“The death toll in the Gaza Strip from the 13-month-old war between Israel and
Hamas has surpassed 44,000, local health officials said Thursday. The Gaza
Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its
count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and
children. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants,
without providing evidence. The Health Ministry said 44,056 people have been
killed and 104,268 wounded since the start of the war. It has said the real
toll is higher because thousands of bodies are buried under rubble or in areas
that medics cannot access. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into
southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians,
and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least
a third of whom are believed to be dead.”











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Eye on Extremism



November 22, 2024



Associated Press: Death Toll In Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000,
Palestinian Officials Say
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“The death toll in the Gaza Strip from the 13-month-old war between Israel and
Hamas has surpassed 44,000, local health officials said Thursday. The Gaza
Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its
count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and
children. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants,
without providing evidence. The Health Ministry said 44,056 people have been
killed and 104,268 wounded since the start of the war. It has said the real
toll is higher because thousands of bodies are buried under rubble or in areas
that medics cannot access. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into
southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians,
and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least
a third of whom are believed to be dead.”



Associated Press: House Passes Bill That Would Allow Treasury To Target
Nonprofits It Deems To Support Terrorism
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“The U.S. House passed legislation Thursday that would give the Treasury
Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it
claims support terrorism, alarming civil liberties groups about how a second
Trump presidency could invoke it to punish political opponents. The bill passed
219-184, with the majority of the support coming from Republicans who accused
Democrats of reversing course in their support for the “common sense” proposal
only after Donald Trump was elected to a second term earlier this month.
Speaking on the House floor ahead of the vote, Rep. Jason Smith, GOP chair of
the House Ways and Means Committee, said his colleagues across the aisle would
still be supporting the bill had Vice President Kamala Harris won the
presidential election."




Recent CEP Press Releases

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Antisemitic Violence Instigated by Pro-Palestinian Protestors in Amsterdam
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Statement on the Death of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar
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One Year After October 7
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CEP Report: Civilian Counterterrorism Militias Take Action, Introduce New
Challenges To Combatting Violent Extremism In Africa
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Counter Extremism Project Statement Marking 9/11
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CEP Mentions



Bloomberg: Extremists On Telegram Pose As Fight Clubs, Raising Alarms In US
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“... There were 46 Active Clubs in the US in August 2023, the most recent
numbers available, according to the Counter Extremism Project. In April 2023,
the Accelerationism Research Consortium, which tracks hate groups, had found 30
Active Clubs in 17 states. Posts in dozens of Active Club channels advocate
conspiracy theories and repost videos from Patriot Front, a white nationalist
group, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Members traveled to
Windsor, Ontario where we connected with the Windsor branch of our community.
We were joined by members of Great Lakes Active Club and the Michigan chapter
of Patriot Front,” said one post widely shared on Telegram. “We went on a hike,
got some decent sparring in, then went for food and drinks. There was much
laughter and many plans for the future were discussed.””



United States



The New York Times: White Supremacist Incidents Are Rising Across The U.S.
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“A neo-Nazi group scattered fliers across lawns and doorsteps in three
Waterloo, Iowa, neighborhoods just before Veterans Day. The handouts offered a
chilling assessment of the group’s proximity, in capital letters: “We are your
neighbors! We are the random stranger holding the door open for you!” it read.
“We are everywhere.” About a week later, about a dozen people marched through a
part of Columbus, Ohio, that is known for arts and culture, carrying Nazi flags
and using a bullhorn to shout racial slurs against Jews and people of color. A
similar scene unfolded in downtown Nashville over the summer. Flash displays of
hate and white power are happening more frequently in the United States, a
trend that experts say is a reaction to changing demographics, political
turmoil and social catalysts.”



Syria



Business Insider: America's Allies In Syria Hope They Can Sway Trump's
Decisions About Us Troops There
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“For almost a decade, US troops have been on the ground in Syria to assist
Kurdish-led forces in the defeat of the infamous Islamic State. These forces
tamp down on the ISIS remnants in the northern and eastern regions they
presently control, where tens of thousands of captured ISIS fighters, their
families and suspected affiliates remain in open-air camps and prisons. But
there's a new wrinkle of uncertainty in this highly volatile and contested
region: US President-elect Donald Trump. During his first term, Trump ordered
the withdrawal of US troops partnered with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic
Forces after ISIS' territorial defeat. Trump did this following a phone call
with the president of Turkey, a staunch rival of the SDF, resulting in an
immediate cross-border Turkish operation against those US-allied forces. Trump
then backtracked and kept 900 US troops in Syria.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Gunmen Fire On Vehicles Carrying Shiites In Northwest
Pakistan, Killing At Least 42
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“Gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims in Pakistan’s restive
northwest on Thursday, killing at least 42 people, including six women, and
wounding 20 others in one of the region’s deadliest such attacks in recent
years, police said. The attack happened in Kurram, a district in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province where sectarian clashes between majority Sunni Muslims and
minority Shiites have killed dozens of people in recent months. No one
immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attack. It came a week after
authorities reopened a key highway in the region that had been closed for weeks
following deadly clashes. Local police official Azmat Ali said several vehicles
were traveling in a convoy from the city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when gunmen opened fire.”



Lebanon



Reuters: Exclusive: Lebanon Seeks Faster Israeli Pull-Out, Right To
Self-Defence In Truce, Official Says
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“Lebanon is seeking changes to a U.S. ceasefire proposal to ensure a speedier
withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon and to give both parties the
right to self-defence, a senior Lebanese official said on Thursday. Lebanese
officials requested the changes during meetings in Beirut this week with U.S.
mediator Amos Hochstein, who is working to strike a deal in the waning months
of the Biden administration to end the war between Lebanese group Hezbollah and
Israel. The amendments sought by Lebanon, details of which have not previously
been reported, indicate Hochstein still has work to do to seal a ceasefire
agreement which he said was "within our grasp" during a visit to Beirut on
Tuesday. The Lebanese official told Reuters that Lebanon wanted to see Israeli
troops "withdraw immediately after the ceasefire is declared so the Lebanese
army can deploy in all areas" and so displaced people could return to their
homes.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Many In Gaza Are Eating Just Once A Day, As Hunger Spreads
Amid Aid Issues
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“Yasmin Eid coughs and covers her face, cooking a small pot of lentils over a
fire fed with twigs and scrap paper in the tent she shares with her husband and
four young daughters in the Gaza Strip. It was their only meal Wednesday — it
was all they could afford. “My girls suck on their thumbs because of how hungry
they are, and I pat their backs until they sleep,” she said. After being
displaced five times, the Eids reside in central Gaza, where aid groups have
relatively more access than in the north, which has been largely isolated and
heavily destroyed since Israel began waging a renewed offensive against the
militant group Hamas in early October. But nearly everyone in Gaza is going
hungry these days. In the north experts say a full-blown famine may be
underway.”



Reuters: Israeli Strikes Kill 47 People In Eastern Lebanon, Official Says
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“Israeli strikes killed at least 47 people in eastern Lebanon on Thursday, a
Lebanese official said, pressing the campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah
group as a U.S. mediator sought to advance ceasefire talks in Israel. U.S.
mediator Amos Hochstein, who said a ceasefire was "within our grasp" during a
visit to Lebanon on Tuesday, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
Defense Minister Israel Katz. There were no immediate statements. Indicating
there were still gaps to close, a senior Lebanese official told Reuters that
Beirut had sought changes to the U.S. ceasefire proposal, to include ensuring a
speedier withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon. The diplomacy marks
the most serious attempt yet to end the conflict between Israel and the heavily
armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah, part of the regional spillover of the Gaza war
that erupted more than a year ago.”



Africa


Associated Press: US Envoy Sees No ‘Political Appetite’ Among Sudan’s
Combatants To End The Country’s Devastating War
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“The U.S. special envoy for Sudan said Thursday, just days after his first
visit to the war-wrecked country since taking his post, that he doesn’t see
enough of “political appetite” from the warring parties to reach a resolution
to the conflict. The African nation plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023,
when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders
broke out in the capital of Khartoum and spread to other regions, including
western Darfur. The fighting has left tens of thousands of dead, forced
millions from their homes, and pushed a large swath of the population to
starvation. Tom Perriello, who was appointed as special envoy in February,
travelled to Port Sudan on Monday to meet with Sudanese officials, including
the head of the military Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, whose troops have been
battling the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces around the country for the
past 19 months.”



Voice Of America: Burkina Freezes Assets Of More Than 100 People Over
'Financing Of Terrorism'
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“Military-led Burkina Faso has frozen the "assets and resources" of more than
100 people, including ex-president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, and two jihadist
groups over the "financing of terrorism," according to a decree sent to AFP
Thursday. The decision affects 113 individuals and two "terrorist
organisations" — the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and
Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) — according to the document, dated
Tuesday and signed by Finance Minister Aboubacar Nacanabo. Former president
Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba, who is currently in exile in Togo, was among the
individuals cited. Damiba was ousted after seizing power in a January 2022 coup
against elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore.”



Europe



Associated Press: Hungary’s Orbán Vows To Disregard International Arrest
Warrant For Netanyahu
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“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday denounced the International
Criminal Court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he would defy it by inviting the Israeli leader to
Hungary. In comments to state radio, Orbán accused the ICC of “interfering in
an ongoing conflict for political purposes,” saying the decision to issue the
warrant for Netanyahu over his conduct of the war in Gaza undermined
international law and escalated tensions. The ICC, the world’s top war crimes
court based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for Netanyahu as
well as for his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing
them of crimes against humanity in connection with the 13-month war in Gaza.”



Associated Press: Belarus Opposition Figure Extradited From Vietnam Faces
Terrorism Charges, Possible Death Penalty
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“A Belarusian opposition figure was detained in Vietnam and extradited to
Belarus, where he is facing charges of terrorism and possibly a death penalty,
the opposition said Thursday. The arrest of Vasil Verameichyk, 34, is the
latest in an unrelenting crackdown by Belarus’ authoritarian President
Alexander Lukashenko on dissent both at home and abroad since 2020, when his
disputed re-election sparked unprecedented mass protests. Verameichyk was
detained in Vietnam on the request of Belarusian authorities, according to
Belarus’ main security agency, the KGB. He is facing terrorism charges,
authorities said, over his involvement in the Kalinouski Regiment, a formation
of Belarusian volunteers fighting in the Ukraine war alongside Kyiv’s forces.
In Belarus, the Kalinouski Regiment has been designated as a terrorist
organization.”



Reuters: Slovenia Will Respect ICC Arrest Warrants For Israel, Hamas Leaders,
PM Says
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“Slovenia will respect arrest warrants for Israel and Hamas leaders issued by
the International Criminal Court (ICC) and "will fully comply", Prime Minister
Robert Golob was quoted as saying by Slovenian news agency STA late on
Thursday. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday
for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as
well as a Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes
against humanity in the Gaza conflict. Slovenia became in June the latest
European Union country to recognise an independent Palestinian state after its
parliament approved the move with majority vote.”



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