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Monday, November 27, 2023

Hamas Releases 17 Hostages Sunday as Israel Releases 39 Palestinian Prisoners

Financial Times: Hamas freed 17 captives including 14 Israeli civilians on Sunday as the precarious truce in Gaza stretched into a third day. The hostages, who were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, were the third group to be released in as many days (Financial Times). Wall Street Journal: Meantime, another 39 Palestinian prisoners were set to be released by Israel (Wall Street Journal). Sacha Roytman: All these convicted terrorists, most of them convicted of attempted murder, have been released today as part of a humanitarian ceasefire deal. See all the flags? Hamas flags are everywhere, welcoming these terrorists today in Ramallah. Once again, they celebrate terror and hatred. We saw how it ends on October 7. It all starts with a celebration of hatred (X).

Hamas Delays Multiple Prisoner Swaps Over the Weekend

Times of Israel: Hamas is exploiting Israelis’ love of life to extract every possible advantage from the current four-day lull in the IDF’s war on its Gaza killing machine. The first day’s scheduled release of hostages, on Thursday, didn’t happen at all. Postponed to Friday, it only went ahead amid further delays. Saturday’s phase two was an exercise in orchestrated psychological terror, with Hamas first stating that it had transferred the hostages to the Red Cross, immediately saying it hadn’t, and then issuing spurious accusations against Israel for not supplying as much fuel and humanitarian aid as promised and releasing the wrong Palestinian security prisoners. Toying not just with Israel, and especially the families of those who had been told to expect their loved ones’ releases, Hamas also made fools of the Qatari and Egyptian interlocutors, and even compelled the leader of the free world to get directly involved, with US President Joe Biden working the phones to get the process back on track. With Israel reportedly threatening to resume the ground offensive if the hostages were not in Israeli hands by midnight, Hamas deigned to go through with Saturday’s phase (Times of Israel). Townhall: This is what you get when you trust terrorists. Did anyone believe that Hamas, who butchered 1,200-1,400 Israelis on October 7 and vows to destroy Israel, is gumming up the works for this recent hostage-based ceasefire agreement (Townhall)?

President Obama Directly Helped Hamas Set Up Qatar Office

Fox News: The U.S. played a direct role in helping set up the Hamas office in Qatar during the Obama administration, seeking appeasement and soft diplomacy but ultimately failing to control the terrorist group as it festered in Gaza. Qatar’s Ambassador to Washington Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that his government set up the Hamas political office in Doha “after a request from Washington to establish indirect lines of communication” in 2012. He claimed the office “frequently” served in mediation efforts and helped de-escalate conflicts between Israel and the Palestinian territories. “The presence of the Hamas office shouldn’t be confused with endorsement but rather establishes an important channel for indirect communication,” the minister wrote (Fox News). Townhall: Former Trump administration official Richard Goldberg slammed the Obama-era policy, arguing that the heinous Oct. 7 attacks on Israel have contradicted the idea that Hamas could go from being a terrorist group to a governing organization. Goldberg believes the policy poses a threat and makes the U.S. look vulnerable. Goldberg argued that the Hamas office was “clearly a policy that was already in line with the Obama administration’s thinking of how to remake the Middle East in a Muslim Brotherhood image, and the Qataris played right into that” (Townhall).

Biden Claims Hamas Attacked Israel Because He Was Close to Providing Peace to the Region

Daily Wire: President Joe Biden claimed during a press conference on Friday that the reason Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 Israelis on October 7 was because he was getting ready to bring peace to the Middle East. The claim by Biden comes as chaos and war have broken out in many parts of the world under his administration as those who would seek to harm the West sense weakness from the administration (Daily Wire). Grabien founder Tom Elliot: Biden: “I cannot prove what I’m about to say,” but Hamas attacked Israel because I was very close to bringing peace to the region (X).

Finland Accuses Russia of Flooding Asylum Seekers in Retaliation for Joining NATO

Associated Press: When Finland joined NATO earlier this year, Russia threatened retaliation. Now, hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and Africa have appeared at Finland’s border from Russia, seeking entry into the Nordic country. Finnish officials say the sudden surge in asylum-seekers is no coincidence. They accuse Russia of driving the migrants to the border to sow discord as payback for Finland’s membership in NATO (Associated Press). HotAir: It’s interesting to see Finland responding to 700 migrants arriving in one month as “hybrid warfare” by Russia. Finland’s foreign minister has already said her country will close the border completely if necessary to prevent threats from entering. The concern is that soldiers concealing their identity could be pushed across the border along with actual asylum-seekers (HotAir).

USC Professor Forced to Teach Remote After Starting Hamas Members are Terrorists, Should be Killed

Fox News: The University of Southern California recently moved a Jewish economic professor to remote work after he called Hamas terrorists “murderers” who “should be killed” in front of a group of pro-Palestinian students on campus. Professor John Strauss was shifted to teach the rest of his classes for the semester remotely after the confrontation between him and the students earlier this month (Fox News). College Fix: Two petitions have gained momentum on social media, one in support of Strauss, which currently has over 9,000 signatures, and one demanding his termination, with over 6,500 signatures. The petition in support of Strauss demands a complete review of the incident, and reexamination of university policies regarding professor suspensions. In the interview, Strauss said he first encountered the protest on the way to teach his class, when he heard the students shouting, “from the river to the sea,” which he said is code for the destruction of Israel. He said he responded by yelling back, “Israel forever. Hamas are murderers.” Strauss, who was also accused of intentionally stepping on signs containing the names of dead Palestinian civilians, said in the Annenberg interview that it was not intentional (College Fix). I see. While students, professors are allowed to tear down photos of Israeli hostages, someone accidentally steps on posters with names of Palestine civilians and should be punished.

NYC High School Students Tear Through School, Target Teacher for Attending Pro-Israel Rally

Daily Wire: A Jewish teacher in New York City was forced to lock herself in an office at her school after hundreds of “radicalized” students began rampaging through the school after they learned that she attended a pro-Israel rally. The terrifying incident reportedly happened at Hillcrest High School in Queens around 11 a.m. on Monday and only became public news on Saturday after the New York Post broke the story. “The teacher was seen holding a sign of Israel, like supporting it,” a senior at the school said. “A bunch of kids decided to make a group chat, expose her, talk about it, and then talk about starting a riot” (Daily Wire). Reporter Steve McGuire: The scene at Hillcrest High School in Queens as a Jewish teacher hid in her locked office for hours while students demanded she be fired for attending a pro-Israel rally (X). New York Post: “The teacher was seen holding a sign of Israel, like supporting it,” a senior told The Post this week. “A bunch of kids decided to make a group chat, expose her, talk about it, and then talk about starting a riot.” Hundreds of kids flooded into hallways and ran amok, chanting, jumping, shouting, and waving Palestinian flags or banners (New York Post).

NYPD Officers Continue to Resign at High Rates

New York Post: New York’s Finest continue to bolt from the job at an alarming rate— and some cops worry the exodus will only get worse because the city plans to cancel the next five Police Academy classes, shrinking the nation’s largest police force to the smallest it’s been in decades. A total of 2,516 NYPD cops have left so far this year, the fourth highest number in the past decade and 43% more than the 1,750 who hightailed it in 2018, before the pandemic and crime spikes hit the city, NYPD pension data show. The number of cops quitting before they reach the 20 years required to receive their full pensions also skyrocketed from 509 in 2020 to 1,040 so far this year — an alarming 104% increase, the data show. The years of departures and lack of replacements are now taking a toll, forcing the cops who remain on the job to work “inhumane amounts of forced overtime,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said (New York Post). Washington Examiner: Adams said the next five police academy classes will be canceled, reducing the number of officers from 33,000 to 29,000 in the next two years. The city’s police department will be below 30,000 for the first time since the 1980s. The NYPD’s $5.6 billion budget will be cut by about $132 million next year (Washington Examiner). Daily Caller: The NYPD responded to 69 antisemitic attacks in October, a 331% increase in the figure from September in the wake of a deadly terrorist attack launched by Hamas against multiple locations in southern Israel (Daily Caller).

Former Police Officer Derek Chauvin Stabbed by Inmate in Arizona Prison

Associated Press: Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate and seriously injured Friday at a federal prison in Arizona. The attack happened at the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, a medium-security prison that has been plagued by security lapses and staffing shortages (Associated Press). Townhall: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, said he was “sad” to hear of the attack (Townhall). Washington Post: He is serving more than a 20-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22½-year state sentence for second-degree murder. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s appeal of his conviction for the 2020 killing. Chauvin is separately appealing his conviction on federal civil rights charges, saying new evidence shows he did not cause Floyd’s death (Washington Post).

10.

Business Insider Goes Through Scenarios in the Event Donald Trump Dies

This is appalling. Townhall: Business Insider is facing heat after running a piece trying to normalize the potential death of former President Trump. The article went through several hypothetical plots that could occur depending on whether Trump’s death occurred before the primary, during the primary, or between the primary and the general election. Trump, 77, is four years behind President Joe Biden’s 81-year-old age (Townhall). Business Insider: If Trump died during primary season — which ends in mid-June — some states may postpone their scheduled primaries. If Trump died after the last primary contest but before the Republican National Convention, the other GOP presidential candidates would have to make a case to every state delegation at the convention for why they should be the party’s nominee. And if Trump secured the GOP nomination but died between the convention and Election Day 2024, the RNC would convene to select another presidential candidate (Business Insider). Reporter Marissa Hansen: What an odd question to ask about our former President. Did you do this with Biden (X)?