NPR: Ceasefire Between Israel And Lebanon's Hezbollah Militants Has Begun
“A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect at 4 a.m. Wednesday local time. Israel agreed Tuesday to the ceasefire to stop the war it has been fighting with the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon for more than a year. "The Security Cabinet approved the United States' proposal for a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon this evening, with a majority of 10 ministers in favor and one opposed," the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement late Tuesday. The announcement came during some of the heaviest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in months, with Israeli airstrikes hitting Beirut and Israeli troops pushing deeper into southern Lebanon on Tuesday, as Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel.”
“Pakistani security forces launched an operation Tuesday night to disperse supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan who had gathered in the capital to demand his release from prison. The latest development came hours after thousands of Khan supporters, defying government warnings, broke through a barrier of shipping containers blocking off Islamabad and entered a high-security zone, where they clashed with security forces, facing tear gas shelling, mass detentions and gunfire. Tension has been high in Islamabad since Sunday when supporters of the former prime minister began a “long march” from the restive northwest to demand his release. Khan has been in a prison for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases that his party says are politically motivated.”
Breitbart: Russia Tells U.S. To Help Rebuild Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule
“... “The Taliban are always very willing to accept advance concessions, but things get complicated when it comes to reciprocating them,” Counter Extremism Project (CEP) analyst Hans-Jakob Schindler observed in June, when the Taliban sent a delegation to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “It hardly matters whether Russia crosses the Taliban off its terror list or not, as long as the United Nations Security Council in New York keeps the Taliban on it sanctions list,” Schindler added, pointing out another roadblock to Russia offering a trade of diplomatic legitimacy for mineral rights.”
“... Israel 'will not leave anything to the UN in future' and will be 'quick to call out' any resupply of Hezbollah as all parties look to learn from the shortcomings of the last Resolution on peace, said Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project and former UK ambassador to Yemen. Israel's ceasefire decision with Hezbollah came after Israel's security cabinet voted 10-1 in favour of a deal aimed at a 60-day truce that could form the basis of a lasting peace deal. In this time, Israeli forces will be expected to withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah will end its armed presence along the southern border, south of the Litani River.”
“…Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project and former Ambassador of the UK to Yemen, told MailOnline: 'This is pretty much a total Israeli victory. Hezbollah’s leadership, infrastructure, communications and weaponry have been severely damaged. 'Hezbollah initiated the intensification of hostilities 13 months ago, linking their campaign with the Palestinian cause. Now they have agreed to stop with their Hamas allies still being pummeled. 'Netanyahu has rubbed this in by saying a calming on the northern front will free up resource and bandwidth for intensified action against Hamas and Iran.'”
Reuters: After Long Wrangling, Blinken To Testify In Congress On Afghanistan
“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has agreed to testify publicly at a House of Representatives committee hearing on the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, the panel said on Tuesday, after a long dispute with the Republican-led committee. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said Blinken had committed to appear at a public hearing on Dec. 11 to discuss the committee's investigation of the withdrawal three years ago. The committee and the State Department have been wrangling over Blinken's appearance for months. Panel Republicans voted in September to recommend Blinken be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena.”
Voice Of America: Strikes Reach Syria's Homs Province
“Border crossings between Lebanon and Syria were targeted with strikes late Tuesday, Lebanon transportation minister Ali Hamieh said. Sana, Syria's state media, confirmed the strikes, which Hamieh said came just after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced. Israel had increased raids on these crossings and had sealed off those roads to Syria, according to Reuters. Syrian state TV said 10 people were injured, three of them critically. Israel did not immediately comment. Earlier Tuesday, Syrian state news reported that two villages in Syria's Homs province were hit with strikes in what it described as Israeli aggression. A website affiliated with the Syrian opposition reported that "the air defense is confronting Israeli missiles in the skies of Homs," according to Ynetnews.com.”
Reuters: Turkey Scales Down $23 Bln F-16 Jet Deal With US, Minister Says
“Turkey has reduced its planned $23 billion acquisition of an F-16 fighter jet package from the United States, scrapping the purchase of 79 modernisation kits for its existing fleet, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said late on Tuesday. NATO member Turkey earlier this year secured a deal to procure 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernisation kits for its existing F-16s from the United States, after a long-delayed process. "An initial payment has been made for the procurement of F-16 Block-70. A payment of $1.4 billion has been made. With this, we will buy 40 F-16 Block-70 Viper and we were going to buy 79 modernisation kits," Guler told a parliamentary hearing. "We gave up on this 79. This is why we gave up: Our Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) facilities are capable of carrying out this modernisation on their own, so we deferred to them," he said.”
Reuters: Supporters Of Pakistan's Imran Khan Call Off Protest, His Party Says
“The party of Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan suspended street protests seeking his release, it said on Wednesday, following media reports of hundreds of arrests by security forces in a sweeping midnight raid in the capital. The sit-in had been called off, Zulfikar Bukhari, a spokesman for Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), confirmed, citing what he called "the massacre". He was referring to Tuesday night's raid in Islamabad after the protests resulted in the deaths of at least six people, among them four paramilitary soldiers and two protesters. Visiting protest sites on Wednesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said Pakistan's law enforcement agencies had successfully cleared protesters from the spot targeted for the sit-in and other areas of the capital.”
Reuters: Hamas Official Says Group 'Appreciates' Lebanon's Right To Reach Agreement
“Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday the group "appreciates" Lebanon's right to reach an agreement that protects its people and it hopes for a deal to end the war in Gaza. A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement came into effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, but international efforts to halt the 13-month-old war between Hamas and Israel in the Palestinian territory of Gaza have stalled. "Hamas appreciates the right of Lebanon and Hezbollah to reach an agreement that protects the people of Lebanon and we hope that this agreement will pave the way to reaching an agreement that ends the war of genocide against our people in Gaza," Abu Zuhri told Reuters.”
“British counter-terrorism officers arrested six people Wednesday as part of an investigation into activity linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party known as the PKK, police said. Four men and two women arrested in London were detained under the Terrorism Act of 2000, the Metropolitan Police said. The PKK, a separatist movement seeking an independent Kurdish state in southeast Turkey, is on the list of suspected extremist organizations banned by the U.K. “This activity has come about following a significant investigation and operation into activity we believe is linked to the terrorist group PKK,” Acting Cmdr. Helen Flanagan said. “These are targeted arrests of those we suspect of being involved in terrorist activity linked to the group.””
“An animal rights extremist believed to be behind a pair of bombings in Northern California more than two decades ago was caught in Wales, authorities said Tuesday. Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was captured by North Wales Police and officers with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the U.K.'s Counter Terrorism Police on Monday, the NCA said. FBI Director Christopher Wray celebrated San Diego's capture, saying that the suspect will finally be held "accountable" for his alleged acts of "violence and destruction." “Daniel San Diego’s arrest after more than 20 years as a fugitive for two bombings in the San Francisco area shows that no matter how long it takes, the FBI will find you and hold you accountable,” Wray said in a statement.”
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.
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