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Turkish-Funded Militias Seizing Hundreds of Acres From Christian Syrians

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The commander of an Islamist militia has reportedly seized 500 acres of farming land from Christian farmers in the town of Ras Al-Ein in northern Syria near the Turkish border.

The area is under the control of a coalition of Islamist militias that are part of the Syrian National Army, an entity backed by Qatar and Turkey.

The main groups involved in human rights abuses in Ras Al-Ein include the Al-Hamzat Battalion and Jaysh Al-Sharqya, reported the United Kingdom-based watchdog Christian Solidarity Worldwide, citing local sources.

The leader of Jaysh Al-Sharqya, Commander Abou Jammo, was identified as the one who ordered the confiscation, CSW said, adding that the United States has sanctioned these groups for their actions.

Amid rising tensions, the militias have also threatened to increase the tax imposed on farmers from 20% to 35%. (Read more from “Turkish-Funded Militias Seizing Hundreds of Acres From Christian Syrians” HERE)

Erdogan Threatens Israel: ‘Like We Entered Karabakh and Libya – We Will Do the Same to Israel’

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Jerusalem and Ankara traded sharp barbs on Sunday, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeming to threaten military action against Israel on Sundays as tensions heated up between the Jewish state and the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah.

Israel in turn warned that his fate could become akin to that of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was executed by hanging.

“Erdogan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein by threatening to attack Israel. He should remember what happened there and how it ended,’ Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in which he linked a photograph of the two men.

He spoke up after Erdogan suggested that Turkey might enter Israel as it had done in the past in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not spell out what sort of intervention he was suggesting.

Erdogan, who has been a fierce critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas, started discussing that war during a speech praising his country’s defense industry. (Read more from “Erdogan Threatens Israel: ‘Like We Entered Karabakh and Libya – We Will Do the Same to Israel'” HERE)

WATCH: Turkish Lawmaker Declares Israel Cannot ‘Escape the Wrath of God,’ Instantly Collapses From Heart Attack (VIDEO)

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A Turkish lawmaker collapsed on Tuesday immediately after declaring that Israel cannot “escape the wrath of God.”

Video from the Turkish Grand National Assembly showed Saadet Party Kocaeli Deputy Hasan Bitmez, 53, giving a speech before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when he collapsed.

“Even if history remains silent, the truth will not remain silent. They think that if they get rid of us, there will be no problem,” he said in a translation of his speech. “However, if you get rid of us, you will not be able to escape the torment of conscience. Even if you escape the torment of history, you will not be able to escape the wrath of God.”

Immediately after making the remarks he turned and collapsed onto the floor as people rushed in to help him.

Turkish officials later said that “during angiography, it was seen that two main veins were completely blocked, and after the intervention did not yield any results, he was connected to a heart-lung pump.”

(Read more from “Turkish Lawmaker Declares Israel Cannot ‘Escape the Wrath of God,’ Instantly Collapses From Heart Attack” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Video Shows Pro-Palestinian Protesters Trying to Storm U.S. Air Base Abroad

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Pro-Palestinian protesters tried to storm a U.S. air base in southern Turkey Saturday ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Turkey, a Reuters video showed.

The protests occurred at the Incirlik Air Base in Adana Province, per the video. The protesters, bearing Palestinian and Saudi Arabian national flags and chanting, “Allahu akbar,” threw projectiles ranging from stones to plastic chairs at the riot police behind barricades, forcing the police to respond with tear gas and water cannons, the video showed.

Blinken arrived in Turkey to hold talks with his Turkish counter-part Hakan Fidan concerning the Israel-Hamas war and its various concerns, Russia’s war in Ukraine, NATO unity, and Sweden’s still-pending accession to NATO. He previously visited Tel Aviv, Israel, and Amman, Jordan as part of his “intense diplomacy”. He also made an unannounced visit to Iraq to urge against the spread of the war.

Blinken’s visit to Turkey comes against the backdrop of the country’s recall of its ambassador to Israel over Israel’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire and concerns over the flow of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

(Read more from “Video Shows Pro-Palestinian Protesters Trying to Storm U.S. Air Base Abroad” HERE)

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Is Turkey Joining War Against Israel? (VIDEO)

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Turkey’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is blasting Israel as a “war criminal to the world” that is committing an “open and despicable massacre” against Gazans, in a fiery, pro-Hamas speech at a massive rally in Istanbul organized by his AKP Party.

Erdogan, a longtime defender of Hamas who rejects the Western powers’ classification of Hamas as a terrorist organization, has ramped up his rhetoric against the Jewish state following Israel’s declaration of war and retaliatory campaign against Hamas terrorists, who reportedly killed 1,400 Israelis – including many civilians – in a surprise attack Oct. 7.

Earlier last week, Erdogan called Hamas “freedom fighters” and cancelled a planned trip to Israel.

At the pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul attended by hundreds of thousands, Erdogan questioned Israel’s historic claim to their Middle East homeland: “Hey Israel, how did you come here? How did you enter here?” he asked rhetorically to the flag-waving throng. “You are an occupier. You are an organization. The Turkish people know this,” he said. “Israel, we will declare you as a war criminal to the world.”

(Read more from “Is Turkey Joining War Against Israel?” HERE)

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Turkey, Syria Hit by New 6.4-Magnitude Earthquake 2 Weeks After Twin Quakes Killed at Least 46,000

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A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey near the Syrian border late Monday — two weeks after twin earthquakes devastated the region, killing at least 46,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.

The quake — almost as forceful as the 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck on Feb. 6, leaving Turkey and Syria under piles of rubble — brought further heartbreak and despair to the already ravaged Hatay province in southern Turkey.

Its tremors were centered around the town of Defne, in Hatay province, Turkey’s disaster management agency AFAD said — but was also strongly felt in the cities of Antakya and Adana, located to the north.

Antakya resident Muna Al Omar — who, like many in the city, is already living in a temporary housing shelter — said she was in a tent in a park when disaster struck again.

“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” she said through tears while holding her 7-year-old son in her arms. “Is there going to be another aftershock?” (Read more from “Turkey, Syria Hit by New 6.4-Magnitude Earthquake 2 Weeks After Twin Quakes Killed at Least 46,000” HERE)

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Top Archaeologists Claim They’ve Uncovered Evidence Confirming Trojan Horse ‘Myth’

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Turkish archaeologists claim they have found what they believe are pieces of the Trojan Horse. According to a report by newsit.gr, Turkish archaeologists excavating the site of the historical city of Troy on the hills of Hisarlik have unearthed a large wooden structure. Historians and archaeologists think what they have discovered are remains of the legendary Trojan Horse.

The excavations brought to light dozens of fir planks and beams up to 15 meters (49 feet) long. The remnants were assembled in a strange form, that led the experts to suspect they belong to the Trojan Horse. The wooden structure was inside the walls of the ancient city of Troy.

The Trojan Horse is considered by most to have been a mythical structure. The horse is commonly associated with Homer’s epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.

The classic epic poems tell the story of the Trojan War and Odysseus’ long journey back to Ithaca, but curiously enough, they do not feature the iconic wooden horse. In fact, the Iliad closes out right before the war is over. . .

The structure found fits the description by Virgil, Augustus and Quintus Smyrnaeus. So archaeologists have started to consider that the discovery is indeed the remains of the subterfuge Greeks used to conquer ancient Troy. (Read more from “Top Archaeologists Claim They’ve Uncovered Evidence Confirming Trojan Horse ‘Myth'” HERE)

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Authorities Investigating Mysterious Monolith That Randomly Appeared in Turkey (VIDEO)

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A mysterious monolith has reportedly surfaced in Turkey, prompting authorities to launch an investigation into the object.

The roughly 10-foot tall metal monolith was found Friday in Sanliurfa province inscribed with the message “look at the sky, see the moon,” in old Trukish script, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The monolith was found near Gobekli Tepe, a UNESCO World Heritage site which is home to megalithic structures that date back to the 10th millennium B.C., according to the report.

Armed officers have scanned through CCTV footage to investigate any vehicles that may have dropped the object off, Turkish media reported Sunday, according to the AP.

(Read more from “Authorities Investigating Mysterious Monolith That Randomly Appeared in Turkey” HERE)

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‘Jerusalem Is Our City,’ Turkey’s Erdogan Declares

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday implied that Jerusalem belongs to Turkey, referring to the Ottoman Empire’s control over the city for much of the modern era.

“In this city that we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. So Jerusalem is our city, a city from us,” he told Turkish lawmakers during a major policy speech in Ankara. “Our first qibla [direction of prayer in Islam] al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are the symbolic mosques of our faith. In addition, this city is home to the holy places of Christianity and Judaism.”

The Ottoman Empire ruled over Jerusalem from 1516 to 1917. Modern Turkey, its successor state, has long stressed its enduring connection to the holy city, regularly condemning Israel’s alleged efforts to “judaize” it and the US administration’s December 2017 recognition of it as Israel’s capital.

Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel since the country’s founding, and the Jewish people have thousands of years of history in the city, backed up by extensive archaeological finds.

During a lengthy speech at the opening of the Turkish parliament’s new legislative session, Erdoğan spent several minutes lamenting the fate of Jerusalem and the Palestinians’ plight. (Read more from “‘Jerusalem Is Our City,’ Turkey’s Erdogan Declares” HERE)

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Kurds Thank Trump for Ending Turkey’s Attack

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By Newsweek. The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces has thanked President Donald Trump for organizing an initial ceasefire to halt a Turkish-led attack on majority-Kurdish forces across northeastern Syria, just as the U.S. leader signaled it was time for other powers to step in on Syria.

Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria earlier this month as NATO ally Turkey launched an attack on the Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a group dominated by Kurdish militias that battled the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) but were considered terrorist organizations by Turkey. As violence ravaged the region, the Trump administration arranged a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and produced a five-day ceasefire that would end the attack by Turkish forces and allied Syrian insurgents, and facilitate the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from a so-called “safe zone.”

After this deal was succeeded by a new arrangement between Russia and Turkey, Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Kobane said Wednesday that he “just spoke with President Trump and explained to him the Turkish violations of the truce that would not have been possible without his great efforts,” according to a tweet by spokesperson Mustafa Bali.

“We THANK President Trump for his tireless efforts that stopped the brutal Turkish attack and jihadist groups on our people,” Kobane was cited as saying. “President Trump promised to maintain partnership with SDF and long-term support at various spheres.” (Read more from “Kurds Thank Trump for Ending Turkey’s Attack” HERE)

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Despite Setback, Kurds Appear Ready for Spotlight

By The Jerusalem Post. Syrian Kurdish leader Gen. Mazlum Kobani received Washington’s support on Wednesday and was on the phone with the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu – all two weeks after it seemed his Syrian Democratic Forces were on the ropes against Turkey.

Mazlum and his fighters – which number around 100,000 in different units trained by the Americans – suffered setbacks between October 9 and 14 amid hammering by Turkey and Turkish-backed jihadists, but they have come through the fire with confidence. . .

For SDF commanders, this now presents an interesting opportunity. The US wants the SDF, which it helped create, to continue to secure parts of eastern Syria, particularly 10,000 ISIS detainees and some oil fields near the Euphrates River. The US will remain in this area for an undetermined amount of time. This can help keep Iranian influence out of the strategic border area and prevent ISIS infiltrating into Iraq. It also give the SDF some room to maneuver between the US and the Russians. According to Russia’s Sputnik news agency, Moscow was in contact with Washington about the Turkish agreement.

While Moscow’s sudden appearance in eastern Syria as the arbiter appeared to humiliate Washington last week, it now appears that the US and the SDF might have an avenue to speak to the Russians about some shared interests. This is because the SDF now has signed agreements with the Syrian regime while Moscow has signed an agreement with Ankara.

Turkey is ostensibly an American NATO ally. Turkey’s main concern was to remove the SDF from the border, and it has accomplished this. It has also provided Turkey’s government a way to pretend it won, and to funnel some unsavory jihadists into Syria so Turkey doesn’t have to deal with them in Idlib province. Turkey wants to dump as many Syrian extremists back into Syria as possible to cage them in and dilute them. Ankara didn’t commit many of its own forces to fighting the SDF between October 9 and 17, seeking instead to use the Syrian rebel groups as cannon fodder. Now that the fodder has been used, Turkey and Russia signed their deal. (Read more from “Despite Setback, Kurds Appear Ready for Spotlight” HERE)

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