Netanyahu Says Pursuing Historic, Spiritual Mission for “Greater Israel” Plan
Al-Manar | August 13, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is on a “historic and spiritual mission” and feels “very” attached to the vision of so-called ‘Greater Israel’, which includes territories earmarked for the Palestinian state and parts of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.
In an interview with Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS on Tuesday, conducted as his government prepares to expand its carnage into the remaining parts of Gaza, Netanyahu described his mission as one “of generations,” saying: “There are generations of Jews that dreamt of coming here and generations of Jews who will come after us.”
Asked if he felt connected to the vision, Netanyahu responded: “Very much.”
Some analysts view the ongoing genocide in Gaza as an accelerated attempt to implement this plan, with the government’s approach described by critics as seeking “maximum land, minimum Arabs.”
Gaza Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday that hospitals received 123 martyrs and 437 wounded in the past 24 hours, raising the total victims since October 7, 2023, to 61,722 martyrs and 154,525 wounded.
The US-Israeli plot to partition Syria’s West
By Abdullah Suleiman Ali | The Cradle | August 13, 2025
“When you look at the map of Syria, I mean, it looks like a flat Rubik’s cube because of the way that the country is divided up, and what we are talking about is mainly the governance of the western part of the country.”– Senator James Risch during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on 13 February
It began with a seemingly offhand statement by US Senator James Risch, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, just weeks ahead of the March coastal massacres in Syria against the Alawite minority.
“My idea,” he expounded, “is we need to focus on this western part and continue to look at the others. But the first objective is if you do not get a handle on this you are not going to get a handle on the rest of the country.”
Testifying before the Committee on US policy post-former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Michael Singh, responded:
“I think that we can focus on what is happening in western Syria, deal with the government there, while also trying to encourage and maybe facilitate this process of coming together among these groups.”
But these remarks have since crystallized into a structured, multi-front operation now moving steadily toward execution. The “Western Syria” project has now shed any ambiguity, emerging as a concrete blueprint that fuses sectarian engineering with foreign military coordination, aimed at carving out new realities on both sides of the Syrian–Lebanese border – under Tel Aviv’s supervision.
A plan spanning Syria and Lebanon
The scheme extends deep into Lebanon, where an orchestrated campaign against Hezbollah is intended to disarm the resistance movement while redeploying armed Syrian factions from Lebanon to the coastal strip. The right-wing Israeli government, acting as both sponsor and chief architect, directs the plan through two named coordinators –General “Yael” and Captain “Robert.”
Marketed publicly as a mission to safeguard minorities, especially Christians, the plan’s hidden mechanism is to stage attacks on churches, monasteries, and heritage landmarks across the coast. These provocations are designed to inflame sectarian tensions, creating the pretext for an Israeli-led intervention.
One of the earliest signs emerged in Tartous, where internal security announced the arrest of a cell accused of plotting to attack the Mar Elias Maronite Church in Safita, not to be confused with the suicide bombing of the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus in June. The revelation – delayed by three weeks – sparked suspicions of Israeli infiltration of Syrian security structures.
Internal Security Forces Chief in Tartous, Abdelal Mohammad Abdelal, said the plot was foiled in a “high-level security operation” after extensive surveillance and was based on “precise intelligence indicating that an outlaw group affiliated with remnants of the deposed regime was surveilling Mar Elias Maronite Church in the village of Khreibet, in the Safita countryside.”
However, many saw it as a calculated move to unsettle Christian communities and justify external involvement.
Two days before that announcement, partisan media channels circulated an unverified statement claiming the formation of a so-called “Christian Military Council” under the name Elias Saab – a figure absent from any credible public record.
The declaration spoke of organizing Christian fighters who had defended their communities against extremist factions like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who are now integrated into the state’s security forces.
It called for uniting fighters from Mhardeh, Al-Suqaylabiyah, Sadad, Maaloula, and Tartous under one legal and military umbrella, documenting crimes against Christians for presentation to international bodies, ensuring their representation in any political settlement, and opposing partition while defending a unified, secular Syria.
While this narrative has circulated in partisan outlets, there is no independent verification of its authenticity or the council’s existence. Its sudden appearance, timed just before heightened tensions in the coastal region, has fueled speculation about its role as a manufactured proxy front to justify foreign involvement under the guise of ‘minority protection.’
The US-Israeli scheme takes shape
On 5 August, in the US capital, the government relations and strategic advisory firm Tiger Hill Partners announced it would serve as the official representative of the “Foundation for the Development of Western Syria.”
Specializing in government relations and strategic lobbying, Tiger Hill pledged to advocate for Christians, Druze, Alawites, Kurds, and “moderate Sunnis” while working with US policymakers to shape Syria’s political transition. The one-year contract, valued at roughly $1 million, was filed publicly and framed as a mission to ensure minority rights remain central to Washington’s Syria policy.
In late July, a coastal faction calling itself “Men of Light – Saraya al-Jawad” made its debut. The group’s statement attacked Abu Mohammad al-Julani (Ahmad al-Sharaa), Qatar’s emir, and Turkiye’s president, while offering thanks to Egypt, Israeli journalist Eddy Cohen, and notable expatriate Alawite, Druze, and Christian figures – including Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, Mazloum Abdi, and Patriarch John al-Yaziji. Although ridiculed for its unusual tone, its appearance dovetailed with coordinated moves behind the scenes.
That coordination became more visible on the 17 July, when the Tel Aviva Hotel in Israel hosted a closed meeting between government officials, Syrian Alawites, and Syrian Druze figures. The attendees included seven long-exiled Alawites and Druze linked to Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif’s circle – the Druze leader in Israel – both Syrian and Israeli nationals. A second meeting followed on the 21st–22nd, just before Saraya al-Jawad’s unveiling and the release of its operational footage.
An Alawite–Druze alliance
On 6 August, Eddy Cohen, an Israeli journalist and commentator on Arab affairs, announced on his Arabic-language Facebook page the preparation of an Alawite–Druze alliance in the US. Observers have paired this with an alleged leaked audio recording of a Syrian woman – said to be related to a former senior officer with Israeli ties – speaking to another participant in the Tel Aviv meetings.
In the recording, she reportedly described coordination between a secular Syrian expatriate network and Israeli intermediaries, noting specifically that one of the councils involved held shares in Tiger Hill. The recording also alleged plans to covertly deploy some 2,500 foreign fighters into Syria, dispersing them across Homs and the coastal region.
Despite the project’s determined momentum, domestic and external actors are moving to block it, even offering intelligence support to the Sharaa administration despite disputing its legitimacy. This counter-effort has already thwarted the Safita church attack and prevented a major bombing in Damascus.
A partition map in the making
As one credible regional security source informs The Cradle:
“Israel seeks to exploit Syria’s sectarian and ethnic divisions to use minorities as political and military tools, serving its plan to partition the country and open two strategic corridors: an eastern one linking Suwayda to Hasakah, and a western one running from Syria’s coast to Afrin, securing multi-front influence and encircling the Turkish axis from within.”
“Western Syria” may remain in the shadows or step fully into the open, but its trajectory is unmistakable: a deliberate dismantling of Syria’s territorial cohesion, draped in the language of minority protection and enforced through foreign-backed militias and political fronts.
For Damascus, Beirut, and the wider region, this is no distant or hypothetical threat, but an active campaign already reshaping the map to the advantage of outside powers.
Zionism won’t stop, the Arab world must collapse

By Lorenzo Maria Pacini | Strategic Culture Foundation | August 10, 2025
Four weeks after the signing of the Abraham Accords—signed on September 15, 2020, with U.S. mediation and involving the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain—Israeli urban planning authorities have authorized the construction of 4,948 new homes in the occupied territories of the West Bank. No significant public statements, no troop movements: just bureaucratic approvals marking a further step in the expansion of Israel’s presence. This advance, shrouded in the rhetoric of ‘peace’, took place in silence, reflecting a well-established approach: proceed with normalization when the region is compliant and intensify colonization when international attention wanes.
This logic is rooted in the expansionist model of Zionism: where possible, military force is used; where this is not convenient or feasible, soft penetration is used in the form of security agreements, economic cooperation, and intelligence alliances. This dual strategy—based on physical conquest and hegemonic consolidation—has been in place since 1967 and today extends unchecked from the Jordan River to the Atlantic Ocean.
Let us be clear: the Zionist project, in all its aspects, will not stop. The Arab world represents an obstacle to the construction of Greater Israel and the manifestation of Zionist hegemony.
The “Greater Israel” project manifests itself on two levels: on the one hand, the annexation of Palestinian territories, and on the other, geopolitical control of the region through indirect means. And, if we want to extend our projections, we must consider that Greater Israel is the starting point, not the end point.
This is a vision rooted in Zionist ideology, which envisages Jewish domination over the entire “Biblical Land of Israel.” When direct occupation is not sustainable, Tel Aviv prefers maneuvers of influence and destabilization that undermine the sovereignty of neighboring Arab states. The two dimensions—territorial and imperial—are interdependent.
This strategy has deep roots. Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the father of revisionist Zionism, wanted control over all of Mandatory Palestine and beyond, arguing that colonization should take place even against the will of the local populations. David Ben-Gurion, while publicly accepting the partition in 1937, saw that compromise only as an initial phase towards subsequent expansion, confirming the intention to extend the borders to the whole of Palestine once the Israeli military apparatus had been strengthened, as indeed happened. At first, Israel’s military power was insufficient for large-scale operations, so the “periphery doctrine” was developed, through which Israel cultivated alliances with non-Arab states and marginalized minorities (the Shah’s Iran, Turkey, Iraqi Kurds, Sudanese Christians), indirectly weakening its Arab rivals. This strategy, now adapted, is also visible in recent relations with the Druze communities in southern Syria.
Normalization means influence
Israeli penetration into the Arab world has reached an unprecedented level. The Abraham Accords have opened the door to large-scale economic, military, and technological cooperation. The historic treaties with Egypt and Jordan were only the beginning, with the United Arab Emirates subsequently becoming a prominent trading partner. The same is true in the Maghreb: Morocco, for example, has purchased weapons and signed industrial agreements in the drone sector, becoming a production hub for Israeli UAV systems. All this has created a geopolitical corridor linking Israel to the Gulf and North Africa, expanding its access to strategic routes, intelligence spaces, and crucial markets.
As economic relations intensify, colonization continues. Raze everything to the ground, indiscriminately; drive out the Palestinians, no questions asked; conquer the lands they consider “divine right.” Infrastructure is designed to isolate Palestinian communities in unconnected enclaves, making the formation of an autonomous state impossible.
Israel has also consolidated its presence in Syria (in the Quneitra region, near Damascus and Deraa), taking advantage of the chaos following the fall of Assad and the seizure of power by the jihadist group HTS led by Ahmad al-Sharaa (formerly known as al-Julani). In Lebanon, it maintains control of key areas such as the Shebaa Farms and the Kfar Shuba hills, as well as military positions along the Blue Line.
Expansion is masked by integration. Today, the Israeli occupation is no longer manifested solely through weapons, but is supported and fueled by diplomatic agreements and trade flows. “Normalization” has not stopped the occupation: it has made it more effective. Each new agreement with Arab countries increases Israel’s ability to extend colonization and strengthen military control. Plans are already underway to double the number of settlers in the Golan Heights and increase the military presence along sensitive areas. The consequences are being felt: Egypt is building a wall on the border with Gaza to manage possible flows of displaced persons; Jordan sees its water resources threatened; Syria and Lebanon are under increasing pressure to normalize relations with Israel.
The Greater Israel project is advancing: on the one hand, it is swallowing up territories; on the other, it is influencing the sovereign choices of Arab states. Together, they represent two sides of the same strategy: annexation and subordination.
And all this, let’s be clear, will not stop at Palestine.
Zionism is viscerally anti-Christian and anti-Islamic. Anything that does not adhere to Zionist Judaism must be eliminated.
From an Islamic perspective, criticism of Zionism is based on several levels. First of all, Zionism, in its state form, has led to the confiscation and occupation of Muslim holy sites—primarily Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem—with a progressive erosion of access to and management of sacred places. This is not only a political violation, but also a spiritual one, as Islamic sovereignty over Jerusalem is considered a religious duty, rooted in the Quran and prophetic tradition. The Zionist rejection of Arab sovereignty – expressed in the marginalization of Islamic religious institutions in the occupied territories – is a denial of the Umma, the unity of the community of believers, and of its legitimacy to safeguard the places of Islam.
Similarly, Christianity, especially in its Eastern expressions, has also suffered from an exclusionary Zionist approach. The Zionist theological imagination, which demands a Jewish “territorial redemption” of Palestine, excludes the historical and cultural presence of indigenous Christian communities, reducing them to tolerated or suspect minorities. Talmudic hatred of Christians is well known. For many Palestinian and Middle Eastern Christians, Zionism represents a form of nationalist secularization that empties the Holy Land of its universal value, transforming it into an exclusive ethnic-religious property.
In its quest to create an exclusive Jewish state, Zionism has promoted dynamics of exclusion and delegitimization of the other Abrahamic religions historically present in Palestine. This makes it ideologically antithetical to any pluralistic and shared vision of the holy places and communities that have coexisted there for centuries.
We should not be surprised if we soon see conflicts arise between the powers of the Arab world or, by extension, in other Islamic countries, such as in Asia, precisely because of their geopolitical and geoeconomic relations with the Zionist entity.
Because, ultimately, this is the plan: in Greater Israel, there can only be Israeli Zionism. Christianity and Islam must first be exploited, then banned. At any cost.
John Fetterman, a hawkish US senator who represents Americans but speaks for Israel

By Musa Iqbal | Press TV | August 7, 2025
It is no secret that the political apparatus of the United States is teeming with Zionists.
While some politicians are sleek in their support for the Zionist Occupation (with politically convenient cries for ‘civility’ in Palestine and the rest of the region), others are completely devoted to a maximalist Zionist agenda – advocating for Zionist expansion, aggression, and total servitude to Israeli interests – no matter their maximalist goals.
Among the latter is US Senator John Fetterman, a hawkish politician who once campaigned as a “progressive,” but has now turned into the Israeli occupation’s most darling Democratic cheerleader and an unofficial mouthpiece and apologist of the genocidal child-murdering regime.
Fetterman’s unwavering support for Israel, which comes with belligerent calls for war against Iran, betrays the very principles he once claimed to champion.
During the election cycle that put him into power, progressive groups had rallied around Fetterman as a “working man” that most Americans could relate to. They could not have been more wrong.
Fetterman, often skulking the halls of the US Capitol in a hoodie and gym shorts, has become the poster child for the US political establishment’s subservience to the Zionist project and its reckless drive toward regional hegemony in Western Asia.
Fetterman has shown total support with each new act of Zionist terror, something his constituents are increasingly condemning.
His rhetoric, particularly his enthusiastic endorsement of Israel’s military actions and his calls for US involvement in illegal and unprovoked strikes on Iran, is not only a betrayal of his constituents but a dangerous escalation that threatens to give more support to an increasingly belligerent Israeli occupation entity as it faces an existential crisis.
He has draped himself in the Israeli flag on several occasions—literally and figuratively—while dismissing calls for a ceasefire and championing Israel’s so-called “right to defend itself” against a besieged, starving population.
Perhaps as a hat-tip to his pro-Israeli donors, his office walls are covered with posters of Israeli captives held by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, further serving as a shrine to a one-sided narrative that erases the decades-long suffering of Palestinians under occupation.
To compare, there are tens of thousands of Palestinian hostages in Zionist prisons, a sizeable amount of them being Palestinian youth.
Speaking of donors, Fetterman has unapologetically collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Zionist lobby. Based on the data organized by Track AIPAC, Fetterman has received over $370,000 in donations from Israeli-associated PACs and donors, with one of his top donors being JStreetPAC, which donated $175k in 2024 alone.
Donations of this caliber suggest extreme levels of loyalty to furthering Israeli settler-colonial interests in the power corridors of Washington – from domestic policy fighting against Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) efforts to foreign policy warmongering on behalf of the American-Israeli axis of evil.
It also aligns with Fetterman’s refusal to acknowledge the Palestinian death toll—over 150,000 by some estimates, including thousands of children—while fixating on Israeli victims reveals a moral bankruptcy that aligns him with the most hawkish elements of the US political spectrum.
Fetterman ghoulishly refuses to acknowledge the catastrophic loss of life, insisting that “now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire.”
Clearly, Fetterman’s loyalty to the Zionist cause goes as far as deliberate endorsement of collective punishment of innocent Palestinians, including children and women, a policy that violates international law.
Of course, being in line with the Zionist occupation’s expansionist interests, Fetterman’s zeal for Israel does not stop at Gaza. He has cheered on for US military aggression against Iran, celebrating the bombings against Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and threatening that Israel can continue to assassinate its nuclear scientists with his and other US politicians’ approval.
In his March 2025 visit to the occupied territories, Fetterman told journalists in Jerusalem al-Quds that he supports “partnering with Israel to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities,” urging the US to “blow it up.”
His rhetoric continued to escalate, including in June 2025, when he called for Israel to assassinate the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Such statements are not the musings of a principled senator but the ravings of a warmonger eager to appease the Zionist war machine and its patrons in Washington.
Fetterman’s rhetoric must be seen in the context of the broader US-Israel agenda to neutralize Iran as a regional power, especially as the latter secures critical economic alliances such as a place in BRICS and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization).
For decades, the US and its Zionist ally have sought to undermine Iran’s sovereignty, from crippling, high-pressure sanctions to covert sabotage operations and outright military threats.
Fetterman’s calls for illegal and unjustified strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which Iran maintains are for peaceful energy purposes, echo the same discredited playbook used to justify the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, the bombing of Libya, the destruction of Yugoslavia, etc.
The threat of a nuclear bomb armed Iran is a propaganda campaign orchestrated by Washington and Tel Aviv to justify aggression while ignoring Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal, a violation of international norms, and a total means to destabilize the region.
The hypocrisy of Fetterman’s position declares the official US policy for the area: Israel’s nuclear capabilities are strategic and protect American interests, but Iran’s pursuit of energy independence is an intolerable existential threat.
Fetterman, in his blind allegiance to Israel, seems unperturbed by the realities of what the execution of this US-led policy would look like, choosing to ignore the total rupture of the region, plunging the US into a war it would not understand or be prepared for – Iran is not Iraq, Libya, or Afghanistan.
It is a regional power with a sophisticated military and an alliance with resistance groups that would be eager to defend their ally against American aggression.
By endorsing Israel’s strikes on Iran and advocating for US aggression, Fetterman is perpetuating a cycle of violence that benefits only the US ruling class and its Zionist beneficiaries.
The US has spent trillions on wars in the West Asia region, leaving behind shattered societies that will take decades to redevelop.
Fetterman’s call to “take out” Iran’s leadership and nuclear program is a recipe for more of the same- a reckless gamble with lives and resources that the US can ill afford, and would further plant the seeds of disdain for US policy both at home and abroad.
The American people, weary of endless wars and economic hardship, deserve a senator who prioritizes their interests over those of a foreign power tied to genocidal crimes and occupation.
Fetterman’s betrayal of his “progressive” voter base that elected him into power is not just a personal failing but a symptom of a deeper, more sinister alignment in US politics, where loyalty to Israel and the war machine comes before anything else, if anything else at all.
It is incumbent on the global community to reject the likes of Fetterman and their imperialist agendas, as there are war mongers like Fetterman, or worse, spread throughout different Western governments.
While they are considering replacements, they can also add someone who knows how to dress themselves as a requirement. Indeed, the bar has never been lower.
The verdict of history: How political calculations betrayed Gaza
By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | August 6, 2025
The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem released a comprehensive report on 27 July describing the Israeli war on Gaza as genocide. However, the delay in publishing such an indictment is troubling and adds to an existing problem of politically motivated decision-making processes that have, in their own right, prolonged the ongoing Israeli war crimes.
The report accused Israel of committing genocide, a conclusion reached after a detailed analysis of the military campaign’s intent, the systematic destruction of civilian life, and the government-engineered famine. This finding is significant because it adds to the massive body of legal and testimonial evidence affirming the Palestinian position that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide.
Moreover, the fact that B’Tselem is an Israeli organization is doubly important. It represents an insider’s indictment of the horrific massacres and the government-engineered famine in the Strip, directly challenging the baseless argument that accusing Israel of genocide is an act of antisemitism.
Western media were particularly interested in this report, despite the fact that numerous first-hand Palestinian reports and investigations are often ignored or downplayed. This double standard continues to feed into a chronic media problem in its perception of Palestine and Israel.
Claims by Palestinians of Israeli war crimes have historically been ignored by mainstream media or academia. Whether the Zionist militia’s massacre of Tantura in 1948, the actual number of Palestinians and Lebanese killed in the massacres of Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon in 1982, or the events resulting in the Jenin massacre in the West Bank in 2002, the media has frequently ignored the Palestinian account. It often gains a degree of validation only if it is backed by Israeli or Western voices.
The latest B’Tselem report is no exception. But another question must be asked: why did it take nearly two years for B’Tselem to reach such an obvious conclusion? Israeli rights groups, in particular, have far greater access to the conduct of the Israeli army, the statements of politicians, and Hebrew media coverage than any other entity. Such a conclusion, therefore, should have been reached in a matter of two months, not two years.
This kind of intentional delay has so far defined the position of many international institutions, organisations, and individuals whose moral authority would have helped Palestinians establish the facts of the genocide globally much earlier.
For example, despite the ICJ’s historic ruling on 26 January 2024, that determined that there are plausible grounds for South Africa’s accusation of Israel of committing genocide, the court is still unable, or unwilling, to produce a conclusive ruling. A definitive ruling would have been a significant pressure card on Israel to end its mass killing in Gaza.
Instead, for now, the ICJ expects Israel to investigate itself, a most unrealistic expectation at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises his extremist ministers that Israel will encourage the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
The same indictment of intentional and politicised delays can be attributed to the International Criminal Court. While it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister on November 21, 2024, no concrete action has been taken. Instead, it is the Chief Prosecutor of the court, Karim Khan, who finds himself attacked by the US government and media for having the courage to follow through on the investigation.
Individuals, too, especially those who have been associated with ‘revolutionary’ politics, the likes of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, among others, have been reluctant to act. On 22 March 2024, Ocasio-Cortez refused to use the term genocide in Gaza, going as far as claiming that, while she saw an “unfolding genocide,” she was not yet ready to use the term herself.
Sanders, on the other hand, who has spoken out repeatedly and strongly against Netanyahu, describing him in an interview with CNN on 31 July as a “disgusting liar,” has had repeated moral lapses since the start of the war. When the term genocide was used by many, far less ‘radical’ politicians, Sanders doubled down during a lecture at a university in Ireland. He said that the word genocide “makes him queasy,” and he urged people to be “careful about it”.
These are not simply lost opportunities or instances of moral equivocation. They have had a profound and direct impact on Israel’s behavior. The timely intervention of governments, international institutions, high courts, media, and human rights groups would have fundamentally changed the dynamics of the war. Such collective pressure could have forced Israel and its allies to end the war, potentially saving thousands of lives.
Delays born of political calculation and fear of retribution have given Israel the critical space it needed to carry out its genocide. Israel is actively exploiting this lack of legal and moral clarity to persist in its mass slaughter of Palestinians.
This must change. The Palestinian perspective, their suffering, and their truths must be respected and honored without needing validation from Israeli or other sources. The Palestinian voice and their rights must be truly centered, not as an academic cliché or political jargon, but as an undeniable, everyday reality.
As for those who have delayed their verdict regarding the Israeli genocide, no rationale can possibly absolve them. They will be judged by history and by the desperate pleas of Gaza’s mothers and fathers, who tried and failed to save their children from the Israeli killing machine and the world’s collective silence or inaction.
Super PAC Targeting Massie Funded By Three Israel-Backing Billionaires

By Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge | August 3, 2025
Though it sports a Kentucky- and MAGA-branded name, the new Super PAC launched solely to support a primary challenge against popular Republican Congressman Thomas Massie is funded entirely by three Israel-backing billionaires from Nevada, New York and Florida, according to disclosure filings posted on Thursday.
The super PAC was launched in June, just days after President Trump threw a social media tantrum over Massie’s condemnation of Trump’s commitment of US forces to Israel’s war on Iran. Massie has long been a thorn in Trump’s side on domestic issues too, from opposing the $2 trillion, Trump-backed Covid-19 “relief package” in 2020 to voting against this year’s Big Beautiful Bill. However, Massie’s opposition to US involvement in Israel’s war seemed to have been the last straw. Trump assigned his top political operatives Tony Fabrizio and Chris LaCivita to start and run the super PAC. LaCivita told Axios the entity will spend “whatever it takes” to oust Massie.
The PAC’s only three donors have two things in common: they’re billionaires, and they’re ardent supporters of Israel. According to the PAC’s first funding disclosure filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, it has received:
- $1 million from New Yorker hedge fund manager Paul Singer, who has also funded a Israel-favoring US think tank and other pro-Israel organizations, and urged Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal
- $250,000 from Floridian hedge fund manager John Paulson
- $750,000 from the Preserve America Super PAC, which has also been led by La Civita and primarily funded by Nevadan Miriam Adelson and earlier, her late husband Sheldon Adelson
The PAC is called “MAGA Kentucky,” a name that’s misleading on two levels. Not only are its funders not Kentuckians, their principal motive for destroying Massie is his opposition to US bankrolling of Israel and participation in its wars. That is anything but a MAGA motive. As Trump recently told a prominent Jewish donor, “My people are starting to hate Israel.”
MAGA Kentucky has already started running misleading attack ads that cherry-pick items from the sprawling Big Beautiful Bill and accuse Massie of voting “against” them, and also accuse him of “siding” with Iran’s ayatollah.
In addition to opposing aid to Israel, Massie has also voted against legislation designed to stop Americans from criticizing Israel. The Antisemitism Awareness Act would use an expansive definition of antisemitism to expose universities to federal enforcement action if students voiced opposition to Zionism — a political philosophy — or compared the actions of Israel’s government to those of Nazi Germany.
In April, Massie introduced the Dual Loyalty Disclosure Act, which would require candidates for federal office to disclose any non-American citizenships they hold. Advocates of Israel swiftly accused him of antisemitism, but Massie said his measure doesn’t target any specific country. “We swear an oath to the Constitution, and the question is, if you’re a citizen of two countries, which oath are you taking more seriously, or can you take them both seriously?” Massie asked Fox’s Will Cain.
First elected to Congress in 2012 and consistently advocating for fiscal discipline, the right of armed self-defense, and a non-interventionist foreign policy, Massie has built a large and loyal national following among the libertarian right and other conservatives, with many regarding him as the congressional successor to the iconic Ron Paul. In his latest aggravation of Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, Massie is leading the drive to compel the release of Epstein investigative files. He has introduced a discharge petition that’s predicted to secure enough signatures to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA H.Res. 581), which he introduced with Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna.
With Georgia GOP Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene recently introducing an amendment to remove military aid to Israel from the defense bill, and accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, don’t be surprised to see a “MAGA Georgia” PAC created to oust her, too — funded by a similar cast of Israel-first characters. In the meantime, the drive to take out Massie is having unintended consequences:
Iraq’s PMF law seen as test of sovereignty amid US objections
Al Mayadeen | August 3, 2025
Iraqi Popular Mobilization Authority chief Faleh al-Fayyad affirmed on Sunday that the vote on the draft Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) law represents a “national responsibility tied to the dignity of those who answered the call of the religious authority and defended Iraq’s sovereignty.”
In a message addressed to members of Iraq’s parliament, al-Fayyad described the moment as one that reflects loyalty to the history and sacrifices of PMF fighters, many of whom played key roles in the defeat of ISIS.
“Passing this law is not just a legislative step. It is an affirmation of the rights of those who wrote Iraq’s glory with their blood, and a recognition from the people for those who bore arms to defend Iraq and its unity,” al-Fayyad said.
Draft law guarantees rights of PMF fighters
The legislation seeks to enshrine the rights of PMF personnel and provide a legal framework governing their structure, responsibilities, and benefits. According to Al Mayadeen’s Baghdad correspondent, the law aims to better regulate the Popular Mobilization Authority’s operations and grant it stronger legal recognition under Iraqi law.
However, the law has drawn criticism from Washington. US Senator Marco Rubio reportedly expressed “deep concern” about the legislation during recent talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani.
Rubio claimed the law would “entrench Iranian influence and empower armed groups that undermine Iraqi sovereignty,” reflecting US unease with Iraq’s growing military independence and refusal to marginalize the PMF, which has long been a target of US pressure.
PMF integral to Iraq state institutions
Al-Fayyad last year said the adoption of the service and retirement law for the PMF is the first sign of loyalty to the fighters, stressing that what has been achieved was in the spirit of Resistance and not in the spirit of a job.
Speaking at a conference marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of the PMF, al-Fayyad said, “The PMF did not achieve what it did in the spirit of paying for fighting, as we are not mercenaries.”
While stressing that he “does not underestimate the other armed forces formations,” al-Fayyad emphasized the uniqueness of the PMF as “an entity that arose from a legitimate basis and was built on volunteerism and self-motivation,” stressing that this “identity must be preserved.”
Al-Fayyad stressed, “Bearing very heavy burdens from both close and distant quarters to maintain this entity as one representing the spirit of jihad [fighting against the enemies] and rising above partial classifications and political categorizations, above parties and above any other designation,” explaining that “the Popular Mobilization is the present shield of the nation in every confrontation and battle.”
Zionism without borders: Annexation and normalization as tools of Arab subjugation
By Mohamad Hasan Sweidan | The Cradle | August 1, 2025
Four weeks after Israel signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords with the UAE and Bahrain on 15 September 2020, Tel Aviv’s Higher Planning Council approved 4,948 new settler units in the occupied West Bank. No public fanfare.
No tanks rolled in – just signatures authorizing another layer of occupation. The first wave of expansion advanced quietly, legitimized by the language of “peace.”
This sequencing deliberately reflects the core logic of Zionist expansion: Normalize when the region submits, colonize when the world blinks.
Where possible, the occupation state’s army conquers land directly. Where resistance or scrutiny makes that unfeasible, the occupation government builds a web of security pacts, trade routes, and intelligence partnerships that extend its reach without a single uniformed soldier. This dual formula, territorial conquest and hegemonic integration, has underpinned Israeli strategy since 1967, and today stretches unimpeded from the Jordan Valley to the Atlantic coast.
Two paths, one destination
“Greater Israel” represents the settler-colonial ambition to annex, settle, and absorb land across historic Palestine and beyond. It is rooted in the Zionist vision of Jewish dominion over the so-called “biblical Land of Israel.” In contrast, “Great Israel” describes the imperial design to dominate the surrounding region through proxies, economic leverage, and security alignments.
Where occupation is costly, Tel Aviv turns to influence. Through deals, destabilization, or coercion, it reshapes the sovereignty of its neighbors. Greater Israel devours land. Great Israel neutralizes independence. Together, they are one project.
Zionist literature makes this plain. Ze’ev Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism, demanded sovereignty over all of Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan – “Greater Israel on both sides of the Jordan River” – and rejected compromise with Arabs. In The Iron Wall (1923), he declared that only an unyielding Jewish force could compel Arab acquiescence:
“Zionist colonization, even the most restricted, must either be terminated or carried out in defiance of the will of the native population.”
The occupation state’s first prime minister and Labor Zionist leader, David Ben-Gurion, publicly accepted a partition plan in 1937, but privately described it as “not the end but the beginning.” In a letter to his son, he wrote that a Jewish state on part of the land would strengthen the Zionist project and serve as a platform to “redeem the entire country.” In a June 1938 meeting of the Jewish Agency executive, he said:
“After the formation of a large army … we shall abolish partition and expand to the whole of Palestine.”
Early Zionist leaders did not view borders as final, but as phases. During its first two decades, Israel lacked the military strength or western backing to expand beyond its 1949 borders. Direct confrontation with Arab states risked catastrophe. Instead, Tel Aviv pioneered a subtler doctrine of peripheral infiltration.
Through the “periphery doctrine,” it cultivated covert ties with non-Arab states and oppressed minorities – Shah-era Iran, Turkiye, Kurdish groups in Iraq, and Christian separatists in Sudan. This strategy sowed chaos among Israel’s Arab rivals while embedding Israeli influence in strategic corners of West Asia and Africa. Most recently, the occupation state has made overtures to Druze communities in southern Syria, seeking to replicate this strategy amid renewed instability.
The corridor to colonization
Israel’s integration into the Arab world is now deeper than ever before. Through normalization, Tel Aviv has converted former enemies into partners economically, diplomatically, and militarily. While Egypt and Jordan first formalized ties through Camp David and Wadi Araba, it was the Abraham Accords that opened the floodgates. What followed was a deluge of tech deals, weapons transfers, and commercial partnerships linking the occupation state to the Persian Gulf.
By 2023, Israel’s trade with the UAE had reached $3 billion annually. That figure rose by 11 percent the following year, even as Israel waged genocide in Gaza. Israeli Consul General Liron Zaslansky described trade relations between Abu Dhabi and Israel as “growing, so that we ended 2024 at $3.24 billion, excluding software and services.”
In 2022, Morocco purchased $500 million worth of Israeli Barak MX air defense systems. Rabat also partnered with BlueBird, an Israeli drone firm, to become the first UAV manufacturer in West Asia and North Africa.
This has created a “corridor of influence” that grants Tel Aviv access to new markets, air and sea routes, and intelligence spaces stretching from Casablanca to Khor Fakkan.
On the ground, the war continues
While trade flourishes, colonization accelerates. In 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government approved 12,855 settler homes – a record for any six-month period. More than 700,000 settlers now occupy the West Bank and East Jerusalem. That figure has grown sevenfold since the early 1990s.
In May 2025, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed cabinet approval for the construction of 22 new West Bank settlements, including multiple previously unauthorized outposts. Katz framed the move as necessary to “strengthen our hold on Judea and Samaria” and to “prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
These settlements are not arbitrary. They are connected by Jewish-only bypass roads, fortified by the occupation army, and strategically designed to fragment the occupied West Bank into isolated Palestinian enclaves. This is de facto annexation, defined by a matrix of irreversible facts that eliminates the territorial basis for any future Palestinian state, while avoiding the international fallout of formal annexation.
The “logic” of expansion has also spilled beyond Palestine. In Syria, Tel Aviv now occupies 250 square kilometers across Quneitra, Rural Damascus, and Deraa – territory seized during the collapse of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government by Al-Qaeda rooted terrorists – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – who now occupy the seat of power in Damascus. HTS was under the leadership of former ISIS chief Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Upon ousting Assad, Julani began using his government name, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and became the de facto president of Syria.
In Lebanon, Israeli forces maintain a presence over 30–40 square kilometers, including Shebaa Farms, Kfar Shuba Hills, and the northern half of Ghajar. Additional outposts and buffer zones stretch along the so-called Blue Line.
Occupation rebranded
Israel’s expansion today is no longer confined to bulldozers and soldiers; it is mediated through trade, tech, and treaties. But make no mistake: normalization has not replaced occupation. It has enabled and accelerated it.
Every Emirati deal, every Moroccan drone line, every Bahraini handshake fuels Tel Aviv’s capacity to deepen its military presence and Judaize more land. Plans are underway to double the number of settlers in the Golan Heights and to deploy armored units along the demilitarized zone.
The ripple effects are already destabilizing the region. Egypt has begun constructing a concrete wall on its border with Gaza to prepare for mass displacement or military spillover. Jordan faces existential peril in the Jordan Valley, where settler expansion is displacing Bedouin communities and draining natural aquifers. Syria and Lebanon remain hemmed in by fortified Israeli positions, with both countries facing increasing pressure from Washington to normalize relations.
Greater Israel devours Arab land. Great Israel colonizes Arab decision-making. One swallows borders. The other swallows sovereignty.
In numbers: Arab people don’t want to normalize with ‘Israel’

Al Mayadeen | July 27, 2025
Almost 80 years after Israeli occupation of Palestine, the great majority of the Arab public refuses to normalise with “Israel”, with fresh polling data revealing a dramatic decline in support for normalization after the Israeli war on Gaza following October 7, 2023.
According to the latest Arab Barometer surveys conducted between 2023 and 2024, support for Arab normalization with the Israeli regime has plummeted to historic lows. In none of the eight surveyed West Asian and North African countries did public backing exceed 13%.
The Arab Barometer’s Wave VIII surveys, which covered Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia, showed a consistent regional downturn in normalization sentiment. Morocco saw a drop from 31% in 2022 to 13% post-October 7; Lebanon from 17% to 12%; Iraq from 14% to 13%; Mauritania from 8% to 4%; and Jordan from 5% to 3%.
Prior to the 2020 normalization accords, support for normalization with “Israel” was already limited. In a 2018–2019 survey, Sudan recorded the highest level at 32%, while Yemen had the lowest at 5%.
‘Israel’ is the primary regional threat
Across the region, “Israel” was most frequently cited as the leading threat to regional stability. Lebanon had the highest perception at 79%, followed by Palestine at 63%, Egypt at 54%, Jordan at 42%, and Morocco at 27%.
In Egypt and Jordan, younger respondents were notably less likely to see “Israel” as the main threat, while in Palestine, the younger demographic showed heightened concern.
Protest movements
Public sentiment against normalization translated into protest activity across the region, per Foreign Affairs. In April 2025, Morocco’s largest labor union urged the government to prohibit the entry of such ships into Moroccan waters and organized a series of protests in solidarity with Gaza.
Jordan experienced daily protests since October 7, with authorities recalling their ambassador from “Israel” and enforcing a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood.
In Kuwait, where protests were restricted, 84% of citizens boycotted pro-Israel companies, 62% donated to Gaza, and many shared solidarity messages online.
Low favorability of ‘Israel’s’ allies, too
Public sentiment toward Western allies of “Israel” deteriorated sharply. Approval of the United States dropped by 23 points in Jordan and 19 in Mauritania. France’s favorability fell 20 points in Lebanon and 17 in Mauritania.
The United Kingdom experienced the steepest decline in Morocco, with a 38-point drop. In contrast, China saw a significant boost in public opinion: 16 points in Jordan, 15 in Morocco, 10 in Iraq, and 6 in Lebanon.
The Arab Barometer Wave VIII data was collected across nine countries between September 2023 and July 2024, with most surveys completed by March 2024. This timing means the findings do not capture Arab public opinion following several significant regional developments, including “Israel’s” war on Lebanon and later on Iran, and the Israeli aggression on Syria.
The survey data therefore represents public sentiment during the initial nine months following October 7, 2023, but predates these subsequent escalations that may have further influenced regional attitudes toward “Israel.”
Georges Abdallah returns to Beirut after over 40 years in French prison

The Cradle | July 25, 2025
Lebanese activist and resistance fighter Georges Abdallah has been released from French prison after over 40 years of incarceration, arriving in Beirut to a hero’s welcome on 25 July and renewing his call for armed resistance across the region.
“The resistance is rooted in this land and cannot be uprooted,” Abdallah expressed upon his arrival at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Speaking from the VIP lounge, he said, “the prisoners’ steadfastness in their prisons depends on the steadfastness of their comrades outside.”
Abdallah, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), was arrested in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 on charges of involvement in the killings of US military attache Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yakov Barsimentov in Paris in 1982.
The Lebanese resistance icon was also accused of involvement in the attempted assassination of US consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg.
The killings of Ray and Barsimentov were claimed by LARF and framed as a response to Washington and Tel Aviv’s involvement in the Lebanese civil war.
Held at Lannemezan Prison in southern France, Abdallah became eligible for parole in 1999, but 10 successive requests for release were rejected. A 2013 ruling approving his release on condition of expulsion from France was never implemented.
On 15 November 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal again approved his release, conditional on his permanent expulsion, with the decision confirmed on 17 July 2025 by the French Ministry of Justice.
His lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, described the outcome as “a judicial victory and a political scandal,” confirming that repeated US and Israeli pressure had obstructed prior legal decisions.
Abdallah was the longest-held prisoner in western Europe.
Now 74 years of age, Abdallah returned to Beirut on Friday, where he emphasized the need for greater support for resistance, saying, “Our resistance is not weak, but strong.”
He added, “As long as there is resistance, there is a return to the homeland,” and saluted fallen fighters as “the foundation of any idea of liberation.”
He also called for the escalation of resistance in Palestine and condemned Arab governments for their inaction over Gaza.
“They must work to stop the genocide and famine in the besieged strip because they are capable of doing so,” he said, calling on the Egyptian people directly.
Interview with Pezeshkian by Carlson: Breaking Through the Wall of Western Lies
By Viktor Mikhin – New Eastern Outlook – July 25, 2025
In July 2025, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian gave a historic online interview to American journalist Tucker Carlson. This was not just a conversation—it was a powerful blow to the Western propaganda machine that has portrayed Iran as the world’s primary threat for decades. While the U.S. and Israel fuel the flames of war, bomb nuclear facilities, and sabotage diplomacy, Tehran advocates for dialogue while retaining its right to self-defense and sovereign development.
Amid rising tensions in West Asia, where the West habitually reduces Iranian politics to a caricature of menace, Pezeshkian’s appearance on one of the world’s most influential shows shatters stereotypes. This was not merely a statement—it was a challenge to entrenched narratives, a call for deeper and more critical engagement with Iran’s stance. The interview provides a detailed examination of Pezeshkian’s key arguments, their context, and the significance of this exchange as a reflection of the crisis in international relations. The world must understand the legitimacy of Iran’s concerns, allowing its voice to be heard—without undue demonization or idealization.
The conversation took place during a period of heightened tensions: the U.S. and Israel have attacked Iranian nuclear sites, and Tehran has responded with force. The region teeters on the brink of escalation, where diplomacy is giving way to military confrontation. In this climate, Pezeshkian emerges as a leader combining firmness with a willingness to engage. His assertion that Iran “has not started wars” and “has no interest in prolonging them” reflects both a principled position and an attempt to counter the perception of Iran as a source of instability. He presents himself as a pragmatic actor in international affairs—open to negotiations but deeply distrustful of the West.
Who Is Really Responsible for the Chaos?
The Middle East stands once again on the edge of catastrophe, and the blame lies with the aggressive policies of Washington and Tel Aviv, who choose to bomb over dialogue and provocation over diplomacy. In his interview, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made it clear: Tehran did not initiate conflicts but will defend its people against external aggression. He stressed that Iran has always advocated peaceful coexistence yet faces relentless Western pressure—sanctions, threats, and interference in its internal affairs. Now, as Tehran demands compliance with international law and respect for its sovereignty, it is accused of “destabilizing the region,” while it is the actions of the U.S. and Israel—support for terrorist groups, assassinations of Iranian scientists, and provocative airstrikes—that drive escalation.
Pezeshkian particularly emphasized Iran’s nuclear program, noting that Tehran has always been open to IAEA inspections and operated within international agreements. Yet, Washington and Tel Aviv exploit intelligence—even inspectors’ data—not for oversight but for sabotage. The president recalled the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, cyberattacks on infrastructure, and the deliberate undermining of trust in negotiations. “They offer us surrender under the guise of dialogue,” he said. “Every time there’s a chance for peace, the U.S. and its allies sabotage it—imposing impossible demands or tearing up existing agreements.”
Pezeshkian also accused the West of hypocrisy: while Europe and America preach human rights and stability, they have for years funded terrorist groups in the region, armed radicals, and blocked Iran’s independent development. “They want us to submit to their rules, abandon our security and technological progress,” he declared. “But Iran will no longer play by their imposed schemes. If the West chooses force over diplomacy, it will face a proportionate response.”
Pezeshkian reiterated that Tehran remains open to dialogue—but only on terms of equality and mutual respect. “We do not seek confrontation, but we will not allow our country to become another victim of Western hegemony. The responsibility for chaos lies with those who have sown war for years and now shift blame onto their victims.”
U.S. Double Standards: Peace for Themselves, War for Others
In the interview, Pezeshkian sharply criticized U.S. policy, exposing its hypocrisy and double standards. He argued that Washington has spent decades selling the false image of a “champion of democracy” while being the primary source of global instability. “Iran is always open to dialogue, but how can we trust a country that systematically violates its commitments?” he asked. He reminded viewers that the U.S. not only abandoned the nuclear deal (JCPOA) but continues to impose sanctions despite Tehran’s compliance. “You demand we follow rules you yourselves ignore. Where is the logic?”
The Iranian president listed examples of U.S. interference: the 1953 coup against democratically elected Mossadegh, support for Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war, funding of militant groups in the Middle East, and endless wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. “You call us ‘sponsors of terror,’ but it is your allies—the Saudi regime and Israeli government—bombing hospitals and killing civilians. Who is the real aggressor?” He referenced the war in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes—often lacking credible intelligence—have for years targeted not military bases but civilian areas, inflicting suffering primarily on ordinary Yemenis.
Pezeshkian also noted that the U.S. touts a “rules-based order” but disregards it when convenient. “You ignore UN resolutions when they don’t suit you but demand others obey them. You condemn our defense programs while selling billions in arms to dictatorships. This isn’t order—it’s the tyranny of the strong.”
Despite Carlson’s criticism of U.S. interventionism, he remained captive to Western propaganda, framing questions around stereotypes: Iran as a “threat to peace,” the U.S. as a “victim of Iranian aggression.” Pezeshkian countered: “You speak of ‘freedom’ while enforcing sanctions that kill our children by denying them medicine. You talk of ‘human rights’ while enabling genocide in Gaza. Your rhetoric is a smokescreen for maintaining hegemony.”
In closing, the Iranian leader stated that Tehran does not seek conflict but will not accept ultimatums. “We propose dialogue on equal footing, but if Washington prefers the language of force—it will receive a fitting response. History shows empires built on violence inevitably collapse.”
This interview made one thing clear: while the U.S. speaks of “peace and stability,” its actions bring only war and chaos. Iran, despite pressure, remains steadfast in defending its sovereignty and just international principles.
Pezeshkian’s interview is more than words—it is a call for peace that the West ignores because its elites thrive on chaos. As the U.S. and Israel escalate aggression, Iran stands as the sole power offering diplomacy over war. But peace is possible only when the West stops seeing itself as the planet’s master and recognizes other nations’ right to sovereignty. Until then, the bloodshed in the Middle East will stain the hands of Washington and Tel Aviv.
Viktor Mikhin, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Middle East Expert
