“Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed to extend a temporary truce by another day
minutes before it was set to expire, said Qatar, which has been mediating
between the two sides. Negotiations on extending it came down to the wire, with
last-minute disagreements over the hostages to be freed by Hamas in exchange
for another day of a halt in fighting. Word of the extension came just as the
truce was to expire at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) Thursday. The Qatari Foreign Ministry
said the truce was being extended under the same terms as in the past, under
which Hamas has released 10 Israeli hostages per day in exchange for the
release of 30 Palestinian prisoners.”











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Eye on Extremism



November 30, 2023



Associated Press: Truce In Israel-Hamas War Extended By A Day, Minutes Before
It Was Set To Expire
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“Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed to extend a temporary truce by another
day minutes before it was set to expire, said Qatar, which has been mediating
between the two sides. Negotiations on extending it came down to the wire, with
last-minute disagreements over the hostages to be freed by Hamas in exchange
for another day of a halt in fighting. Word of the extension came just as the
truce was to expire at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) Thursday. The Qatari Foreign Ministry
said the truce was being extended under the same terms as in the past, under
which Hamas has released 10 Israeli hostages per day in exchange for the
release of 30 Palestinian prisoners.”



The Washington Post: Man Sentenced To Life By Canadian Judge Who Says
Incel-Inspired Attack Was Terrorism
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“A court in Toronto sentenced a Canadian man to life imprisonment for a fatal
stabbing at a massage parlor, with a Canadian judge for the first time
designating an incel-inspired crime as terrorism. The defendant, Oguzhan Sert,
carried out his February 2020 attack “after extensively researching the incel
culture,” Ontario Superior Court Justice Suhail Akhtar said Tuesday, according
to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. “He sought it out, he accepted it and he
acted upon it,” the judge said, adding that he did not believe Sert’s claims
that he was brainwashed by the ideology. “This is the first terrorism
prosecution in Canada involving the incel ideology, which has been linked to
numerous violent acts in Canada and internationally,” the Public Prosecution
Service of Canada said in a statement Tuesday.”

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CEP Mentions



DW News: Israel-Hamas War: Truce Extended, Hamas Releases Fifth Group Of
Hostages <[link removed]>



“Interview with Hans-Jakob Schindler.”



WTOP: The Hunt: Israel Kills Hamas Military Leaders
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“Israel announced Sunday that it had “eliminated” four senior Hamas military
leaders. In this week’s episode of “The Hunt with WTOP National Security
Correspondent J.J. Green”, Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter
Extremism Project, elaborates on who these men were.”



United States



Senator Cruz: SEN. CRUZ REINTRODUCES BILL TO REIMPOSE TERRORISM SANCTIONS ON
IRAN-CONTROLLED HOUTHIS
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“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reintroduced his legislation to impose
terrorism sanctions on the Iran-controlled Houthis, as acts of terrorism
continue to escalate in the Middle East. On February 5, 2021 the Biden State
Department announced it would lift terrorism-related sanctions on the Houthis
and three of their leaders: Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din
al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim. Sen. Cruz repeatedly pushed language to
reverse that decision, including filing this bill in 2022. Upon re-introducing
the bill, Senator Cruz said, “The Biden administration made a day one
politically-driven decision to dismantle terrorism sanctions against the
Houthis and their leaders. That decision was an obvious and catastrophic
mistake from the very beginning, and it has only become more obvious and more
catastrophic as time has gone on. Now the Houthis and other Iranian-controlled
terrorists are openly and routinely attacking the United States and our allies,
but the Biden administration still refuses to reverse its decision, because
they believe doing so would be politically costly. Politics should not be a
consideration when American lives and national security interests are at stake.
President Biden needs to put an end to enabling the Houthis and other
Iran-backed terrorist groups through sanctions relief and sanctions
non-enforcement. If he won’t then Congress should mandate that he does so.””



Syria



The National: Rocket Strike On US Coalition In Syria Breaks Week Of Calm
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“An attack on US coalition forces in Syria on Wednesday broke a brief period
of relative calm amid a spike in regional violence. A US Department of Defence
official told The National that the morning rocket attack against at a mission
support site in Euphrates, Syria, produced “no injuries and no damage to
infrastructure”. This is the first confirmed attack on US and coalition forces
since November 23, a day before a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas
began in Gaza. “Our forces in Iraq and Syria will stay focused on the mission
we have at hand, which is preventing Daesh [ISIS] resurgence and advising,
assisting and enabling our partner forces,” the defence official said.”



Iraq



Iraqi News: Iraq Aims To Close Al-Hol Camp In Syria
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“The Iraqi National Security Advisor, Qasim Al-Araji, confirmed on Tuesday
that the strategic goal of the Iraqi government is to close the Al-Hol refugee
camp in Syria. Al-Araji’s remarks took place during his meeting in Baghdad with
the Azerbaijani ambassador to Iraq, Nasir Mammadov, where they discussed the
political and security situation in the region as well as strategies to enhance
cooperation between the two countries, according to a statement cited by the
Iraqi News Agency (INA). The Iraqi National Security Advisor emphasized that
the Iraqi government is eager to close the refugee camp in Syria because it
poses a real threat to international peace.”



Middle East



Times Of Israel: Hamas Claims Jerusalem Shooting Attack In Which 3 Were
Killed, Calls For ‘Escalation’
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“Hamas claims responsibility for the shooting attack at the entrance to
Jerusalem this morning, in which three Israelis were killed and six were
wounded. In a statement, the terror group hails the two perpetrators, brothers
Murad (38) and Ibrahim (30) Nemer, from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur
Baher, calling them “jihad-waging martyrs.” Three Israelis were killed in the
attack: Livia Dickman, 24, Ashdod rabbinical judge Elimelech Wasserman, 73, and
Hannah Ifergan, who was in her 60s. The two perpetrators got out of a vehicle
at around 7:40 a.m. and opened fire at people at a bus stop.”



NPR: Blinken Arrives In Israel As The Gaza Cease-Fire With Hamas Is Extended
Another Day
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“Hours after Hamas released another 16 captives in exchange for 30
Palestinians held by Israel, the two sides announced Thursday that they had
agreed to extend their cease-fire in Gaza by at least another day to continue
the hostages-for-prisoners swaps. News of the extended pause in fighting came
as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel and amid an early
morning shooting at a bus station on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where gunmen
opened fire, killing three Israelis. It is the first Palestinian attack on
civilians since the Israel-Hamas war began last month. Early Thursday,
officials in Qatar, where the truce was negotiated, announced the extension of
the pause in fighting under the same conditions agreed in the original deal a
week ago. Both Israel and Hamas confirmed the revised deal, meaning more
hostages are set for release later Thursday in return for Palestinians held in
Israeli prisons.”



Associated Press: Israel Likens Hamas To The Islamic State Group. But The
Comparison Misses The Mark In Key Ways
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“It has become an Israeli mantra throughout the latest war in Gaza: Hamas is
ISIS. Since the bloody Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the conflict,
Israeli leaders and commanders have likened the Palestinian militant group to
the Islamic State group in virtually every speech and public statement. They
point to Hamas’ slaughter of hundreds of civilians and compare their mission to
defeat Hamas to the U.S.-led campaign to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria. “Hamas is
ISIS,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared just after the attack. “And
just as the forces of civilization united to defeat ISIS, the forces of
civilization must support Israel in defeating Hamas.””



Haaretz: Three Israelis Killed, Six Wounded In Jerusalem Terror Attack;
Hamas-Affiliated Assailants Shot Dead
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“Three Israelis, a 24-year-old woman, a 60-year-old woman, and a 73-year-old
man, were killed in a shooting attack on Thursday at the entrance to Jerusalem.
Six other people were injured, two of them seriously, three moderately, and one
lightly. The assailants, two Palestinian brothers from the neighborhood of Tzur
Baher in East Jerusalem, were shot dead. In a separate incident, two IDF
reserve soldiers were lightly injured in an attack at an IDF checkpoint near
Beka'ot in the northern West Bank. Other soldiers at the scene shot and killed
the driver.”



Africa



Vanguard: Al-Qaeda-Linked Rebels Kill 40 Civilians In Burkina Faso
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No fewer than 40 civilians were killed by al-Qaeda-linked rebels trying to
take control of a besieged town in Burkina Faso’s hard-hit northern region. The
United Nations Human Rights Office described the attack which happened on
Saturday as a war crime said it happened at Djibo near Mali’s border. The
Associated Press reported it was one of the largest clashes in recent years in
the West African nation under threat from fighters linked to al-Qaeda and the
Islamic State group. The town, located 210 kilometres (130 miles) from the
capital, Ouagadougou, has been under blockade by rebels for more than a year,
often struggling to provide essential services.



Russia



The New York Times: Russia Moves To Label Gay Rights Movement As ‘Extremist’
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“In recent years, L.G.B.T.Q. people in Russia have lived under increasing
fear as the Kremlin has ratcheted up measures curtailing gay and transgender
rights in tandem with the repressive search for “internal enemies” during the
war in Ukraine. In the latest threat, the Ministry of Justice will seek a court
order on Thursday to declare the international gay rights movement an
“extremist organization.” Gay rights activists and other experts say that a
ruling in favor would put gay people and their organizations under the threat
of being criminally prosecuted at any time for something as simple as
displaying the rainbow flag or for endorsing the statement “Gay rights are
human rights.” That prospect has heightened angst and alarm in the country’s
already beleaguered gay communities.”



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