Eye on Extremism
January 16, 2025
Reuters: Israel, Hamas Reach Ceasefire Deal To End 15 Months Of War In Gaza
“Hamas and Israel reached a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that mediators said would take effect on Sunday and include a release of hostages held there during 15 months of bloodshed that devastated the Palestinian enclave and inflamed the Middle East. The complex phased accord outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed. Hostages taken by militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. At a news conference in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday. Negotiators are working with Israel and Hamas on steps implementing the deal, he said. "This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity," U.S. President Joe Biden said in Washington.”
The Guardian: Polish PM Accuses Russia Of Planning ‘Acts Of Terrorism’ Around The World
“Russia planned to conduct “acts of terrorism in the air”, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday, by plotting a wave of fire bomb attacks that could have brought down planes mid-flight around the world. Warsaw had been involved in countering “acts of sabotage” conducted by Russia, Tusk added, before he referred to incendiary parcel attacks that took place in the UK, Germany and Poland during the summer. “The latest information can confirm the validity of fears that Russia was planning acts of terrorism in the air not only against Poland,” Tusk told a news conference in Warsaw, though he did not offer more detail or explanation.”
CEP Mentions
DW: Israel, Hamas Reach Ceasefire And Hostage Deal
“Qatar's prime minister announces that a Gaza truce deal between Israel and Hamas has been agreed. Thousands of Gazans reacted to the news with jubilation. The deal will go into effect as of January 19. Phase 1 of the deal entails 33 hostages being released by Hamas over a six-week period. Israel says some issues are to be resolved with a vote expected on Thursday. Here are the latest developments from Israel, Gaza and the wider Middle Eastfrom January 15 into January 16… While the first phase of the ceasefire deal is not "a problem," the second one will be "tough," counterterrorism analyst Hans-Jakob Schindler told DW. "Because when you are in the second phase, you have to think about the third phase, that is sustainable ceasefire, the rebuilding of the Gaza strip," he said.”
The National Interest: Have The Houthis Made A Strategic Blunder?
“Yemen’s Houthis may be on a high from their success in keeping Israelis awake at night with their sporadic missile launches targeting the country’s center of gravity. Dealing with this threat will present considerable dilemmas and challenges to Israel. However, Israeli journalists’ defeatism is overwrought; in fact, less than one year and a half after their grand entrance onto the international stage, the Houthis strategic options are looking considerably worse than they were in October 2023. A group like the Houthis, similar to Hezbollah or Hamas, is synonymous with misrule. Their claim to legitimacy does not rest on fostering a thriving economy or reflecting the will of the people through national elections but on their narrative of “resistance…” Ari Heistein is an advisor to Israeli startups seeking to sell to the U.S. federal government, a consultant on Yemen-related issues, and a nonresident fellow at the Counter Extremism Project.”
Metro: Inside The ‘Fight Night’ White Supremacist Groups Preparing For Global Race War
“A hateful white supremacist network with a ‘fight club’ ethos is spreading across the US and around the world, new research shows. Neo-Nazi Active Clubs are said to be one of the fastest-growing extreme-right groups in America and are also present in the UK and Europe. The branches outwardly promote mixed martial arts (MMA) training and ‘brotherhood’ while preparing members for a race war against their perceived enemies, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)… The general ethos for members worldwide is to look and act like ‘regular guys’ and not talk about ‘politics, Jews or history’, according to research by the Counter Extremism Project, a New York-based policy organisation.”
Domus: The House Of The Zone Of Interest In Auschwitz Will Soon Be Open For Visits
“Quiet, safe and surrounded by greenery. And a view of a gas chamber. The house where Rudolf Höss, commandant of the Auschwitz death camp, lived with his family will soon be open to visitors. The building, located just outside the camp, was made famous by the Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, directed by Jonathan Glazer. Until now it has been a private home. For the past 42 years, Grazyna Jurczak, now 62, has lived there with her husband, before he died, and their two children: 'It was a great place to raise the children', thanks to its proximity to nature and the river, and the absence of chaos. But after the release of Glazer's film, the decision to sell the house was reinforced by the streams of people who walked around the building, looking at it and remembering its connection to the tragedies of the Holocaust.”
Newser: An Infamous Auschwitz Home Will No Longer House Families
“... The home in Oswiecim, Poland, was purchased in October by the NY-based Counter Extremism Project, which plans to open it to the public for the first time. Counter Extremism Project CEO Mark Wallace says the house and an adjacent property will ultimately become the newly formed Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism, and Radicalization, which will focus on combating modern-day extremism. "This house has been closed for 80 years. It was out of reach to the victims and their families. Finally, we can open it to honor survivors and show that this place of incredible evil is now open to all," Wallace said.”
Polskie Radio: Auschwitz Commandant’s Former House To Open To Visitors
“A house once owned by Rudolf Höss, the notorious commandant of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp, has been purchased by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a US-based non-governmental organisation, and will soon open to visitors. Located at 88 Legionów Street in the southern Polish city of Oświęcim, the house sits near the former camp’s perimeter fence. The property became the focus of public attention after last year’s release of The Zone of Interest, a British-Polish-American film that depicted the domestic life of Höss and his family living in the shadow of Auschwitz from 1941 to 1944.”
Il Post: In Auschwitz You Can Visit The House Of The Protagonist Of The "Area Of Interest"
“Last summer, Grazyna Jurczak, a 62-year-old Polish widow, decided to sell the house where she had lived for more than forty years with her husband and two children to the non-governmental organization Counter Extremism Project. Among the reasons that led her to sell it was that for a few months, more and more people had been wandering around the house: they were visitors to the Auschwitz concentration camp, a few meters away, and who had seen the film The Zone of Interest , directed by Jonathan Glazer, released in 2023 and set in her house.”
Glos 24 Auschwitz: The Auschwitz Commandant's Villa Has Been Sold. It Is Now Known What Will Be Built There
“As reported by Polish Radio, a centre for combating hatred will be established in the villa of the Auschwitz commandant. The villa where Rudolf Höß, the first commandant of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, lived, has been sold by its private owner to the New York-based foundation Counter Extremism Project. The building will serve as the Center for the Study of Hate, Extremism and Radicalization. The facility, located next to the former camp, is to become a center for education and prevention against hate speech and extremism. Piotr Cywiński, director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, emphasized in an interview with Radio Kraków that this is an innovative idea that can play a key role in the fight against hate and radicalization. The center will operate independently of the museum, becoming an important point on the educational map.”
Noizz: Auschwitz Commandant's House Open To Visitors: It Was Closed For 80 Years
“The American non-governmental organization Counter Extremism Project acquired the house of the commandant of the German Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, Rudolf Hoess, in the summer. As reported by the New York Times, the property will be open to visitors on January 27, 2025, on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp. The director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, Piotr Cywiński, does not rule out cooperation with the new institution. The film "Zero interest" about the Höss family attracted many people interested in the history of the house to the property in Oświęcim. This convinced its resident, Grażyna Jurczak, to sell it. The transaction, which amounted to over $120,000, was finalized in October.”
PAP: Americans Have Bought The House Of The Auschwitz Commandant. They Will Soon Open It To Visitors
“The American non-governmental organization Counter Extremism Project purchased the house of the commandant of the German Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, Rudolf Höss, in the summer and will open it to visitors on January 27, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp, the New York Times reported. Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum Director Piotr Cywiński did not rule out cooperation with the new institution. The film "Zone of Interest," which tells the story of the Höss family, has led to strangers entering the property in Oświęcim, interested in the history of the house. This has prompted its resident, Grażyna Jurczak, to sell it. The sale of the house and the adjacent post-war building was finalized in October. The Counter Extremism Project and Ms. Jurczak have not disclosed the amount of the transaction, but - as the "NYT" wrote on Wednesday - it is about more than $120,000.”
TVP Wilno: The Auschwitz Commandant's House Will Soon Be Open To Visitors
“The American non-governmental organization Counter Extremism Project purchased the house of the commandant of the German Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, Rudolf Höss, in the summer and will open it to visitors on January 27, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp, The New York Times reported. The director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, Piotr Cywiński, did not rule out cooperation with the new institution. The film “Zero interes,” which tells the story of the Hoess family, has led to strangers entering the property in Oświęcim, interested in the history of the house. This has prompted Grażyna Jurczak, who lives there, to sell it. The sale of the house and the adjacent post-war building was finalized in October. The Counter Extremism Project and Ms. Jurczak have not disclosed the amount of the transaction, but as the NYT writes on Wednesday, it is more than $120,000.”
Chills, By Lauren Wolfe: A Bold Act Of Reclamation
“Nearly two years ago, I went to Auschwitz on a press trip. I was in transit there on Oct. 7, 2023, the day Hamas attacked Israel. If evil can be made manifest, here it was, both in the flame-tinged past and in the blood-filled present — and, as we would soon find out, in the future, when Israel would retaliate by pounding Gaza into oblivion. I read yesterday that the commandant of Auschwitz’s private villa has been sold to the Counter Extremism Project, a New York-based nonprofit, and is being turned into a part of the camp visitors can enter. It’s hard to describe the absurdity of the disconnect of the beautiful house with a backdrop of the most organized mass murder perpetrated in the 20th century.”
Frankfurter Rundschau: Authorities Have Long Known The Perpetrators Of The Magdeburg Attack: “Serious Mistakes Were Made”
“Berlin – The attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg on December 20th shocked Germany. Taleb al-Abdulmohsen drove a car into a crowd, six people died and more than 300 were injured, some seriously. For months, al-Abdulmohsen had posted worrying statements on X without anyone intervening. Security circles have now revealed that Taleb al-Abduhlmosen was known to numerous authorities in several federal states before the attack… After the attack, terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project also called platform operators to account for this editorial team. He sharply criticized X because, given the abundance of questionable content posted by Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, hardly anyone on the platform seemed to intervene . Individual posts were reported and deleted by users, but nothing more happened. "Unfortunately, social media is full of hate and violent fantasies and the situation is constantly getting worse. X in particular has reduced its content moderation in recent months, not improved it," said Schindler.”
United States
Associated Press: US Must Not Become Complacent To A Growing Terrorism Threat, A Counterterrorism Center Official Says
“Brett Holmgren got woken up early on New Year’s Day by alerts that a driver had plowed into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans. The rampage, which killed 14 people, was the deadliest attack on U.S. soil in years and was inspired by the Islamic State group. The National Counterterrorism Center, which Holmgren leads, sprang into action to help the FBI run down information on the culprit from Texas and his plot. It was a rare recent example of a mass attack motivated by religious extremism to hit the U.S. homeland. But it didn’t occur in a vacuum, coming at a time when a terror threat that has waxed and waned in the two decades since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is decidedly on the rise around the world.”
Bloomberg: Rubio Signals Trump Is Likely To Return Cuba To Terrorism List
“Donald Trump’s nominee to be the top US diplomat signaled that the president-elect is likely to reverse President Joe Biden’s decision Tuesday to remove Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism after he takes office next week. Cuba is “without a question” a sponsor of terrorism, Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, said in response to questions at his confirmation hearing in Washington on Wednesday. Trump had given Cuba the designation before the end of his first term in 2021, but Biden reversed it on Tuesday.”
Syria
NBC News: Questions About Syria And Potential For An ISIS Resurgence Loom For Trump
“At a news conference this month, President-elect Donald Trump bragged, “We defeated ISIS.” It has been a point of pride for him, and it is true. In the first year of Trump’s first term, U.S. forces, working with Syrian Kurdish allies, defeated the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” and liberated its capital. But the fall of the Assad regime has left Syria at risk of coming apart under pressure from a variety of terrorist groups, local militias and Israeli airstrikes. And Syria’s interim leaders, while proclaiming moderate intentions, have roots in Al Qaeda and another terrorist group, Hayat al Sham (HTS).”
Turkey
Reuters: Turkey Ready To Support Syria In Managing Islamic State Camps
“Turkey is ready to provide support to the new Syrian administration for the management of Islamic State camps in the country, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday. "As we have always said, we are also ready to provide the necessary assistance to the new administration in the management of DAESH camps and prisons," Fidan said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Speaking in Ankara following his meeting with his Syrian counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, Fidan also said that Ankara was pleased with the determination of the new administration in the fight against terror. Shibani said the extensive presence of U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in parts of northern Syria "was no longer justified".”
Middle East
Reuters: Israel Strikes In Gaza Kill At Least 70 After Ceasefire Accord, Residents Say
“Israel airstrikes killed at least 70 people in Gaza overnight on Thursday, residents and authorities in the enclave said, hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced to bring an end to 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas. The complex ceasefire accord emerged on Wednesday after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. to stop the war that has devastated the coastal territory and inflamed the Middle East. The deal, scheduled to be implemented from Sunday, outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed.”
Africa
Associated Press: Islamic State-Linked Rebels Kill At Least 10 People In Eastern Congo
“At least 10 people were killed in eastern Congo by extremist rebels linked to the Islamic State group, a local official said Wednesday. The rebels with the Allied Democratic Forces, an IS affiliate in the region, attacked the village of Makoko in the Lubero territory of the North Kivu province on Wednesday, a provincial member of parliament, David Sikuli, told The Associated Press. “I call on the Congolese government to allow joint operations by Congo and Uganda’s army to be expanded in all areas where the ADF are located,” Sikuli said. There were no Congolese soldiers in the village, only local fighters known as Wazalendo, who often fight alongside Congolese security forces, he added.”
Southeast Asia
Voice Of America: India Steps Up Engagement With Taliban
“The first high level diplomatic meeting held between India and the Taliban leadership marked a significant step in rebuilding New Delhi’s influence in Afghanistan, according to analysts. They say New Delhi’s growing engagement with the Taliban is prompted by strategic considerations in the Central Asian country that has important implications for its security and is likely to deepen amid growing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. In the meeting between Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri and acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, held in Dubai last week, India agreed to consider engaging in development projects in Afghanistan “in the near future” and provide more support to the health sector and refugee rehabilitation.”
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