“Israeli airstrikes killed 11 Palestinians in Gaza City on Thursday, medics
said, while Israeli forces sent tanks into Jabalia in the north, where
Palestinians and United Nations officials expressed alarm over shortages of
food and medicine. Residents of Jabalia said Israeli forces blew up clusters of
houses from air, by tank shells and by placing bombs in buildings before
blowing them up remotely. Gaza's civil emergency service said it evacuated
several wounded people from a school sheltering displaced Palestinians that
caught fire after being hit by Israeli tank shells. Residents said Israeli
forces had effectively isolated Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya in the
far north of the enclave from Gaza City, blocking movement except for those
families with permission to heed evacuation orders and leave the three towns.”











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Eye on Extremism



October 17, 2024



Reuters: Israeli Fire Kills 11 In Gaza City As Its Forces Tighten Siege In The
North
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“Israeli airstrikes killed 11 Palestinians in Gaza City on Thursday, medics
said, while Israeli forces sent tanks into Jabalia in the north, where
Palestinians and United Nations officials expressed alarm over shortages of
food and medicine. Residents of Jabalia said Israeli forces blew up clusters of
houses from air, by tank shells and by placing bombs in buildings before
blowing them up remotely. Gaza's civil emergency service said it evacuated
several wounded people from a school sheltering displaced Palestinians that
caught fire after being hit by Israeli tank shells. Residents said Israeli
forces had effectively isolated Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya in the
far north of the enclave from Gaza City, blocking movement except for those
families with permission to heed evacuation orders and leave the three towns.”



Reuters: French Cement Maker Lafarge To Face Trial On Terrorism Funding Charges

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“Cement maker Holcim's Lafarge will face trial in a French court on charges
that its Syrian subsidiary financed terrorism and breached European sanctions
in order to keep a plant operating, France's anti-terrorism prosecutor and a
lead plaintiff said. Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015,
has been the subject of an investigation into its operations in Syria since
2016, one of the most extensive corporate criminal proceedings in recent French
legal history. Investigative judges in Paris gave the order Lafarge face trial
on Wednesday. In a statement to Reuters on Thursday, Lafarge said it
acknowledged the decision of the investigating judges. Holcim shares fell
nearly 2% in late Wednesday trading after the news, before recovering a little
to close 0.7% lower. Investigations continue into allegations that Lafarge was
complicit in crimes against humanity, part of the wider probe into how the
group kept its factory running in Syria after war broke out in 2011, said the
anti-corruption group Sherpa, which brought the criminal complaint against
Lafarge.”



CEP Mentions



The Foundation For Defense Of Democracies: Interview With CEP Senior Advisor
Edmund Fitton-Brown <[link removed]>



“Hezbollah, Hamas, and Houthis ... and all eyes on the skies over Iran. Catch
Jonathan Schanzer’s discussion on the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Morning Brief w/ terrorism expert Edmund Fitton-Brown. We’ve got lots of ground
to cover on Iran's terror network, so make sure to tune in.”



United States



Associated Press: His Country Trained Him To Fight. Then He Turned Against It.
More Like Him Are Doing The Same
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"The U.S. military trained him in explosives and battlefield tactics. Now the
Iraq War veteran and enlisted National Guard member was calling for taking up
arms against police and government officials in his own country. Standing in
the North Carolina woods, Chris Arthur warned about a coming civil war. Videos
he posted publicly on YouTube bore titles such as “The End of America or the
Next Revolutionary War.” In his telling, the U.S. was falling into chaos and
there would be only one way to survive: kill or be killed. Arthur was posting
during a surge of far-right extremism in the years leading up to the Jan. 6
attack on the U.S. Capitol. He wrote warcraft training manuals to help others
organize their own militias. And he offered sessions at his farm in Mount
Olive, North Carolina, that taught how to kidnap and attack public officials,
use snipers and explosives and design a “fatal funnel” booby trap to inflict
mass casualties."



Iran



Voice Of America: Iran's Border Security Forces Allegedly Massacre 'Dozens' Of
Afghan Migrants
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“Taliban authorities are looking into allegations that dozens of Afghan
civilians were killed and injured by Iranian border forces while trying to
enter that country from Pakistan illegally. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy
Taliban spokesperson in Kabul, said Wednesday that "various governmental
bodies" and Afghan diplomatic missions have initiated "comprehensive
investigations" to verify the reported casualties. “As the incident is reported
to have occurred beyond Afghanistan’s borders, the available information
remains unverified,” Fitrat noted in his English-language statement posted on
social media platform X. He added that a “conclusive decision” would be made
after a “thorough clarification of the facts.” The Taliban probe was announced
after an Iranian rights group, known as Halvash, initially reported the alleged
Afghan casualties, saying they occurred Sunday in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan
border province.”



Reuters: Iran Warns Israel Against Retaliation For Missile Attack
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“The commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards warned Israel on Thursday
against attacking the Islamic Republic in retaliation for a missile barrage as
the Israeli military stepped up its offensive in Lebanon against Tehran-backed
Hezbollah. Fears of a wider Middle East conflict have grown as Israel plans its
response to the Oct. 1 missile attack carried out by Iran after Israeli
airstrikes on Iranian-allied militants. "We tell you (Israel) that if you
commit any aggression against any point we will painfully attack the same point
of yours," Hossein Salami said in a televised speech, adding that Iran can
penetrate Israel's defences.U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday about Israel's operations in
Lebanon and Gaza, aiming to avert a regional war. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas
Araqchi, on a Middle East tour, met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah
al-Sisi in Cairo, with Sisi reiterating Egypt's call to avoid an expansion of
the conflict, the Egyptian presidency said.”



Afghanistan



Fox News: Taliban Begins Enforcing Rule Banning ‘Images Of Living Beings’ In
Afghan Media
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"The Taliban is reportedly enforcing a ban against certain media outlets
airing "images of living beings" in Afghanistan. An Afghan official confirmed
the news to the Associated Press on Tuesday. The militant group, through its
Vice and Virtue Ministry, is currently enforcing the rule in certain provinces,
and it is unclear when or if it will apply to all media outlets across the
country, including foreign media. The new rule reflects laws announced by the
Vice and Virtue Ministry in August, which also banned women's voices and bare
faces. The legislation marked the first declaration of such rules in
Afghanistan since the Taliban took over after the U.S. withdrawal."



Yemen



NBC News: U.S. Strikes Houthi Weapons Storage Facilities In Yemen
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“U.S. B-2 bombers and other aircraft struck five underground Houthi weapons
storage locations in parts of Yemen that the Iranian-backed rebel group
controls, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday. The facilities, which
officials said were hardened, housed "various weapons components of types that
the Houthis have used to target civilian and military vessels throughout the
region," Austin said. Houthi rebels have attacked civilian vessels in the Red
Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The group was suspected in an attack in August. The
strikes were the first time the U.S. has used B-2 bombers, also known as
stealth bombers, in strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, a U.S. official told
NBC News. "This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to
target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how
deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified," Austin said in a statement.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Middle East Latest: Israeli Jets Pummel Southern Lebanon And
Beirut’s Suburbs
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“Israeli jets struck southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs on
Wednesday, killing at least 27 people including a city mayor, Lebanese
officials said. Hezbollah acting leader Sheikh Naim Kassem declared Tuesday
that the Lebanese militant group would ramp up attacks on Israel in response to
an Israeli airstrike Monday on an apartment building in northern Lebanon that
killed at least 22 people. Israel said it struck a target belonging to
Hezbollah, but the United Nations called for an independent investigation.
Israel has escalated its campaign against Hezbollah in recent weeks, after a
year of near-daily exchanges of cross-border fire. It’s been more than a year
since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in,
killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250.”



Associated Press: Middle East Latest: An Israeli Strike Wounds 2 Civilians,
Syrian Military Says
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“Syria’s military says Israel wounded two civilians and damaged a military
post a strike early Thursday in the coastal city of Latakia, about 100
kilometers (60 miles) north of the Lebanese border. Israel regularly targets
military sites in Syria linked to Iran and to Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah
group and has escalated its campaign against Hezbollah in recent weeks, after a
year of near-daily exchanges of cross-border fire. Lebanon says more than 2,300
people have been killed in the past year and 77% of public schools are out of
service, either due to their use as shelters or their location in areas
directly affected by the war. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants blew holes
in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed
over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not
distinguish combatants from civilians.”



United Kingdom



POLITICO: UK ‘Looking At’ Sanctions For ‘Extremist’ Israeli Ministers
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"The U.K. is considering imposing sanctions on two extremist Israeli
ministers, Keir Starmer confirmed Wednesday. The prime minister said the
government would examine the possibility of sanctioning two far-right Israeli
government ministers — Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security
Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — over past “abhorrent” remarks by the pair. Smotrich
said in August that the starvation of two million people in Gaza might be
“justified and moral” in order to free Israeli hostages. Ben-Gvir praised
settlers suspected of killing a Palestinian as “heroes,” and backed protests
against aid convoys reaching Gaza."



Reuters: UK Counter-Terrorism Police Investigating Warehouse Fire
<[link removed]>



"British counter-terrorism police are investigating a warehouse fire in July
caused when a package caught alight, and are liaising with other European law
enforcement agencies to see if there is a connection with similar incidents
elsewhere. On Tuesday, German prosecutors said they were investigating several
fires caused by incendiary devices hidden inside parcels at a warehouse in
Leipzig earlier this year. Britain's Counter Terrorism Policing unit said in a
statement that local emergency services dealt with a fire caused by a package
on July 22, and that there were no reports of injuries or significant damage.
"Due to the circumstances, and the specialist capability and expertise in
investigating such matters, the investigation is being led by officers from the
Met's Counter Terrorism Command," a spokesperson said."



France



Voice Of America: FBI, French Authorities Coordinate On Islamic State Arrests
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“Recent arrests in the United States and in Europe have law enforcement and
intelligence agencies on alert, bolstering concerns about a reinvigorated
Islamic State terror group bent on lashing out against the West. FBI officials
Wednesday confirmed the bureau shared information with French authorities
following last week’s arrest of 27-year-old Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan
national in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on charges connected to a mass shooting
plot in the name of the Islamic State group, to coincide with the U.S. election
in November. That information led to the arrest of a 22-year-old Afghan
national in the Haute-Garonne region of France, who French officials say is
linked to Tawhedi. That arrest followed the arrests of three other men in the
same region, again carried out in coordination with the U.S.”



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