“A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was set to expire on Wednesday, but
mediators in Qatar were trying to extend it for at least another 48 hours to
allow for the exchange of more captives and for additional aid to reach
embattled Gaza. On the second day of a two-day cease-fire extension, at least
another 10 Israelis were expected to be freed by Hamas in exchange for at least
30 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
office says it believes that 161 of the original 240 hostages seized by Hamas
in last month's attack on Israeli communities were still being held by the
Islamist militant group. Israel says around 1,200 people were killed when Hamas
fighters swept out of the Gaza Strip, striking nearby Israeli communities. On
Tuesday, Hamas freed 10 Israelis and two Thai laborers in exchange for 30
Palestinians prisoners and detainees. The families of Israeli hostages released
by Hamas continue to share stories of their relatives' captivity, with some
relatives speaking to media outlets. Gideon Heiman says his 84-year-old mother
did not receive necessary medical treatment while being held Gaza. Israeli
doctors also say rescued hostages have returned malnourished. One of the former
captives is in stable condition at a hospital, but her family says her
neurological condition is still unclear. Devora Cohen says her 12-year-old
nephew Eitan told her that his captors used guns to threaten crying Israeli
children to be quiet.”











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Eye on Extremism



November 29, 2023



NPR: More Captives To Be Freed As Mediators Work To Prolong The Israel-Hamas
Truce
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“A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was set to expire on Wednesday,
but mediators in Qatar were trying to extend it for at least another 48 hours
to allow for the exchange of more captives and for additional aid to reach
embattled Gaza. On the second day of a two-day cease-fire extension, at least
another 10 Israelis were expected to be freed by Hamas in exchange for at least
30 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
office says it believes that 161 of the original 240 hostages seized by Hamas
in last month's attack on Israeli communities were still being held by the
Islamist militant group. Israel says around 1,200 people were killed when Hamas
fighters swept out of the Gaza Strip, striking nearby Israeli communities. On
Tuesday, Hamas freed 10 Israelis and two Thai laborers in exchange for 30
Palestinians prisoners and detainees. The families of Israeli hostages released
by Hamas continue to share stories of their relatives' captivity, with some
relatives speaking to media outlets. Gideon Heiman says his 84-year-old mother
did not receive necessary medical treatment while being held Gaza. Israeli
doctors also say rescued hostages have returned malnourished. One of the former
captives is in stable condition at a hospital, but her family says her
neurological condition is still unclear. Devora Cohen says her 12-year-old
nephew Eitan told her that his captors used guns to threaten crying Israeli
children to be quiet.”



Reuters: Turkey Freezes Assets Of 82 Organisations, People For Alleged PKK Ties

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“Turkey froze the local assets of 20 organisations and 62 people based in
Australia, Japan and various European countries, citing alleged ties with
Kurdish militant group PKK, a decision published in the Official Gazette showed
on Wednesday. Turkey's Ministry of Treasury and Finance said the decision was
"based on the existence of reasonable grounds" that they committed acts falling
within the scope of the law on preventing the financing of terrorism. The list
included three organisations from Germany and another three from Switzerland,
both countries that are home to a large Kurdish diaspora. It also named two
organisations each from Australia, Italy and Japan. Other affected
organisations were in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway, the
United Kingdom and Iraq-Syria. A spokesperson for Insamlingsstiftelsen Kurdiska
Roda Solen, the one organisation on the list in Sweden, said the group is a
humanitarian aid organisation with no operations and no assets in Turkey.
Sweden as well as Finland requested to join the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) in May last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan raised objections to both requests, citing the
Nordic nations' protection of those whom Turkey deems terrorists, as well as
their defence trade embargoes. Turkey endorsed Finland's bid in April. From
Sweden, it has demanded further steps to control local members of the Kurdistan
Workers' party (PKK), which the European Union and the United States consider a
terrorist group.”




The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

* CEP-KAS: Sahel Monitoring October 2023
<[link removed]>
* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in October 2023
<[link removed]>
* Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremist Actors in Russia: Night Wolves -
Part 2
<[link removed]>
* Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremist Actors in Russia: Night Wolves -
Part 1
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* CEP-KAS: Sahel Monitoring September 2023
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CEP Mentions



Blue Line: The Active Club Network
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“In past columns, I have explored the psychology of conspiracy theories and
extremism, as well as focusing on extremist groups such as the Boogaloo Boys
and QAnon. This month, I wanted to explore the transnational extremist group,
known as the Active Club. In September 2023, the Counter Extremism Project
(CEP) referred to them as a racist group “hiding in plain sight”. The Active
Club network in Canada is, in part, a recruiting front for the Hammerskins, a
racist skinhead gang with a decades-long history of violence.”



Breitbart: Report: Hamas Has Lost Track Of Some Israeli Hostages Abducted In
Terror Attack
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“…“There’s been a well-developed smuggling economy in Gaza for decades – long
before Hamas took control – organised by networks of crime families. So it’s
possible hostages are neither under the control of Hamas nor Islamic Jihad –
but these crime organisations,” Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the
transatlantic thinktank the Counter Extremism Project, told Sky News.”



The Messenger: Gaza Ceasefire Problem: Hamas Says 40 Hostages Are ‘Missing’ —
And Doesn’t Know Who’s Holding Them
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“…The hostage situation has shown that Hamas’ control over Gaza is not
absolute, said Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter-Extremism
Project, a policy institute based in Washington and Berlin. Schindler said he
believes Hamas enlisted the aid of the PIJ and organized crime groups in Gaza
for the raid, but that the groups are competing when it comes to the hostages.
He added that given the ferocity of the Israeli war against Gaza, the hostages
have become “life insurance” for Hamas leaders in Gaza, who fear a renewed
Israeli onslaught will only end when they are dead. “This is their one ticket
for getting out of Gaza and not getting killed by Israel,” Schindler told The
Messenger.”



Canada



The New York Times: In Canada, A Judge Sentences An Incel Killer As A Terrorist
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“The teenager was lying next to his bloodied sword when the police captured
him outside a Toronto massage business where one woman had been stabbed to
death and another seriously injured. The sword was inscribed with a sexist
epithet and a note promoting an ideology of violence against women was found in
the pocket of the teenager, Oguzhan Sert. With the evidence stacked against Mr.
Sert, he pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder. But a Canadian judge
ruled that the attacks were acts of terrorism, in part because Mr. Sert wanted
to send a message that he hated women. On Tuesday, the judge, Justice Suhail
Akhtar, sentenced Mr. Sert — who was 17 at the time of the attack — to life in
prison, though he will be eligible for parole after 10 years. Mr. Sert was
sentenced as an adult, which voided a previous ban under Canadian juvenile
justice laws against naming him, according to one of his lawyers, Monte
MacGregor. The case represents the first time in Canada that the murder of a
woman killed because of her gender has been prosecuted as an act of terrorism,
a charge that increases the length of a prison sentence. In a country that has
grappled with recent, high-profile attacks against women, the case underscores
how Canada is rethinking the classification of some violent acts as terrorism.
Mr. Sert embraced the ideology of an online group whose members call themselves
incels, or “involuntary celibates,” and who disparage women and blame them for
denying incels what they believe is their right to sex.”



Afghanistan



The Guardian: Taliban Could Be Convinced To Open Girls’ Schools, Says
Afghanistan Ex-Education Minister
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“There are many Taliban officials who would support reversing the ban on
schooling for girls in Afghanistan, according to the country’s last education
minister before the takeover. Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan has become the
only country in the world where girls are banned from schooling beyond the age
of 11. The group has also imposed what has been described as a policy of
“gender apartheid”, banning women from most work and public spaces. But
internal fractures that exist within the Taliban on girl’s education could be
leveraged by the international community to lobby with them to reopen girls
schools, said Rangina Hamidi, who recently visited the country. “The Taliban
are not a monolith. There are differences of opinions within the Taliban, just
as with any other group. And it is evident, particularly on the issue of the
ban on girls’ education, there are many within the Taliban who support
reversing the decree,” she said. “Whether or not the world recognises the
Taliban, for nearly 40 million Afghans, at least half of whom are women and
girls, this is a lived reality,” she said. “And it pains me, that even after
two years, the international community hasn’t figured out how to deal with the
Taliban, at the expense of the people and girls of Afghanistan. “Not that long
ago the US government, along with its allies and international agencies, were
engaged in the political talks with the Taliban. Why then, does the same global
community today have a problem with working with the Taliban?””



Middle East



The Washington Examiner: Russia ‘Using Migration’ To Pressure NATO As
Israel-Hamas War Heightens Terrorism Threat
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“Russia has orchestrated an influx of immigrants into Finland, a “hybrid
operation” that has forced NATO’s newest member to close its eastern border.
“Russia is enabling the instrumentalization of people and guiding them to the
Finnish border in harsh winter conditions,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo
said Tuesday. “Finland is determined to put an end to this phenomenon.” More
than 800 people have arrived at Finnish border crossings over the last month,
with the asylum-seekers “predominantly from the Middle East and Africa,”
according to Voice of America. Western officials characterized the new surge as
“yet another” attempt by Russia to find unconventional ways to threaten NATO.
“We have seen them using energy, we have seen them using cyberattacks, we have
seen them using different kinds of clandestine operations to try to undermine
our democracies,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday at a
meeting of NATO’s top diplomats in Brussels. “The fact that Russia is now using
migration as a tool is yet another example of the attempt to put pressure on
neighbors, NATO allies, and they will not succeed because we stand together.”
As Finnish authorities finalized their plan to close the last border crossing
with Russia, Moscow issued a new rebuke of the Nordic state’s decision to join
the trans-Atlantic alliance.”



BBC: Toxic Gas Putting Millions At Risk In Middle East, BBC Finds
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“Flaring - the burning of waste gas during oil drilling - is taking place
across the Gulf, including by COP28 hosts the United Arab Emirates. New
research suggests pollution is spreading hundreds of miles, worsening air
quality across the entire region. It comes as the UAE hosts the UN's COP28
climate summit on Thursday. The UAE banned routine flaring 20 years ago, but
satellite images show it is continuing, despite the potential health
consequences for its inhabitants and those in neighbouring countries. Analysis
for BBC Arabic shows gasses are now spreading hundreds of kilometres across the
region. Pollution from wells in Iraq, Iran and Kuwait were also analysed as
part of the study. All of the countries involved either declined to comment or
did not respond. Oil companies, including BP and Shell, who are responsible or
partly responsible for sites where flaring took place said they were working to
reduce the practice. On Monday, BBC News revealed leaked documents showed how
the UAE had planned to use its role as the host of UN climate talks as an
opportunity to strike oil and gas deals. David R. Boyd, the UN Special
Rapporteur on human rights and the environment said the BBC's findings were:
"Very disturbing. Big oil companies and states in the Middle East are violating
the human rights of millions of people by failing to tackle air pollution from
fossil fuels.”



Nigeria



CNN: Away From Threat Of Islamist Violence Or Floods, Health Risks For
Pregnant Women In Nigeria's Refugee Camps Remain High 
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“Aisha Aliyu is eight-months pregnant and sprawled out on a mat in front of
her house with four of her children spread around her feet. Two-year-old Hauwa
and five-year-old Abba are both crying and tugging at their mother's
coffee-colored hijab. She, in response, rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue at
them. She looks tired.  The child Aliyu is carrying is her tenth. The last four
were delivered in the Durumi Camp, a place in Nigeria's capital city, Abuja,
that she and an estimated more than 3,000 other internally displaced people
call home.  In 2013, Aliyu fled her home in the village of Wala in Nigeria's
northeastern Borno State to its capital, Maiduguri. She said her village was
attacked and much of it burned down by armed Islamist group, Boko Haram. Two
years later, the militant group attacked Maiduguri, forcing Aliyu to again
migrate, this time travelling over 856km south to Abuja with her husband and
five children. The now 39-year-old saw having many children as a way of
replacing her relatives killed by the insurgents, but reveals she was done
after her last pregnancy in 2021 and began using contraceptives. However, she
became pregnant again this year.  Having already borne children in Durumi camp
(one of 264 communities for internally dispaced people (IDPs) known to exist
across Nigeria as of September 2021), Aliyu was fearful, knowing of the limited
resources she would have access to. The farmer's wife had been unable to afford
the food and medication she needed to stay healthy, and antenatal services were
limited. “



Europe



Reuters: Two Brazilian Brothers Arrested In Spain For Alleged Islamic State
Links
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“Spanish police have arrested two Brazilian brothers in the southern city of
Estepona over alleged links to the Islamic State militant Islamist group, the
Civil Guard police force said. The police said the siblings had been
radicalised and had distributed IS propaganda over the internet. The Civil
Guard's statement on Monday said it had identified "significant international
links" between the brothers and individuals arrested or under investigation in
European countries related to what it described as "the jihadist threat". The
arrest comes days after Brazil's Federal Police, in cooperation with Israel's
Mossad spy agency, took down an alleged cell of Lebanese militant group
Hezbollah seeking to establish itself in Latin America's largest country.
Mossad's unusual trumpeting of its involvement in the operation has strained
Brazil-Israel ties. A Brazilian Federal Police source identified the brothers
arrested in Spain as Thaylan Padilha Palomanes and Thauann Padilha Palomanes,
requesting anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The Federal Police
had been tracking them for a while, the source said, adding that Thauann had
lived in the Netherlands before joining his brother Thaylan in Estepona. They
were arrested on Monday "for activities related to terrorism," the source said.
The brothers' legal representatives could not immediately be reached for
comment.”



Technology



Reuters: Bitcoin Group: Taking Steps Against Money-Laundering, Terrorist
Financing
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“Germany's Bitcoin Group (ADE.DE) said on Wednesday it was taking measures to
improve its internal control system, after the financial regulator BaFin
ordered its subsidiary futurum bank to remedy shortcomings on money-laundering
and terrorist financing. "The Bitcoin Group expressly points out that there are
currently no indications of violations of money laundering and terrorist
financing laws within the Group," the company said in a statement. The company
said it had already taken measures in the current financial year to meet
regulatory requirements and that it aimed "to remedy the identified
deficiencies in a timely manner". On Tuesday, BaFin identified "severe
deficits" at futurum bank involving its internal security measures, its
fulfillment of due diligence obligations and its system for reporting
suspicious activity. "We are actively working with BaFin to quickly address the
criticized weaknesses in our internal processes, which have not kept pace with
the company's growth in recent years," Bitcoin Group Chief Executive Marco
Bodewein said in the statement."



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