“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hamas should release all
hostages held by the militant group in Gaza by midday Saturday or he would
propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and "let hell break out." Trump
cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might
speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But in a wide-ranging
session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump expressed frustration with the
condition of the last group of hostages freed by Hamas and by the announcement
by the militant group that it would halt further releases.”











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Eye on Extremism



February 11, 2025



Reuters: Trump Says Hamas Should Free All Hostages By Midday Saturday Or 'Let
Hell Break Out'
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“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hamas should release all
hostages held by the militant group in Gaza by midday Saturday or he would
propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and "let hell break out." Trump
cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might
speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But in a wide-ranging
session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump expressed frustration with the
condition of the last group of hostages freed by Hamas and by the announcement
by the militant group that it would halt further releases.”



Voice Of America: UN Security Council Raises Alarm Over Rising IS-K Threat
From Afghanistan
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“United Nations counterterrorism officials warned during a Security Council
meeting Monday that an Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan remains a
significant threat to regional and global security. The discussion centered on
the threat posed by Islamic State, also known as Daesh, and its regional
offshoots to international peace and security. The Afghan-based Islamic
State-Khorasan (IS-K) was highlighted as one of the “most dangerous branches”
of the transnational terrorist group. It has carried out repeated high-profile
attacks targeting Afghan civilians and members of the country’s de facto
Taliban rulers.”





Counter Extremism Perspectives

ARCHER at House 88 - the new initiative from the Counter Extremism Project
(Podcast in German)
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CounterPod

The London Docklands IRA bombing anniversary; Oman terrorist attack; Mexican
drug cartels; Gaza hostage swap; and the Orebro College attack in Sweden.
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CEP Mentions



CNN Portugal: This Family Home Near Auschwitz Is Opening Its Doors To The World

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“With its well-kept garden and spacious interior, the three-storey house was
once described as a “paradise” by the mother who raised her five children
there. Much has been done to preserve the tranquillity of this house,
considering its closest neighbour: the largest and most notorious Nazi
concentration camp, Auschwitz… Since the liberation of Auschwitz in January
1945, the house, 88 Legionow Street, has been in the hands of a Polish family.
However, last year it was acquired by the Counter Extremism Project, a New
York-based non-governmental organization that has been working to combat
extremism since 2014. This building – a powerful symbol of how the Holocaust
was orchestrated, and a central character in the Oscar-winning film “The Zone”
– has now opened its doors to visitors in a completely different way. “The idea
behind this project is to create something that doesn’t exist, a global center
to combat extremism, in what was the home of one of the worst extremists and
anti-Semites in history,” Hans Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter
Extremism Project, told CNN.”



UNESCO: A Decade Of Action Against Antisemitism
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“Decades after the Holocaust, antisemitism is on the rise in Europe and
beyond. Education programmes are vital to help people understand violent pasts
and develop values to prevent future atrocities. To mark the 80th anniversary
of the liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and
Extermination Camp, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay recently travelled
to Poland to take part in official commemorations. On site, she visited a new
research centre on hate, extremism and radicalization being created by the
Counter Extremism Project with support from UNESCO in the former house of
Auschwitz commandant, Rudolf Höss. She reiterated UNESCO’s commitment to the
fight against antisemitism. “At a time when survivors and direct witnesses of
the Holocaust are growing fewer, it is vital to further invest in education to
pass on memory to younger generations as well as to combat contemporary forms
of antisemitism. Since its creation, UNESCO has been resolutely committed to
carrying out this mission.””



United States



Fox News: USAID Reportedly Bankrolled Al Qaeda Terrorist's College Tuition,
Unearthed Records Show
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“The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) reportedly provided
"full funding" for al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki to attend college in
Colorado, unearthed documents apparently show. Al-Awlaki was an American-born
jihadist who was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in 2011, during the Obama
administration. He was a central figure of al Qaeda, including having direct
contact with Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan before he opened fire at Fort Hood,
Texas, in 2009, killing 13 people, U.S. officials reported at the time. Amid
the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) investigations of federal
government agencies in search of overspending, corruption and fraud, political
eyes have been locked on USAID funding.”



The Guardian: Bomb-Plot Trial Of Neo-Nazi Leader Pulls Back Veil On US
Extremist Networks
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“February was to be Brandon Russell’s moment: facing federal charges of
conspiring to blow up a series of power stations around Baltimore and trigger a
citywide blackout, the neo-Nazi figurehead decided to take his case to trial
and mount an entrapment defense against the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It
did not work. Russell, a 29-year-old native of the Bahamas, had thrown away a
promising future involving a college degree at the University of Florida and a
national guard position to become a dedicated far-right figurehead previously
imprisoned in 2017 over a murderous spat between comrades in the Atomwaffen
Division, a neo-Nazi guerrilla group he had founded that was involved in five
murders and a number of bomb plots before federal agents dismantled it in 2020.”



Syria



Reuters: Syria's Sharaa Calls Trump Gaza Plan 'Serious Crime' Bound To Fail
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“Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said in remarks broadcast on Monday
he believes U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians from
Gaza and take over the Strip "is a serious crime that will ultimately fail".
Trump had said the U.S. would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop
it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. He said
Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his proposal. In
an interview with a UK podcast, Sharaa, an Islamist whose militant group Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham was once an affiliate of al Qaeda, said Trump's proposal would
not succeed. "I believe no power can drive people from their land. Many
countries have tried to do it and they have all failed, especially during the
recent war in Gaza over the past year and a half," he said. Sharaa, declared
president for a transitional phase after his group's fighters led the overthrow
of Bashar al-Assad, said it would be neither "wise nor morally or politically
right" for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land.”



Afghanistan



ABC News: 5 People Killed In A Suicide Bombing Near A Bank In Northern
Afghanistan
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“A suicide bomber blew himself up near a bank in northern Afghanistan on
Tuesday, killing at least five people and wounding seven others, police said.
The attack happened near a branch of the Kabul Bank in Kunduz province, said
Jumauddin Khaksar, a police spokesman. The dead included a guard at the bank.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and Khaksar said police were
working to track down those who orchestrated the attack. Khaksar provided no
further details. Militants from the Afghan chapters of the Islamic State group
have carried out bombings across Afghanistan, though suicide attacks have
become rare since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, as U.S. and NATO
forces withdrew after 20 years of war.”



Yemen



The New York Times: U.N. Suspends Humanitarian Work In Yemeni Area After
Houthis Detain More Staff
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“The United Nations announced on Monday that it was suspending all
humanitarian operations in a large Houthi-controlled area in northern Yemen in
response to the arbitrary detention of its staff, which it said created hostile
conditions for aid work. The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, made the
decision because the Houthis detained eight more U.N. staff members in late
January, bringing the total arrested since 2021 to 24, said Farhan Haq, a U.N.
spokesman. Mr. Haq said the Houthis had violated an agreement reached in
December with the U.N. to stop detaining the global agency’s staff and to find
a pathway to releasing those in their custody.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Israeli Police Raid Palestinian Bookshop In East Jerusalem
And Seize Books They Say Incite Violence
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“Israeli police raided a long-established Palestinian-owned bookstore in east
Jerusalem, detaining the owners and confiscating books about the decades-long
conflict. The police claimed the books incited violence. The Educational
Bookshop, established over 40 years ago, is a hub of intellectual life in east
Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed to its
capital in a move not recognized internationally. Most of the city’s
Palestinian population lives in east Jerusalem, and the Palestinians want it to
be the capital of their future state. The three-story bookstore, raided on
Sunday, has a large selection of books, mainly in Arabic and English, about the
conflict and the wider Middle East, including many by Israeli and Jewish
authors. It hosts cultural events and is especially popular among researchers,
journalists and foreign diplomats.”



Bloomberg: Palestinians Scrap Stipends That Israel Saw As Stoking Terrorism
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“Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was scrapping stipends paid to
families of those jailed or killed in the war with Israel, as his
administration seeks to build ties with US President Donald Trump and vie for a
role in post-war Gaza. The payouts were long denounced by Israel, which says
the system incentivizes terrorism and rewards the most violent acts by linking
payments to Palestinians to the length of time spent in jail. The Palestinian
Authority says the payments are needed for families whose main breadwinner has
been killed or imprisoned. The PA, which is internationally recognized and
controls parts of the West Bank, has said it’s ready to govern Gaza after the
war and help rebuild the war-ravaged territory.”



Reuters: Ceasefire Is Only Way To Bring Israeli Hostages Home, Hamas Official
Says
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“A Hamas official said on Tuesday Israeli hostages can be brought home from
Gaza only if a fragile ceasefire is respected, dismissing the "language of
threats" after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would "let hell break out"
if they were not freed. Hamas has started releasing some hostages gradually
under the ceasefire in place since January 19 but has postponed freeing any
more until further notice, accusing Israel of violating the terms by continuing
attacks on the Gaza Strip. Trump, a close ally of Israel, said on Monday that
Hamas should release all the hostages held by the militant group by midday on
Saturday or he would propose cancelling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel remained determined to get all the
hostages back.”



Somalia



Reuters: Islamic State Attacks Military Bases In Somalia's Puntland With Car
And Motorbike Bombs
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“The Islamic State armed group attacked military bases in Somalia's
northeastern Puntland state overnight with suicide car and motorbike bombs, a
military official said on Tuesday. Puntland announced a major offensive against
Islamic State and a rival Islamist group, the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, in
December and claims to have since killed dozens of foreign fighters, captured
several IS bases, and forced a senior commander to surrender. "Last night after
midnight, IS fighters attacked us in the recently liberated bases with suicide
car and motorbike bombs. Many IS infantry attacked us, and the fighting is
still ongoing," Mohamud Fadhigo, a Puntland military spokesperson, told
Reuters.”



Mali



Bloomberg: Mali Starts Taxes On Mobile-Phone Use To Fund Terrorist Fight
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“Mali has introduced taxes on mobile voice calls and mobile-money withdrawals
to support its fight against an Islamic insurgency that’s threatening to take
over part of the country. Customer recharge for calls will incur a tax of 10%
while withdrawals from mobile-money wallet will be hit with a 1% levy, Minister
of Economy and Finance Alousseni Sanou told reporters in the capital, Bamako.
The new taxes together with other revenue measures are expected to raise
roughly 140 billion CFA francs ($220 million) to finance security and energy,
Sanou said. Mali has been under military rule since 2020, when General Assimi
Goita ousted the West African nation’s elected president, citing the previous
regime’s failure to repel Islamist insurgents.”



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