Yoon accused of staging DPRK provocation to justify martial law
Al Mayadeen | December 15, 2025
A special investigation led by Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok has revealed that former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol allegedly orchestrated covert military operations aimed at provoking a reaction from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
According to the final report released on Monday, Yoon attempted to manufacture a pretext for imposing martial law by sending drones into DPRK airspace. The investigation found that irregular military activities, including drone flights carrying propaganda leaflets, were conducted near Pyongyang.
Evidence obtained from the mobile device of Yeo In-hyung, the former chief of Counterintelligence Command, included detailed notes advocating for the creation of a wartime or chaotic environment that would appear to require emergency rule.
Despite these efforts, DPRK reportedly did not engage militarily in response, leading to the failure of the plan to justify emergency measures. In October 2024, DPRK authorities reported multiple drone incursions over the capital and claimed one had crashed nearby, but Seoul dismissed these accusations at the time.
Failed attempt to justify martial law
With no military retaliation from the DPRK, the focus of the alleged plan shifted inward, and Yoon was accused of trying to paint the April 2024 parliamentary elections as fraudulent, blaming supposed “anti-state forces” as part of a broader narrative to suspend parliamentary functions under martial law.
The investigation found that preparations for martial law began as early as October 2023. Plans included the immediate seizure of the Central Electoral Commission upon the declaration of emergency rule. Intelligence agents were reportedly assigned to detain and isolate commission staff accused of electoral misconduct.
Per the report, roughly 30 intelligence officers participated in an operation targeting the electoral commission. The group allegedly entered the commission’s premises without any legal authority, occupying key infrastructure such as server rooms.
They also had tools on hand, including blindfolds, cable ties, bats, and hammers, intended for use during detentions. Lists of targets were read aloud, and staff were to be transported to a regional military bunker. However, the martial law order was rescinded before arrests could occur.
The special prosecutor’s office concluded that these actions were designed to dismantle opposition forces, disable parliament, and centralize power under Yoon’s control.
Impeachment, political fallout
On December 3, 2024, President Yoon declared martial law, accusing the opposition of conspiring with the DPRK in a supposed plot against the state. Within hours, the South Korean parliament voted to cancel the declaration.
Yoon complied and issued a public apology.
According to the report, Yoon also ordered military and police forces to enter the National Assembly in an attempt to dissolve it. Lawmakers managed to enter the building, some even climbing over fences, and held an emergency vote to revoke the decree. The lack of military support and no external threat led to the collapse of the operation.
Just eleven days later, on December 14, the parliament voted to impeach Yoon over his attempt to unlawfully consolidate power. The new evidence added charges of treason and incitement of foreign aggression to Yoon’s ongoing legal battles, making conviction in his criminal trials increasingly likely
EU spends €169 billion on Ukraine while ignoring internal problems
By Ahmed Adel | December 15, 2025
Since the start of the Russian special military operation in February 2022, the European Union has spent €168.9 billion on military and financial support for Ukraine, according to figures from the European Commission. This amount is even more striking when compared to other areas of spending.
With all that money, the 27-nation bloc could finance public spending on education for an entire fiscal year in France and still have €32 billion left over, cover Germany’s entire target defense budget for 2026 (€108.2 billion), and pay for almost half of the total budget allocated by the European Commission to respond to regional crises for the period 2028-2034 (€395 billion).
However, Brussels has preferred to look outwards and pursue a foreign policy with a Euro-Atlantic vision, which has led to internal fragmentation of interests, exploited by the European elites who lead the bloc.
A group of European countries —mainly Poland, the Baltics, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—though the latter is not a member of the EU—is interested in prolonging the conflict in Ukraine for as long as possible. For them, for the elites who govern them, losing Ukraine would mean confronting their own internal problems.
Maintaining the discourse in favor of the Kiev regime and against supposed external threats is a way of preserving some cohesion in the face of the economic and political failures the EU has experienced over several years.
The Ukrainian crisis is a heavy burden for Brussels without US support, a reality under President Donald Trump. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy estimates that, between September and October, the EU allocated only around €4.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, a figure that is far too little to compensate for the loss of US aid.
At the same time, the gap within Europe has widened: Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have significantly increased their allocations, but Italy and Spain, among many other countries, have made only a negligible contribution.
Leaders such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are among those who have most promoted a belligerent policy regarding Ukraine, to the point of continuing to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is embroiled in several corruption scandals. These are leaders who are deeply discredited, both regionally and locally, in their own countries.
Merz and Macron can no longer achieve internal consensus within the EU, and this is eroding their credibility because they are not enabling the bloc to speak with one voice. In Brussels, there is a patchwork of passionate agendas, but not a common geopolitical agenda.
It is the European elites who insist on the continuation of a conflict, not the average citizen, who prefers that their government budgets be allocated to social spending rather than to a European rearmament project like the one being outlined in Brussels. Many see support for Ukraine as an imposed sacrifice, and the expense of continuing to fuel the conflict is already taking its toll.
In fact, the €168.9 billion that the EU has allocated to Ukraine over almost four years would have completely covered all of Spain’s public spending on education in a single fiscal year and Italy’s entire health budget.
Amid this situation, some European leaders are insisting that the Russian assets frozen more than three years ago be confiscated to guarantee a €210 billion loan for Kiev, which could complicate the peace talks the US and Russia have been conducting for months over the Ukrainian conflict.
That money is Russian, and international law would have to protect Russian assets if the EU were to choose to confiscate these. If they do, it would be a major contradiction within the European narrative because these countries are supposed to be the ones that champion international law and guarantee what they have called ‘a rules-based world,’ but appropriating those assets is essentially theft, and this would violate international law.
Nonetheless, the EU announced on December 12 that an agreement had been reached to indefinitely freeze €210 billion of Russian Central Bank assets held in Europe, particularly in Belgian securities depository Euroclear. Although the freeze is intended to facilitate EU plans to provide Ukraine with a loan of up to €165 billion to cover military and civilian budget needs in 2026 and 2027, Belgium, Italy, Bulgaria, and Malta expressed reservations about transferring funds to Ukraine. A final decision will be made at an EU summit being held at the end of the week.
It is foolish that the EU has wasted so much money on the Ukrainian crisis, knowing that the bloc is economically suffering, with very low growth rates and a deindustrialized Germany that is not recovering. Yet, despite this, the EU seemingly wants to further tarnish its global reputation by aiming to steal Russia’s wealth.
Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.
New York Times’ Bret Stephens Baselessly Blames Israel Critics For Bondi Terrorist Attack
The Dissident | December 14, 2025
The New York Times published an opinion article by the neo-con columnist Bret Stephens, where he baselessly blamed critics of Israel for today’s horrific terrorist attack targeting Jews while they were celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach in Australia, killing 16 people and severely injuring at least 40.
Despite the fact that very little information has even emerged as to what the motivation of the attackers was, Bret Stephens jumped the gun and used the massacre of civilians to smear his political enemies.
Among the people Stephens blamed for the terrorist attack are:
- Green Party legislator Jenny Leong for her criticism of the Israel lobby.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, because he “recognized a Palestinian state and has been outspoken in its condemnation of Israeli actions in Gaza”.
- Palestinian protestors for saying “globalize the intifada”, “resistance is justified”, and “by any means necessary” while protesting the genocide in Gaza.
Stephens admits in the article that there is no evidence that the attack even had anything to do with Gaza or Israel and admitted that it was baseless speculation on his part, writing, “Though we’ll probably learn more in the weeks ahead about the mind-set of Sunday’s killers, it’s reasonable to surmise that what they thought they were doing was ‘globalizing the intifada.’”
Stephens blamed critics of Israel for the attack at Bondi, admitting that the people he slandered have a “political attitude in favor of Palestinian freedom rather than a call to kill their presumptive oppressors,” but added, “But there are always literalists — and it’s the literalists who usually believe their ideas should have real-world consequences. On Sunday, those consequences were written in Jewish blood.”
Stephens’ smear closely mirrors that of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who similarly weaponized the massacre to score political points, blaming Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state for the attack, saying, “your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire” and calling for more censorship of Israel-critical protests, saying, “Calls such as ‘Globalise the Intifada’, ‘From the River to the Sea Palestine Will be Free’, and ‘Death to the IDF’ are not legitimate, are not part of the freedom of speech, and inevitably lead to what we witnessed today.”
While Bret Stephens’ repetition of Netanyahu’s claim that opposition to Israel’s mass murder campaign in Gaza led to the senseless violence against civilians at Bondi is baseless-Bret Stephens has openly called for and cheered on the same mass violence against civilians he baselessly blames Israel’s critics for.
In March of 2024, Bret Stephens, in a New York Times article, said that “Israel Has No Choice but to Fight On” and called for the Biden administration to “help Israel win the war decisively” in reference to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which included shooting children in the head and chest, opening fire on starving civilians at aid sites, bombing hospitals and targeting doctors, slaughtering journalists, mass raping and torturing detainees, bombing fertility clinics and setting refugee camps on fire, among other genocidal crimes.
In Ocotber of 2024, Stephens wrote another Op-Ed where he wrote that “We Should Want Israel to Win,” again referring to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, where even the IDF’s own internal data shows that at least 83 percent of people killed were civilians.
Similarly, in a 2023 article, Stephens wrote, “20 Years On, I Don’t Regret Supporting the Iraq War,” adding, “Readers will want to know whether, knowing what I know now, I would still have supported the decision to invade. Not for the reasons given at the time. Not in the way we did it. But on the baseline question of whether Iraq, the Middle East and the world are better off for having gotten rid of a dangerous tyrant, my answer remains yes”, in reference to the criminal U.S. invasion which killed 187,499 – 211,046 civilians.
Most recently, Stephens wrote an article titled, “The Case for Overthrowing Maduro”, cheering on the Trump administration’s slaughter of 80 people on boats in the Caribbean – who they admit they don’t know the identity of- and calling for more strikes on Venezuela in service of a regime change war.
Bret Stephens is using the massacre of civilians at Bondi Beach to smear opponents of the much larger-scale massacres of civilians that he openly supports.
China expands use of Iranian rail corridor for cargo transit
Press TV – December 14, 2025
China has increased its use of Iranian railway corridors for cargo transit, an Iranian official has said, as Tehran steps up efforts to position itself as a major regional rail freight hub.
Shahriar Naghizadeh, head of the foreign commerce department at the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, said on Sunday that the number of Chinese cargo trains using Iranian rail corridors has reached 42, with another train arriving in the country earlier in the day.
Naghizadeh added that a Russian cargo train also arrived in Iran on Sunday as part of Moscow’s transit operations through Iran to destinations in the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and Iraq.
He said Iran is coordinating the passage of a second Chinese cargo train through its territory to Europe, following a pilot journey conducted in March.
“These are major developments in the railway sector and signal a promising future for its expansion,” Naghizadeh was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
According to the official, Iran’s railway corridors are gaining popularity for cargo transit due to their shorter distances and fully overland routes, which eliminate the need for maritime transport.
He added that transit costs through Iran are lower than those of comparable routes, and that the country has offered guarantees to process cargo in the shortest possible time.
Iran has made significant investments in its transport infrastructure in recent years to capture a larger share of regional transit revenues.
The country has also adopted a long-term policy to expand its east–west transit infrastructure in line with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-trillion-dollar project aimed at improving transport links connecting China with Europe, Asia, and Africa.
UK Drops Terrorism Case Against Journalist Richard Medhurst, But Hands Files to Austria
Richard Medhurst | December 14, 2025
UK Drops Terrorism Case Against Journalist Richard Medhurst No charges will be filed, and bail has been cancelled. However, this is only a partial victory for freedom of the press, as the UK authorities handed Austria all their intel/files for them to continue the persecution.
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Richard Thomas Medhurst (1992) is an independent journalist, political commentator, and analyst from the United Kingdom with a focus on international affairs, US politics, and the Middle East.
For Israel, The Terrorist Attack At Bondi Is An Opportunity To Push For War With Iran
The Dissident | December 14, 2025
Today, a horrific terrorist attack was committed against Jewish Australians who were celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, killing 16 people and sending 40 to the hospital.
But for Israel, the terrorist attack is an opportunity to manufacture consent for a war with Iran.
There is no evidence that Iran has anything to do with the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, and all evidence so far that has emerged shows that it almost certainly was not.
The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the attack, saying, “We condemn the violent attack in Sydney, Australia. Terror and killing of human beings, wherever committed, is rejected and condemned”, and evidence released so far suggests the attacker identified so far, Naveed Akram, was a follower of Wahhabi Salafist ideology, which is openly hostile to Shia Islam and Iran.
Despite the lack of evidence and evidence showing it was not Iran behind the attack, Israel is using the horrific terrorist attack to manufacture consent for war with Iran.
Israel Hayom, the mouthpiece of Israel lobbyist and pro-Iran war hawk Miriam Adelson, published an article quoting an anonymous “Israeli security official” who claimed -without evidence- that “there is no doubt that the direction and infrastructure for the attack originated in Tehran”.
The Israeli newspaper Times of Israel, reported that Australia is “investigating if Sydney attack was part of larger Iranian plot” at the behest of the Israeli Mossad.
Previously, Israel pressured Australia to repeat baseless claims from the Mossad that Iran was behind anti-Semitic attacks in Australia.
As veteran journalist Joe Lauria reported, in August “Australian intelligence said the Iranian government was behind the firebombing of a Jewish temple in Melbourne last year as well as other ‘anti-semitic’ attacks in the country”, “days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly humiliated Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a post on X for being ‘a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews’ after Albanese said Australia would follow several European nations and recognize the state of Palestine.”
As Lauria noted, “The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) did not provide any evidence to prove Iran’s involvement last December in the Adass synagogue attack, which caused millions of dollars of damage but injured no one. It simply said it was their assessment based on secret evidence that Iran was involved”.
Australia’s ABC News reported that, “The Israeli government is claiming credit for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and intelligence agencies publicising Iranian involvement in antisemitic attacks on Australian soil,” adding that “in a press briefing overnight, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer effectively accused Australia of being shamed into acting”.
Mencer boasted that “Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has made a very forthright intervention when it comes to Australia, a country in which we have a long history of friendly relations”, implying that Israel pressured the Australian government to repeat their baseless claim about Iran being behind the attacks.
ABC reported that the move came days after, “Netanyahu labelled Mr Albanese a ‘weak’ leader who had ‘betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews’” and “Israel announced it would tear up the visas of Australian diplomats working in the West Bank in protest against the Albanese government’s moves to recognise a Palestinian state”.
Israel’s evidence-free claims are already being used by the Trump administration to manufacture consent for war with Iran.
The Jerusalem Post reported that, “A senior US official told Fox News that if the Islamic Republic ordered the attack, then the US would fully recognize Israel’s right to strike Iran in response.”
Israel’s weaponisation of the terrorist attack in Bondi is reminiscent of how Benjamin Netanyahu weaponised the 9/11 attacks to draw America into Middle Eastern wars for Israel.
After the 9/11 attacks, Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that they were “very good” for Israel, because they would “strengthen the bond between our two peoples, because we’ve experienced terror over so many decades, but the United States has now experienced a massive hemorrhaging of terror”.
This, in effect, meant using 9/11 to draw the U.S. into endless regime change wars in the Middle East against countries that had no ties to Al Qaeda but were in the way of Israel’s geopolitical goals.
The top U.S. general, Wesley Clark, said that after 9/11, the U.S. came up with a plan to “take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran”.
Years later, on Piers Morgan’s show, Wesley Clark said that the hit list of countries came from a study that was “paid for by the Israelis”, which “said that if you want to protect Israel, and you want Israel to succeed… you’ve got to get rid of the states that are surrounding” adding that, “this led to all that followed” (i.e. regime change wars in Iraq, Libya, Syria etc.)
Yet again, Israel is weaponising a terrorist attack to manufacture consent for the final regime change war on their hit list.
Israel Orders Demolition of 25 Buildings in Nur Shams
IMEMC | December 14, 2025
Israeli occupation forces issued a military order on Sunday to demolish twenty‑five new buildings in the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarem in the northwestern part of the occupied West Bank.
The decision has drawn sharp condemnation from Palestinian officials, who warn of escalating destruction and forced displacement in the area.
Governor of Tulkarem Abdullah Kamil urged the international community, human rights organizations, diplomatic missions, and embassies to intervene immediately to stop the order.
He described the military order as a continuation of Israel’s systematic campaign of demolition and collective punishment against the residents of Tulkarem and Nur Shams, stressing that it represents a flagrant violation of international law, humanitarian conventions, and human rights treaties.
Kamil emphasized that the measures are part of a deliberate policy of devastation targeting civilians and their property, resulting in widespread displacement.
The two refugee camps have already endured extensive destruction. Earlier this year, more than one hundred buildings and housing units were demolished in both Tulkarem and Nur Shams, in what residents say was an attempt to alter their geographic and social character.
The new order comes as Israeli forces maintain a prolonged siege: Nur Shams has been under siege for three hundred and nine consecutive days, while Tulkarem city and Tulkarem refugee camp have been under siege for three hundred and twenty‑two days.
Entrances remain blocked with earth mounds, concrete cubes, and iron gates, while heavy gunfire is reported daily inside the camps. Residents are barred from returning to their homes, and several houses have been seized and converted into military outposts.
The humanitarian toll has been devastating. More than five thousand families, amounting to over twenty‑five thousand residents, have been displaced from the two refugee camps.
More than six hundred homes have been completely destroyed, while more than two thousand five hundred others have been partially damaged, leaving vast areas uninhabitable.
The ongoing assault has killed fourteen Palestinians, including a child and two women, one of them eight months pregnant.
Dozens more have been injured or abducted, while widespread destruction has devastated infrastructure, homes, shops, and vehicles.
The demolition order in Nur Shams underscores the intensifying Israeli campaign of collective punishment in the occupied West Bank.
With prolonged sieges, forced displacement, and systematic destruction, Tulkarem and its refugee camps have been transformed into zones emptied of civilian life, in clear violation of international law.
Since the beginning of the Israeli military aggression against the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Israeli soldiers and paramilitary colonizers have killed 1097 Palestinian citizens in the West Bank, including 226 children and 24 women.
In the Jenin governorate, 308 Palestinians have been killed, while 213 were killed in Tulkarem, 138 in Nablus, 105 in Hebron, 98 in Tubas, 81 in Ramallah, 60 in Jerusalem, 42 in Qalqilia, 32 in Bethlehem, 13 in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, and 7 in Salfit.
Israeli navy arrests 4 fishermen, blows up their boat
Palestinian Information Center – December 14, 2025
GAZA – The Israeli naval forces arrested four Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza’s main port and later blew up their boat, in yet another attack in the ongoing series of violations against Gaza’s fishing community since the start of the war of extermination.
Zakaria Bakr, head of Gaza’s Fishermen’s Union, confirmed the arrests and the destruction of the boat, adding that the Israeli navy has killed around 230 fishermen since the war began. He also noted that 28 fishermen remain in Israeli detention.
According to Bakr, Israel has banned the entry of engines and fishing equipment into Gaza since the beginning of the assault, effectively crippling the fishing sector and depriving roughly 5,000 families who depend on it for their livelihood.
He estimated that the fishing industry is losing $5 million monthly, with total losses exceeding $70 million since the start of the war, due to the destruction of ports, boats, and fishing tools.
The Fishermen’s Union said the sector has suffered systematic destruction, with over 90% of fishing infrastructure, equipment, and private property wiped out in what it described as a campaign to eliminate this vital economic sector and starve thousands of Palestinian families.
Meanwhile, on Sunday morning, Israeli air and artillery strikes targeted areas inside the ceasefire zones in Gaza. Witnesses reported heavy bombardment, especially in the eastern parts of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and eastern Gaza City.
Israeli naval forces also opened fire indiscriminately off the coast of Khan Yunis, sparking panic among fishermen and local residents.
These attacks are part of continued violations of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Since October 11, these breaches have resulted in 391 Palestinians killed and 1,063 injured.
Hamas says Israel’s killing of senior commander threatens Gaza ceasefire
Press TV – December 14, 2025
Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya has warned that Israel’s targeted assassination of a senior commander of the movement threatens the “viability of the truce” in the besieged Gaza Strip.
He confirmed the killing of Commander Raed Saad in a video statement on Sunday, and slammed Israel for violating the ceasefire.
“The continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement…and latest assassinations that targeted Saad and others threaten the viability of the agreement,” he said.
The Israeli military reported Saad’s death in an attack near Gaza City, which also wounded at least 25 people. This marks the highest-profile assassination of a Hamas figure since the US-backed Gaza ceasefire began in October.
Al-Hayya emphasized that progress is unattainable unless mediators compel Israel to adhere to the ceasefire’s first phase. He called on mediators, particularly the US administration, to ensure Israel respects the agreement.
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli attacks have persisted, resulting in at least 386 Palestinian deaths since October 10.
Large areas of Gaza remain inaccessible due to the continued presence of Israeli occupation forces.
“Our priority is to continue with the steps to end the war and especially to complete phase one [of the ceasefire], which includes allowing aid and needed equipment to enter to rehabilitate hospitals and medical centers and the infrastructure,” al-Hayya said.
He also stressed that the role of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) should be limited to maintaining the ceasefire without interfering in Gaza’s internal affairs.
Al-Hayya reiterated that Hamas and other factions are committed to the agreement but reject any imposed guardianship over Gaza.
Hamas political bureau member Husam Badran also said that ongoing Israeli violations have hindered phase-two negotiations.
Last week, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution demanding that Israel open unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza and comply with international law.
Aid agencies continue to advocate for expanded access for humanitarian convoys, while Israel has declined requests to allow relief shipments through the Rafah crossing.
Observers have expressed concerns about the reliability of the Israeli regime and the lack of mechanisms to enforce the deal’s terms.
Since October 2023, over 70,400 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza.
Why The Wall Street Journal amplifies collaborators instead of Palestinian voices
By Ahmed Asnar | MEMO | December 14, 2025
Once again, The Wall Street Journal has chosen to offer its pages not to genuine Palestinian voices, but to figures who align explicitly with Israeli agendas in Gaza. On 11 December, the newspaper published an opinion piece by Hussam al-Astal, an infamous militia leader presented as a potential military – and possible political – alternative in Gaza. His article echoed Israeli talking points almost verbatim, promoting the fantasy of “disarming Gaza” and for being ready to take part in implementing Trump’s so-called “peace plan” for Gaza in accordance with the Israeli objectives from the plan.
What is most troubling is not al-Astal’s rhetoric itself. His views are neither new nor Palestinian, nor do they reflect any authentic constituency among the Palestinian people in Gaza. What demands scrutiny is The Wall Street Journal’s editorial decision to elevate such a figure while systematically excluding real Palestinian scholars, journalists, and intellectuals who articulate the lived reality, aspirations, and internationally-recognised rights of their people.
According to widely reported Palestinian sources, al-Astal escaped from prison in the early days of Israel’s genocide on Gaza in October 2023. He had previously been sentenced to death in connection with serious criminal charges, including being involved in the assassination of a Palestinian scientist in Malaysia in 2018. Following his escape, he reportedly formed an armed gang operating under Israeli military oversight, engaging in the looting of aid convoys and clashes with Palestinian resistance groups. His militia is said to operate in areas under Israeli fire control, often with aerial cover—an arrangement that speaks volumes about whose interests he serves.
This was not an isolated editorial lapse. In June 2025, The Wall Street Journal published a similar opinion piece by another gang leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, who likewise positioned himself as an alternative for ruling Gaza while attacking Palestinian resistance and looting the people’s aid. Abu Shabab, who was later killed in December under circumstances widely linked to his collaboration, had also reportedly been imprisoned for criminal offenses prior to the war. In both cases, the newspaper chose to amplify figures rejected by Palestinian society, elevating them as if they represented a legitimate political alternative.
What these figures share—beyond their alignment with Israeli objectives—is their well-known illiteracy and complete lack of credibility and political thought. This raises an unavoidable question: who actually wrote these polished English-language opinion pieces? The answer is less important than what it reveals about The Wall Street Journal’s editorial standards and political standing.
The deeper issue is structural. The Wall Street Journal has long denied its pages to Palestinian academics, analysts, and journalists who challenge Israeli narratives with facts, law, and lived experience. Palestinian voices are welcomed only when they validate Israeli policy or undermine Palestinian collective resistance. This is not journalism in service of truth; it is gatekeeping in service of a colonial power.
For decades, much of the Western mainstream media has framed the Palestinian struggle through a distorted lens—portraying occupation as self-defence and resistance as aggression. Palestinians are routinely cast as obstacles to peace rather than a people living under military occupation, apartheid conditions, and now genocide. Over time, this bias has hardened into something more dangerous: complicity.
During Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, this complicity became unmistakable. Major Western outlets, including those that once claimed journalistic rigor, uncritically repeated Israeli allegations of mass rape, beheadings, and other atrocities. Many of these claims were later debunked or contradicted by independent investigations, yet they served their purpose: manufacturing moral justification for the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, the majority of them women and children.
By publishing voices like al-Astal and Abu Shabab while excluding genuine Palestinian perspectives, The Wall Street Journal has crossed from bias into participation. It is no longer merely reporting on power—it is helping shape and legitimize a colonial narrative that seeks to replace a people’s political will with proxies and collaborators.
As for Palestinian voices, they will continue to write, document, and speak—whether Western gatekeepers approve or not. New media spaces, independent platforms, and global civil society have already broken the monopoly once held by legacy outlets like The Wall Street Journal. The truth of Palestine no longer depends on their permission.
History has a way of sorting narratives from propaganda. And when it does, The Wall Street Journal will be remembered not for amplifying the oppressed, but for offering its pages to those who work in service of their occupier.
The Price of Sanctions: Volkswagen Shuts Down Dresden Plant as German Industry Reels
Sputnik – 14.12.2025
Volkswagen plans to halt production of vehicles at its Dresden plant on Tuesday, marking the first time in the company’s history that a Germany-based factory has been shuttered.
With an installed capacity to build up to 37,500 cars a year, and the flagship of VW’s EV lineup, the Dresden plant’s closure comes against the backdrop of Germany’s broader deindustrialization, which started in 2022 when Berlin rejected the Russian energy supplies propping up its manufacturing base.
FT blames the closure on poor demand in Europe, weak sales in China, and 15% US tariffs on European vehicle imports.
Volkswagen announced plans to “transform” the Dresden factory into an “innovation campus” earlier this month as part of a “Future Volkswagen” program, which includes plans to reduce Germany-wide vehicle output by 730k units by 2028, and slash 35k jobs “in a socially responsible manner.”
German industrial leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin warned about the consequences of cutting Europe off from Russian gas almost four years ago, with Putin saying the “suicidal” decision would undermine Europe’s global economic competitiveness.
Over Half of Germans Feel Unable to Speak Freely – Poll
Sputnik – 14.12.2025
More than half of Germans believe they cannot freely express their opinion, a poll conducted by Swiss company Tenor and published by a German newspaper on Sunday revealed.
Fifty-seven percent of Germans feel it is currently better to “be careful” when voicing their views, the survey showed. The strongest apprehensions were recorded among the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party supporters, with only 11% of AfD voters saying they feel free in expressing their views, while the remaining 89% said otherwise.
Concerns over freedom of expression are more pronounced among residents of eastern German states, where 64% said they feel reserved in expressing their opinions. In western Germany, 55% of respondents advocated for caution.
Only 18% of Germans said they approved of the country’s social and political course, with the remaining 82% expressing the opposite opinion, the study showed.
Age-wise, the strongest dissatisfaction with Germany’s political course was expressed by respondents aged 45 to 49 years. At the same time, among all age groups from 16 to 60 years and older, at least 80% of respondents have described themselves as dissatisfied with Germany’s political path.
An overwhelming 94% of AfD voters disapprove of Germany’s social and political trajectory, while 91% of the Left Party voters described its socio-political course as “not good.”
The online survey was conducted from November 26 to December 3 among 1,500 people.
An October poll conducted by the Forsa Institute for the n-tv and RTL broadcasters showed that only 26% of Germans were satisfied with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s job performance, his lowest approval rating to date. The number of those discontent with the conservative leader rose to a record of 71%, up from 52% in May when he was appointed chancellor.
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UN declares war on ‘dangerous’ conspiracy theories
‘World is not secretly run by elites’
Free West Media | August 5, 2022
UNESCO says it is seriously concerned about the increase in “disinformation” and “conspiracy theories”. And they plan to put an end to it through a network of informants.
“Conspiracy theories can be dangerous,” the UN agency warned. “Often they ignore scientific evidence and polarize society with dire consequences. This has to stop.”
Unesco’s director-general warned that “conspiracy theories” could cause damage to people as well as to their health. “They reinforce misconceptions about the pandemic, reinforcing stereotypes that can fuel violence and violent, extremist ideologies,” said Audrey Azoulay.
The UN agency has launched a campaign to help people identify, debunk and report “conspiracy theories” to prevent them from spreading further.
This campaign is being carried out in collaboration with the European Commission, Twitter and the World Jewish Congress. The UN has created a toolkit to “debunk” such theories and smear anyone who dares to claim that governments are not fair and transparent.
The UN also warned that George Soros, the Rothschilds and Israel should not be linked to “alleged conspiracies”.
World events “are not secretly manipulated behind the scenes by powerful players with malicious intent,” the UN agency maintained.
And if anyone therefore comes across someone who believes that the world elite is plotting to consolidate power or direct events, then that person needs to take action. According to the UN agency, when meeting a “conspiracy theorist”, under no circumstances should one enter into a discussion. … continue
Blog Roll
Aletho News- Pravin Sawhney: Massive Escalation Pushes Every Side Toward the Brink
- UK High Court Upholds Speech Regulator Notices To Meta, WhatsApp, X, And TikTok
- Two working on US Senate candidate’s campaign registered as foreign agents for Israel: Report
- Greece bans protest over docking of Israeli cruise ship
- Israel elections: More Arab votes, same Zionist consensus
- Taking the Houthis at Their Word: The Bill Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Want to Read
- Trump claims he would have bombed Ho Chi Minh City to win Vietnam War
- Russia shows Europe that prolonging the Ukraine war is pointless
- There is cautious optimism about ending the Ukraine War – Part 2
- Ukrainian air alert app hacked with fake nuclear warnings
- If Americans Knew
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- No Tricks Zone
- Germany’s Green Energy Transition Becoming Increasingly Expensive…Another 6 Trillion Euros!
- Sudden Stratospheric Warming, Powerful El Niño Combination May Lead To Extreme Europe Cold, Energy Crisis!
- Two New Studies Find Thwaites Glacier Melt Cannot Be Driven By Human Activity Or A Warming Ocean
- E-Cars Reduce CO2 Emissions By Only 41% Compared To Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles
- Predictions Made By Renowned Climate Professor Over Past Decades Have Been Proven To Be Poor
- New Study Suggests Large Regions Of The Pacific Ocean Have Been Cooling For The Last 80 Years
- Germany’s Green Energy Debacle: High Energy Costs Force Kahla Porzellan to Close After 182 Years!
- New Study: 50 Years Of The Most Aggressive ‘Net Zero’ Policies Can Only Affect The Global Climate By 0.03°C
- US September “Heat” Was No Record…Many Records Set Decades Ago
- Latest European Green Energy Debacle; Portugal’s Largest Flagship Solar Park Insolvent!
