“Israeli officials say Hamas terrorists killed during the Oct. 7 attack in the
southern portion of the country were found to be carrying instructions on how
to use cyanide-based chemical bombs, according to reports. The massacre at the
kibbutz is one of many scenes of unspeakable bloodshed perpetrated by Hamas.
Axios reportedly reviewed Israeli intelligence that showed Hamas terrorists
carried instructions stored on USB devices that included detailed diagrams for
a "cyanide dispersion device." The intelligence was found on the USB devices
discovered on the dead bodies of militants who invaded Kibbutz Be’eri near the
Gaza Strip in Southern Israel. "This finding points to an intention by Hamas to
use chemical weapons as part of its terror attack against civilians," Israel
said in a cable to its embassies. Israeli officials also told the embassies the
terrorists were ordered to "conduct attacks in a similar way that ISIS tried to
do." Sky News interviewed Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday, who
confirmed the instructions and said they dated back to 2003 and were from an Al
Qaeda design for chemical weapons. "It’s Al Qaeda material. Official Al Qaeda
material. We are dealing with ISIS, Al Qaeda and Hamas," President Herzog said.
"This is how shocking the situation is where we’re looking at the instructions
that are given on how to operate and how to create a kind of non-professional
chemical weapon with cyanide."”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism



October 23, 2023



Fox News: Hamas Terrorists Had Instructions For Using Cyanide-Based Chemical
Bombs, Linking To Al Qaeda: Reports
<[link removed]>



“Israeli officials say Hamas terrorists killed during the Oct. 7 attack in the
southern portion of the country were found to be carrying instructions on how
to use cyanide-based chemical bombs, according to reports. The massacre at the
kibbutz is one of many scenes of unspeakable bloodshed perpetrated by Hamas.
Axios reportedly reviewed Israeli intelligence that showed Hamas terrorists
carried instructions stored on USB devices that included detailed diagrams for
a "cyanide dispersion device." The intelligence was found on the USB devices
discovered on the dead bodies of militants who invaded Kibbutz Be’eri near the
Gaza Strip in Southern Israel. "This finding points to an intention by Hamas to
use chemical weapons as part of its terror attack against civilians," Israel
said in a cable to its embassies. Israeli officials also told the embassies the
terrorists were ordered to "conduct attacks in a similar way that ISIS tried to
do." Sky News interviewed Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday, who
confirmed the instructions and said they dated back to 2003 and were from an Al
Qaeda design for chemical weapons. "It’s Al Qaeda material. Official Al Qaeda
material. We are dealing with ISIS, Al Qaeda and Hamas," President Herzog said.
"This is how shocking the situation is where we’re looking at the instructions
that are given on how to operate and how to create a kind of non-professional
chemical weapon with cyanide."”



Associated Press: A Car Bombing At A Somali Military Facility Kills 6 People,
Including 4 Soldiers, Police Say
<[link removed]>



“An explosives-laden car detonated at a military facility on the outskirts of
Somalia’s capital Saturday and killed at least six people, four of them
soldiers, police said. Police spokesman Sadik Dodishe said nine others,
including five soldiers, were wounded in the suicide bombing at the military
facility in the Elasha Biyaha area of the Lower Shabelle region. The Islamic
extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility. The group frequently carries
out such attacks. Photos shared on the social media platform X showed the
extent of the damage caused by the explosion, which destroyed the security base
and several civilian houses in the vicinity. ”The sound of the explosion was
deafening ... and I saw a plume of smoke going up in the sky,” witness Ayan
Hussein, a resident of Elasha Biyaha, said by phone. She said she saw several
injured people being carried into an ambulance. Somalia’s federal government
has battled al-Shabab for years. Security forces stepped up their assault on
the group in recent months, including trying to dismantle its propaganda
network. Information Minister Daud Aweis told reporters that authorities had
shut down four radio stations affiliated with the group and killed nearly 3,800
al-Shabab fighters during a military offensive in which federal forces
reclaimed 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of territory.”




CEP Expert Analysis

* The Houthis and U.S.-Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
<[link removed]>
* Afghanistan Terorism Report: July 2023
<[link removed]>
* Afghanistan Terrorism Report: June 2023
<[link removed]>
* West Africa's Terrorism Challenge: Development Of Al-Qaeda In The Western
Sahel Region
<[link removed]>
* West Africa's Terrorism Challenge: Status Of ISWAP And ISGS In West Africa
And Sahel
<[link removed]>



United States



CNN: A Father And Family Members Are Convicted In Terrorism And Kidnapping
Case That Resulted In Death Of 3-Year-Old Boy On New Mexico Compound
<[link removed]>



“A father and several of his family members were convicted of charges in a
terrorism and kidnapping case in which his 3-year-old son was found dead on a
New Mexico compound, prosecutors said Friday. A federal jury convicted four
members of the family Tuesday after their 2018 arrest following a raid at the
rural New Mexico compound, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New
Mexico said in a news release Friday. Officers were searching the compound for
3-year-old Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, who had been abducted by his father, Siraj Ibn
Wahhaj, from his wife in Georgia, authorities said. The boy’s decomposed
remains were found at the compound, authorities said. During the raid,
authorities also found 11 emaciated children wearing rags and no shoes. The
group had apparently been living off the grid for months in the trash-ridden
lot. Jurors convicted Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and his brother-in-law Lucas Morton on
charges including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists,
providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to murder an officer or
employee of the United States, jury verdict sheets show. Morton was also found
guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death and kidnapping
resulting in death, according to the jury sheets.”



The New York Times: DeSantis Says He Would Cancel Student Visas Of Hamas
Sympathizers
<[link removed]>



“In a competition of hawkish messages on Israel, Ron DeSantis pledged on
Friday night to revoke the student visas of Hamas sympathizers if elected
president, while Tim Scott said he would withhold Pell grants from universities
that failed to stamp out antisemitism. At an Iowa showcase featuring most of
the top Republican presidential contenders, the Florida governor and the South
Carolina senator engaged in one-upmanship about who would best support Israel,
America’s closest Middle East ally. With their focus on students and academic
institutions, they repackaged a traditional line of attack for Republicans:
that liberal college campuses foster “woke” extremism, which they said was now
taking the form of anti-Israel expressions. “You see students demonstrating in
our country in favor of Hamas,” Mr. DeSantis said. “Remember, some of them are
foreigners.” Mr. DeSantis then warned that if he became president, “I’m
canceling your visa and I’m sending you home.” His remarks, during a tailgate
at a construction plant in Iowa City, echoed recent talking points of former
President Donald J. Trump, the G.O.P. front-runner, and Senator Marco Rubio of
Florida, who sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken this week
urging him to rescind the visas of “Hamas sympathizers.””



NPR: Pentagon Says It Shot Down Yemen Missiles That May Have Been Headed
Towards Israel
<[link removed]>



“The Pentagon said it shot down missiles fired from Yemen and potentially
headed towards Israel. The report came just a day after U.S. troops were
attacked in Iraq and Syria, stoking fears of a regional expansion of the
conflict between Israel and Hamas. The USS Carney, which is currently stationed
in the Northern Red Sea, successfully intercepted three cruise missiles and
several drones that had been launched by Houthi forces in Yemen, according to
Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary. No one was
injured in the incident. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Ryder said the
Pentagon was still working to determine the weapons' intended target, but told
reporters they were heading north and "potentially towards targets in Israel."
Defense analysts and military officials believe the Houthis have medium-range
ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel, more than 1,300 miles away. The
Carney is equipped with various missile defense systems, though the Pentagon
hasn't said which system was used to destroy the missiles.”



Afghanistan



PBS: Afghan Women, Girls Face Array Of Challenges After Deadly Earthquakes, UN
Says
<[link removed]>



“Women and girls are in a “not only difficult … but deadly” situation
following recent earthquakes in Afghanistan because of the humanitarian and
civil rights crises in the country since the Taliban seized power, a U.N.
official said Sunday. An update from U.N. Women highlighted some of the
problems women are facing in areas of Herat province, where a series of violent
earthquakes and aftershocks this month killed thousands of people, more than
90% of them women and children, and destroyed nearly every home. Cultural norms
make it impossible for women to share a tent with neighbors or other families,
the U.N. agency said in its update published Thursday. Many women also have
difficulty obtaining humanitarian aid if they don’t have male relative who can
access it on their behalf and there is an absence of female workers aid
distribution points, the U.N. said. Women affected by the earthquake have told
the U.N. they cannot access aid without the national identity card, or tazkera,
of a male relative. They need clothing, including the Islamic headscarf, so
they can dress appropriately to access services and aid, according to the
update.”



Middle East



The Times: Call To Boycott The Ritz Over Qatar’s Hamas Links
<[link removed]>



“…This weekend the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a non-profit
international policy organisation, called for a boycott of three hotels in
London that are owned by senior Qataris or the country’s sovereign wealth fund
until “the Al Thani royal family surrender the orchestrators” of the October 7
attack. CEP, which has previously campaigned against Islamist terrorism and
Iranian nuclear armament, claimed “Qatar’s role in the atrocities perpetrated
by Hamas in Israel is indisputable”. It said in a statement: “It is untenable
that the Qatari government should continue to profit from its business
interests while funds are used to support the perpetrators of mass murder.”



Express Co: Met Police Blasted For 'Gaslighting' Over Response To Palestine
Rally's 'Holy War' Chants
<[link removed]>



“…According to the Counter Extremism Project, Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in “at
least 13 countries”, including Pakistan, Lebanon and Egypt and advocates for a
"global caliphate". The group is not proscribed in the UK.”



The Telegraph: How The Israel-Hamas War Is Forcing A Rethink Of Cash From The
Gulf
<[link removed]>



“…Mark Wallace, a former US ambassador to the UN, called for assets linked to
the Qatari state and royal family to be frozen “until the Qataris turn over the
worst of the worst terror leaders in the world”. Wallace, who now runs the
US-based Counter Extremism Project, also called for the UK’s diplomatic ties
with Doha to be suspended if the regime fails to apprehend Haniyeh and hand him
over to American or Israeli authorities. That seems unlikely. “The UK and its
allies have an enduring relationship with Qatar,” the foreign office said in
response to Wallace’s demands. With winter approaching, Whitehall will be
keenly aware that Britain has become dependent on Qatari shipments of liquified
natural gas.”



Reuters: Israel Tells Gazans To Move South Or Risk Being Seen As 'Terrorist'
Partner
<[link removed]>



“Palestinians said they had received renewed warnings from Israel's military
to move from north Gaza to the south of the strip, with the added warning that
they could be identified as sympathisers with a "terrorist organisation" if
they stayed put. The message was delivered in leaflets marked with the Israel
Defense Forces name and logo from Saturday and sent to people via mobile phone
audio messages across the Gaza Strip, a narrow territory that is just 45 km (28
miles) long. "Urgent warning, to residents of Gaza. Your presence north of Wadi
Gaza puts your life in danger. Whoever chooses not to leave north Gaza to the
south of Wadi Gaza might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist
organisation," the leaflet said. Israel has pounded Gaza with airstrikes since
the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israeli soil
on Oct. 7. Israel has massed troops and armour on the border with Gaza ahead of
an expected land incursion. The Israeli military said in a statement it had "no
intention to consider those who have not evacuated ... as a member of the
terrorist group". It added that it did not target civilians. "In order to
minimize civilian harm, the IDF sent a request to the residents of the northern
area of the Gaza Strip to evacuate southward of Wadi Gaza," it said.”



Wall Street Journal: Israel Intensifies Bombing On Multiple Fronts, Prepares
For Gaza Ground Operation <[link removed]>



“Israel ramped up its bombing of targets on three fronts, including a rare
airstrike in the West Bank, as humanitarian aid trickled into the Gaza Strip in
an international effort to ease the hardship the conflict has wrought on the
two million civilians trapped there. An Israeli soldier died during an
operation in Gaza, and the Israeli military struck a mosque compound in the
West Bank’s city of Jenin that it said was being used by militants to plan
attacks. It also struck a target in southern Lebanon, where it said militants
were attempting to launch antitank missiles at the Israeli side of the border.
International efforts remained under way to free hostages in Gaza and prevent
the fight from escalating into a regional conflict. President Biden held talks
Sunday with leaders in Israel, the U.K., France and other countries as Israel
weighed the consequences of any ground invasion of Gaza. The raid in Gaza in
which one Israeli soldier was killed and three others were wounded was aimed at
preparing for a ground operation and to gather information about hostages that
Hamas took during its attacks on Oct. 7, Israeli military spokesman Daniel
Hagari said Sunday. Hamas’s armed wing said on its Telegram channel that
Israeli soldiers were ambushed in southern Gaza. Neither side said whether
Hamas was involved in the clash.”



Associated Press: Biden Says Hamas Attacked Israel In Part To Stop A Historic
Agreement With Saudi Arabia
<[link removed]>



“President Joe Biden said Friday he thought Hamas was motivated to attack
Israel in part by a desire to stop that country from normalizing relations with
Saudi Arabia. “One of the reasons ... why Hamas moved on Israel, is because
they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis,” Biden said at a campaign
fundraiser. The U.S. president indicated that he thinks Hamas militants
launched a deadly assault on Oct. 7 because, “Guess what? The Saudis wanted to
recognize Israel” and were near being able to formally do so. Jerusalem and
Riyadh had been steadily inching closer to normalization, with Biden working to
help bring the two countries together, announcing plans in September at the
Group of 20 summit in India to partner on a shipping corridor. Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Biden on the sidelines of the U.N. General
Assembly in September and told him, “I think that under your leadership, Mr.
President, we can forge a hi storic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.” The
Saudis had been insisting on protections and expanded rights for Palestinian
interests as part of any broader agreement with Israel. An agreement would have
been a feat of diplomacy that could have enabled broader recognition of Israel
by other Arab and Muslim-majority nations that have largely opposed Israel
since its creation 75 years ago in territory where Palestinians have long
resided.”



United Kingdom



The Caterer: Call For Boycott Of Qatari-Owned London Hotels
<[link removed]>



“A counter-extremism group has called for the "full boycott" of Qatari-owned
hotels such as the Ritz and the Connaught in London due to the country's links
to Hamas. Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a non-profit international policy
organisation, said: "It is untenable that the Qatari government should continue
to profit from its business interests around the world while funds are
re-patriated and used to support the perpetrators of mass murder." The proposed
boycott, put forward by CEP chief executive officer Mark Wallace, former US
ambassador to the UN, and CEP president Frances Townsend, encompasses the
Savoy, the Ritz, the Connaught and the Churchill hotel, all of which are based
in London. According to The Times, the Savoy is part-owned by Qatar's sovereign
wealth fund, the Ritz was bought by a Qatari businessman who is the
brother-in-law of Qatar's rulers in 2020, and the Connaught is owned by Hamad
bin Jassim, who was Qatar's prime minister when Hamas relocated to Doha.”



Europe



Associated Press: Belgian Minister Quits After ‘Monumental Error’ Let Tunisian
Shooter Slip Through Extradition Net
<[link removed]>



“Belgium’s justice minister resigned on Friday over what he described as a
“monumental error” after it was discovered that Tunisia was seeking the
extradition last year of an Islamic extremist who shot dead two Swedes and
wounded a third this week. Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said that
he and his services had been searching for details to understand how Abdesalem
Lassoued had disappeared off the map two years ago after being denied asylum
and ordered by Belgian authorities to be deported to Tunisia. On Monday night,
Lassoued gunned down two Swedish men and wounded a third with a semiautomatic
rifle. The attack forced the lockdown of more than 35,000 people in a soccer
stadium where they had gathered to watch Belgium play Sweden. In a video posted
online, he claimed to be inspired by the Islamic State group. Police shot him
dead on Tuesday morning in a Brussels cafe. “This morning at nine o’clock, I
remarked the following elements: On Aug. 15, 2022, there was an extradition
demand by Tunisia for this man,” Van Quickenborne told reporters on Friday
evening. “This demand was transmitted on Sept. 1, as it should have been, by
the justice expert at the Brussels prosecutor’s office. The magistrate in
charge did not follow up on this extradition demand and the dossier was not
acted upon,” he said.”



The Guardian: Al-Qaida And IS Call On Followers To Strike Israeli, US And
Jewish Targets
<[link removed]>



“l-Qaida and Islamic State (IS) have called on their followers to strike
Israeli, US and Jewish targets, raising the prospect of new terrorist violence
in the Middle East or the west. In a series of statements over the past two
weeks, affiliates of al-Qaida congratulated Hamas on its “invasion of Israel”,
a reference to the terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 people, mainly
civilians, on 7 October. The Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has
caused a humanitarian crisis and so far killed more than 4,500 people,
according to medical authorities in the Hamas-controlled territory, has
provoked outrage across the Islamic world. This offers an opportunity to
extremist groups, experts say. A recent statement from al-Shabaab, al-Qaida’s
powerful affiliate in Somalia, said the conflict in the Middle East was not
just “the battle of the Islamic factions in the land of Palestine in
particular, but rather the battle of the entire Muslim Ummah”. It added:
“Muslims must gather and offer everything they can to support the mujahideen
against the Jews and their hypocritical infidel allies. The strength of this
nation lies in the strength of its jihadist fronts.””



The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>
 




Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>