were confirmed by U.S. officials as American citizens, all ten men aboard were Cuban nationals living in the United States, and an eleventh alleged accomplice was arrested on land after reportedly coming to meet them on the beach.

This article places that raid beside newly released Bay of Pigs invasion records by the National Security Archive (NSA), which show how Washington’s covert war on Cuba was built on fantasy, deniability, and a willingness to gamble with Cuban lives. It also documents something more immediate and damning. Years before the Villa Clara clash, Cuba had already identified Autodefensa del Pueblo (ADP)Amijail Sánchez González, and Leordán Cruz Gómez in official counterterrorism files shared with the United States, yet the men still lived, organised, and sailed from U.S. soil.

What follows is not a nostalgic Cold War story. It is an account of how that war against Cuba shrank and mutated inside a permissive exile ecosystem in Florida, and how a country suffocating under sanctions and a de facto oil blockade became the stage for one more armed fantasy of regime change. … continue

EU’s new age verification app designed for surveillance – Telegram founder

RT | April 17, 2026

The EU’s newly unveiled age‑verification app is a “surveillance tool” disguised as a privacy‑respecting solution, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has warned. Security researchers were reportedly able to bypass its protections in under two minutes.

The app, which was presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, is intended to let users prove their age online without revealing personal data. Von der Leyen called it “technically ready” and said it meets the “highest privacy standards.”

But Durov has dismissed those claims, alleging that the app is “hackable by design” and is part of the EU’s three‑step plan – to present a “privacy‑respecting” but vulnerable app, let it get hacked, then remove privacy features under the guise of fixing it.

“The EU bureaucrats needed an excuse to silently start turning their ‘privacy‑respecting’ age verification app into a surveillance mechanism over all Europeans,” Durov said.

Security consultant Paul Moore, cited by Cybernews, confirmed the app’s fundamental flaws and warned that it’s only a matter of time before it becomes “the catalyst for an enormous breach.” He noted that the app’s security could be bypassed in under two minutes because it effectively trusts the device it runs on – a basic design error that leaves it wide open to manipulation.

The EU’s push for mandatory age checks comes as several countries have adopted similar measures. Australia has already banned social media for under‑16s, while Denmark, France, Spain, Italy and Greece are jointly testing age‑verification tools. Germany has proposed a similar ban. … Full article

France under fire over alleged surveillance of pro-Palestine MEP

MEMO | April 17, 2026

A French media report alleging that pro-Palestine member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan was subjected to months of police surveillance has sparked controversy in the country, Anadolu reports.

Hassan had been under surveillance since January 2026, with authorities reportedly geolocating her phone and closely tracking her movements and daily schedule, reported Mediapart, a French investigative online newspaper.

Opposition lawmakers have condemned the alleged surveillance as a “state scandal.” … Full article

Israeli Colonizers Injure Palestinian Man Near Salfit

IMEMC | April 17, 2026

A Palestinian man was injured on Thursday evening after illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers attacked his vehicle between the village of Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, east of Nablus in northern West Bank, and the city of Salfit, in the central occupied West Bank.

Local sources reported that the victim, identified as Amjad Ahmad Al-Hindi, a man in his fifties, was struck in the head with a stone after a group of colonizers ambushed and attacked the vehicle he was traveling in while passing through the Wadi Al-Sha’er area, located between Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya and Salfit.

Medical crews transported Al-Hindi to a nearby hospital, where medical staff described his condition as stable. … Full article

Israeli Colonizers Attack Communities In West Bank

IMEMC | April 17, 2026

Illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers invaded the Khalayel Al‑Louz area southeast of Bethlehem on Friday, while another group attacked displaced Bedouin families north of Jericho, in a continuation of escalating assaults across the occupied West Bank.

Media sources said that colonizers entered Khalayel Al‑Louz and gathered around the Bir Al‑Mayya area, carrying out provocative actions aimed at intimidating local residents.

The area has witnessed repeated attacks in recent weeks, including assaults on homes, the uprooting of trees, and the demolition of agricultural structures.

In a separate incident, colonizers attacked the displaced Arab Al‑Mleihat Bedouin community in the Al‑Balqa area north of Jericho, chasing shepherds and attempting to force families away from their tents and livestock areas.

The Al‑Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouins said the colonizers invaded the community’s homes and encampments, noting that these families had previously been forcibly displaced in July 2025 before returning to the area months later.

The organization stressed that the repeated attacks directly threaten the safety and stability of Bedouin communities and are part of ongoing efforts to pressure them into leaving their lands.

These assaults come amid a broader escalation of coordinated attacks by colonizers and the Israeli army across the West Bank, particularly targeting rural and Bedouin communities vulnerable to displacement.

At dawn Friday, Israeli colonizers burned two Palestinian vehicles during an attack on homes south of Hebron, while Israeli occupation forces detonated the doors of several commercial shops and invaded homes in nearby towns, in the southern occupied West Bank.

Two Palestinians Killed as Israeli Strike Targets Gaza Water Facility

IMEMC | April 17, 2026

Two Palestinians were killed and several others were injured, Friday, when Israeli occupation forces bombed a water desalination plant in the Al‑Shuja’iyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

The attack struck one of the Strip’s most vital civilian facilities, marking a new escalation against essential infrastructure and deepening the already severe humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.

Local sources said the strike caused extensive damage to the desalination plant, raising fears of a worsening shortage of potable water at a time when much of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed during the onslaught.

Hundreds of thousands of residents rely on these facilities for their daily water needs, and any disruption threatens to accelerate the collapse of basic living conditions.

Israeli forces carried out additional attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, killing and wounding Palestinians in several areas, as the army continued its violations of the ceasefire agreement for the 190th consecutive day, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health and the Government Media Office.

In Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire toward tents of displaced families in the Tal ath‑Thahab area, injuring three Palestinians, including a woman who suffered critical wounds.

In Jabalia, in northern Gaza, one Palestinian was shot in the Halawa area, where thousands of displaced civilians remain without adequate shelter or services. … Full article

Israeli General: War with Iran does not serve Israel as global standing erodes over Gaza

MEMO | April 17, 2026

A former Israeli General close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of the strategic and political consequences of the ongoing conflict, saying a military confrontation with Iran is not in Israel’s interest.

Major General (res.) Giora Eiland, former head of Israel’s National Security Council, said in remarks reported by Israeli media platform Walla that Israel’s international standing has sharply declined over the past three years, adding that the war in Gaza is the main driver of this deterioration.

He said the prevailing view among political circles in Europe and the United States is that Netanyahu has drawn Washington into an unnecessary confrontation.

Eiland added that these tensions have caused tangible harm to the global economy and threatened its stability, fuelling international public opinion against Israeli policies.

He stressed that the erosion of Israel’s standing is no longer limited to international institutions, but has become “clear and evident” within the United States, Israel’s closest ally.

Iran’s LEGO animations crushed enemy war narratives – so YouTube banned them

By Yousef Ramazani | Press TV | April 17, 2026

During the 40-day US-Israeli war of aggression, a new and unexpected weapon emerged in the global battle for hearts and minds – colorful, AI-assisted LEGO-style animations produced by innovative Iranian creators that caught the imagination of people worldwide.

These videos exposed the absurdity of imperial warfare while humanizing the Iranian people’s resistance, only to be systematically silenced by YouTube’s corporate censorship apparatus and smeared by a coordinated Western media campaign led by the BBC. […]

According to observers, the suppression of Explosive Media’s YouTube channel reveals the deepest insecurity of the US-Israeli axis: their fear of unfiltered truth told through the simplest of mediums. These LEGO animations did not glorify conflict – they condemned it, exposing imperialism’s hollow claims and celebrating Iran’s dignified defense of sovereignty.

YouTube’s act of censorship was not strength but desperation, a corporate confession that the people’s creative resistance had already won the information war.

From the streets of Tehran to online forums around the world, these animations fostered a shared understanding: the US-Israeli aggression was not defense but domination, and Iran’s creative counteroffensive embodied the indomitable spirit of a nation under siege.

As one X user captured it perfectly in the wake of the ban, the LEGO clips were never about violence—they were about truth in a world drowning in deception.

Iran’s digital defenders have shown that even in wartime, art can be the sharpest sword. … Full article

The collapse is real – Lebanon ceasefire marks a historic strategic defeat

By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | April 17, 2026

A ceasefire in Lebanon was announced on Thursday by US President Donald Trump, but its reality tells a very different story. The ceasefire was not the product of American diplomacy, nor Israeli strategic calculation. It was imposed—largely as a result of sustained Iranian pressure.

Washington, Tel Aviv, and their allies—including some within Lebanon itself—will continue to deny this reality. Acknowledging Iran’s role would mean admitting that a historic precedent has been set: for the first time, forces opposing the United States and Israel have succeeded in imposing conditions on both. … continue

‘New order’ in Strait of Hormuz: IRGC Navy mandates authorization for all vessels

Press TV – April 17, 2026

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy says a “new order” is now in place over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, outlining strict new regulations for all maritime traffic.

In a statement released on Friday, the IRGC Navy commander announced that all commercial vessels will only be permitted to transit through routes designated by Iran.

The announcement also reaffirmed that military vessel transit through the strategic chokepoint firmly under Iranian control remains strictly prohibited.

According to the IRGC Navy, all transits, commercial or otherwise, will only be allowed with the explicit authorization of the IRGC’s naval forces.

The statement further stated that these transits are being conducted in accordance with the agreement established under the ongoing Iran-US ceasefire and following the implementation of the ceasefire in Lebanon late on Thursday.

The new measures signal Iran’s firm grip over the waterway, through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, after the 40-day war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran by the American-Israeli coalition. … continue

Trump keeps Hormuz blockade despite Iran reopening passage

Al Mayadeen | April 17, 2026

… Despite Washington’s insistence on maintaining its blockade, maritime activity suggests that Iranian oil shipments have not been halted.

Reports indicate that Iranian vessels have continued to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, reaching international waters and proceeding toward their destinations. … Read full article

Persian Gulf oil production can take two years to recover from war: IEA chief

The Cradle | April 17, 2026

It could take up to two years for oil production in West Asia to return to levels from before the start of the US-Israel war on Iran in late February, Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told Bloomberg on 17 April.

“There is a general belief that the minute we see the strait open … we come back to the level of production before – which is, in my view, misleading,” Birol stated.

West Asia oil production was disrupted by the US-Israeli bombing campaign, which targeted Iranian oil and energy infrastructure.

Iran retaliated by targeting Gulf oil and gas infrastructure. It also threatened to target ships linked to the “enemy” in the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closing the waterway through which most Gulf oil is exported.

“The recovery will be gradual as damage from the conflict has affected oil fields, refineries, and pipelines across the Persian Gulf,” Birol said.

The IEA chief emphasized that the effective closure of Hormuz has caused world markets to lose hundreds of millions of barrels of crude and refined fuels.

The full resumption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production could take even longer, with some terminals taking more than two years to repair after suffering damage in attacks, Birol added. … continue

Iran ships 11m barrels of oil since launch of Washington’s Hormuz blockade: Report

The Cradle | April 16, 2026

Iranian oil shipments have continued moving through Persian Gulf waters despite a US-imposed naval blockade, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported on 16 April, with multiple tracking sources reporting tanker activity in and around the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman in recent days.

Fars reported that Iranian tankers transported around 11 million barrels of oil through the Sea of Oman toward undisclosed destinations after US President Donald Trump announced a blockade targeting vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports.

Citing a ship-tracking website, the Iranian news outlet said this marked the first time shipments linked to Iran exited the “blockade zone” since its imposition.

The agency added that earlier breaches had occurred through vessels approaching the Gulf from international waters.

TankerTrackers.com said it had “VISUAL CONFIRMATION” that Iran shipped nine million barrels from floating storage in the Gulf of Oman after the blockade began, with an additional two million barrels departing just before its enforcement.

Separate ship-tracking data cited by Bloomberg showed that at least two US-sanctioned vessels linked to Iran entered the Persian Gulf on Thursday using a route between Iran’s Larak and Qeshm islands.

One of the vessels, a supertanker capable of carrying up to two million barrels, entered empty and signaled it was awaiting further instructions.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward reported that vessel movements between 14 and 15 April indicate continued Iranian-linked activity, describing one tanker’s route as a likely “blockade-breaking movement.” … Full article

Washington hiding billion-dollar combat losses to Iran’s precision strikes: Report

Press TV – April 17, 2026

Following 40 days of unrelenting US-Israeli aggression, mounting evidence reveals that the US Department of War is deliberately concealing catastrophic, billion-dollar military losses inflicted by highly effective Iranian retaliatory strikes, the Daily Mail reports.

In the latest episode of the Daily Mail’s Photo Evidence, the British paper “scrutinizes new satellite images that reveal how America’s Department of War may not be telling the full truth about the scale of its losses during the Iran war,” it said.

Since the launch of the joint US-Israeli terrorist bombing campaign against Iran, the Islamic Republic has retaliated by targeting American military assets across the Persian Gulf with waves of missile and drone strikes.

As the Mail explains, “Iran’s war strategy has been anything but conventional. Rather than targeting fighter jets or bombers, the IRGC has systematically attempted to blind and cripple America’s command and control layer, launching attacks against radar and air defense systems”.

“It is these costly losses in strategic equipment that the Department of War is not being fully transparent about,” the paper wrote. … continue

White House Refuses to Disclose Iran War Costs to Senators – Reports

Sputnik – 17.04.2026

White House budget director Russell Vought declined to provide lawmakers with an estimate of the cost of US aggression against Iran, saying the figures “fluctuate” and are difficult to assess, American media reported.

“I wouldn’t [want] to make a characterization of that at this point,” he said when asked about reports the conflict may have already cost tens of billions of dollars.

Senators suggested the war could be costing up to $10 billion a week, while the administration is preparing a request for additional defense funding.

Critics accused officials of attempting to “hide” the scale of spending as the US national debt continues to grow.

Israel Considers Ceasefire a Betrayal

Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz during 10-day ceasefire

By Kurt Nimmo | Another Day in the Empire | April 17, 2026

The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Nawaf Salam, thanked President Trump for a ten-day ceasefire announced on Truth Social that took effect at 5PM on Thursday, April 16. Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the US-brokered deal, but with the same caveat imposed after Hamas conducted its Operation Al-Aqsa Flood breakout and offensive on October 7, 2023. … continue

Iran Opens Strait of Hormuz for Duration of Lebanon Ceasefire

RT | April 17, 2026

Passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is now completely open, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi declared on Friday. He added that the waterway will remain open for the remainder of the ceasefire in Lebanon.

Araghchi’s announcement came shortly after a 10-day truce came into force between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, which has been one of the major obstacles to a peace deal between Iran and the US.

Writing on X, the Iranian minister stated that “in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire.”

He noted however, that the vessels would be allowed to move along the “coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran,” suggesting that the strait will remain under Tehran’s control. … continue

Mark Levin and Jonathan Pollard Push for Nuking Iran

By Chris Menahan | InformationLiberation | April 12, 2026

Fox News host Mark Levin and US-born Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard are both pushing for their respective governments to use nuclear weapons against Iran.

Levin and Pollard are connected through Levin’s stepson, David Milstein, who the New York Times revealed in Nov 2025 held a “friendly” secret meeting with Pollard at the US Embassy in Jerusalem together with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. … continue

Ukrainian Barrier Troops Prevent Soldiers From Fleeing in Kharkov Region – Source

Sputnik – 17.04.2026

Ukraine’s national guards have been preventing the flight of soldiers from the 113th separate territorial defense brigade, which is suffering heavy losses in battles in the Kharkov region, security sources told Sputnik.

“Attempts by combat groups of the territorial defense brigade to flee are being suppressed by Ukrainian national guard barrier units,” one of the sources said.

Sources said that heavy fighting is ongoing near the village of Zybino in the Kharkov region, where the Ukrainian command has forbidden units of the 113th separate territorial defense brigade to retreat despite mounting losses and a lack of critical supplies.