“Two Hamas officials told the BBC discussions to choose a successor for the
group's leader Yahya Sinwar, whose killing was confirmed on Thursday, will
begin very soon. The officials said that Khalil al-Hayya, Sinwar's deputy and
the group's most senior official outside Gaza, is considered a strong
candidate. Al-Hayya, who is based in Qatar, currently leads the Hamas
delegation in ceasefire talks between the group and Israel, and possesses a
deep knowledge, connection and understanding of the situation in Gaza. On
Monday, a Hamas official told the BBC that the movement is likely to keep the
identity of its new leader secret for security reasons. The movement did the
same thing in 2003 following the assassination of then Hamas chief, Sheikh
Ahmed Yassin, by Israel and that of his successor, Dr Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.
Hamas intends to elect a new leader in March of next year but until then it
will be run by a five-member committee.”











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Eye on Extremism



October 22, 2024



BBC: Who Will Lead Hamas After Killing Of Yahya Sinwar?
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“Two Hamas officials told the BBC discussions to choose a successor for the
group's leader Yahya Sinwar, whose killing was confirmed on Thursday, will
begin very soon. The officials said that Khalil al-Hayya, Sinwar's deputy and
the group's most senior official outside Gaza, is considered a strong
candidate. Al-Hayya, who is based in Qatar, currently leads the Hamas
delegation in ceasefire talks between the group and Israel, and possesses a
deep knowledge, connection and understanding of the situation in Gaza. On
Monday, a Hamas official told the BBC that the movement is likely to keep the
identity of its new leader secret for security reasons. The movement did the
same thing in 2003 following the assassination of then Hamas chief, Sheikh
Ahmed Yassin, by Israel and that of his successor, DrAbdel Aziz al-Rantisi.
Hamas intends to elect a new leader in March of next year but until then it
will be run by a five-member committee.”



Associated Press: Middle East Latest: Hezbollah Fires Rockets Into Central
Israel
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“Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel on Tuesday,
setting off air raid sirens in the country’s most populated areas but causing
no apparent damage or injuries, a few hours before U.S. Secretary of State
Anthony Blinken arrived in the region on a mission to restart stalled Gaza
ceasefire talks. The Israeli military said five projectiles were fired from
Lebanon into Israel and said most were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense
system. One landed in an open area. The rocket fire came as Israel stepped up
its strikes in Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah-run financial institution, and as
the U.S. pushed to resume cease-fire talks in Gaza following the death of Hamas
leader Yahya Sinwar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to
annihilate Hamas and recover dozens of hostages held by the group.”



CEP Mentions



WTOP News: The Story Behind Yahya Sinwar’s Killing
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“Hans Jakob Schindler, Sr. Director at the Counter Extremism Project discusses
how Israeli forces found Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the circumstances of his
death.”



NTV: "Deportation As A Solution Is A Double-Edged Sword"
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“Why do German security services often only become aware of potential threats
when they receive information from abroad? Does deportation automatically end
the threat of terrorism? Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler examines these
questions in an interview with ntv.”



ZDFheute: Where Hezbollah Gets Its Money
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“... Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the transatlantic think tank
Counter Extremism Project (CDP) explains on ZDFheute live how the terrorist
organization finances itself, how much money Hezbollah needs and what the
international community has done so far to combat terrorist financing.
Hezbollah's financial needs are met primarily by three aspects. A large part of
the financial support comes from Iran, both in the form of money and weapons,
said Schindler. Other criminal sources of income for Hezbollah include
extortion of Lebanese businessmen abroad. However, in the last 15 years,
another business has become very relevant.”



Welt: “The Perpetrator Had Obviously Sought Advice From IS Professionals From
Abroad”
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“A 28-year-old Libyan apparently planned an attack on the Israeli embassy in
Berlin. "The perpetrator had sought advice on how to carry out the attack, but
had not yet procured the weapons," says security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.”



United States



Associated Press: Blinken Arrives In Israel As Us Looks To Renew Cease-Fire
Efforts After The Killing Of Hamas Leader
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“Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday on his 11th
visit to the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The U.S. hopes
to revive cease-fire efforts after the killing of top Hamas leader Yahya
Sinwar, but so far all the warring parties appear to be digging in. Israel is
still at war with Hamas more than a year after the militant group’s Oct. 7
attack, and with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where it launched a ground invasion
earlier this month. Israel is also expected to strike Iran in response to its
ballistic missile attack on Oct. 1. Blinken landed just hours after Hezbollah
launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel, setting off air raid sirens
in the country’s most populated areas and its international airport, but
causing no apparent damage or injuries. The Israeli military said it
intercepted most of the five projectiles, with one landing in an open area.”



Syria



Reuters: Two Killed In Missile Attack On Car In Syrian Capital, State Media Say

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“At least two people were killed and three others injured on Monday in an
apparent guided missile attack on a car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syrian
state television said, quoting a military source. The source attributed the
attack to Israel. The attack occurred near the Eastern Roundabout, close to the
Golden Mazzeh Hotel, a high-end establishment in the centre of Syria's capital,
state media added. An Israeli military spokesman later claimed responsibility
for the attack, saying it killed the head of Hezbollah's money transfers unit.
"We will continue to act against Hezbollah in Syria and everywhere else,"
Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said in a
televised statement.”



Iran



Bloomberg: Iran Denies Interfering In Lebanon’s Affairs After Beirut Rebuke
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“Iran denied interfering in Lebanese affairs after comments by a senior
official sparked a political backlash in Beirut, in a rare rift between the two
countries. Iran has “never interfered” in the internal affairs of Lebanon or
any other country, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a press
conference in Tehran. His comments came after Iranian Parliament Speaker
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf received a public rebuke from Lebanese Prime Minister
Najib Mikati last week for saying Tehran could negotiate with France on the
implementation of a 2006 UN resolution that envisaged the withdrawal of the
Hezbollah militant group from parts of southern Lebanon. Mikati described the
comments as “blatant interference.” Iran will speak with “any country” that has
proposals for how to stop Israel’s military operations in Lebanon and Gaza,
Baghaei said on Monday.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Israel Says More Strikes Are Coming Against A Hezbollah-Run
Financial Institution
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“Israel said late Monday it planned to carry out more strikes in Lebanon
against a Hezbollah-run financial institution that it targeted the night before
and which it says uses customers’ deposits to finance attacks against Israel.
At least 15 branches of Al-Qard Al-Hasan were hit late Sunday in the southern
neighborhoods of Beirut, across southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa
Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. One strike flattened a
nine-story building in Beirut with a branch inside it. The Israeli military
issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes, and there were no reports of
casualties. Associated Press journalists witnessed strikes late Monday in the
coastal region of Ouzai, near Beirut’s airport, and Lebanon’s Health Ministry
said an airstrike near Beirut’s largest public hospital killed four, including
a child, and wounded 24.”



Reuters: War Knocked Human Development In Gaza Back To 1955, UNDP Says
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“The war in Gaza has devastated the Palestinian economy, which is now 35%
smaller than it was at the start of Israel's invasion a year ago, while
development levels in Gaza itself have collapsed to the level of the 1950s, the
UN's development agency said. Launching a new study on the socioeconomic
impacts of the war, which Palestinian officials say has claimed more than
42,500 lives, opens new tab, the UNDP's Chitose Noguchi said that by some
measures the region's poverty level was now approaching 100% as a result of the
disruption, with unemployment now at 80%. "The state of Palestine is
experiencing unprecedented levels of setbacks," she said over a crackling line
from Deir Al-Balah. "For Gaza, reversing development by an estimated 70 years
to 1955."”



Jewish News Syndicate: US: Israel-Hamas Hostage Talks Still Stalled After
Sinwar Killing
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“Negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a
hostages-for-ceasefire-and-terrorists-release deal have yet to resume since
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s Oct. 16 death, U.S. National Security Council
spokesman John Kirby said on Monday. “I cannot sit here today and tell you that
negotiations are about to restart in Doha or Cairo, or anywhere else for that
matter,” Kirby told reporters at a virtual briefing, adding that “we have
started to begin to think about it here and had some initial conversations with
our Israeli counterparts, as you would expect we would, in the wake of that
truly historic news. “We have certainly expressed, as the president did
publicly, our strong desire to see what can be done to find a diplomatic path
forward here to get the hostages home,” the senior White House official said.”



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