“Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was declared president for a
transitional phase on Wednesday, tightening his hold on power less than two
months after he led a campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa was also
empowered to form a temporary legislative council for a transitional period and
the Syrian constitution was suspended, according to an announcement made by the
military command which led the offensive against Assad. The decisions emerged
from a meeting of military commanders who took part in the assault, a campaign
spearheaded by Sharaa's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group - a former al
Qaeda affiliate.”











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Eye on Extremism



January 30, 2025



Reuters: Syria's Sharaa Declared President For Transition, Consolidating His
Power
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“Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was declared president for a
transitional phase on Wednesday, tightening his hold on power less than two
months after he led a campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa was also
empowered to form a temporary legislative council for a transitional period and
the Syrian constitution was suspended, according to an announcement made by the
military command which led the offensive against Assad. The decisions emerged
from a meeting of military commanders who took part in the assault, a campaign
spearheaded by Sharaa's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group - a former al
Qaeda affiliate.”



Reuters: Israel Delays Prisoner Release After Chaotic Hostage Handover
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“Hamas handed over three Israelis and five Thai hostages in Gaza on Thursday,
but Israel delayed the expected release of Palestinian prisoners after chaotic
scenes at one of the handover points, where large crowds swarmed around the
captives. Arbel Yehud, 29, abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz in the Hamas-led as
sault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, looked fearful and struggled to walk through a
surging crowd as armed militants handed her to the Red Cross in a tense scene
in the southern city of Khan Younis. Another Israeli hostage, Gadi Moses, 80,
was also released along with five Thai nationals working on Israeli farms near
Gaza when the militants burst through the border fence, the Israeli military
said. The mother of one of the Thais watched a livestream of the scene
anxiously from her home in the northeastern Udon Thani province.”



CEP Mentions



HNA: Nazi Villa In Auschwitz Gets A New Coat Of Paint: “As A Warning”
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“... The 2023 feature film "The Zone of Interest" painted an impressive
picture of those years. Now the NGO Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is turning
the house and property at Legionów Street 88 into a research center and
memorial against extremism. Project name: Archer at House 88, an acronym for
"Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization". CEP
campaigns, among other things, against extremism and radicalisation on the
Internet and urges the operators of social media platforms such as TikTok or X
to take more consistent action against hate speech and concerted fake news
campaigns.”



WTOP News: The Hunt: Here’s What Terror Groups Are Trying Do In 2025
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“After a wave of plots and attacks in Europe and the stunning New Year’s Day
attack in New Orleans, experts think terrorists are growing stronger and more
sophisticated. On this week’s episode of “The Hunt with WTOP national security
correspondent J.J. Green,” Hans-Jakob Schindler said the groups are not hiding
their ambition.”



KCRA3: Auschwitz Commander's Home Open To The Public, Converted Into Center
For Holocaust History
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“In the outskirts of the city of Oświęcim, Poland, lies a home, adjacent to
the site of one of the worst atrocities ever committed. The home is the former
residence of the commander of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp,
Rudolph Höss. The house recently featured heavily in the movie "Zone of
Interest," which told the story of the commander and his family and how
sheltered they were from the atrocities being committed just yards away. The
house, until this year, had always been in private hands. A U.S.-based group,
the "Counter Extremism Project," has purchased it. Now, in conjunction with the
Auschwitz Museum and UNESCO, they have created "The Auschwitz Center on Hate,
Extremism and Radicalisation." The home is now open to the public for the first
time.”



Oklahoma's News: Elliott Broidy And Dr. Thomas Kaplan Co-Chair Fundraising
Initiative To Convert Nazi Commandant’s Home Adjacent To Auschwitz Into A New
Global Center For Combating Antisemitism, Extremism, And Hate
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“Spearheaded by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), ARCHER aims to transform
the former residence of Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss in Oświęcim, Poland,
from a center of hate to a center against hate in all forms. In addition to the
residence, famed architect Daniel Libeskind has designed an extraordinary new
building on the grounds of House 88 to house the organization’s research,
education, and advocacy activities.”



United States



NPR: Trump Order Cracks Down On Antisemitism And Could Deport Foreign Student
Protesters
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“An executive order signed Wednesday by President Trump outlines a broad
federal crackdown on antisemitism in the U.S., especially on college campuses,
and suggests foreign students who take part in prohibited activities like
supporting terrorist organizations could be deported. The order cites "an
unprecedented wave of vile anti-Semitic discrimination, vandalism and violence"
and states that U.S. policy "shall be" to use "all available and appropriate
legal tools to prosecute, remove, or otherwise hold to account the perpetrators
of unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence."”



Syria



BBC: Russia Withdraws Military Equipment From Syrian Port, Images Show
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“Russia has stepped up its military withdrawal from Syria, removing vehicles
and containers from its key Tartous port on the country's Mediterranean coast,
analysis by BBC Verify suggests. After the fall of the Assad regime in
December, verified footage showed columns of Russian vehicles moving north
towards the port. Satellite images subsequently showed military hardware being
stored there. But new images published on Wednesday by Planet Labs showed that
much of the material has now disappeared, after the departure of vessels linked
to the Russian military. It comes as Russian officials held "frank discussions"
with the new government in Damascus, Reuters reported on Wednesday.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Pakistani Man Accused Of Killing US-Born Daughter Over
TikTok Videos Appears In Court
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“A Pakistani man suspected of killing his U.S.-born 15-year-old daughter in a
so-called honor killing after she apparently refused to stop sharing videos on
TikTok appeared in court Thursday in the southwestern city of Quetta, police
said. The man, who was arrested Wednesday, recently moved his family back to
Pakistan from the United States, police said. The shooting happened on Tuesday
in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, said Babar Baloch, a local
police chief. He said the father of the teenager initially suggested that an
unidentified gunman had killed his daughter, but after he was taken into
custody for questioning he confessed to the crime.”



Middle East



Politico: Hamas Begins Handing Over 8 More Hostages To Israel
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“Hamas handed Agam Berger over to Israel, the first of eight hostages
expected to be released from Gaza on Thursday. In exchange, Israel is set to
release 110 Palestinian prisoners, including about 30 people serving life
sentences, in the third swap since the Gaza cease-fire and hostages agreement
came into effect earlier this month. The cease-fire aims to end the most
destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Palestinian armed group
Hamas, who killed more than 1,000 people in Israel in an attack on Oct. 7,
2023. The group also took some 250 hostages into Gaza.”



Somalia



Voice Of America: Somali General Confident Of Defeat Against Is
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“For almost a month, security forces in the semi-autonomous Somali region of
Puntland have been advancing on the mountainous hideouts of Islamic State
militants. The fiercest clashes occurred late last week when the regional
forces dislodged the militants from Turmasaale, a strategic location about 150
kilometers southeast of Bosaso. Puntland’s leader, Said Abdullahi Deni, went to
the airport over the weekend to meet wounded soldiers, including a senior
officer, a sign of clashes taking place. Before the Turmasaale clashes, the
region’s forces seized caves, camps and small villages largely unopposed.”



Africa



Associated Press: ECOWAS Pledges To ‘Keep Door Open’ After 3 Coup-Hit West
African Nations Exit Regional Bloc
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“The junta-led West African nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have
formally withdrawn from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, the body said
Wednesday. The previously announced withdrawal, which marks the culmination of
a yearlong process during which the group tried to avert an unprecedented
disintegration, “has become effective today,” ECOWAS said in a statement. The
bloc, however, said that it has also decided to “keep ECOWAS’ doors open,” and
requested member nations to continue to accord the trio their membership
privileges, including free movement within the region with an ECOWAS passport.”



United Kingdom



The New York Times: A U.K. Teen Became Fixated On Extreme Violence. But Was It
Terrorism?
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“On Oct. 4, 2019, a 13-year-old British boy called a child welfare hotline
from his home in Banks, a village in northwest England, and asked: “What should
I do if I want to kill somebody?” The teenager, Axel Rudakubana, said that he
had started taking a knife to school because he was being bullied. After
counselors from the hotline called the police, he told officers that he thought
that he would use the weapon if he became angry. It was the first of several
warnings about Mr. Rudakubana, now 18, and his increasingly violent tendencies.”



Australia



Bloomberg: Australian PM Labels Caravan Packed With Explosives As Terrorism
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“Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the discovery of a
caravan packed with explosives in outer suburban Sydney was part of a terrorist
plot, with local officials drawing a link between the find and a recent spate
of antisemitic attacks. The explosives were uncovered on Jan. 19 in the Sydney
suburb of Dural, though authorities waited until this week to reveal the
discovery. Albanese said that more than 100 police are involved in
investigating the cache, as well as the country’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team.
The prime minister said that, like the leader of New South Wales state, he is
treating the find as terrorism.”



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