Summary:
1. A new report exposes how Hamas inflates Gaza’s death toll. This is important as over 80% of media rely on and have been repeating unverified numbers from Hamas-run sources, creating a distorted narrative.
2. There is lots of chatter about reaching a deal on release of the hostages; skeptics believe Hamas will never release all the hostages.
3. While the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and PIJ are fighting near Jenin, the PA is still paying arrested Hamas terrorists as a reward for their crimes and official PA channels laud events of 10/7, yet the US govt has asked Israel to arm the PA!
4. Human Rights Watch is releasing a report critical of Israel (NGO Monitor has an analysis).
5. MEMRI has a new report warning the US on Qatar.
6. Turkey is now directly threatening the sovereignty of Israel’s capital, hosting Hamas leadership, threatening US allies in Syria, occupying 15% of Syria, and is somehow a member of NATO.
7. Campus faculty continue to play a pivotal role in the surge of violent antisemitism gripping U.S. campuses since the Hamas attack on Israel in October; finally, we're starting to see some pushback, but univeristies like Columbia are inexplicably hostile environments.
Day 440 Hostages Update:
On December 14th, Hamas released a new video featuring the body of an Israeli hostage, followed by a second CGI video of a graveyard full of Israeli hostages.US Secty Blinken: "For many months, Hamas has not been prepared to even do the basic things of coming to the table with the names of hostages," he said. "We have seen Hamas repeatedly, time and again, when the opportunity was there to do something, not be prepared to step up and do it."Hamas has refused to provide names of hostages it’s holding https://tinyurl.com/2dm78cdyCIA Director Bill Burns will meet with Qatar’s prime minister in Doha in an attempt to bridge gaps between the sides. President-Elect Donald Trump’s transition team has been working together with the Biden administration in recent weeks to try to reach a deal before Trump enters office. President-Elect Trump’s recently-appointed hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, was in Cairo today to meet with Egyptian officials regarding a potential deal. America must increase the pressure on Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar to use their leverage over Hamas to pressure the terrorists to release the hostages.Friday, Human Rights Watch will publish a report accusing Israel of genocide hoping to bolster political attacks by South Africa and Ireland at the ICJ. Read more at NGO-Monitor See also Genocide? Amnesty’s Distortion of the Truth
AUSTRALIA
The state of Victoria bans Hamas and Hezbollah flags, masked protests and restricts protests at houses of worship https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/victoria-to-ban-facemasks-and-certain-flags-at-protests-in-response-to-antisemitic-attacks/xd8mji6gc
HOLLAND
Dutch court has thrown out a case by a pro Hamas group trying stop government arms exports Israeli,https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/europe/2024/12/13/dutch-court-dismisses-genocide-lawsuit-calling-for-weapons-embargo-on-israel/
ISRAEL
Israeli troops continue to operate in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria to eliminate terrorist threats and protect Israeli citizens‘Lucky there were no children’: School near Tel Aviv ravaged by Houthi missile warhead Noga Arez, an Israeli singer, sharing that many of her bookings were cancelled because of her identity. Nothing she said or did.PA/HAMAS
Questionable Counting: Analysing the Death Toll from the Hamas-Run Ministry of Health in Gaza https://henryjacksonsociety.org/publications/questionable-counting/ This report is by Andrew Fox, he breaks it down in a Twitter thread: https://x.com/Mr_Andrew_Fox/status/1868216225072853209 97% of Gaza War Reports Only Cite Hamas Sources. Meanwhile, after this report published, the AP headline about Israel pulling embassy out of Ireland cites Hamas' disputed figures as fact and without attribution.
Israel eliminated Ahmed Bakr al-Lawh, a platoon commander in the Islamic Jihad's Central Camps Brigade; Al-Jazeera claims he was a video journalist.Clashes between Terror Groups and Palestinian Security Forces Escalating (Ynet News) The Palestinian Preventive Security forces launched a large-scale counterterror crackdown against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It's been described on social media as all out war.
A Picture May Speak 1,000 Words—but What if Those Words Are Lies? https://honestreporting.com/a-picture-may-speak-1000-words-but-what-if-those-words-are-lies/QATAR
SWITZERLAND
Breaks neutrality, votes to ban Hezbollah after outlawing Hamas and cutting UNRWA funding https://www.christianpost.com/news/switzerland-breaks-neutrality-votes-to-ban-hezbollah.htmlSYRIA
One of Assad's Mass Graves Found with 100,000 Bodies Jolani Tells the London Times: Syria Won't Be Used as a Launchpad for Attacks on Israel (The Times-UK) Syria's new leader Mohammed al-Jolani told The Times, "We are committed to the 1974 agreement and we are prepared to return the UN [monitors]," Shara said. "We do not want any conflict whether with Israel or anyone else....The Syrian people need a break, and the strikes must end and Israel has to pull back to its previous positions."Syrian Druze Village Calls to Be Annexed to Israel (Jerusalem Post) Syria May become battleground between Turkey and Israel.TURKEY
Approximately 15% of Syria’s territory is under the control of Turkish-backed forces. In these areas, the Turkish currency is in use, and Turkish bank branches and postal services have been operating. Turkey supports jihadist forces that operate against Kurds in Syria.
ICC
"Claims of Hamas Fighters in Gaza Hospital May Have Been Exaggerated, Says Senior ICC Prosecutor"
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/dec/11/claims-of-hamas-fighters-in-gaza-hospitals-may-have-been-exaggerated-says-senior-icc-prosecutor see also Number of Civilians Killed in Gaza "Inflated to Vilify Israel" (Telegraph-UK), https://x.com/Mr_Andrew_Fox/status/1867928638785564868,
Senior human rights lawyer quits ICC to protest prosecutor Karim Khan's refusal to indict Maduro regime members for crimes against humanity.
UK
BBC "misrepresented" Palestinian militants or terrorists as civilians in nearly 30 reports over 18 months. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/14/bbc-palestinian-hamas-fighters-arabic-innocent/
UN/UNRWA
Anti-Israel activities of Albanese govt. in Australia See video of Shari Markson at Sky News https://x.com/SpencerGuard/status/1867306587561635892
https://www.tweedekamer.nl/debat_en_vergadering/commissievergaderingen/details?id=2024A03786 and https://x.com/HillelNeuer/status/1867368842684399803
U.S. votes against anti-Israel resolutions at United Nations
The U.N. General Assembly passed two anti-Israel resolutions, with the United States opposing both.>The first demanded an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza that is not conditioned on Hamas releasing the hostages.>The second expressed support for UNRWA, which was exposed once again this week for employing terrorists in its schools.
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pederson condemns Israel for "violating Syria's territorial integrity" after it destroyed the chemical weapons and military caches that Syria used to slaughter more than 500,000 Syrians. No comment on Turkey's occupation and threats to Kurds.
USA
YEMEN
Following 8 Houthi missile attacks from Yemen this month alone— and just an hour after a missile was intercepted over central Israel — reports confirmed that Israel struck Houthis stronghold in Sana’a.
ON CAMPUS
Vote on Proposed "Liberated Ethnic Studies" at UC Schools Postponed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzIYa2D8gEY
Rice University students rejected three separate BDS referendums.
New School University Board of Trustees rejected the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility calls for divestment from Israel
Clark University rejects BDS
NYU called in NYPD who arrested two faculty in connection to protest that blocked entrances to a library and dozens of students granted "persona non grata" status for participating
Columbia University: Joseph Massad, Professor who praised Hamas attacks to teach course on Zionism in 2025. Note: In Oct 2023 a petition was created to remove Professor Massad: https://www.change.org/p/petition-for-the-immediate-removal-of-joseph-massad-from-columbia-s-faculty, obviously to no avail; Another adjunct professor resigned over this in protest
Columbia University: Professor Joseph Slaughter, who helped write new guidelines to protect campus protesters, is on record as praising terrorists.
Penn State University: Amy Wax Threatens To Sue Penn for Race Discrimination, Breach of Contract. The hypocrisy is stunning.E.g., Dr. Ege Yumusak, assistant professor of philosophy, celebrated "the joy of resistance" with no repercussions.
Carnegie Mellon professor Mary-Lou Arscott told a Jewish student that she should learn ‘what Jews do to make themselves such a hated group.’
University of Michigan: A university regent, Jordan Acker's home has been targeted 3 times. He condemns the chair of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, Rebekah Modrak, for failing to take action.
Massachusetts teachers’ union introducing anti-Israel material into schools’ curriculum
