“President Joe Biden directly appealed to the American people to support
funding for Israel and Ukraine’s war efforts, warning that Hamas and Russian
President Vladimir Putin pose parallel threats to US democracy. The roughly 15
minute Oval Office address precedes a formal White House request that Congress
provide approximately $100 billion in resources for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and
the US southern border. Biden argued that supporting Ukraine and Israel in
their fights against Russia and militant groups, respectively is “vital for
America’s national security.” “I know these conflicts can seem far away, and
it’s natural to ask why does this matter to America,” Biden said Thursday.
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats. They share this in common: they
both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”











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Eye on Extremism



October 20, 2023



Bloomberg: Biden Casts Russia, Hamas As Parallel Threats To Democracy
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“President Joe Biden directly appealed to the American people to support
funding for Israel and Ukraine’s war efforts, warning that Hamas and Russian
President Vladimir Putin pose parallel threats to US democracy. The roughly 15
minute Oval Office address precedes a formal White House request that Congress
provide approximately $100 billion in resources for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and
the US southern border. Biden argued that supporting Ukraine and Israel in
their fights against Russia and militant groups, respectively is “vital for
America’s national security.” “I know these conflicts can seem far away, and
it’s natural to ask why does this matter to America,” Biden said Thursday.
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats. They share this in common: they
both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”



CNN: Bulletin Advises Of Potential ‘Lone Offender’ Attacks As US
Counterterrorism Officials Work To Detect Homeland Threats
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“With a war ongoing between Israel and Hamas, law enforcement agencies across
the US remain on high alert, with a joint bulletin Wednesday warning of the
threat of “lone offenders” as sources say officials are using an array of
sophisticated tools and techniques to monitor for potential threats. The FBI
and the Department of Homeland Security, along with the National
Counterterrorism Center, issued the Joint Intelligence Bulletin sharing
information and a threat assessment advising state and local law enforcement
agencies that “lone offenders inspired by, or reacting to, the ongoing
Israel-HAMAS conflict pose the most likely threat to Americans.” The bulletin –
obtained by CNN – also notes “the FBI has seen an increase in reports of
threats against faith communities, particularly Jewish and Muslim communities.”
While Hamas has not specifically called for attacks on US soil, the bulletin
says, other foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks in the US,
which “may prompt homegrown extremists” to direct attacks at Israeli, Jewish or
US government targets.”




Recent CEP Press Releases

* CEP Launches Global Campaign For Qatar Asset Freeze
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* Hamas Leadership Confirm Iran’s Role in Planning, Executing Terror Attacks
Against Israel
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* Extremist Content Online: Hamas Attack Documented On Telegram, Al-Qaeda,
ISIS, White Supremacists Praise Attacks On Israel
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* Hamas Launches Thousands Of Rockets And Infiltrates Israel
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* CEP Resources ON PKK: Bombing In Turkish Capital Sparks Retaliatory Rsponse
Against Terror Group Strongholds In Iraq
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United States



ABC: US Navy Destroyer In Red Sea Shoots Down Cruise Missiles Potentially
Headed Toward Israel: Pentagon
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“The USS Carney, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer in the northern Red Sea,
on Thursday shot down multiple missiles and drones launched by Iranian-backed
Houthis in Yemen that the Pentagon said were potentially headed toward targets
in Israel. It is the first time in recent memory that a U.S. Navy ship in the
Middle East has engaged missiles and drones that were not directly aimed at the
vessel. It's also the first U.S. military action taken to defend Israel in the
current crisis and with the U.S. and other countries trying to contain the
conflict between Israel and Hamas, the possibility that an Iranian-backed proxy
group fired missiles and drones at Israel is sure to increase growing regional
tensions. The ship was in the northern Red Sea on Thursday evening local time
when it intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones,
Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press briefing. U.S.
officials told ABC News that the Carney had brought down eight drones launched
by the Houthis. The preliminary U.S. assessment was that the USS Carney was not
the target of any of the Houthi missiles or drones, according to multiple U.S.
officials.”



Syria



Reuters: US Troops Attacked In Iraq, Syria And On Alert For More Strikes
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“U.S. troops have been repeatedly attacked in Iraq and Syria in recent days,
U.S. officials said on Thursday, as Washington is on heightened alert for
activity by Iran-backed groups with regional tensions soaring during the
Israel-Hamas war. President Joe Biden has sent naval power to the Middle East
in the past two weeks, including two aircraft carriers, other warships and
about 2,000 Marines. There has been an uptick in attacks on U.S. forces since
the conflict in Israel broke out on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militants from
Hamas attacked southern Israel. On Wednesday, a drone hit U.S. forces in Syria
resulting in minor injuries, while another one was brought down. During a false
alarm at Al-Asad airbase in Iraq, a civilian contractor died from a cardiac
arrest. Earlier this week, U.S. forces thwarted multiple drones targeting
troops in Iraq. On Thursday, drones and rockets targeted the Ain al-Asad air
base, which hosts U.S. and other international forces in western Iraq, and
multiple blasts were heard inside the base. Rockets hit another military base
hosting U.S. forces near Baghdad's international airport, Iraqi police said on
Thursday, without providing further details.”



Middle East



The Cipher Brief: Deciphering Hamas’s Web Of Support
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“…Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Executive Director David Ibsen says
Turkey’s alliance with Hamas, runs fervently counter to NATO ally, the United
States, and the terror group’s tight alliance with Doha. “Since Hamas seized
control of the Gaza Strip and drove out the Palestinian Authority in 2007,
Qatar and Turkey have emerged as Hamas’s primary diplomatic backers. Qatar is
home to both the current leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, and the former leader
of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal,” he explained. “Qatar provides Hamas with freedom of
movement and allows it to carry out its activities undisturbed. In 2017, the
Sheraton Hotel in Doha hosted Hamas’s press conference announcing its revised
charter. Despite Hamas’s record of violence, including launching thousands of
rockets at Israeli population centers over the years, Qatar continues to
welcome the Hamas leadership and allow it to carry out its business
undisturbed.”



PBS: Why Hamas And Israel Are Both Alleged To Have Broken International Rules
Of War
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“Hamas and Israel have both been accused of breaking international law during
their latest conflict, and the United Nations says it is collecting evidence of
war crimes by all sides. Enforcing the law amid the fog of war is difficult.
Holding perpetrators to account once conflicts are over has often proved
elusive. Here is a look at some of the issues. The rules of armed conflict are
governed by a set of internationally recognized laws and resolutions, including
the United Nations charter, which prohibits aggressive wars but allows
countries the right to self-defense. Battlefield behavior has international
humanitarian laws including the Geneva Conventions, drawn up after World War II
and agreed on by almost every nation. The four conventions agreed upon in 1949
set out that civilians, the wounded and prisoners must be treated humanely in
wartime. They ban murder, torture, hostage-taking and “humiliating and
degrading treatment” and require fighters to treat the other side’s sick and
wounded. The rules apply both to wars between nations and conflicts, like that
between Israel and Hamas, in which one of the parties is not a state.”



The Times Of Israel: IDF Says Hezbollah Will ‘Bear The Consequences’ For
Rocket Fire From Lebanon
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“IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the Lebanese Hezbollah terror
group will bear responsibility for attacks carried out on northern Israel,
including those claimed by Palestinian groups. He says the recent rocket fire
on northern Israel, claimed by Hamas, was carried out with Hezbollah’s
approval, “just like all the attacks carried out by Palestinians from Lebanon
since the beginning of the fighting.” “Hezbollah will bear the consequences for
all the actions,” he says.”



United Kingdom



The Independent: UK Permits Antisemitism, Says Counter-Extremism Adviser
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“Writing in The Times, Commissioner for Countering Extremism Robin Simcox
said a good test of a society's health was how it treated its Jews - and, by
this metric, the UK was "very sick indeed". Security minister Tom Tugendhat
denied this, arguing threats to any community were taken "extremely seriously".
Police have recorded a steep rise in antisemitic incidents since 7 October. On
that date, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a series of attacks on
Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages. More
than 3,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory
air strikes, and a ground offensive is expected. In his Times article, Mr
Simcox said tens of thousands of British citizens had gone online and taken to
the streets to voice support for “Palestinian resistance". He accused them of
"successfully exploiting one of our proudest British values - free expression -
to pursue a shameful extremist agenda, the normalisation and promotion of
antisemitism", adding that this must be a "wake-up call for all decent people".”



China



Reuters: Taliban Says Plans To Formally Join China's Belt And Road Initiative
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“The Taliban administration wants to formally join Chinese President Xi
Jinping's huge 'Belt and Road' infrastructure initiative and will send a
technical team to China for talks, Afghanistan's acting commerce minister said
on Thursday. Beijing has sought to develop its ties with the Taliban-run
government since it took over in 2021, even though no other foreign government
has recognised the administration. Last month, China became the first country
to appoint an ambassador to Kabul, with other nations retaining previous
ambassadors or appointed heads of mission in a charge d'affaires capacity that
does not involve formally presenting credentials to the government. "We
requested China to allow us to be a part of the China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor and Belt and Road Initiative... (and) are discussing technical issues
today," acting Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters in an
interview a day after the Belt and Road Forum ended in Beijing. The Pakistan
"economic corridor" refers to the huge flagship section of the Belt and Road
Initiative (BRI) in Afghanistan's neighbour.”



Technology



The Guardian: Instagram Apologises For Adding ‘Terrorist’ To Some Palestinian
User Profiles
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“Meta has apologised after inserting the word “terrorist” into the profile
bios of some Palestinian Instagram users, in what the company says was a bug in
auto-translation. The issue, which was first reported by 404media, affected
users with the word “Palestinian” written in English on their profile, the
Palestinian flag emoji and the word “alhamdulillah” written in Arabic. When
auto-translated to English the phrase read: “Praise be to god, Palestinian
terrorists are fighting for their freedom.” TikTok user YtKingKhan posted
earlier this week about the issue, noting that different combinations still
translated to “terrorist”. “How did this get pushed to production?” one person
replied. “Please tell me this is a joke bc I cannot comprehend it I’m out of
words,” another said. After the first video, Instagram resolved the issue. The
auto-translation now reads: “Thank God”. A spokesperson for Meta told Guardian
Australia the issue had been fixed earlier this week. “We fixed a problem that
briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations in some of our products. We
sincerely apologise that this happened,” the spokesperson said.”



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