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REPORT: Top Huckabee Aide Downplayed Murders Of American Citizens To Make Israel Look Better

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A top aide to U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee allegedly suppressed a detailed embassy report into the killings of nine Americans in the West Bank, according to a report Thursday.

David Milstein, the stepson of Fox News host Mark Levin, frequently suppressed or manipulated reports from staffers at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to downplay Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank and portray Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in a positive light, The New York Times reported. He also allegedly intervened to suppress a “detailed” report by embassy staffers on the murders of nine U.S. citizens by Israeli settlers and security forces as members of Congress pushed for more information and accountability, according to The New York Times.

After a ninth American, 19-year-old Nasrallah Abu Siyam, was shot dead in the West Bank while trying to prevent settlers from stealing his livestock in February, 30 members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding updates on investigations into the string of killings. The embassy completed a report by March that found the Israeli investigations had gone nowhere, some cases were closed, and no one had been charged. However, Milstein allegedly pushed to send a letter back in response to Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, rather than sending the more detailed report, according to the outlet.

The report also alleges that Milstein has had a chilling effect on embassy staffers, with some staffers expressing concern about his relationship with Levin, a fervent ally of Netanyahu; downplayed the expansion of West Bank settlements, even though President Donald Trump has previously expressed opposition to the Israeli annexation of the West Bank; and dismissed mass casualties amid the delivery of food and aid to Palestinians.

The Daily Caller reached out to the embassy, which referred the Caller to an X post from Huckabee.

(Read more from “REPORT: Top Huckabee Aide Downplayed Murders Of American Citizens To Make Israel Look Better” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Flydubai Hijacker Was Barred by Oman, Flagged ‘Security Risk’ — Intended to Crash Jet in Israel

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The Omani co-pilot accused of trying to crash a Flydubai passenger jet carrying more than 170 people, nearly all of them Israeli, had previously been barred from flying over concerns about extremist views and identified as a security risk — and has indicated to investigators that he intended to crash the aircraft in Israel, according to reports Friday.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Oman had barred the co-pilot from flying over concerns that he had adopted radical ideological views. Despite the ban, the Omani national was later hired by Flydubai and allowed to serve as first officer on the sensitive route connecting the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

ABC News provided further details about the earlier warning signs, reporting that the co-pilot had been identified as a security risk while working as a trainee for Oman Air in 2024 after extremist materials were discovered in his possession, according to senior intelligence and law enforcement officials.

He was subsequently removed from flying but allowed to continue working for Oman Air in an administrative role, according to the report. Investigators are now trying to determine how he was later permitted to fly for Flydubai and ultimately became first officer aboard Wednesday’s flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

Now in UAE custody, the suspect is cooperating with authorities and “has indicated that his intent was to crash the aircraft in Israel,” ABC reported, citing sources briefed on the investigation. He was transferred to the UAE from Saudi Arabia on Thursday. (Read more from “Flydubai Hijacker Was Barred by Oman, Flagged ‘Security Risk’ — Intended to Crash Jet in Israel” HERE)

Almost All GOP Senators Block Resolution To Require Report On Israeli Violence In West Bank

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Almost every Republican senator shot down a resolution Tuesday that sought answers regarding increased violence in the West Bank by Israelis.

The resolution would have required the State Department to provide lawmakers with reports on violence and human rights violations in the territory. It failed in a 51 to 47 vote, with almost all Republican senators voting against it.

Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul voted “yes” on the measure, while Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman voted against it. Republican Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana did not vote.

Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Tim Kaine of Virginia, along with independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, introduced the measure in August. The three senators were joined by eight of their colleagues, including Democratic Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.

Van Hollen vowed Democrats would not stop fighting for “justice.” (Read more from “Almost All GOP Senators Block Resolution To Require Report On Israeli Violence In West Bank” HERE)

Netanyahu May Appoint Extremist Ben-Gvir As Defense Minister In Bid To Stay In Power

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Israel’s extremist National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said Tuesday that he would demand the defense minister post for the next Knesset term after the upcoming elections in October.

Ben-Gvir told reporters at a press conference that “it is time for someone from outside who is not bound by the old conceptions,” and that he wants to change the Israel Defense Forces’ rules of engagement in Gaza and Lebanon, according to Haaretz.

“I want us to be in a situation where, if stones and Molotov cocktails are thrown at our soldiers, they shoot,” he reportedly said.

Ben-Gvir has a long history of using extremist rhetoric to support Israel’s illegal occupations of the West Bank and parts of Southern Lebanon, and the country’s destruction of Gaza after Oct. 7.

As the U.S. tried to end the Iran War in June with a Memorandum of Understanding, he openly called for genocide in Lebanon. (Read more from “Netanyahu May Appoint Extremist Ben-Gvir As Defense Minister In Bid To Stay In Power” HERE)

Netanyahu Faces Israel Election Defeat Amid Claims He Ignored Oct. 7 Warning

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By Newsweek. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected claims he ignored warnings that could have prevented the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, as polls and prediction markets forecast he faces a bruising election next month.

Excerpts from a book, which were published by the newspaper Haaretz, described how Netanyahu had been told by Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), that Palestinian militants were planning a major operation.

“One should not engage in electoral prediction, but the heat is definitely up for Netanyahu,” Vuk Vuksanović, associate at the London School of Economics think tank, LSE IDEAS, told Newsweek. . .

After the release of the book’s revelations on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s chances of remaining prime minister after the election on October 27 slipped from 30 percent to 28 percent, according to the platform Polymarket. (Read more from “Netanyahu Faces Israel Election Defeat Amid Claims He Ignored Oct. 7 Warning” HERE)

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Netanyahu faces storm over report he ignored warning ahead of Oct. 7 attacks

By NBC News. TEL AVIV — It dropped like a political bombshell into next month’s parliamentary election: a news report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warning about the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and chose not to alert senior security officials.

(Read more from “Netanyahu faces storm over report he ignored warning ahead of Oct. 7 attacks” HERE)

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Norway’s Foreign Minister warns Netanyahu’s government driving Israel into a ‘very dangerous place’

By Yahoo News. Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has told Europe Today that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has driven Israel into a “very dangerous place”.

Describing it as “the most far-right government in Israel’s history”, Eide said he hoped that, regardless of the outcome of Israel’s October elections, the country would eventually recognise it had been on a “very dangerous track”.

Eide spoke to Euronews’ EU Editor Maria Tadeo in Riga, Latvia, days after Norway joined 11 other countries in sanctioning trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

He said that the West had “undermined its credibility” with its “wobbly, unclear and unprincipled” position on conflicts in the Middle East.

“The problem has been that too many countries have been careful in criticising Israel because you were so easily attacked for being anti-Semitic,” Eide said, arguing this had led the international community to take “less daring positions”. (Read more from “Norway’s Foreign Minister warns Netanyahu’s government driving Israel into a ‘very dangerous place’” HERE)

Mike Huckabee Condemns Violent Israeli Settlers as ‘Terrorists’ in West Bank Visit

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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee again denounced violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, describing their attacks against Palestinians as acts of “terror.”

Huckabee has previously spoken out against settler violence, including after Israeli settlers attacked a home in the West Bank village of Qusra that was owned by an American citizen last month.

“If there are squatters that come in and put up their own flags and take possession of something that does not belong to them, if they burn a car, if they torch a mosque, if they go into someone’s home and vandalize it, paint graffiti on the walls, that’s a criminal act. But it extends beyond a criminal act. It’s an act of terror,” Huckabee said during a visit to the village of Turmus Ayya, where residents have reported frequent settler attacks over the past year. He clarified that his remarks were directed toward the U.S. citizens living among the Palestinians in the region. (Read more from “Mike Huckabee Condemns Violent Israeli Settlers as ‘Terrorists’ in West Bank Visit” HERE)

Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza Kill Two People, Including 4-Year-Old Boy, Medics Say

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Two Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on ⁠Sunday ⁠killed at least two people, including a four-year-old ⁠boy, and wounded seven others, Palestinian health officials said, as Israel warned it would intensify strikes after what ​it said were launches of balloons, drones and kites from Gaza toward Israel.

One of the strikes hit a building in Zawayda town in the centre of the ‌enclave and followed a warning by the Israeli ‌army for the owners of the property to leave the area, residents said.

Medics said flying debris and shrapnel that spread for dozens of metres around had ⁠wounded at least ⁠six people, including the four-year-old, Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha, who was later pronounced dead at hospital.

“There is ​no ceasefire, there is nothing,” said Abu Ahmed, a displaced Palestinian who was sheltering close to the building, which the airstrike reduced to a pile of mangled steel and concrete.

“We want solutions, we want to live in peace,” he said. (Read more from “Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza Kill Two People, Including 4-Year-Old Boy, Medics Say” HERE)

Israeli Army Surrounds Last Christian Town in West Bank

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The Israeli army (IDF) has declared the Christian town of Taybeh – the last entirely Christian community in the occupied West Bank – a ‘closed military zone’ – prohibiting Israelis, foreign nationals, and journalists from entering. The army says this is to protect Taybeh from the illegal settlers that have been attacking the town for months.

Taybeh Mayor Suleiman Khoury said that restricting foreign visitors will have a serious economic impact because Taybeh is a popular religious and tourist destination with hotels, restaurants and other businesses relying heavily on visitors.

But the ban also means international activists, human rights observers, and journalists will no longer be able to enter the village to document or respond to the daily attacks by Israeli settlers. Many observers have noted that the IDF has tended to stand by and watch while ‘settlers’ have rampaged through Christian land and homes in Taybeh.

Ihab Hassan, a Palestinian Christian human rights advocate wrote: “This is a deeply alarming new measure and another step by the Israeli government and army toward the ethnic cleansing of the last entirely Christian village in the West Bank. They want to do it in silence – without witnesses, without journalists, and without the world noticing.

“Instead of arresting the settler terrorists responsible for these attacks, the authorities are banning the journalists and activists who document them from entering the village. (Read more from “Israeli Army Surrounds Last Christian Town in West Bank” HERE)

Jerusalem’s most Important Muslim Religious Site Facing ‘Imminent’ Threat of Israeli Takeover

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Jordan is convening an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Arab and Islamic world over what it says is an “imminent” threat of an Israeli takeover of the most important Muslim site in Jerusalem, with the potential to “trigger a religious conflict”.

The meeting on Wednesday – and the Jordanian warning – follow an escalating pattern of government-backed incursions by Jewish religious extremists on the compound around al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock, in violation of a status quo treaty overseen by Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy, by which only Muslims can pray at the site.

On 23 July, more than 2,000 Israelis from the religious right – mostly settlers led by the national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir – stormed the area, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. They prayed and performed rituals all around the compound in what Jordanian officials said was the worst violation in modern history.

The Temple Mount is also the holiest site in Judaism, the site of two temples which were built and then destroyed by invaders in ancient times. Under the status quo agreement, the Western Wall – which was a retaining wall that survived the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE – is reserved for Jewish prayer.

Amman has also been alarmed at a recent recruitment drive for religious Jews for a special Temple Mount police unit, and is braced for more direct challenges to traditional Jordanian custodianship by extremist Israeli leaders in the major Jewish holidays in September. This year, those holidays will come amid an intense election campaign, in which the far-right coalition of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will be fighting for survival. (Read more from “Jerusalem’s most Important Muslim Religious Site Facing ‘Imminent’ Threat of Israeli Takeover” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

US General says Naval Arsenal too Sparse to Defend Israel: Report

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A top U.S. military official warned that the United States does not have enough naval forces to fully protect Israel from Iranian missile attacks amid ongoing regional tensions.The U.S. has deployed naval destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel and counter Iran’s attacks in the Middle East, but thes forces are strained. The warning highlights that unless additional naval assets are provided, the U.S. may have to prioritize defending itself over aiding Israel. The war with Iran has led to increased use of U.S. military resources, including significant deployment of Patriot missile interceptors, with reports indicating over half have been expended. Iran has been escalating its attacks thru proxies like Hezbollah and the Houthis, and reportedly devised a plan to intensify assaults if U.S.operations increase. U.S. military planners are considering a two-week campaign targeting iran’s missile launchers to curb attacks,with discussions held at the highest levels,including briefings to President Trump. the strained military capacity underscores the challenges faced by Washington as regional hostilities expand and weapons supplies dwindle.

A top U.S. general reportedly warned his superiors this week that Washington lacks sufficient military power to protect the United States’ allies in the Middle East.

The U.S. has positioned naval destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea to stabilize the Middle East and bolster Israel’s security for years, with the destroyers rising to particular use in recent months, as Iran has carried out attacks on Israel and 14 other countries in the region. However, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of U.S. European Command, told the Pentagon that he lacks sufficient naval forces to continue protecting Israel from incoming ballistic missiles from Iran and its terrorist proxies in the region, according to a Washington Post report published Friday.

Unless Washington provides another naval destroyer, he will be forced to choose defense of the United States over Israel, the report claimed, as the Iran war has put a strain on Washington’s military arsenal. (Read more from “US General says Naval Arsenal too Sparse to Defend Israel: Report” HERE)