The Implications of Hamas's Public Executions and the World's Silence - Khaled Abu Toameh

 

by Khaled Abu Toameh

De-radicalization will happen only after Palestinians see that Hamas has been totally defeated, disarmed and removed from power.... Failure to eradicate Hamas will only pave the way for another October 7 massacre against Israel.

 

• Hamas, in short, has decided to eliminate any Palestinian opposed to terrorism and supportive of coexistence with Israel.

• Hamas's actions also demonstrate that the terror group is determined to exploit the current ceasefire to reassert its control over the Gaza Strip.

• The silence, or apathy, of the international community, including so-called pro-Palestinian groups and individuals, towards Hamas's crimes only encourages the terror group to proceed with its crackdown on its own people. The silence of the world, in addition, sends a message to the Palestinians that they should refrain from rising against Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

• We have not yet heard of a single Hamas terrorist talking about recognizing Israel's right to exist. In the eyes of Hamas leaders, the Trump peace plan is just another temporary ceasefire that should be used for rearming, regrouping, and preparing for massacring more Israelis.

• In recent months, Hamas has been quoting a famous statement by its former leader, the late Ismail Haniyeh, to confirm that the terror group will never recognize Israel's right to exist: "We said it five years ago and we say it now... we will never, we will never recognize Israel."

• No transitional government or "Board of Peace" will ever be able to enforce law and order as long as Hamas terrorists feel free to murder any Palestinian who wants peace and coexistence with Israel.

• De-radicalization will happen only after Palestinians see that Hamas has been totally defeated, disarmed and removed from power.... Failure to eradicate Hamas will only pave the way for another October 7 massacre against Israel.

No transitional government or "Board of Peace" will ever be able to enforce law and order as long as Hamas terrorists feel free to murder any Palestinian who wants peace and coexistence with Israel. Pictured: Hamas terrorists in Gaza on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Moiz Salhi/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump's plan for ending the Hamas-Israel war states that "Gaza will be a de-radicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors." His plan also stipulates that "Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough" and that "once all [Israeli] hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty."

Although Hamas has released the 20 living hostages and, since the announcement of Trump's plan in early October, has handed over the bodies of some of the fallen, the Gaza Strip remains anything but a "de-radicalized terror-free zone."

After the ceasefire went into effect, Hamas terrorists began rounding up dozens of Palestinians as part of a massive crackdown on critics and opponents of the terror group. At least 32 Palestinians have been publicly executed and many more otherwise killed by Hamas thugs under the pretext of "collaboration" with Israel. Fifty-two of those killed belonged to Hamas's rival Doghmush clan.

Trump's plan specifically notes that Gaza should not "pose a threat to its [Israeli] neighbors." Hamas's brutal crackdown shows that Gaza is posing a threat to its own people: Palestinians.

Hamas has not provided any evidence that many of those who were blindfolded, forced to kneel and executed extrajudicially in the street, in front of Palestinian children and teenagers, were linked in any way to the Israeli security forces. By labeling its victims as "collaborators," Hamas is seeking to justify its crimes to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The terror group knows that Palestinians have no sympathy for anyone accused of treason and working for the Israeli "enemy."

As Hamas drags Palestinians to the streets to face its firing squads, the international community appears to be looking the other way. Hamas, however, is not going after criminals, outlaws and suspected collaborators, as it claims. Instead, it is targeting those who dared to speak out against the terror group that brought death and destruction to the Gaza Strip after its October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel. Hamas is targeting Palestinian clans and individuals who dared to publicly challenge its atrocities against both Israelis and Palestinians.

Even if Hamas's claim that some of these Palestinians were "collaborators" with Israel is true, it means that these people chose to help Israel in its war on terrorism. Hamas, in short, has decided to eliminate any Palestinian opposed to terrorism and supportive of coexistence with Israel.

If anything, these murders show that the Gaza Strip is still not a "terror-free zone." Hamas's actions also demonstrate that the terror group is determined to exploit the current ceasefire to reassert its control over the Gaza Strip. The silence, or apathy, of the international community, including so-called pro-Palestinian groups and individuals, towards Hamas's crimes only encourages the terror group to proceed with its crackdown on its own people. The silence of the world, in addition, sends a message to the Palestinians that they should refrain from rising against Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

The Trump peace plan assumes that there are Hamas terrorists who might commit to coexistence with Israel and lay down their weapons. Hamas's actions and rhetoric in the past two weeks, however, suggest that the opposite is true. We have not yet heard of a single Hamas terrorist talking about recognizing Israel's right to exist. In the eyes of Hamas leaders, the Trump peace plan is just another temporary ceasefire that should be used for rearming, regrouping, and preparing for massacring more Israelis.

On October 16, Hamas announced, in a statement marking the first anniversary of the killing of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 atrocities:

"[T]he martyrdom of leader Yahya Sinwar, and before him the leaders and symbols of the movement, will only increase the strength, steadfastness, and determination of the movement, its people and its resistance to adhere to their approach, continue in their path and be loyal to their blood and sacrifices...

"[T]he ember of the Al-Aqsa Flood [the name Hamas uses for its October 7 massacres] will remain burning and the banner of resistance will not fall until comprehensive liberation and the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."

When Hamas talks about "comprehensive liberation," it means conquering all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and replacing Israel with an Islamist state.

Notably, Hamas is still fully committed to its 1988 charter, which states:

"The Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered; it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all the kings and presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that." (Article 11).

"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors." (Article 13)

In recent months, Hamas has been quoting a famous statement by its former leader, the late Ismail Haniyeh, to confirm that the terror group will never recognize Israel's right to exist: "We said it five years ago and we say it now... we will never, we will never recognize Israel."

For Hamas, any Palestinian or Arab who dares to make peace with Israel is a "collaborator" and "traitor" who deserves the death sentence. Hamas's public executions of "collaborators" aim to send a warning not only to Palestinians, but to all Arabs as well: Peace and coexistence with Israel is an act of treason punishable by death.

The Gaza Strip will never be de-radicalized as long as Hamas continues to roam the streets and launch violent and ruthless crackdowns on Palestinians. No transitional government or "Board of Peace" will ever be able to enforce law and order as long as Hamas terrorists feel free to murder any Palestinian who wants peace and coexistence with Israel.

De-radicalization will happen only after Palestinians see that Hamas has been totally defeated, disarmed and removed from power. This is the only way to ensure the success of the Trump peace plan. The way things are going in the Gaza Strip these days, it appears that we are returning to the pre-October 7 era, during which Hamas maintained its grip on the Gaza Strip with an iron fist. Failure to eradicate Hamas will only pave the way for another October 7 massacre against Israel.

• Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)

 

Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21998/hamas-public-executions

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WATCH: Israeli Times Square campaign slams Hamas execution of Gazans - JNS Staff

 

by JNS Staff

“Barely days into a ceasefire, Hamas turned its weapons on Palestinians to reassert control through fear & violence,” the Foreign Ministry tweeted.

 

Trucks reading “Remember October 7” in Times Square, New York City, Sept. 25, 2025. Credit: Courtesy.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry launched a digital billboard ad campaign in New York’s Times Square on Sunday, highlighting Hamas atrocities against Palestinians and urging the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.

“At Times Square, our message is clear: Barely days into a ceasefire, Hamas turned its weapons on Palestinians to reassert control through fear & violence,” the Foreign Ministry tweeted on Sunday afternoon.

“The world watches. The ceasefire must be upheld. Hamas must go. Gaza must be demilitarized,” added the ministry in the X post. 

At Times Square, our message is clear:

Barely days into a ceasefire, Hamas turned its weapons on Palestinians to reassert control through fear & violence.

The world watches. The ceasefire must be upheld. Hamas must go. Gaza must be demilitarized. pic.twitter.com/QWIglpDKXx

— Israel ישראל (@Israel) October 19, 2025

Citing a “Palestinian security source,” Reuters reported on Monday that Hamas terrorists executed 32 people. Hamas has said the killings are directed at “violent gangs” or individuals who collaborated with Israel.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the terrorist organization on Thursday, saying that “if Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.”

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A previous day, a senior Trump administration adviser told reporters that efforts were underway to demilitarize Gaza under Trump’s plan.

“We’re defining a path that makes everyone feel safe,” the adviser, who declined to be named, told reporters. “It’s not realistic to expect people to just drop arms.”

The international stabilization force that Trump outlined in his 20-point peace plan “is starting to be constructed,” another Trump administration adviser said.

JNS Staff

Source: https://www.jns.org/watch-israeli-times-square-campaign-slams-hamas-execution-of-gazans/

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Who or What Will Finally End Hamas? - Victor Davis Hanson

 

by Victor Davis Hanson

Hamas is an irredeemable terrorist cartel that subverts Gaza, uses civilians as shields, and must be dismantled and barred from power before any genuine peace can begin.

 

 

Hamas was born and exists to kill Jews, seek the destruction of Israel, and, to some extent, overthrow or subvert pro-Western Arab governments. Period.

For those ends, it diverted billions of dollars from the people of Gaza to build a vast subterranean labyrinth of military headquarters and arsenals. It expropriated hospitals, mosques, and schools for use as tunnel entries and exits, using expendable civilian shields to protect its rich terrorist hierarchy. Hamas always counted on plenty of collateral damage to sway the Western left to become active enablers of its murderous causes—in a way, it is also stone silent on other “occupied land” and “refugees,” from the recent ethnic cleansing in Azerbaijan and Nigeria to the long-standing illegal occupations of Northern Cyprus and swaths of the Congo.

Hamas was willing to execute its Palestinian Authority rivals, cancel all elections after its first and only victory, hold kangaroo death courts to murder dissidents, and steal hundreds of billions of dollars in Western and international relief. It has already violated the ceasefire, attacking and killing Israelis, and now claims it has “lost” the remains of Israeli hostages, whom it likely murdered (and thus does not want more physical evidence of their barbarity).

Hamas will never give up power, despite the fact that its ruling elite is all but wiped out, thousands of its foot soldiers are dead, and it is now loathed by most nations of the Middle East. The subtext of every negotiation over the future of Gaza is that almost every Arab regime privately wants the U.S. or Israel to eliminate Hamas. It is likely more popular at American college campuses, or in Dearborn, Michigan, and New York City—than in the Middle East.

Nonetheless, the remnants of Hamas are already in public view, in SS fashion, publicly executing any alleged critics or rivals. And it hopes to be reinvigorated by the recent release of 1,700 convicted terrorists, most with Hamas ties and many flush with cash for their past killing of Jews.

Hamas’s current strategy?

It hopes first to crush any internal Gaza opposition by liquidating critics, particularly oppositional clans and tribes, before mounting terrorist operations against Israel.

It then expects that Iran and Hezbollah will similarly feign cooperation with moderate Arab regimes and the U.S. to “deescalate” and eventually seek “peace”—until the old ring of fire and its Iranian patronage are rebuilt, and once a Democrat administration in Washington returns. It counts on assistance from an insidious UN, expatriate Arabs and Muslims in the West, Western leftist groups, and suicidal Western governments.

For now, Hamas will limit most of its killing to Gazans who complain about the mass death it brought to Gaza by its murderous rampage against Israelis on October 7, or small groups of Israeli peacekeepers.

So, given that peace is impossible with Hamas in the negotiations, who or what is going to eradicate Hamas as it seeks to return to its accustomed killing and terrorism?

If it is allowed power in Gaza, either solely or as part of a coalition, then the entire “peace process” is doomed. To grant it semi-legitimacy would be analogous to allowing the surviving Nazi apparat to participate in a postwar German democracy, or Tojo and his militarists to help rebuild Japan.

There are three entities who bear the responsibility to end Hamas under the new peace accords: the moderate Arab regimes of the Gulf, Egypt, Jordan, and perhaps Turkey, along with the U.S. and Israel. All of them wish Hamas to vanish as much as they fear doing so themselves. So while it is far-fetched that the three forces would act in concert to finish off Hamas, it is incumbent upon them not to prevent any of the others from crushing Hamas at its first sign of regrouping to doom the peace.

In practical terms, that reality likely means that Israel must finish off Hamas, with full U.S. support—and tacit Arab acquiescence. But key to the present ceasefire and possible peace is a comprehensive plan to anticipate Hamas’s return to terrorism.

One, Hamas’s entire underground complex must be destroyed as a prerequisite for any rebuilding of Gaza. The tunnels should be blown up, collapsed, and filled with the rubble of the war Hamas precipitated.

Two, before Hamas returns to its accustomed killing, it is also important that both Turkey and Qatar expel what’s left of its leadership. Qatar fears another Israeli strike on the Hamas terrorists residing in its territory. So it now seeks U.S. protection, given that all its enemies, neutrals, and friends are tired of its triple-dealing.

The Trump administration is apparently offering Qatar a life raft with the status of a protectorate. But the Trump administration should first insist that the Qataris disown Hamas and bar the group from its borders. The same with Turkey, over which the Trump administration has some considerable leverage.

Three, no Arab, Western, or UN aid money should be sent anywhere near Gaza without assurances that Hamas is barred from appropriating it.

Four, anyone with Hamas ties, formal or informal, should be prohibited from entering the U.S. and the EU and their Western allies.

Five, because Hamas has already been branded a terrorist organization for the past 28 years, U.S. campuses should finally be warned that student participation in pro-terrorist demonstrations championing Hamas would be equivalent to rapid expulsion. Businesses, NGOs, and fronts that empower Hamas should be warned that they will be debanked, fined, and prosecuted. In the West, Hamas should be further rebranded as a pariah no different from ISIS.

Six, no sanctions should be lifted from Iran until the end of its nuclear program is verified, and it ceases all funding of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. The quickest way for the bankrupt theocracy to implode is to keep it under sanctions and embargoes while it shorts its own people in stealthy attempts to fund its terrorist tentacles—a suicidal trajectory that alone might lead the Iranian street or military to turn on the theocracy.

The chief obstacle to Phase II of the ceasefire and hostage exchange is the elimination of Hamas. Otherwise, we are at a rare moment of opportunity in the Middle East, where the once unimaginable has become a reality.

Iran, for now, is broke, defenseless, humiliated, and discredited.

Russia has lost its Syrian client and any foothold in the Middle East, and is still trapped in its forever Ukraine War.

China has bet on the wrong Middle East horse.

Hezbollah is still shell-shocked and dismembered.

The equally untrustworthy Palestinian Authority nevertheless sees an opportunity finally to turn on its rival Hamas.

So there is a rare opportunity for the U.S., the Arabs, and Israel finally to forge a peace without the fear of foreign-funded, nihilist terrorism—but only the moment and solely if the last obstacle, the terrorists of October 7 who prompted the last two years of war and death, are finally disarmed, discredited, humiliated, and eliminated.

Victor Davis Hanson

Source: https://amgreatness.com/2025/10/20/who-or-what-will-finally-end-hamas/

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Hey Hey Ho Ho -– The UN has Got to Go! - Brian C. Joondeph

 

by Brian C. Joondeph

The U.N. record for peace, as opposed to President Trump's, does not look good in comparison.

 

President Donald Trump’s blunt assessment of the United Nations in his Sept. 23 address wasn’t just another form of political theater.

It served as a reality check for an institution that has long sacrificed its purpose and mission for pretenses and spectacle, and Americans, for the most part, have noticed this.

“The U.N. is supposed to stop invasions, not create them, and not finance them,” Trump reminded.

That line hit home at Turtle Bay because it’s true.

According to a new Rasmussen Reports poll, 60% of voters agree, including 43% who strongly agree. That’s not the MAGA fringe. That’s mainstream America, tired of writing checks to a diplomatic dinosaur that hasn’t done its job since Harry Truman was in office.

                     

Image created by ChatGPT

The United Nations was established in 1945 to prevent wars and foster cooperation.

Instead, it’s spent 80 years honing the skill of doing nothing, and at a high cost.

From genocides in Rwanda, Darfur, and the Congo to its complete paralysis during the Iran hostage crisis, and its obsessive condemning of Israel (while turning a blind eye to Iran and North Korea), the U.N. has so often failed its core mission that “U.N. peacekeeping” has become an oxymoron.

And let’s not forget Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, which the U.N. has condemned more than all other nations combined. Specifically, from 2015 through 2023, the U.N. General Assembly “adopted 154 resolutions against Israel and 71 against other countries,” according to UN Watch.

Meanwhile, nations like China, Cuba, and Iran still hold seats on the Human Rights Council. That’s like appointing Bernie Madoff to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trump was right to point out how the U.N. now functions less as a protector of peace and more as a refuge for global bureaucrats who view national sovereignty as a flaw. Its endless migration agreements and “sustainable development” plans all share a common aim: weaken the West, enrich the elite, and have America pay the bill.

The financials alone should infuriate taxpayers. The U.S. contributes 22% of the U.N.’s regular budget and more than 26% of its peacekeeping costs, totaling billions each year, while being lectured by diplomats from countries that depend on our foreign aid. No serious business would keep paying dues to a club that votes against it 80% of the time.

There are 193 U.N. member states. One such nation, the U.S., contributes a quarter of the U.N. budget, while the other 192 nations cover the rest. Why isn’t the left demanding the other countries, in a Bernie Sanders New York accent, “pay your fair share”?

The U.N. is just one example of government or semi-government waste and excess, all funded by the heavy taxes of hardworking Americans.

Elon Musk’s DOGE commission was the first glimpse into the financial scam of USAID and other unaccountable kleptocracies. When will DOGE investigate the U.N.?

And despite all that generosity, what do we actually get? U.N. diplomats with unpaid parking tickets, luxurious Manhattan apartments, and immunity from prosecution for crimes, including sexual assault, that would land an ordinary American in jail. It’s a sweet deal if you’re the one living off U.S. taxpayers with a stack of Hunter Biden “get out of jail free” cards ready to play when caught.

So yes, relocating the U.N. is more than symbolic; it’s common sense. If the global elite want their debating society, let them hold it in Geneva, Brussels, or Beijing. Let the high-brow EU diplomatic class fund this unaccountable spectacle.

America doesn’t need to bankroll its own critics.

The timing of Trump’s remarks couldn’t be more perfect. While the U.N. has held thousands of emergency sessions about the Middle East, often over fancy meals in upscale venues, without achieving anything, President Trump did what the world body couldn’t do in six decades: he brokered a breakthrough Israel–Gaza peace framework. 

His deal secured a ceasefire, a phased hostage release, and a withdrawal plan that both sides agreed on. In addition, he brokered peace in seven other wars. That’s leadership.

The U.N. has passed more resolutions on the Israel conflict than there are potholes in Manhattan. Talk is cheap, as the saying goes, and that’s the U.N. in a nutshell. Lots of talk, little action, and no results, all at great expense, with no benefit to those funding the largesse.

Predictably, the global commentariat mocked Trump’s deal. Some try to take credit, like Biden-era Secretary of State Antony Blinken, claiming Trump’s plan was based on Biden’s.

So what? New ideas often build on old ones, but that’s what the U.N. is about, ideas and little else.

The key is in the implementation, delivering results rather than just creating working groups, writing white papers, and speaking at conferences. Trump is a transactional leader who concentrates on solving problems, living in the moment instead of rehashing past grievances, and getting the deal done. 

That’s the opposite of the U.N. approach, which focuses more on singing Kumbaya than making any real progress.

But history will remember that Trump achieved in a week what the U.N. couldn’t in 60 years: real progress toward peace, not just another photo op at Turtle Bay.

Trump’s deal last week is far from guaranteed, as many players prefer endless conflict and war over peace and prosperity. This includes the U.N., which thrives on conflict, much like the monetized and lucrative civil rights movement, with one agency, UNRWA, actually hiring terrorists along with their supporters.

But Americans see the difference clearly. Rasmussen Reports found that 58% of voters believe the U.S., not the U.N., is the true force for good in the world. Only 33% said the same about the U.N. That’s not a disagreement. That’s a verdict.

Trump once asked, “What do we get for our money?” when referring to NATO and the U.N.. Increasingly, Americans know the answer: not much. If the U.N. won’t reform, treats dictators better than democracies, and continues to mock American sovereignty, then it’s time to do what any good landlord would do when the tenant damages the property. Evict them. Or in Trump’s language, say, “You’re fired!”

America’s founding principle was never “We, the Global Bureaucrats.” It was We the People. Maybe it’s time to remind the world of that again, starting with a one-way moving truck from Turtle Bay to anywhere but here.

Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a physician and writer. Follow me on Twitter @retinaldoctor, Substack Dr. Brian’s Substack, Truth Social @BrianJoondeph, LinkedIn @Brian Joondeph, and email [email protected].

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/10/hey_hey_ho_ho_the_un_has_got_to_go.html

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Hamas violates ceasefire again; three terrorists eliminated - Israel National News

 

by Israel National News

Three terrorists killed by sniper fire after crossing 'yellow line' border, nearing IDF forces operating in Shejaiya area.

 

IDF forces operate in Gaza                                                                              IDF Spokesperson

The IDF on Monday morning identified several terrorists who crossed the "yellow line" and approached IDF troops operating in the Shejaiya area, posing an immediate threat to them.

The troops fired toward the terrorists who crossed the yellow line in order to remove the threat to them.

A short while later, the IDF identified a number of additional terrorists who crossed the yellow line and approached IDF troops operating in the Shejaiya area, posing an immediate threat to them.

Related articles:

• Israel could return to fighting in Gaza if Hamas violates deal
• PM orders strong response to attack on troops in Rafah
• Watch: IDF marks 'yellow line' border in Gaza
• It is not over, yet

The troops fired toward the terrorists who crossed the yellow line in order to remove the threat to them.

On Sunday, Hamas terrorists fired towards IDF forces in Rafah, killing two soldiers.

The IDF warned, "IDF troops in the Southern Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat." 

Israel National News

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416515

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Canadian Prime Minister: 'Israeli PM will be arrested if he enters Canada' - Orli Harari

 

by Orli Harari

Speaking to Bloomberg, Canadian PM Mark Carney said that if PM Netanyahu enters Canada, he will be arrested, according to his predecessor's commitment to the arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu by the ICC in The Hague.

 

Mark Carney                                                                                REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Bloomberg, during an interview, that Canada would enforce the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, if he enters Canada.

During the interview, Carney said that if Netanyahu "enters Canada, he will be arrested in accordance with the order of the International Criminal Court."

He said Canada would continue to act "in accordance with international legal policy."

Last week, the International Criminal Court rejected Israel's request to appeal the arrest warrants issued for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for their responsibility for acts committed during the war in Gaza.

According to the court's decision, issued last year, there are "reasonable grounds" to assume that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli government has categorically rejected the charges, making it clear that this is a political move with no legal basis.

#urgent
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney: We will arrest Netanyahu if he visits Canada pic.twitter.com/ej0aiF0AmY

— mahmoud khalil (@zorba222) October 20, 2025

The Abraham Global Peace Initiative (AGPI) has demanded that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney retract his remarks. In a letter sent by the organization's chairman, Avi Avraham Ben-Lulu, he claimed that Carney's statement lacks legal basis and violates Israel's sovereignty.

In its letter, AGPI stressed that the court can only act on behalf of recognized states, and that the status of the Palestinian state is still controversial from an international legal perspective. It was also claimed that supporting the arrest warrant would be considered identifying with a political judicial process, which does not meet accepted legal standards.

Orli Harari

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416518

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NY anti-Israel activists hold vigil for Oct. 7 Hamas chief Sinwar on anniversary of his killing - Luke Tress

 

by Luke Tress

Bronx group sets up exhibit showing terror chief who orchestrated mass slaughter in Israel, Hezbollah’s Nasrallah and other terrorists

 

Anti-Israel protesters in New York City, September 23, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

NEW YORK — Anti-Israel activists in New York City on Thursday set up a display with images of several terror chiefs to mark the first anniversary of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death.

Israeli forces killed Sinwar, the architect of the October 2023 invasion of Israel, in Gaza on October 16, 2024.

A far-left, anti-Israel activist group called the Bronx Anti-War Coalition organized the vigil for Sinwar, held in the South Bronx neighborhood.

The group’s exhibit showed photos of Sinwar, other Hamas leaders, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian leaders, according to images shared by the activist group. Hamas and Hezbollah are US-designated terrorist groups.

The images were arrayed around flowers and candles, a banner that said, “Glory to the axis of resistance,” Hamas flags, and a Quran.

“The same way that Palestinians are violently removed from their homes and are murdered, is the same way that residents here in the Bronx are displaced when landlords raise the rent,” a speaker said at the event.

An announcement for the event was shared by other anti-Israel activist groups in the city, including the anti-Israel campus coalition at Columbia University.

“His embrace of death was not nihilistic but rooted in the conviction that martyrdom sustains the struggle,” Columbia University Apartheid Divest said in a Thursday statement hailing Sinwar.

Activists also posted flyers with Sinwar’s image and the event information on streetposts.  

Vigil for Yahya Sinwar & all Martyrs in the struggle against Zionism & US-led Western imperialism

“We must continue on the same path we started, or let it be another Karbala.” —Martyr Yahya Sinwar 🌹

📍The Bronx, NYC pic.twitter.com/wUuNiVulH1

— 🇲🇽🇻🇪🇵🇸Bronx Anti-War 🇾🇪🇮🇷🇱🇧🇮🇶 (@BXAntiWar) October 17, 2025

US Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat from New Jersey, condemned the vigil.

“This is blatant support for terrorism — and in the city with the largest Jewish population in America, no less. They should be ashamed of themselves,” he said on X.

Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar holds the child of an Al-Qassam Brigades member who was killed in fighting with Israel, during a rally in Gaza City on May 24, 2021. (Emmanuel Dunand / AFP)

The Bronx Anti-War Coalition describes itself as an “anti-imperialist, direct-action coalition resisting state violence while advancing decolonization.”

The group’s platform commits to “the abolition of the Zionist entity” and says on its website, “We view the Palestinian Resistance and the Axis of Resistance as the only realistic path toward achieving liberation for Palestine.”

A screenshot of video released by the IDF on October 19, 2024, shows Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar carrying a flatscreen television while escaping into a tunnel with his family the night before the Gaza-ruling terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught against Israel. (Screen capture; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The coalition, one of the smaller anti-Israel groups in the city, brings activists to mainstream protests, but the vigil was not publicly advertised by the leading pro-Palestinian groups in New York.

Those groups, such as the Palestinian Youth Movement and the People’s Forum, have nonprofit status or route their funding through registered nonprofits. Publicly endorsing a US-designated terrorist group could be construed as illegal, material support for a terrorist group and expose them to legal action, jeopardizing their funding.

This screen grab from a handout video released by the IDF on October 17, 2024, shows drone footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar moments before he was killed a day earlier in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip. (IDF / AFP)

Earlier this year, New York activists held a funeral ceremony for Nasrallah, the head of the Hezbollah terror group, after the IDF assassinated him.

Recent polls have found that younger and more left-wing Americans are increasingly accepting of political violence.

Luke Tress

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/ny-anti-israel-activists-hold-vigil-for-oct-7-hamas-chief-sinwar-on-anniversary-of-his-killing/

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Patel aims to protect civil liberties, reform the FBI to prevent serial weaponized spying - Steven Richards

 

by Steven Richards

"We've ended that regime," Patel says. The FBI director says he aims to restore the bureau to its core mission and reform policies to prevent the repetition of any politically motivated cases.

 

Director Kash Patel says his team is working on implementing new civil liberties protections at the FBI and touted his effort to refocus the bureau after confirmation that the investigative agency collected expansive phone data on Republican senators, House members, staff, and White House officials. 

He said his team has, or is currently working on, implementing new civil liberties protections at the FBI and touted his effort to refocus the bureau on its core mission. 

“We’ve ended that regime,” Patel told Just the News in a wide-ranging interview with the Just the News, No Noise TV show which aired on Wednesday. 

30 million lines of telephone data

Earlier this month, Just the News reported that the FBI collected call data on Republican senators and one House member as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot. 

Just the News also reported on Tuesday that congressional investigators had collected 30 million lines of phone data mapping contacts between conservatives and the Trump White House in the name of investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. The data was later offered to the bureau on the eve of the 2024 election. 

Patel: “It is law enforcement first"

“We've already implemented changes. We've already informed Congress we won't be grabbing their cell phone records or their staff or cell phone records for just a sense of weaponization,” Patel said. 

He told Just the News a big part of preventing these abuses in the future is refocusing the agency on its core mission, to enforce the law and investigate crimes. 

“So the good news about this FBI, it is mission focused,” Patel said. “It is law enforcement first, and it doesn't matter if you're red or blue or in between, or where you live, we are going to come in and root out not just criminality, but corruption in every single town in this country.”

Internal documents unearthed by Patel’s FBI and turned over to Congress showed that Special Counsel Smith obtained the phone records from eight senators and one House member in President Trump’s orbit. 

Grassley: “worse than Watergate”

The record, which was from 2023, indicated that investigators at the bureau had “conducted preliminary toll analysis on limited toll records” tied to phone calls related to GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis, Marsha Blackburn, and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly.

The senator who obtained the records, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley, said the data provided details about “when and to whom a call is made, as well as the duration and general location data of the call" although not the contents of the calls themselves, Just the News reported. 

Grassley called the abuse “worse than Watergate.” The bureau’s Arctic Frost investigation was originated by now-former FBI assistant special agent in charge Timothy Thibault of the Washington Field Office. As Grassley and his colleague, Sen. Ron Johnson, revealed in records released in January, Thibault “authored the initial language for what ultimately became Jack Smith’s federal case against Trump regarding the 2020 presidential election.” 

Thibault retired from the bureau in 2022 after his anti-Trump social media postings were revealed.

The senators also revealed in March that the FBI’s Arctic Frost investigation “acquired the government cell phones of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, among other government officials.”

Declassification a priority

Patel said the sweep of the officials’ phone records, which were part of an investigation codenamed Arctic Frost, which dove into making a case that Trump and his associates conspired to overturn the 2020 election results. It is only the latest example of repeated long-time exercises of abuse of power through weaponization. 

The pattern, he indicated, dates back to the documented abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was weaponized against Trump and his campaign in 2015 and 2016 for an imagined election collusion with Russia. 

Patel has made getting to the bottom of those abuses a key part of his tenure as FBI director. At the behest of President Donald Trump, Patel already declassified a host of documents tied to the bureau's deeply flawed and politically-motivated Trump-Russia inquiry known as "Crossfire Hurricane" back in April.

In July, the court which oversees FISA and approves warrants quietly approved a Justice Department request to review information tied to the FISA warrants that targeted former Trump campaign associate Carter Page as part of the bureau’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Russia collusion allegations. 

“We're never going to be participating in any of that and some of the reforms we've implemented on FISA and so many other corrupt institutions that were weaponized by the likes of [former FBI Director] Comey and [FBI agent Peter] Strzok and [Lisa] Page and so many others. We've ended that regime,” Patel said.  

Steven Richards

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/patel-aims-protect-civil-liberties-reform-fbi-prevent-weaponized-spying

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Series of shakeups roil the 2026 Senate primary elections; GOP tries to hold majority - Nicholas Ballasy

 

by Nicholas Ballasy

One of the most significant developments involves Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills officially entering the Democratic primary to challenge longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

 

A series of shakeups have rocked the 2026 Senate primary election process for both parties, as the GOP tries to hold its majority in the chamber. 

Two of the 22 Republican seats up for reelection in 2026 are in states that Trump either won or lost by less than 10 points in 2024, Politico has noted. Republicans currently occupy 53 seats in the Senate compared to 45 for Democrats plus two independents who caucus with Democrats.

One of the most significant developments involves Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills who is officially entering the Democratic primary to challenge longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

A University of New Hampshire poll from April 2025 found that 71% of Maine voters thought Collins did not deserve re-election in 2026. The same poll found Mills to be the preferred challenger to Collins, making the race a crucial one to watch.

Graham Platner, another Democratic primary challenger to Collins, has dealt with controversy due to his since-deleted Reddit posts from several years ago. The progressive candidate wrote on Reddit that “white people aren’t as racist or stupid as Trump thinks."

In another, he referred to himself as “a vegetable growing, psychedelics taking socialist these days.”

Platner said he regrets the posts and is remaining in the race.  

Issues across the states

Jon Bel Edwards, former governor of Louisiana, decided this week not to challenge incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. 

“After eight years in the Governor’s Office, and with two grandbabies at home, we’re committed to being the best Papa and Nonna we can be,” Edwards, 59, said.

Edwards was considered a likely challenger to Cassidy, given his ability to win two terms as a Democratic governor in a red state.

At this time, a Democratic challenger to Cassidy has not yet emerged. 

State Treasurer John Fleming, state Sen. Blake Miguez and Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta are GOP candidates that are running against Cassidy.

Cassidy, currently serving as the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, currently holds the edge in his primary, raising more money so far than his challengers at around $10 million, according to reports.

“I’m deeply grateful for the support from Louisianians in every corner of our state,” Cassidy said in his statement. “I thank all those from across our state who see that my work for Louisiana and with President Trump is delivering results for individuals, families and Louisiana."

Cassidy has faced some backlash from Trump supporters over his vote to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial.

Cassidy has defended his conservative record, citing his votes to confirm two key Trump cabinet secretaries for the president's second term.

"(Trump) has got two cabinet secretaries he would not have unless I'd gotten them approved," Cassidy said, referring to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, a moderate Democrat, announced this week that he is running in the Democratic primary against longtime Sen. Edward Markey, a progressive, for the Democratic nomination.

The Associated Press noted that Markey would be 80 years of age before the start of another six-year term.

Moulton, 46, said the Democrats need new leaders.

“I get as many questions about the failures of our own party as I do about the failures of the Trump administration,” Moulton said this week in an interview. “Because Democrats, certainly across Massachusetts, believe that a lot of people are not fighting hard enough.”

Moulton also said he would not support Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to be majority leader again.

"I’m not going to vote for Sen. Schumer to be the leader of our party in the Senate. We need new leaders," he said on Sunday.  

Nicholas Ballasy

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/series-shakeups-rock-2026-primary-elections-gop-tries-hold-majority

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The marches are not creating a blue wave - Silvio Canto, Jr.

 

by Silvio Canto, Jr.

Keep marching, but it's not turning into votes. It's like loading the bases and not scoring runs.

 

Let me break some liberal hearts this morning. All those marches against the king we don't have are not translating into votes or the blue wave that they need to win back the votes they lost. Let's check this from Roger Kimball:

Donald Trump was elected chiefly because he promised to do four things: (1) seal the Southern border; (2) remove the millions of illegal immigrants preying upon the country; (3) wage war upon the reign of woke ideology; (4) jump-start and Americanize the moribund economy. Nota bene: these are things he campaigned on. Things he was elected to do. This is what people voted for. And that is precisely what the “No Kings” mob is protesting.

Meanwhile, the “No Kings” automata were happy to acquiesce in Biden’s neo-totalitarian deep-state rule. Censorship was okay. The Covid shut-down was okay. The harassment and prosecution of one’s political enemies was just what the doctor ordered. The effort to destroy Trump was okay. It isn’t kings these people oppose; it is just the fact that their king lost his crown and their court was displaced.

Their king lost his crown! What a great line!

A big test is coming up on the first Tuesday in November when Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City will vote. I recall watching some Democrat experts saying that the country would finally speak against Trump in the beginning of a blue wave.

Well, I don't see a blue wave anywhere.

In Virginia, what was supposed to be an easy win has become a lot more complicated. Why? I guess all those moms don't like their daughters showering with men, no matter how many word salads you offer them. They don't want salad, they want to protect their daughter's dignity.

In New Jersey, the Democrat candidate thought that talking about Trump was what the voters wanted to hear. She is painfully learning that they'd rather talk about property taxes, electricity bills, and lousy public schools.

And finally, the biggest nightmare is New York City, where the worst possible outcome is emerging -- the election of a Democrat Socialist.

Blue wave? I don't see it. They may win Virginia and New Jersey but it won't be the victories they saw weeks ago. And Mamdani is what everyone but the Democrats are going to want to talk about.

So keep marching, but it's not turning into votes. It's like loading the bases and not scoring runs. You win by scoring runs, not by leaving runners on base as a wise manager once said.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Image: Public Domain Pictures 

Silvio Canto, Jr. 

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/10/the_marches_are_not_creating_a_blue_wave.html

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