Eye on Extremism

March 3, 2025

CEP Mentions

Süddeutsche Zeitung: “Terrorist attacks and IS threat: The Islamists are completely confident of victory”

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed: "The IS calls for attacks on carnival parades. And there have just been attacks in Munich, Berlin, Austria and France. Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler talks about the reasons - and about problems that a stricter asylum policy alone cannot solve."

Spiked: “France is facing up to Islamism, so why can’t Britain?”

CEP Strategic Advisor Liam Duffy writes: "In Britain, Islamist terror attacks tend to be treated as merely tragic. We respond with renditions of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ and try to move on from them as quickly as possible. In France, jihadist terrorism and the broader challenge of Islamist extremism to society are the subject of regular discussion. Their presence is felt looming over every major public event. They are the subject of fierce debate on France’s many tele-magazine shows. One factor here is laïcité, France’s official state secularism. This doesn’t mean that public figures aren’t immune from being overly sensitive about religion. Nor does it protect anyone from spurious charges of Islamophobia when discussing Islamism or jihadism, as elsewhere in Europe. But it does mean that there is more cultural weight in opposition to what is ultimately a militant, bullying and hyper-violent expression of religious fundamentalism."

United States

New York Times: Trump Relaxes Limits on Counterterrorism Strikes Outside Conventional War Zones

President Trump has rescinded Biden-era limits on counterterrorism drone strikes and commando raids outside conventional war zones, reverting to the looser set of rules he used in his first term, according to officials familiar with the matter. Under restrictions imposed by the Biden administration, U.S. military and C.I.A. drone operators generally had to obtain permission from the White House to target a suspected militant outside a conventional war zone. Now commanders in the field will again have greater latitude to decide for themselves whether to carry out a strike. The relaxation of the rules suggests that the United States is likely to more frequently carry out airstrikes aimed at killing terrorism suspects in poorly governed places that are not deemed traditional battlefield zones, like Somalia and Yemen. It also means there may be greater risk to civilians.

Afghanistan 

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Taliban Declares End To Doha Agreement With The United States

Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers say they no longer consider the Doha agreement -- a peace deal with the United States that paved the way for the withdrawal of Western forces from the country -- to be valid. Speaking on February 28, the fifth anniversary of the agreement, chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the accord was limited to a particular time frame, which has now expired. “The Islamic Emirate has its own governance system, and now we are no longer moving forward based on that agreement,” he told the state TV. Mujahid said that the Taliban had fulfilled its key obligation under the agreement by preventing Afghanistan from becoming a launchpad for terrorist attacks against Washington and its allies.

Israel

Associated Press: Israel cuts off Gaza aid to pressure Hamas to accept a new ceasefire proposal

Israel stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip on Sunday and warned of “additional consequences” if Hamas doesn’t accept a new proposal to extend a fragile ceasefire, while key mediator Egypt accused Israel of using “starvation as a weapon.” Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the ceasefire agreement hours after its first phase ended. It called the decision to cut off aid “cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack” on the truce, which took hold in January after over a year of negotiations. Both sides stopped short of saying the ceasefire had ended. The first phase, which included a surge in humanitarian assistance after months of growing hunger in the territory, expired on Saturday. The two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas was to release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an Israeli pullout from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire. Talks should have begun a month ago.

Lebanon

France 24: Lebanon intercepts $2.5 million intended for Hezbollah, sources say

Lebanon seized $2.5 million in cash from a man arriving from Turkey, the finance ministry said on Friday, with three sources saying the money was destined for militant group Hezbollah. One of the sources said it was the first time such a seizure had been made. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. The detainee and the seized funds will be handed over to the investigation division at the General Directorate of General Security," Lebanon's finance ministry said in a statement, without making a reference to Hezbollah. Israel's military said earlier on Friday it had killed a Hezbollah weapons smuggler in a strike on eastern Lebanon a day earlier.

Turkey

Reuters: Turkey's Kurds say PKK militants heeding jailed leader's peace call is the right move

Residents in Diyarbakir, Turkey's largest Kurdish-majority city, said on Sunday that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) decision to heed its jailed leader's call for peace was correct and prosperity would follow if the decades-old conflict ended. On Saturday, the PKK declared an immediate ceasefire, a news agency close to it said, heeding jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan's disarmament call, in what could be a major step towards ending a 40-year insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people. President Tayyip Erdogan's government, its nationalist ally, and the pro-Kurdish DEM Party have voiced support for the peace call. However, Erdogan also warned that Ankara would resume military operations against the militant group if promises are not kept. Zihni Capin, a teacher, said in Diyarbakir that people were "exhausted both mentally and physically" by the conflict, and added he hoped the process would conclude in a way that contributes to "prosperity, peace and happiness" in the region.

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