“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a
proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in
Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns
cited by the militant group had been addressed. The high-stakes negotiations
have gained urgency in recent days as diplomats hope an agreement will deter
Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah from avenging the targeted killings of two top
militants that were blamed on Israel. The escalating tensions have raised fears
of an even more destructive regional war. Blinken spoke after holding a 2 1/2
hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day,
and will travel to Egypt and Qatar for further negotiations. The three
mediators have spent months trying to end the war in Gaza, with the talks
repeatedly stalling.”











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Eye on Extremism



August 20, 2024



Associated Press: Blinken Says Israel OKs A Plan To Break The Cease-Fire
Impasse And Urges Hamas To Do The Same
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“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a
proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in
Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns
cited by the militant group had been addressed. The high-stakes negotiations
have gained urgency in recent days as diplomats hope an agreement will deter
Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah from avenging the targeted killings of two top
militants that were blamed on Israel. The escalating tensions have raised fears
of an even more destructive regional war. Blinken spoke after holding a 2 1/2
hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day,
and will travel to Egypt and Qatar for further negotiations. The three
mediators have spent months trying to end the war in Gaza, with the talks
repeatedly stalling.”



Associated Press: Palestinian Militants Claim Tel Aviv Bombing That Wounded 1
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“Hamas and another Palestinian militant group claimed responsibility on
Monday for what appeared to be a failed bombing attack in the Israeli city of
Tel Aviv that killed the attacker and wounded a bystander. The blast late on
Sunday came as mediators were working on a cease-fire agreement in the
devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The bomb appeared to have gone off before
it was intended, and it was unclear whether the attacker planned to carry out a
suicide attack or plant the explosives and set them off remotely. Tel Aviv’s
district police commander, Deputy Commissioner Peretz Amar, told reporters the
blast occurred a few meters (yards) from a synagogue filled with people at
evening prayers. The fact that the bomb appears to have gone off prematurely,
outside on the street, helped avoid “a very real tragedy” that could have had
many fatalities and inflicted major damage, he said.”



CEP Mentions



Merkur.De: Sabotage Against The German Army: Expert Suspects Collaboration
Between Extremists
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“... Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project
(CEP) sees three groups that could be considered suspects: in the broadest
sense, Russian and Russian-supported actors, radical Islamists or left-wing
extremists. He currently considers one suspicion to be particularly likely:
"The first thing I would check is whether it was a Russian or Russian-supported
attack attempt or whether it was at least initiated by Russia," said Schindler
in an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA. There is much to suggest a Russian attack
attempt: Germany has been the focus of Russian attackers since 2022 at the
latest, if not since the Minsk Agreement in 2015.”



United States



Associated Press: US Intelligence Officials Say Iran Is To Blame For Hacks
Targeting Trump, Biden-Harris Campaigns
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“U.S. intelligence officials said Monday they were confident that Iran was
responsible for the hack of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, casting the
cyber intrusion as part of a brazen and broader effort by Tehran to interfere
in American politics and potentially shape the outcome of the election. The
assessment from the FBI and other federal agencies was the first time the U.S.
government has assigned blame for hacks that have raised anew the threat of
foreign election interference and underscored how Iran, in addition to more
sophisticated adversaries like Russia and China, remains a top concern. Besides
breaching the Trump campaign, officials also believe that Iran tried to hack
into the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris.”



Associated Press: Israel-Hamas War Latest: Blinken Says ‘Complex Issues,’
‘Hard Decisions’ Remain Over Cease-Fire Plan
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“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Israel has accepted a
proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in
Gaza. He called on Hamas to do the same. Blinken on Tuesday was on his ninth
urgent mission to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began more than 10
months ago. He did not say whether the “bridging proposal” addressed concerns
cited by Hamas. Even if the militant group accepts the proposal, negotiators
will spend the coming days working on “clear understandings on implementing the
agreement,” Blinken said. He said there are still “complex issues” requiring
“hard decisions by the leaders,” without offering specifics. Blinken is
traveling to Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday for further negotiations after meetings
in Israel on Monday. His visit came days after mediators, including the United
States, expressed renewed optimism that a deal was close.”



Turkey



Associated Press: 1 Israeli Arab Killed And 2 Wounded In A Shooting On A
Street In Istanbul
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“Police in Istanbul launched a large-scale investigation after an Israeli
Arab man was killed and two other men were wounded in a shooting as they sat in
a car, officials and media said Monday. The dead man was identified as
businessman Abdulkadir Anas. His father denied there had been any political
motive for the attack. “We have no business with politics, we are Israeli Arabs
of Palestinian origin,” the father told the Demiroren News Agency, which did
not publish his name. All three had been originally identified as Palestinians
by local media. The apparently professional nature of the attack, in which a
silenced handgun was used and left behind at the scene, had led to widespread
speculation in the Turkish media over whether Israel may have been involved.
Turkey has for years provided haven for Hamas officials.”



Pakistan



Voice Of America: Pakistan: Gunfight With Militants Near Afghan Border Kills 3
Troops
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“akistan reported Monday that at least three soldiers had been killed in
clashes with militants attempting to cross over from Afghanistan. A military
statement said that Pakistani forces had intercepted the predawn infiltration
attempt in the Bajaur border district and "effectively engaged and thwarted"
it. The ensuing intense gunfight also killed five assailants and wounded
several others, it added. The reported militant casualties could not be
immediately confirmed by independent sources, nor were there any claims of
responsibility for the attempted incursion. However, the military blamed
fugitive militants associated with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a globally
designated terrorist organization, for carrying out the attack from their bases
on the Afghan side of the border.”



Lebanon



The National: Hezbollah And Israel Trade Blows As Region Remains On Edge
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“Lebanon's Hezbollah group fired a barrage of missiles at a military base in
the Israel-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday morning in response to Israeli air
strikes on the Bekaa region. At least 55 rockets were fired into the Golan, the
Israeli army said. Some of the projectiles were intercepted while the others
struck open areas. No deaths or injuries were reported. Hezbollah said the
salvo was a “response to the Israeli enemy’s attack on the Bekaa region”, where
air strikes injured at least eight people, including two children, in the
Baalbek district on Monday evening. Israel said the raids targeted a “number of
Hezbollah weapons storage facilities”. “Following the strikes, secondary
explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons
in the facilities,” an army statement said."



Middle East



Reuters: Israeli Strike Targets Hezbollah Site In Lebanon, Israeli Military
Says
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“An Israeli strike on Monday evening targeted a Hezbollah arms depot in
Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, the Israeli military said. The strike did not
result in any fatalities, two security sources told Reuters. Lebanon's health
ministry said of the eight injured six were Lebanese citizens and two Syrian
children. The Israeli military said its air force struck a number of Hezbollah
weapons storage facilities in the area of Beqaa in Lebanon. An Israeli strike
on Monday evening targeted a Hezbollah arms depot in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa
Valley, the Israeli military said. The strike did not result in any fatalities,
two security sources told Reuters. Lebanon's health ministry said of the eight
injured six were Lebanese citizens and two Syrian children. The Israeli
military said its air force struck a number of Hezbollah weapons storage
facilities in the area of Beqaa in Lebanon.”



Reuters: 10 Palestinians Killed In Israeli Strike On Gaza School, Civil
Defence Says
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“At least 10 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike on a
school housing displaced families west of Gaza City, the enclave's civil
defence authorities said. The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas militant
base embedded inside the school. Hamas denies Israeli allegations that it uses
schools and hospitals for military purposes.”



Southeast Asia



Associated Press: Groups Say They’re Shut Out Of Global Treaty Talks On
Plastics Pollution In Bangkok
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“Experts meet in Bangkok this week to advance what would be the first
international treaty to tackle the surging problem of plastic pollution. Final
treaty negotiations take place in South Korea in November. Yet most of the
people who have been closely tracking the negotiations — environmentalists,
tribal leaders and residents from communities hard-hit by plastic production
and waste — are shut out of the talks in Bangkok. Many plastic industry
representatives say they can’t get into the room either. In a series of letters
to the United Nations Environment Programme, the meeting sponsor, hundreds of
organizations said the closure runs counter to typical international
environmental treaty-making. They said organizers have a responsibility to be
transparent and allow public participation. They worry the approach in Bangkok
could set a bad precedent.”



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