Some New Tales from the Darkside
Beatings and arrests continue both in the US and the Middle East
By Philip Giraldi • Unz Review • March 27, 2025
The news cycle over the past week has been dominated by reports and analysis of the Signal group chat involving top national security officials discussing aspects of the recent air strikes which have been directed against the Houthis in Yemen. There are four basic issues that are being examined by both the media and by elected and appointed government officials. First is the apparent ignorance of ordering the strike at all since the panel appeared not to know very much about the target or why the US was escalating the conflict. Second, was the possibly accidental inclusion in the list of participants of a journalist who is closely connected to Zionist Israel, having voluntarily served in the Israeli Army as a prison guard, where he may have tortured Palestinians, and who plausibly is a dual national US-Israeli citizen. Third is the security of the Signal technology itself, which was reportedly initially created to permit such sharing of confidential views online for criminal purposes, but which might be vulnerable to penetration by any professional foreign intelligence service including those of Russia, China, the United Kingdom and, of course, Israel, which would have had a serious interest in what Washington was intending to do in Yemen. Fourth, is the question whether Donald Trump knew about the meeting and approved what was being discussed.
My own experience of secure communications enabling meetings goes back nearly fifty years when nearly every national security-linked facility, including Embassies and military bases, had a so called “bubble” which was enclosed and electronically sealed to prevent outside penetration to learn what was being discussed and by whom. Since that time, there have been huge advances in protecting communications but friends who are still in the intelligence community insist that what is being protected can be made vulnerable by the cyber agencies that exist in various competitive countries that spend billions of dollars to do just that.
The participants in the Signal meeting are now scrambling to make their case that they did nothing wrong, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in particular is arguing that the discussion was not classified even though the issue related to sensitive intelligence regarding the United States plans for escalating a war against a country with which it was not technically at war. The deniers are certainly wrong in making that case, either that or they were incapable of understanding what was on the table. The presence of Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic magazine is more difficult to comprehend as he is no friend of the Trump Administration, but it is now being argued that it was either done absentmindedly by Michael Waltz, the national security director who chaired the meeting, or it was caused by a fit of confusion due to the fact that the “Goldberg” who was supposed to be invited was someone else. In any event, Jeffrey Goldberg first surfaced the story of the Signal meeting and then followed up with a full transcript. Was it all some kind of clever ploy to push Trump into making the decision to go full throttle and attack Iran? It would not be above Netanyahu to arrange something that convoluted and flat out evil and we shall see about Iran soon enough, but certainly Goldberg could only have been there due to manipulation of a situation in which he was pursuing a pro-Israel agenda. Waltz is taking credit for the snafu at the moment but that position might change as he comes under more pressure to resign.
In any event, the Signal story will no doubt be discussed and both embellished and dismissed during the next few days, but one thing it does demonstrate is the relative lack of knowledge that comes across as incompetency on the part of the Trump national security team. And the role of Trump himself will also be hotly debated as he has personally been playing a key role in foreign policy decision making, though so far he is only speaking up to support the work of his subordinates.
Actually there are couple of other stories that surfaced last week that I much prefer. First is the ongoing battle to silence, imprison and actually deport anyone who is critical of Israel or of Jewish group behavior. This has been job number one for the Israel Lobby, which has been eminently successful under both the Joe Biden and Donald Trump administrations, so much so that the sentiment that Israel controls America has been growing among the US public to such an extent that it surfaces regularly.
The Justice Department has reportedly acted on President Trump’s Executive Order on Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, through the formation of a multi-agency Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. The Task Force’s first priority will be to root out anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on college campuses. It is currently on the prowl, visiting four cities (Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Boston) where it will investigate ten elite universities. It has been suggested that Israeli investigators might well be part of the teams that will actually go into the classrooms, dormitories and administrative buildings on campus, all done without search warrants or probable cause. And the universities have basically surrendered over the issue of freedom of speech, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and regarded by many as the “right” that is most vital if the people are to enjoy fundamental liberties.
A recent arrest of a foreign student took place in Somerville Massachusetts on Tuesday March 25th when Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk was on her way to meet friends at an Iftar dinner to break their Ramadan fast, but she never made it. Instead, the 30-year-old was arrested and physically restrained by six armed plainclothes immigration officers near her apartment, close to Tufts University’s campus where she was a PhD student. Surveillance cameras show how one officer wearing a hat and hoodie grabbed her arms, causing her to shriek in fear while another confiscated her cell phone. The officers reportedly only showed their badges after Ozturk was restrained with her hands cuffed behind her back. According to the University, she was enrolled in a doctorate program at Tufts University on a valid F-1 visa, which allows international students to pursue full time academic studies, in which she was in good standing. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman issued a statement on Wednesday claiming that Ozturk “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, that relishes the killing of Americans” but didn’t specify what those alleged activities were. In fact, friends report that Ozturk has not even been active in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The DHS spokesman never the less pressed on and explained “A visa is a privilege not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security.” Nevertheless, no actual charges have been filed against Ozturk but the State Department has indicated that her visa has been terminated and she has been transferred to the Central Louisiana Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in Basile, where other students are also being held.
It is believed that Ozturk’s actual “crime” consisted of having cowritten a March 2024 op-ed in the school’s newspaper where she criticized Tufts’ response to the pro-Palestinian movement, calling for the school to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and also urging divestment of any holdings in Israeli companies and government. Ozturk was to a certain extent a victim of vigilante justice. Her photo and details appear on a website called Canary Mission, run by a Jewish extremist group that says it is dedicated to documenting individuals and organizations “that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses and beyond.” Tufts University officials said the school had no prior knowledge of the arrest and did not cooperate with it. Several professors, speaking off the record, were shocked and described how many on campus are fearing what comes next.
One final tale comes from a place formerly known as Palestine, where armed Israeli settlers descended upon the Palestinian village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta region of the occupied West Bank and assaulted Hamdan Ballal. Ballal is the co-director of the film “No Other Land” which recently has been in the news since it won an Oscar in Hollywood for best documentary. As is always the case when Jews assault Arabs, Israeli soldiers were present at the scene and stood by as Ballal was attacked and beaten along with other local residents, only to then detain him and two other Palestinians overnight in a military base, where they endured further abuse from the “Most Moral Army in the World” before being released.
Of course, President Trump did not register a complaint at the treatment of Ballal. What happened to the Palestinian was not just a random encounter. As co-director of a film that documents the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the violent expansion of Israeli settlements in his region, he has used his platform to speak directly and unapologetically about Israeli apartheid and theft. Friends of Israel clearly see that as a threat and they have succeeded in blocking the showing of the documentary in the US, where it has been unable to obtain a distributor. Targeting Ballal is part of a broader strategy by the Israeli government and groups like the settlers of silencing Palestinian cultural figures and truth-tellers, especially those who succeed in establishing prominent narratives worldwide. The underlying message is that if even an award-winning filmmaker isn’t immune to state violence, then Palestinians should rightly walk in fear or get out. The sad part is that international media, which should have recognized something was wrong when Palestinians without global awards and credentials — students, farmers, mothers, teachers — have been arrested and beaten and tortured by Israeli forces every day, ignored their plight. Their stories do not make headlines. Their names are rarely known. In death, all they become is a number, like the tens of thousands who are buried under rubble in Gaza and who will never be commemorated.
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.
Trump Revolution? Diplomacy Toward Yemen, Iran, Russia & China
Larry Johnson with Glenn Diesen
Glenn Diesen | March 26, 2025
Larry Johnson, a former CIA Intelligence Analyst, argues that Trump’s international diplomacy may be derailing. JD Vance recognised in private messages that bombing Yemen was a mistake and contradicted the America First platform, although the attacks nonetheless took place. Is America returning to its forever wars?
Oxford city council passes boycott divestment, sanctions motion
Press TV – March 26, 2025
The Oxford City Council has passed a motion supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, in accordance with International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings.
On Monday, the members of Oxford City Council unanimously voted for an “ethical investment and procurement” process against Israel.
The motion calls on the Oxford City Council to avoid cooperation and trade with entities complicit in human rights violations and international law.
In January 2024, the ICJ delivered an interim ruling that said it was plausible that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. The court called on Israel to refrain from impeding the delivery of aid into Gaza
Amongst other orders, ICJ also ordered Israel to avoid acts of genocide in the besieged enclave and punish incitement to genocide.
The Israeli regime not only has continued to ignore the ICJ’s rulings but also has committed numerous acts of genocide against the people of Palestine, including the restriction of the delivery of international aid into the besieged enclave.
Given Israel’s disregard for the Court’s orders, Oxford councilor Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini said councilors had “unanimously passed a boycott and divestment motion citing the ICJ rulings on Palestine.”
One of the motion’s proponents, councilor Barbara Coyne, said in a press release, “I hope this motion will be thoroughly implemented, and that its passage may pave the way for other councils to take decisive action.”
In addition, the Council has called on the Oxfordshire Investment Fund to divest more than 157 million pounds from companies complicit in the Israeli regime’s apartheid, genocide, occupation, and settler colonialism.
The people of Palestine have long called for boycott, divestment, and sanctions, including an arms and energy embargo, against the occupying regime.
The BDS movement demands that Israel, under international law, withdraw from the occupied territories, remove the separation barrier in the West Bank, and respect the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties.
War, doublethink and the struggle for survival: the geopolitics of the Gaza Genocide
By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | March 26, 2025
In a genocidal war that has spiralled into a struggle for political survival, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and the global powers supporting him continue to sacrifice Palestinian lives for political gain. The sordid career of Israel’s extreme far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, epitomises this tragic reality.
Ben-Gvir joined Netanyahu’s government coalition following the December 2022 election. He remained in the coalition after 7 October, 2023, and the start of Israel’s war and the Gaza Genocide, with the understanding that any ceasefire in Gaza would force his withdrawal from the government. As long as the killing of Palestinians and the destruction of their cities continued, then Ben-Gvir stayed on board. Neither he nor Netanyahu had any real “next-day” plan, though, other than to carry out some of the most heinous massacres against a civilian population in recent history.
On 19 January, Ben-Gvir left the government immediately when a ceasefire agreement came into effect, which many argued would not last. Netanyahu’s untrustworthiness, along with the collapse of his government if the war ended completely, made the ceasefire unfeasible.
Ben-Gvir duly returned to the coalition when the genocide resumed on 18 March. “We are back, with all our might and power!” he tweeted.
Israel lacks a clear plan because it cannot defeat the Palestinians.
While the Israeli army has inflicted suffering on the Palestinian people like no other force has against a civilian population in modern times, the Gaza Genocide endures because the Palestinians refuse to surrender.
And yet, Israel’s military planners know that a military victory is no longer possible. Former Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon added his voice to the growing chorus recently, saying during an interview on 15 March that, “Revenge is not a war plan.”
The Americans, who supported Netanyahu’s violation of the ceasefire — and gave the green light for the resumption of the killings — also understand that the war is almost entirely a political struggle, designed to keep extreme far-right figures like Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in Netanyahu’s coalition.
Although “war is the continuation of politics by other means,” as Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz once surmised, in Israel’s case, the “politics” behind the war is not about Israel as a state, but about Netanyahu’s own political survival. He is sacrificing Palestinian children to stay in power, while his extremist ministers do the same to expand their support among right-wing, religious and ultra-nationalist constituencies.
This logic — that Israel’s war on Gaza reflects internal politics, ideological warfare and class infighting — extends to other political players as well. The Trump administration supports Israel as payback for the financial backing it received from Netanyahu’s supporters in the US during the past few presidential election campaigns. Britain, meanwhile, remains steadfast in its commitment to Tel Aviv, despite the political shifts in Westminster, thus continuing to align with US-Israeli interests while disregarding the wishes of its own population. Meanwhile, Germany, it’s said, is driven by the guilt of its past crimes, while other Western governments pay lip service to human rights, all the while acting in ways that contradict their stated foreign policies.
This mirrors the dystopian world of George Orwell’s book 1984, wherein perpetual war is waged based on cynical and false assumptions; where “war is peace… freedom is slavery… and ignorance is strength.”
These elements are indeed reflected in today’s equally dystopian reality.
However, Israel substitutes “peace” with “security” (its own; nobody else’s), the US is motivated by dominance and “stability”, and Europe continues to speak of “democracy”.
Another key difference is that Palestinians do not belong to any of these “super states”. They are treated as mere pawns, their deaths and enduring injustice used to create the illusion of “conflict” and to justify the ongoing prolongation of the war.
The number of Palestinians killed — now more than 50,000 — is reported widely by mainstream media outlets, yet rarely do they mention that this is not a war in the traditional sense, but a genocide, carried out, financed and defended by Israel and Western powers for domestic political reasons. Palestinians continue to resist because it is their only legitimate option in the face of utter destruction and extermination.
Netanyahu’s war, however, is not sustainable in the Orwellian sense either. For it to be sustainable, it would need infinite economic resources, which Israel, despite US generosity, cannot afford. It would also need an endless supply of soldiers, but reports indicate that at least half of Israel’s reserves are not rejoining the army.
Furthermore, Netanyahu does not merely seek to sustain the Gaza Genocide; he aims to expand it. This could shift regional and international dynamics in ways that neither Israeli leaders nor their allies fully understand.
Aware of this, Arab leaders met in Cairo on 4 March to propose an alternative to the Netanyahu-Trump plan to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza. However, they have yet to take meaningful action to hold Israel accountable if it continues to defy international and humanitarian laws, as it has since the Arab summit.
The Arab world must escalate its response beyond mere statements.
If they don’t, then the Middle East may endure further wars, all to prolong Netanyahu’s coalition of extremists a little longer.
As for the West, the crisis lies in its moral contradictions. The situation in Gaza embodies Orwell’s concept of “doublethink”, holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and accepting both. Western powers claim to support human rights while simultaneously backing genocide. Until this dilemma is resolved, the Middle East will continue to endure suffering for years to come.
How Syria’s HTS is quietly dismantling the Palestinian cause
The Cradle | March 25, 2025
Since the fall of the Syrian government on 8 December, the direction of the new interim administration, headed by Ahmad al-Sharaa, has become increasingly clear. Politically, militarily, and legally, Damascus now appears aligned with Washington’s long-standing vision of dismantling the Palestinian cause.
This alignment is taking shape on three key fronts: first is the Palestinian Authority (PA), resistance factions such as Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and other factions splintered from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Second, is the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) tasked specifically to aid Palestinian refugees in the region, and third, are the camps housing Palestinian refugees and displaced Syrians.
Two developments underscore this shift. First, both Turkiye and Lebanon have blocked Palestinians holding Syrian documents from returning to Syria on the same basis as Syrian nationals. Second, US media has revealed ongoing talks between Washington and Damascus over the possibility of Syria absorbing tens of thousands of displaced Gazans, in exchange for sanctions relief or a broader political arrangement, particularly in the aftermath of the Coastal Massacres earlier this year.
Front 1: The PA and the resistance factions
More than four months into the transition to new governance, one thing is clear: former Al-Qaeda affiliate leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, now Syria’s president, is keeping Hamas at arm’s length. Despite repeated requests by Khaled Meshaal – head of Hamas’s political bureau abroad – to visit Damascus, the interim authorities have stalled, aiming to avoid direct confrontation with Israel or the US.
This new Syrian posture takes place in the midst of an ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and the occupation state’s aim to eliminate their Islamic resistance.
The Cradle has learned that communication between Hamas and the new authorities is largely being channelled through Turkish intermediaries. Ankara is reportedly facilitating the relocation of several Hamas military officials to Idlib, the stronghold of Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants.
In contrast, Sharaa – who met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in January – has formally opened channels with the PA’s diplomatic mission in Damascus, recognizing it as the official representative of the Palestinian people.
The visiting delegation included senior officials from Fatah and the PLO, most notably Mahmoud Abbas’s son, who arrived to reclaim properties previously held by anti-Fatah factions under former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government.
On the night the Assad government collapsed, Popular Front–General Command (PFLP-GC) Secretary-General Talal Naji and Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) Chief-of-Staff Akram al-Rifai sought refuge at the PA embassy. Palestinian ambassador Samir al-Rifai reportedly received a sharp rebuke from Abbas for granting them shelter. As for the rest of the faction leaders, each of them remained at home.
The day after HTS forces entered Damascus, they launched a wave of closures targeting Palestinian faction offices. Those belonging to Fatah al-Intifada, the Baath-aligned Al-Sa’iqa movement, and the PFLP-GC were shuttered, with their weapons, vehicles, and real estate seized.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), which had maintained a lower profile during the Syrian war, was allowed to continue operating – though under observation.
On 11 and 12 December, several faction leaders convened at the Palestinian embassy in the presence of PLA leader Rifai to discuss their future. They attempted to arrange a formal meeting with Sharaa via Syria’s Foreign Ministry. Instead, a messenger from HTS – identified as Basil Ayoub – arrived at the embassy and demanded full disclosure of all faction-owned assets, including real estate, bank deposits, vehicles, and weapons. No political engagement would be possible, he said, until a comprehensive inventory had been submitted.
The factions complied by drafting a letter declaring that their holdings were lawfully acquired and that they were prepared to limit their activity to political and media outreach, in full alignment with Syria’s new posture. The fate of the letter to Sharaa and its response are unknown.
Decapitation campaign: arrests, confiscations, and settlements
What followed was a systematic decapitation of the Palestinian factional structure in Syria.
In early February, Fatah al-Intifada’s Secretary-General Abu Hazem Ziad al-Saghir was arrested at his home. After hours of interrogation and a raid on his office – where documents reportedly linked him to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – he was released.
A week later, he was re-arrested and held at a newly established detention site behind the Abbasid Stadium. A financial settlement was reached: $500,000 in exchange for his release and deportation to Lebanon. At the request of the committee, the movement’s Central Committee issued a statement terminating Saghir’s duties and dismissing him from the movement. However, Saghir issued a counterstatement from Lebanon, transferring the movement’s General Secretariat there and dismissing those who had made the decision to remove him.
The Palestinian Baathist faction, Al-Sa’iqa, fared no better. Its Secretary-General Muhammad Qais was interrogated and stripped of the group’s assets. Though he was not in command during the Battle of Yarmouk and thus escaped harsher punishment, HTS ordered the removal of the term “Baath” from all official materials. A statement soon emerged from within the occupied territories denouncing Qais as a “regime remnant,” suggesting a growing internal split.
HTS also clamped down hard on the PFLP-GC, whose Secretary-General, Talal Naji, was placed under house arrest and interrogated multiple times. All the group’s offices, vehicles, and weapons were confiscated, their headquarters shuttered, and its members beaten and humiliated. Their radio station, Al-Quds Radio, was seized, and their Umayyah Hospital is reportedly next in line.
The “Nidal Front” – a breakaway faction of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF), a left-wing group within the PLO – was the most controversial of its dealings. At the beginning of the events, Khaled Meshaal was able to mediate for the Front’s Secretary-General, Khaled Abdul Majeed, and protect him and his organization. However, in February, Abdul Majeed fled to the UAE.
His personal residence and vehicles – reportedly privately owned – were seized along with 50 million Syrian pounds (less than $5,000) in assets. Forced to resign by HTS, he handed over authority to a central committee operating out of Damascus and Beirut.
The DFLP has so far escaped the brunt of these purges, and its offices and vehicles remain untouched by the new administration, possibly because it had no ties to Iran or Hezbollah. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s (PFLP – different from the PFLP-GC) main office in the Taliani area of Damascus remains open but inactive, while the rest of its offices have been shut down.
As of now, the PIJ, whose fighters have been on Gaza’s frontline battling Israel since 7 October 2023, remains in its Syrian offices. The faction’s representative has not been summoned for questioning, despite Israel bombing an apartment used by the group’s Secretary-General, Ziad al-Nakhala.
However, key PIJ military figures relocated to Baghdad on the night Damascus fell to HTS. Their activities inside Syria appear largely to have been reduced to conducting funerals for fighters who were killed in battle in southern Lebanon, albeit exclusively inside Palestinian refugee camps.
The Yarmouk camp in Damascus had already witnessed a series of protests in the first days of February, most notably gatherings demanding the closure of the headquarters of pro-regime organizations and the accountability of those involved in the arrest and killing of camp residents. The events escalated into an attempt to set fire to the headquarters of the PIJ’s Quds Brigades, with some youths and children throwing firecrackers at the building. Meanwhile, a demonstration erupted in protest against the decision to reopen the offices of the Al-Sa’iqa brigades in the Al-A’edin camp,
Front 2: Palestinian refugee camps in Syria
The crackdown on political groups has created a leadership vacuum in Syria’s Palestinian camps. Living conditions – already dire – have deteriorated further. In early February, protests erupted in several camps over Israel’s brutal attacks on the occupied West Bank’s Jenin Camp, following the PA delegation’s visit and the Syrian government’s formal recognition of Ramallah’s authority. Many feared this shift would accelerate plans for permanent resettlement of the refugees. At the same time, residents say they were coerced into public rallies in support of Sharaa’s self-declared presidency.
On 24 February, the Community Development Committee in Deraa began collecting detailed personal data from camp residents under the pretext of improving service delivery. A similar census was launched days earlier in Jaramana, but the purpose and funders of these efforts remain unclear.
Into this vacuum stepped Hamas. Through affiliated organizations like the Palestine Development Authority, Hamas began distributing food and financial aid, often via operatives embedded within HTS. This effort came as services once offered by the PIJ – including transportation, communal kitchens, and medical support – were halted. Even the Palestinian-Iranian Friendship Association’s headquarters in Yarmouk was taken over and repurposed by HTS elements.
Other actors, such as the Jafra Foundation and the Palestinian Red Crescent, continue to operate despite significant constraints. Their efforts have been insufficient to meet demand, particularly as the local economy continues to collapse. Most refugees rely on informal work, and with much of the economy paralyzed, daily survival has become precarious.
Of particular concern is a reported settlement proposal, conveyed through Turkish mediation. It allegedly offers Palestinians in Syria three options: Syrian naturalization, integration into a new PA-affiliated “community” under embassy supervision, or consular classification with annual residency renewals. The implicit fourth option is displacement, mirroring what happened to Palestinians in post-US invasion Iraq.
Front 3: UNRWA, sidelined and undermined
Though the new Syrian authorities have not openly targeted UNRWA, their lack of cooperation speaks volumes. UNRWA no longer appears to be viewed as the primary institution responsible for Palestinian affairs in Syria.
In Khan Eshieh Camp, a local committee working with the new administration petitioned the Damascus Governorate to prepare a municipal plan for rehabilitating the camp’s infrastructure. The implication was clear: Syrian authorities are preparing to take over camp management from UNRWA, following the Jordanian model.
Meanwhile, the Immigration and Passports Department resumed issuing travel documents for Palestinian refugees in January, a bureaucratic move that revealed the new government’s intention to reassert control. Around the same time, the Palestinian Arab Refugee Association in Damascus suspended its operations following a break-in that reportedly disrupted pension payments to retired refugees.
Despite limited resources, Hamas and the PIJI remain a point of concern for the occupation state. A recent Yedioth Ahronoth report claimed that both groups are attempting to rebuild military capacity inside Syria, with the intention of targeting settlements near the occupied Golan Heights and northern Galilee. While the report acknowledged no confirmed troop movements south of Damascus, it warned that operational planning is underway.
A close examination of Sharaa’s behavior and the new regime in Damascus reveals no apparent dissolution of these two organizations’ operations, as the Israelis claim. All that is taking place are temporary measures until a “big deal” is reached with the Americans, one of whose provisions will be the official and popular status of the Palestinians. Unless the country descends into chaos, one of the expected outcomes will be a clear Israeli ground military intervention under the pretext of removing the Palestinians from the border.
Israeli forces strip and arbitrarily detain two Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank
Defense for Children Palestine | March 20, 2025
Israeli forces forcibly stripped, detained, humiliated, and terrorized two Palestinian children, after a military raid in the northern occupied West Bank last week.
Israeli forces raided the home of the grandparents of seven-year-old Ibrahim Abu Ghali and 13-year-old Omar Mohammed Dirar Zaben, located west of Jenin, where they had traveled for a short stay in the early morning of March 10, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine. Around 4:20 a.m., as Ibrahim’s grandmother stepped outside to listen for the call to prayer, Israeli soldiers opened fire, leaving the rest of the family trapped inside.
Soldiers proceeded to detain Ibrahim, Omar, and their grandfather, forcing them to strip down to their underwear at gunpoint. Israeli soldiers bound their hands with plastic ties and held them outdoors, exposed, in cold temperatures, for about an hour. They were then crammed onto the back floor of a military vehicle, still without clothes, before being taken to Jalameh interrogation center, located in northern Israel.
“Forcing young children to strip, detaining them in degrading conditions, and subjecting them to psychological terror is a clear violation of international law and amounts to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “The Israeli military’s systematic mistreatment of Palestinian children is not an isolated incident but part of its entrenched system of control and oppression over Palestinians.”
“The soldiers aimed their weapons at us, heightening our fear and confusion,” recalled Omar. “[We] were shaking with terror and anxiety. We complied, stripping down to our underwear, raising our hands to our heads, and slowly moving toward the soldiers and their vehicles. Throughout this ordeal, my cousin and I continued to tremble with fear. I found it difficult to move forward, but I had to stay behind my grandfather to avoid drawing suspicion from the soldiers regarding my compliance. The grip of fear was overwhelming for both of us.”
Israeli soldiers loaded the boys into a cramped cell without a bathroom, where they witnessed other Palestinian detainees being severely beaten, berated and insulted, further traumatizing Omar and Ibrahim.
After nearly 12 hours of arbitrary detention, Omar and Ibrahim were roughly shoved onto the back floor of a military vehicle, where they were taken home, still in their underwear, with only a piece of foil for cover. Upon returning home, they learned that their grandmother had been killed by Israeli gunfire during the raid.
The age of criminal responsibility under Israeli military law is 12, meaning that children younger than 12, such as seven-year-old Ibrahim, cannot be prosecuted in Israeli military courts and, as such, their presence in such detention centers constitutes a violation of both the child’s right and Israeli military law. However, Israeli forces continue to detain and harass young Palestinian children, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
Israeli forces routinely arbitrarily detain and mistreat Palestinian children during military raids in the occupied West Bank, often using excessive force, degrading treatment, and unlawful detention. Under international law, children are entitled to special protections, and their detention must be an absolute last resort. However, Israeli forces continue to target Palestinian children with violence and intimidation, violating their fundamental rights with impunity.
Israeli forces have dramatically escalated military operations across the occupied West Bank, with a surge in mass arrests, home invasions, and extrajudicial killings. The targeting of Palestinian children through raids, forced displacement, and indiscriminate violence underscores the ongoing war crimes committed with impunity.
Palestinian teen martyred in notorious Israeli Megiddo Prison
Al Mayadeen | March 24, 2025
The Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) have confirmed the martyrdom of 17-year-old Walid Khaled Abdullah Ahmad in “Israel’s” Megiddo Prison.
Since the start of “Israel’s” genocidal war, the number of martyred detainees known by name in Israeli prisons has risen to 300, including at least 63 from Gaza. Rights organizations describe this as the deadliest period for Palestinian detainees since 1967.
Ahmad, a resident of Silwad near Ramallah, was detained on September 30, 2024, and remained in Israeli custody without trial at the time of his death. No details have been provided regarding the circumstances of his passing.
The two institutions emphasized that his martyrdom adds to the record of systematic crimes committed within Israeli occupation prisons, which have intensified during the ongoing aggression, adding that these actions represent another facet of the genocide against Palestinians.
The Israeli Prison Service, however, issued only a terse statement confirming that “a 17-year-old security detainee from the West Bank died in Megiddo Prison” while withholding his name and any information about his health, citing “privacy concerns”.
Ahmad’s martyrdom comes as “Israel” continues to impose strict secrecy over the conditions of Palestinian detainees, particularly those from Gaza. Meanwhile, the bodies of 72 martyred detainees remain withheld, including 61 who have died since the start of the aggression on the Palestinian enclave.
Earlier this month, the Commission for Detainees announced the martyrdom of 62-year-old detainee Ali Ashour al-Batsh from Jabalia in al-Naqab Prison. As of early March, “Israel” was holding more than 9,500 Palestinian detainees, including 350 children, 21 women, and 3,405 administrative detainees imprisoned without charge or trial.
Ahmad’s martyrdom adds to growing concerns over the fate of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, as rights groups warn of worsening conditions, medical neglect, and increasing reports of abuse behind bars.
‘Israel’ continues to withhold Palestinians’ bodies, kill detainees
Earlier this month, the National Campaign for the Retrieval of Palestinian War Victims’ Bodies reported that the Israeli occupation is withholding the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians it killed in cemeteries and refrigerators.
The campaign reported that “Israel” is still withholding the bodies of three Palestinians it killed in Jenin, bringing the number of Palestinian bodies held in “cemeteries of numbers” and refrigerators to 676, including the remains of 71 detainees, 60 children, and nine women.
The so-called “Cemeteries of Numbers” consist of unmarked graves outlined with stones, each marked by a metal plate displaying a number rather than the deceased’s name, with these numbers linked to individual files maintained by Israeli security authorities.
The National Campaign unveiled that some of the bodies held by the Israeli regime date back to the 60s and 70s, and while its data do not include bodies stolen from Gaza due to lack of accurate information, it documented the return of 325 bodies from Gaza.
In September 2019, the Israeli Supreme Court determined that military commanders had the authority to temporarily withhold the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces, allowing for their potential use as “bargaining chips” in future negotiations.
Israeli cruelty evident on Palestinian detainees
The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Alice Jill Edwards, called for a swift and thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.
The special rapporteur emphasized that the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, especially following October 7, 2023, remained a serious concern that required urgent attention and condemnation, describing the condition of the detainees and emphasizing the need for independent, impartial investigations.
The Commission of Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs shed light on the alarming conditions detainees face in Israeli prisons in November 2024, noting that most detainees are brought to visits in handcuffs.
The statement highlighted that these crimes form part of a long-standing policy of the occupation targeting Palestinian detainees, encompassing acts of torture, deliberate medical neglect, and the systematic abandonment of prisoners to endure suffering and succumb to illness, emphasizing the growing number of violations committed against detainees, particularly in the context of the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.
Many ill prisoners and detainees face deteriorating health conditions while the occupation continues to deny them necessary medical treatment, further contributing to the rising death toll within the prisons.
Moreover, the commission revealed in September 2024 that 1,200 Palestinians were facing systematic abuse, torture, and assault in Israeli prisons, with testimonies from Palestinian detainees exposing severe violence, rape, electrocution, extreme hunger, humiliation, and other forms of maltreatment.
Megiddo Prison holds a notorious reputation for severe torture and abuse, described by the Palestinian Prisoners Society as one of the central prisons where the Israeli occupation detains Palestinians.
Dozens of testimonies emerged from detainees describing the brutal acts carried out by the Israeli suppression units, involving torture and severe abuse, with systematic mistreatment mentioned in their accounts, including violent raid operations and extremely harsh detention conditions.
The hidden hand: Arab governments and the perpetuation of Israeli brutality
By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | March 24, 2025
Hungarian FM says that Budapest will continue to veto Ukraine’s accession to the EU
Remix News | March 24, 2025
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó reiterated on his Facebook wall on Saturday that his government will continue to use its veto to prevent talks aimed at Ukraine’s accession to the European Union from moving forward.
Under EU law, the issue of accepting new states into the bloc must be decided unanimously by all current members.
Hungary’s opposition is based on Ukraine’s treatment of the Hungarian population of Transcarpathia, in the country’s southwest. Transcarpathia was originally part of the Hungarian Kingdom, but after being detached from its mother country by the victorious Allies following World War I, it was eventually attached to Ukraine by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Approximately 150,000 ethnic Hungarians still live in the region.
Since the Maidan revolution that overthrew the Ukrainian government in February 2014, the country’s successive governments have passed legislation targeting ethnic minorities, including the Hungarians, as previously reported by Remix News. Laws have been passed making it mandatory for the Ukrainian language to be used in all matters of state as well as education. Other forms of harassment have occurred as well, such as the removal of Hungarian symbols from public buildings.
Budapest has continually protested these moves by Kyiv, using them as the rationale behind the fierce opposition of Viktor Orbán’s government to the EU’s flow of aid and support to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s regime since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
“Today, I discussed on the phone with my new Austrian colleague [Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger, who took office earlier this month] the constant violations of the rights of the Hungarian community in the Transcarpathian region in relation to the efforts toward Ukraine’s integration,” Szijjártó wrote. “The situation remains that the Ukrainian government, despite constant promises and nice words, has not returned the minority rights that have been taken away from the Hungarian community since 2015,” he continued.
After stressing that Ukraine’s actions are “unacceptable” and run “totally contrary to common European rules and values,” the foreign minister added that “as long as this sad situation persists, there can be no progress with regard to the negotiations aimed at Ukraine’s accession to the EU.”
Sweden’s embassy in Ukraine tweeted on Sunday that the country’s Minister for European Union Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz, along with her counterparts from the Baltic countries, have asked the European Commission to come up with proposals on how Hungary’s veto can be bypassed in order to allow Ukraine to join.
“Hungary should not slow down Ukraine’s EU membership negotiations,” the tweet said.
‘Nazis’ in Ukraine ‘nurtured’ by Europeans – Lavrov
RT | March 24, 2025
European NATO members are willfully ignoring the “Nazi” character of the Ukrainian government, which they have empowered as an anti-Russian instrument, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has asserted.
On Monday, the senior diplomat expressed concern over the “demons of neo-Nazism, Russophobia, and other hateful ideologies” spreading across multiple EU nations. Member states are deliberately overlooking Kiev’s misconduct, even as it persecutes ethnic Russians and violates human rights, he stressed.
“Ukraine – ‘that’s different.’ Those Nazis have been nurtured for the latest attempt to unite all of Europe under racist, Nazi banners for a war against the Russian Federation,” Lavrov stated.
The minister was speaking in his capacity as a trustee of the Gorchakov Fund, a Russian NGO aimed at enhancing public diplomacy. He emphasized the organization’s mission of presenting an authentic view of Russia and contrasted it sharply with the West’s approach to public messaging that “portrays itself as infallible and suffers from an exceptionalism complex.”
The EU is pursuing a multibillion-dollar rearmament plan, justified by what Brussels labels a growing Russian threat. European officials have warned that a direct NATO confrontation with Moscow may break out within the next few years. Russia, however, denies any hostile intentions toward the US-led military bloc.
Tensions between European NATO members and Washington resurfaced after President Donald Trump assumed office in January. The new US administration has sought a swift resolution to the Ukraine conflict and intends to shift security responsibilities onto Europe once a truce is achieved.
Moscow’s goal of ‘denazification’ remains central to its stance on the Ukraine conflict. Russian officials have denounced the Ukrainian government as a “neo-Nazi regime” due to its discriminatory domestic policies, alleged war crimes against Russian citizens, and veneration of historical nationalist figures who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.
Hamas Mourns Senior Leader Salah Al-Bardawil, Martyred in Israeli Airstrike on Gaza
Al-Manar | March 23, 2025
The Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” mourned the death of Salah Al-Bardawil, a key figure in its political bureau and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting his family tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
The attack, which also claimed the life of his wife, was described by Hamas as a “treacherous Zionist assassination.”
In its statement, Hamas vowed that the martyrdom of al-Bardawil, along with that of all martyrs, would continue to fuel the ongoing struggle for liberation and return. “With every martyr, the flame of resistance burns brighter until the occupation is eliminated,” the statement declared.
A Distinguished Leader and Scholar
Martyr Salah Al-Bardawil was born in 1959 in the Khan Younis refugee camp, with roots tracing back to the occupied village of Al-Joura, near Gaza. He was an accomplished academic, earning degrees in Arabic language and Palestinian literature from Cairo University and Sudan.
His work as an educator and writer also contributed to his prominent role in establishing the Palestinian Writers Union and the National Gathering for Thought and Culture.
Al-Bardawil’s political involvement with Hamas began in the early 1990s. In 1996, he founded Al-Risalah, the first official media outlet of Hamas, and served as its editor-in-chief.
Through his weekly satirical column, “From the Streets of the Homeland,” he critiqued the Palestinian Authority, which led to multiple arrests by Israeli forces. He also led Hamas’s media department and played a central role in the formation of the National Salvation Party in 1996.
In 2006, al-Bardawil was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council, representing Khan Younis. Over the years, he held various senior positions within Hamas, including overseeing the movement’s internal and external planning while maintaining strong connections with fellow leaders.
The ongoing attacks, including the death of Salah Al-Bardawil, highlight the continuing struggle for Palestinian sovereignty and resistance against occupation.
Gaza rescue teams besieged by Israeli forces as ‘catastrophe’ unfolds
Dozens of Palestinian civilians have reportedly been executed by Israeli forces in the southernmost city of Rafah
The Cradle | March 23, 2025
Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) workers are being besieged by Israeli forces after responding to rescue calls from the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city of Rafah on 23 March.
“We are still awaiting clearance to reach the trapped team in Rafah. Occupation forces continue to besiege four PRCS ambulances, and contact with the team remains lost,” the PRCS said in a statement on Sunday morning.
According to reports, dozens of people were executed after being surrounded by the Israeli army in Rafah.
“We warn of an imminent danger threatening the lives of more than 50,000 citizens in the Baraksat area west of Rafah Governorate after they were besieged by the Israeli occupation forces,” Gaza’s Civil Defense said.
“We warn against harming the Civil Defense crews who were besieged in the same area after intervening to rescue Red Crescent crews, and contact with them is still lost,” it added.
Israeli forces opened fire at civilians fleeing their homes in Rafah following evacuation orders issued by the army.
Rafah Municipality announced that thousands of families have been forced to flee the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood under intense Israeli bombardment. It added that its crews, along with residents, remained trapped inside the area as they carried out their duties serving residents.
An Israeli airstrike also targeted a group of displaced residents in the city, killing at least three and injuring others, according to WAFA news agency.
Over 40 people have been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza during the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry in the strip announced on Sunday.
“A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry said in a statement.
A member of Hamas’ Political Bureau, Salah al-Bardawil, was killed alongside his wife in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his tent late on Saturday. He was killed while praying, according to a statement released by the resistance movement on 23 March.
Israel renewed the war on Gaza early on 18 March after following through with several weeks of threats and obstruction of ceasefire talks. Over 700 Palestinians have been killed in less than a week as a result of the new campaign.
All border crossings remain shut, and Gaza is witnessing a humanitarian disaster due to a lack of aid and continuous bombardment. The strip is facing a severe water crisis due to the destruction of wells and lack of electricity.
“We are facing a compounded humanitarian catastrophe, whose severity continues to escalate under this suffocating blockade, while the disgraceful silence of the international and Arab communities emboldens the occupation to persist in its criminal policies without accountability,” the Gaza Government Media Office said on Sunday, holding the US “fully responsible” for Israel’s atrocities.
Featured Video
Trita Parsi: Middle East Unraveling — Are We on the Path to World War?
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
Trans agenda is ‘normalization of sadism’ – US author
RT | September 23, 2026
The US Democratic Party has embraced a transgender agenda that amounts to “the normalization of sadism,” author A.J. Rice has said, warning that radical trans policies would return if the party is allowed to regain power.
Speaking to RT’s America First host Scotty Nell Hughes about his new book, ‘The Curse of the Bearded Lady: How the Trans Mafia Whacked American Sanity’, Rice argued that activists have gained significant influence in schools, medicine, and corporate America while people who questioned the agenda have faced pressure to stay silent.
The author described the “trans mafia” as the sprawling network of people and institutions that have helped the movement gain influence. He singled out parts of academia, wealthy backers, and corporations, and stated that providers of transition-related treatment also have a financial incentive to keep young people in their care indefinitely.
Rice argued that the consequences of these policies ultimately fall on children who are being drawn toward gender-affirming medical treatments and on girls who are expected to share locker rooms or compete in sports with biological males.
He noted that while voters rejected the Democrats’ approach to gender in 2024, the party, which has been “captured by madness,” has since only doubled down and is seeking what is effectively “the normalization of sadism.” … Full article
Blog Roll
Aletho News- French-Lebanese man files war crimes complaint over Israeli attacks
- Mahan Air Flight Lands in China Despite US Threat against Iranian Airlines
- US eyes $10bn fund to rebuild war-battered Gulf infrastructure
- Trump meets Rodríguez near Maduro’s prison as Venezuela’s oil flows to US
- Trita Parsi: Middle East Unraveling — Are We on the Path to World War?
- Iran FM meets with US envoy on UN meeting’s sidelines at American side’s insistence: Report
- Qatar PM calls for Gulf security framework with Iran, says war must be ‘wake-up call’
- China condemns US extortion of Iranian airlines, rejects Washington’s ‘illegal’ sanctions threats
- Italy to move military personnel from Taif base after missile strike
- Finland’s Stubb tells European leaders to calm down
- If Americans Knew
- As Gaza languishes, world leaders gather at the UN – Daily Update
- Sanctions are collective punishment: immoral and self-defeating
- Phosphorus Munitions Fired by Israel Burn Groves, Orchards in Southern Lebanon
- Israel Carries Out New Ceasefire Violations Across Gaza
- AI – Emphasis on the ‘I’: Israel Is Funding AI Chatbot Propaganda
- Israel Blocking Hundreds of Wheelchairs for Injured Children From Entering Gaza
- Israel Is Expanding and Upgrading Compounds for Palestinian Militias in Gaza
- The Palestinian-American Residents of This West Bank Town Are Wondering: Where Is Trump?
- Gaza desperately needs tents, wheelchairs, fuel… and everything else (Israel blocks it all) – Daily Update
- Israeli Attacks in Gaza Kill at Least Seven Palestinians Over Three Days, including Woman and Child
- No Tricks Zone
- New Study: Earth And Venus Surface Warmth Largely Explained By Convection And Lapse Rate, Not CO2 Or Radiation
- 2025 Nature Paper Claiming Worsening Global Drought Gets RETRACTED …Heavily Flawed
- New Study: ‘Global Drought Shows No Detectable Recent Acceleration Under Climate Warming’
- Economic Masterminds: German Socialists Suggest Taxing Productivity Gains Stemming From Using AI
- The South China Sea Has Not Been Cooperating With The Climate Change Narrative
- Energy Crisis: Germany Enters Heating Season With Historically Low Gas Reserve Fill Levels
- New Study: The Antarctic Ice Sheet Gained Mass From 2020-2024 Due To Staggering Snow And Ice Accumulation
- Study: Ocean Heating Rates From Thousands Of Years Ago ‘Dwarf’ Modern Ocean Heating Rates
- Climate Extremists Target, Attack Large-Scale Power Grid Infrastructure In Germany!
- New Study: Antarctic Ice Melt Has Contributed Less Than 1 Centimeter To Sea Level Rise In The Last 30 Years
