Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Summary: President Trump’s Middle East trip resulted in billions of dollars in deals, including arms and tech for Saudi Arabia. It did nothing to curb Qatar’s influence on media or on campuses, and did not result in a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions nor its support for terrorists. There is a new in-depth report on Hamas’ “Human Shield Strategy.” Hamas and the Taliban each released one American hostage. Hamas still holds 58 captives and continues to reject any hostage deal. Hamas praised Canada, France, and the UK for threatening Israel. For the third day in a row, Gazans are again risking their lives to protest Hamas. The Houthis in Yemen continue to fire rockets at Israeli cities.

-------------------------------------------

Hostage Update: It's been 593 days too many. 
At least 20 are believed to be alive and in desperate condition. Edan Alexander’s release was apparently secured through a secret backchannel between the U.S. and Hamas, brokered by Palestinian-American businessman Bishara Bahbah, chair of “Arab Americans for Trump.” Aid renewal to Gaza was part of the deal to free Alexander. Hamas continues to reject a new hostage deal.
Afghanistan
American, George Glezmann, detained by Taliban in Afghanistan is freed in deal mediated by Qatar https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/20/asia/us-citizen-george-glezmann-released-taliban-afghanistan-qatar-intl
Canada
France, the UK, and Canada have announced Israel must stop any military operations in Gaza or face sanctions. Hamas thanked Canada!
Iran
Additional Iran sanctions imposed at the same time President Trump has offered lifting all economic sanctions on Iran, if the country would commit to never making nuclear weapons and also eliminate its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium. (No mention of ending their support for terrorists) Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the nuclear talks between America and Iran are unlikely to be successful.  See https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0139, https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/20/middleeast/iran-supreme-leader-talks-us-conclusion-unlikely-intl and https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/lifting-us-sanctions-iran-could-crush-chinas-teapot-oil-refineries-bousso-2025-05-19/
 Israel
>Israel came in second at the Eurovision competition. Finland and Spain broadcasted anti-Israel messages before Yuval’s performance. Now that the contest is over, Finland accused Israel of engineering Eurovision votes and Spain is saying the audience vote isn’t fair because it was “influenced by the war.”
>What’s it like to dodge missiles in Israel? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7us38-qlH_Q 
>What has Israel accomplished in response to attacks from Hamas and Hezbollah? https://x.com/HilzFuld/status/1923995551650951594
>Israel sending negotiators to Doha for hostage talks, after US-Israeli captive freed  https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-sending-negotiators-to-doha-for-hostage-talks-after-us-israeli-captive-freed/   
Lebanon
>UN Says Found 225 Hizbullah Arms Caches since Truce (AFP) UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said Monday that since the Nov. 27, 2024, truce between Israel and Hizbullah it had uncovered more than 225 Hizbullah weapons caches in the south.
Palestinians/Hamas/PA
>Hamas Human Shield Strategy: Civilian casualties are not solely a tragic outcome of Israel's actions, but a deliberate result of Hamas's grotesque military doctrine. Hamas’s Human Shield Strategy https://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/HJS-Hamass-Human-Shield-Strategy-in-Gaza-Report-WEB.pdf  Both Palestinians and Israelis who have been held captive in Gaza hospitals confirm that they are being used by terrorists for military purposes. Israel has issued 21 million evacuation warnings. Israel tells Palestinians to evacuate, even at the cost of alerting Hamas and risking the hostages, to minimize civilian casualties as much as possible. Israel is continuing to destroy tunnels, target the remaining Hamas leaders, and has resumed aid deliveries -  including some 100 trucks today carrying flour, baby food and medical supplies.
>Footage challenges repeated claims of starvation in Gaza as war ramps up https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r17lo2wbxg#autoplay
>People in Gaza, while evacuating from Khan Yunis, told the journalist filming them: “Record this and let those sons of b**** Hamas leaders see what people are enduring,” and “No, it’s not the Jews—it’s Hamas.” https://x.com/IhabHassane/status/1924602630581432566
>Double standards: PLO thanks Egypt for hosting released terrorists, while ‎backing Egypt’s rejection of Gazan civilians who are in danger https://palwatch.org/page/37152
Qatar
>America for Sale: Qatar’s $40 Billion Spending Spree Buys Influence and Control of Elite Institutions. Qatar’s Strategic Investments in the U.S. Include Critical Infrastructure in Oil and Gas, Higher Education, Trophy Properties, and Political Access https://www.meforum.org/mef-reports/america-for-sale-qatars-40-billion-spending-spree-buys-influence-and-control-of-elite-institutions
USA
During President Trumps tour of the Middle East he secured deals worth billions of dollars including selling $142 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, and Qatar promising to invest $38 billion in the U.S. defense sector.
>East Real Estate Diplomacy in a Minefield https://maralsalmassi.substack.com/p/trumps-legacy-deal-no-exit
THE MEDIA
>NBC News Is Quietly Rewriting Its Own Reporting on the Israel-Hamas War https://honestreporting.com/nbc-news-is-quietly-rewriting-its-own-reporting-on-the-israel-hamas-war/ 
>The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published a report revealing how Gazan reporters are being threatened, stalked, and assaulted. https://cpj.org/2025/05/gaza-journalists-speak-out-about-hamas-intimidation-threats-assaults/ This comes after CPJ designated terrorists as journalists, including hostage holders.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,