“The United Nations on Tuesday demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in
the Gaza Strip as U.S. President Joe Biden warned Israel it was losing
international support because of its "indiscriminate" bombing of civilians in
its war against Hamas militants. After dire warnings by U.N. officials about a
deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly
passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire with 153 countries voting in favour
and 23 abstaining. The U.S. and Israel, which argue a ceasefire only benefits
Hamas, voted against the measure along with eight other countries.The
resolution is not binding but carries political weight, reflecting a global
view on the war. The United States vetoed a similar call in the 15-member
Security Council last week. The Palestinian Authority welcomed the resolution
and urged countries to pressure Israel to adopt the ceasefire. A Hamas official
in exile, Izzat El-Reshiq, in a statement on Telegram echoed that reaction,
saying Israel should "stop its aggression, genocide, and ethnic cleansing
against our people." Before the resolution passed, Biden said Israel now has
support from "most of the world" including the U.S. and European Union. "But
they're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes
place," he told a campaign donor event in Washington.”











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Eye on Extremism



December 13, 2023



Reuters: UN Calls For Immediate Ceasefire In Gaza, Biden Warns Israel Is
Losing Support
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“The United Nations on Tuesday demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in
the Gaza Strip as U.S. President Joe Biden warned Israel it was losing
international support because of its "indiscriminate" bombing of civilians in
its war against Hamas militants. After dire warnings by U.N. officials about a
deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly
passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire with 153 countries voting in favour
and 23 abstaining. The U.S. and Israel, which argue a ceasefire only benefits
Hamas, voted against the measure along with eight other countries.The
resolution is not binding but carries political weight, reflecting a global
view on the war. The United States vetoed a similar call in the 15-member
Security Council last week. The Palestinian Authority welcomed the resolution
and urged countries to pressure Israel to adopt the ceasefire. A Hamas official
in exile, Izzat El-Reshiq, in a statement on Telegram echoed that reaction,
saying Israel should "stop its aggression, genocide, and ethnic cleansing
against our people." Before the resolution passed, Biden said Israel now has
support from "most of the world" including the U.S. and European Union. "But
they're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes
place," he told a campaign donor event in Washington.”



Reuters: Yemen's Houthis Claim Missile Attack On Norwegian Tanker In Tense
Middle East
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“Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday they hit a Norwegian commercial tanker with a
missile in their latest protest against Israel's bombardment of Gaza,
underlining the risks of a conflict that has shaken the Middle East. The
Iran-aligned group attacked the tanker, the STRINDA, because it was delivering
crude oil to an Israeli terminal and after its crew ignored all warnings,
Houthi military spokesperson Yehia Sarea said in a statement. But the tanker's
owner, Norway's Mowinckel Chemical Tankers, said the vessel was headed to Italy
with a cargo of biofuel feedstock, not crude oil. But it did acknowledge a
tentative Israeli port call scheduled for January, details it had not offered
in the immediate hours after the attack in the Red Sea. "Upon the
recommendation of our security advisors, it was decided to withhold this
information until the vessel and her crew were in safe waters," the company
said in a statement. Following the attack, Israel’s military said it had
deployed one of its most advanced warships, a Sa'ar 6 class corvette, in the
Red Sea. The U.S. Navy destroyer Mason responded to the STRINDA's distress
calls and assisted the crew, which was grappling with a fire, the U.S. military
said. It said the STRINDA was struck on Monday night by a land-based cruise
missile fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen.”




The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

* Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremist Actors in Russia: Rusich – Part 1
<[link removed]>
* 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 Mentions



Merkur: Torture Prisons, Ransoms And Putin Aid: Libya's Militias Earn Riches
From Refugees
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"... Terror expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project
(CEP) says: As long as there is no political stability in Libya, this will
never stop. “Paradise for human traffickers”: Libya is a deeply divided
country. Schindler previously advised the UN Security Council in New York and
knows the situation in the Middle East and North Africa well. “The chaotic
conditions make Libya a paradise for human traffickers. Criminal structures can
establish themselves more easily due to internal instability,” he says in an
interview with IPPEN.MEDIA."



United States



Reuters: US Rejects "Absurd" Claims It Is Plotting Violence Against Cuba
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“The U.S. State Department denied on Tuesday it was plotting violent attacks
against Cuba, a day after the Communist-run island claimed Washington was
seeking to foment unrest before the New Year. Cuba's Interior Ministry on
Monday warned on social media of "plans by the State Department and
intelligence community to increase subversive and violent attacks against Cuba
in order to generate a social outbreak before the end of 2023." A State
Department official rejected the idea. "Allegations that the United States is
encouraging violent actions against the Cuban government are absurd," the
official responded in an email to Reuters. The Cuban government did not provide
any concrete evidence of its claims of a U.S. plot. Cuba last week published a
list of more than 80 foreign nationals and entities it accuses of terrorism,
including influencers, dissidents who reside in the United States, and a
candidate for mayor of Florida's Miami-Dade County. On Saturday, Cuba said it
had thwarted a terrorist plot hatched in neighboring south Florida that
involved an armed man arriving on Cuban soil from the United States via jetski.
The State Department official called the list and allegations by Cuba an effort
to belittle its own citizens abroad.”



Associated Press: Biden To Meet In Person Wednesday With Families Of Americans
Taken Hostage By Hamas
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“President Joe Biden on Wednesday will hold his first in-person meeting with
the families of eight Americans still unaccounted for and presumed to be taken
captive by Hamas during its brutal attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the White House
said. A senior administration official said family members of all eight would
participate in the Biden meeting either in person or virtually. The president
has previously met with some family members virtually and spoken to others on
the phone. Biden was set to provide an update on American efforts to secure the
release of those held by Hamas. “We’re not going to stop until every hostage is
returned home,” Biden told donors in Washington on Tuesday, saying the U.S.
commitment to Israel is “unshakable.” Eight Americans remain unaccounted for
after Hamas’ surprise air, sea and land incursion into Israeli towns, where the
group killed about 1,200 Israelis — mostly civilians — and took more than 240
people hostage. Four Americans were released as part of a U.S.-negotiated
cease-fire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza that was brokered with the
assistance of Qatar and Egypt. One American woman was supposed to be released
by Hamas under the terms of last month’s ceasefire but she remains unaccounted
for — a development that contributed to the end of the temporary pause in the
fighting.”



Pakistan



Reuters: Pakistan Asks Kabul To Probe Links To Attack That Killed 23 Soldiers
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“Pakistan has protested to Afghanistan's Taliban government over the killing
of 23 soldiers in an attack on a military base, demanding action against the
perpetrators, Islamabad said as it grapples with security challenges ahead of
elections next year. Tuesday's gun and bomb attack claimed by an Islamist
militant group comes amid concerns voiced by political analysts about general
elections set for Feb. 8, amid a surge in such attacks in the mainly Muslim
nation of 241 million. Pakistan's foreign office summoned Kabul's envoy over
the attack, it said in a statement on Tuesday, asking for the Taliban
administration to "fully investigate and take stern action against the
perpetrators of the recent attack". It also sought a public condemnation of the
incident, which led to the heaviest death toll in a single attack in years. The
ministry did not say whether an Afghan national was involved in the base camp
attack, nor provide details of why Islamabad wants Kabul to investigate the
links to it. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a top intelligence official in
Islamabad told Reuters that Pakistan was investigating evidence that suggested
an Afghan national had led the six-man suicide squad responsible for the
attack. The Pakistani military did not respond to a request for comment. The
Taliban diplomat in Islamabad, Sardar Ahmad Shakib, has conveyed Pakistan's
concerns to Kabul, he told Reuters in a WhatsApp message.”



Middle East



NPR: As Fighting Grinds On In Gaza, Some Israelis In The North Want A War With
Hezbollah
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“t's a spring-like day in the Upper Galilee region, a strip of northern
Israeli territory between Lebanon and the Golan Heights. Raanan Momika is
working in his mountain bike shop in a kibbutz called Lehavot Habashan. This
afternoon — and for weeks since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel — there
are no customers, no tourists interested in guided trips through the rolling
hills. The kibbutz itself appears almost empty. "Because of the war now it's a
bad situation, we don't have customers, nobody wants to come," he says. This
region is viewed by many Israelis as a Vermont-like escape from the bustle and
churn of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. There are beautiful farms and kibbutzim, lush
scenery and a slower pace of life. But now Israel's government has evacuated
more than 40 communities in this area, because of the threat of Hezbollah, the
Iran-backed militia that operates nearby across the Lebanon border. More than
60,000 people were required to leave their homes. Many other families,
including Momika's neighbors, left voluntarily. Those who've been ordered to go
are receiving government subsidies; many others say they're receiving no aid.
"Now we are just half people here in the kibbutz," he says. "We're just living
day-to-day. I'm not afraid if you ask me."”



United Kingdom



Reuters: UK Defence Ministry Fined For Afghan Data Breach During Taliban
Takeover
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“The British data regulator said on Wednesday it had fined the defence
ministry for a series of email data breaches that revealed details of over 265
Afghans who were seeking relocation to Britain after the Taliban took control
of Afghanistan. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it had fined
the Ministry of Defence (MoD) 350,000 pounds, saying the department did not
have operating procedures in place to ensure group emails had been sent
securely to the Afghan nationals who had worked for or with the British
government. "This deeply regrettable data breach let down those to whom our
country owes so much," Information Commissioner John Edwards said in the
statement. "While the situation on the ground in the summer of 2021 was very
challenging and decisions were being made at pace, that is no excuse for not
protecting people's information who were vulnerable to reprisal and at risk of
serious harm. Ben Wallace, who was defence minister at the time, had already
issued an apology in front of the British parliament and launched an
investigation into the breach.”



Germany



The Guardian: German Prosecutors Charge 27 Over Alleged Far-Right Plot To
Topple Government
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“German prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against 27 people, including
a self-styled prince and a former far-right lawmaker, in connection with an
alleged plot to topple the government that came to light with a slew of arrests
a year ago. An indictment against 10 suspects, including the most prominent
figures, was filed on Monday at the state court in Frankfurt. Under the German
legal system, the court must decide whether and when the case will go to trial.
Nine of the suspects, all German nationals, are accused of belonging to a
terrorist organisation that was founded in July 2021 with the aim of “doing
away by force with the existing state order in Germany”, federal prosecutors
said in a statement. Prosecutors said the accused believed in a “conglomerate
of conspiracy myths”, including Reich Citizens and QAnon ideology, and were
convinced Germany was ruled by a so-called “deep state”. Adherents of the
Reichsbürger, or Reich Citizens movement, reject Germany’s postwar constitution
and have called for bringing down the government, while QAnon is a global
conspiracy theory with roots in the US.”



Europe



Reuters: Netherlands Raises Terrorism Threat Level To 'Substantial'
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“The likelihood of a terrorist attack in the Netherlands has increased in
recent months, its anti-terrorism agency said on Tuesday as it raised its
threat level for the first time since 2019. The National Coordinator for
Counter-terrorism and Security (NCTV), said in a statement it has raised the
country's threat level to 4, or "substantial" on its 5-step scale, citing the
conflict between Israel and Hamas. "Organisations like ISIS and Al Qaeda are
using the war in Gaza to urge sympathisers to carry out attacks in the West,"
the agency said. "Attacks and arrests in France, Germany, Belgium and the
United Kingdom since early October illustrate the risks posed by radicalised
individuals who are inspired by current events and terrorist organisations." If
the agency had information about a specific attack being planned in the
Netherlands it would raise the threat level to five, or "critical"”



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