“Federal prosecutors have indicted an alleged member of the Hezbollah terrorist
organization who is accused of helping to orchestrate the 1994 bombing of a
Jewish community center in Argentina that killed 85 people, officials announced
Wednesday. The attack at the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in
Buenos Aires is considered the worst act of terrorism in Argentine history.
Samuel Salman El Reda, a 58-year-old dual Colombian Lebanese citizen, allegedly
held a key role in the organization, leading terrorist operations over the
course of decades, the indictment says. He also allegedly helped recruit and
train operatives, deploying them to places including Thailand, Panama and Peru
so that they could help plan attacks and stockpile explosives and chemicals
such as ammonium nitrate. El Reda remains at large in Lebanon, and the odds of
him being captured or turned over to U.S. authorities are low. The indictment
was filed in New York. Because the United States has designated Hezbollah a
terrorist organization, federal prosecutors have the authority to indict
members of the group for certain crimes even if they did not take place in this
country.”











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Eye on Extremism



December 21, 2023



The Washington Post: U.S. Charges Man In 1994 Bombing At Argentina Jewish
Center That Killed 85
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“Federal prosecutors have indicted an alleged member of the Hezbollah
terrorist organization who is accused of helping to orchestrate the 1994
bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina that killed 85 people,
officials announced Wednesday. The attack at the Asociación Mutual Israelita
Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires is considered the worst act of terrorism in
Argentine history. Samuel Salman El Reda, a 58-year-old dual Colombian Lebanese
citizen, allegedly held a key role in the organization, leading terrorist
operations over the course of decades, the indictment says. He also allegedly
helped recruit and train operatives, deploying them to places including
Thailand, Panama and Peru so that they could help plan attacks and stockpile
explosives and chemicals such as ammonium nitrate. El Reda remains at large in
Lebanon, and the odds of him being captured or turned over to U.S. authorities
are low. The indictment was filed in New York. Because the United States has
designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization, federal prosecutors have the
authority to indict members of the group for certain crimes even if they did
not take place in this country.”



The Wall Street Journal: Hamas Rejection Sours Israeli Bid To Revive Hostage
Talks
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“Hamas rejected an Israeli offer to stop fighting for one week in exchange
for dozens of hostages, saying the group wouldn’t discuss releasing their
Israeli captives until a cease-fire first goes into effect, Egyptian officials
said. The head of Hamas’s political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, told intelligence
officials in Cairo on Wednesday that he was there to obtain a cease-fire and
more humanitarian aid for Gaza, the Egyptian officials said. Israel had made
the offer as Israeli forces stepped up operations in the southern Gaza city of
Khan Younis, believed to be the hiding place of the group’s military
leadership. The hostage negotiations were set to include, for the first time,
representatives of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second-most powerful
Palestinian militant group operating in the Gaza Strip. The group has also said
that Israel must implement a cease-fire before negotiations could start—and
that Israel must free all of its thousands of Palestinian prisoners in return
for the over 100 hostages remaining in Gaza. Fighters belonging to Islamic
Jihad, which like Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the
U.S., also participated in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and took hostages.”

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CEP Mentions



WTOP News: The Hunt: Terror Concerns Grow In The US And Europe
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“On this episode of “The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent J.J.
Green,” senior director at the Counter Extremism Project Hans-Jakob Schindler
says the discovery of two terror cells revealed what authorities believe was a
chilling plot.”



Turkey



Associated Press: Turkey Says Its Warplanes Have Hit Suspected Kurdish
Militant Targets In Northern Iraq
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“Turkish warplanes carried out new airstrikes Wednesday against Kurdish
militant targets in neighboring Iraq, the Turkish defense ministry said, a day
after Turkish and Iraqi officials held high-level security talks in Ankara.
Turkey often launches strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq that it
believes to be affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a banned
Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since the
1980s. According to a statement from the ministry, the fighter jets struck a
total of 14 suspected PKK targets in northern Iraq’s Gara, Hakourk and Qandil
regions where the aircraft destroyed caves, shelters and warehouses used by the
militants. Measures were taken to avoid harming civilians, historic or cultural
heritage and the environment, the ministry added. There was no immediate
comment from the PKK, the government in Baghdad or the administration in the
semiautonomous northern Kurdish region in Iraq. Ankara maintains that PKK has
sanctuaries in northern Iraq, where its leadership is also purportedly based.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: UN Calls For More, Direct Engagement With Taliban
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“A top United Nations official has called for more frequent and direct
engagements with de facto Taliban authorities both inside and outside
Afghanistan to address the country’s challenging relations with the
international community. Addressing members of the U.N. Security Council on
Wednesday, Roza Otunbayeva, the secretary-general’s special representative for
Afghanistan, said engagement does not equate to legitimizing Taliban rule. “It
can be used to express disapproval yet encourage change,” said Otunbayeva,
adding that the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has had “successful
interactions” with Taliban authorities on several issues, including
counternarcotics and human rights. Otunbayeva's plea for increased engagement
comes just days after a U.N. credentialing committee rejected for a third
consecutive year the Taliban's attempt to secure Afghanistan's U.N. seat.
Despite having governed Afghanistan for over two years, the Taliban regime
remains unrecognized by any country, and several of its key leaders, including
the foreign minister, are subject to travel sanctions. “



Associated Press: UN Is Seeking To Verify That Afghanistan’s Taliban Are
Letting Girls Study At Religious Schools
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“The United Nations is seeking to verify reports that Afghanistan’s Taliban
rulers are allowing girls of all ages to study at Islamic religious schools
that are traditionally boys-only, the U.N.’s top official in the country said
Wednesday. U.N. special envoy Roza Otunbayeva told the U.N. Security Council
and elaborated to reporters afterward that the United Nations is receiving
“more and more anecdotal evidence” that girls can study at the schools, known
as madrassas. “It is not entirely clear, however, what constitutes a madrassa,
if there is a standardized curriculum that allows modern education subjects,
and how many girls are able to study in madrassas,” she said. The Taliban have
been globally condemned for banning girls and women from secondary school and
university, and allowing girls to study only through the sixth grade. Taliban
education authorities “continue to tell us that they are working on creating
conditions to allow girls to return to school. But time is passing while a
generation of girls is falling behind,” Otunbayeva said.”



Yemen



Reuters: Houthi Leader Threatens To Attack US Warships If Washington Targets
Yemen
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“The leader of Yemen's Houthis warned on Wednesday they would strike U.S.
warships if the Iranian-backed militia was targeted by Washington, which this
week set up a multinational force to counter Houthi attacks on commercial
vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthis, which control vast amounts of territory in
Yemen after years of war, have since last month fired drones and missiles at
international vessels sailing through the Red Sea, attacks it says respond to
Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip. The U.S.-led security initiative will see
Washington and ten other, mostly NATO countries patrol the Red Sea to deter and
respond to future Houthi attacks that have so far led to major global shipping
lines rerouting around Africa instead. "We will not stand idly by if the
Americans are tempted to escalate further and commit foolishness by targeting
our country or waging war against it," Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said. "Any
American targeting of our country will be targeted by us, and we will make
American battleships, interests, and navigation a target for our missiles,
drones, and military operations," he said in a televised speech.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Israel’s Top Diplomat Wants To Fast-Track Humanitarian Aid
To Gaza Via Maritime Corridor From Cyprus
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“Israel wants to fast-track the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza through
a maritime corridor from Cyprus, bolstering stability in the region, the
country’s foreign minister said Wednesday. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen
said Israeli and Cypriot technical teams would spend Wednesday and Thursday
hammering out the details of the initiative so that aid shipments from Cyprus’
port of Larnaca, some 240 miles (385 kilometers) from Gaza, can begin as soon
as possible. “Cyprus and Israel, together with other partners in the region are
promoting the initiative for a secure maritime corridor to facilitate the
transfer of humanitarian assistance to Gaza in an organized and well inspected
manner,” Cohen said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart Constantinos
Kombos. Cohen was briefed on the initiative’s details during a visit to the
Zenon Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Larnaca, which will act as the
operational center for the aid shipments. He also personally inspected storage
facilities and security arrangements at Larnaca port.”



The Wall Street Journal: Gazans Are Starting To Blame Hamas For Wartime
Suffering
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“When news of the Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas militants
reached Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, many took to the streets in
celebration, distributing sweets and cheering fighters as they paraded hostages
through the enclave. Since then, however, quiet criticism has begun spreading
against the militant group, with Gazans blaming the militants for having
provoked Israel’s wrath and for their inability to shield the population from a
devastating war and a humanitarian crisis that deepens by the day. “People are
dying every minute,” said a 56-year-old businessman from Gaza. “Hamas is the
one that dragged us into this terrible vortex.” Nearly 20,000 people have been
killed in Gaza since the start of the war, Palestinian health officials said. A
majority of the fatalities in Gaza are women and children, they say. The
figures don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. The overwhelming
majority of Palestinians blame Israel for the death, destruction and
dislocation caused by the war. Yet many Gazans say that Hamas is also
responsible for the suffering, and that those voices are getting louder.”



Egypt



Reuters: Egypt Seeks To Broker Gaza Ceasefire As Hamas, Israel Assert Demands
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“The U.S. said "very serious" negotiations were taking place on a new Gaza
ceasefire and release of more Israeli hostages, but prospects for a deal
remained uncertain as Hamas insisted it would not discuss anything less than a
complete end to Israel's offensive in the Palestinian enclave. Hamas leader
Ismail Haniyeh visited Egypt on Wednesday for the first time in more than a
month for discussions with Egyptian officials who are seeking to mediate
another truce. A source briefed on the negotiations said envoys were
intensively discussing which of the hostages still held by Palestinian Islamist
militants in Gaza could be freed in a new truce and which Palestinian prisoners
Israel might release in return. Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian militant
group that is also holding hostages in Gaza, said its leader would visit Egypt
in coming days as well to discuss a possible end to the Conflict. "These are
very serious discussions and negotiations, and we hope that they lead
somewhere," White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force
One on Wednesday.”



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