Free Republic

Netanyahu said he opposes the deployment of Turkish and Qatari troops in Gaza, though a source told Haaretz on Saturday that his public criticism was largely for show. Two additional sources told Haaretz that Netanyahu has been invited by Trump to take part in the Board of Peace. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Knesset speech on Monday that Israel is at odds with the United States and will not accept the presence of Turkish or Qatari soldiers in the Gaza Strip, despite a source familiar with the matter telling Haaretz on Saturday that the composition of the Gaza...

Iran is once again on fire. For the better part of the last month, Iranians have been taking to the streets in large numbers to demand change. The proximate cause for the protests was spiraling inflation, but as the crowds grew, Iranians clamored for the end of the Islamic regime. Despite the avalanche of speculation, no one knows what will happen in Iran. That is the nature of popular uprisings, they are unpredictable. To many analysts, journalists, pundits, and academics, this round of protests feels different from previous ones in 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022—and maybe they are. Or maybe...

excerpt- Revenue from the oil sales is currently being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, as indicated in Friday’s order, according to the administration official. The main account, according to a second senior administration official, is located in Qatar. The second official described Qatar as a neutral location where money can flow freely with US approval and without risk of seizure. Trump’s order noted that at least some of the revenue would be held in US Treasury accounts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he’s been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran has indicated fast trials and executions ahead in its crackdown on protesters. The U.S. president’s claims, which were made with few details, come as he’s told protesting Iranians in recent days that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Iranian government. But Trump has not offered any details about how the U.S. might respond and it wasn’t clear if his comments Wednesday indicated he would...

Speaking during an hour-long conversation with 22-year-old evangelist Bryce Crawford on the "Bryce Crawford Podcast," Carlson argued that the political debates in the U.S. often distract from deeper spiritual problems. "To make it Republican versus Democrat is completely false, and it also ignores the deeper truth, which is our problems start within us," he said. "And I honestly think that one of the biggest problems — sorry to shock your viewers — is pornography on the internet." Carlson went on to suggest self-destructive sexual depravity is a result of "the last 80 years of prosperity," which he said "has driven...

U.S. — With the fall of the Ayatollah regime appearing to be imminent, prominent Democrats expressed fear that the dangerous Iranian desire for freedom could potentially spread to the United States. Leaders of the Democratic Party stressed that the desire to be free from oppression could pose a serious threat to the American way of life and urged everyone to ignore what has been happening in Iran to prevent it from happening here. "This type of thinking is contagious," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. "I wept when I turned on the news and saw what was happening in Tehran....

BROKEN ARROW, OKLA (KTUL) — The Broken Arrow City Council has denied a rezoning request and conditional use permit for a proposed mosque near Olive Avenue after a contentious meeting that lasted four hours. The decision came after the planning commission had approved the request last month. The meeting drew strong opinions both for and against the project, with several speakers opposing it due to concerns about traffic on the two-lane road, stormwater and floodplain issues, and whether the development aligns with the city's comprehensive plan. Rick Gates, a Wagoner County resident, expressed concerns about the financial implications, saying, "Maybe...

Haaretz analyst ‘took Qatari cash’ in expanding Qatargate scandal. Allegations centre on claims that Netanyahu’s aides accepted Qatari money to promote favourable coverage of Doha while Qatar led negotiations between Israel and Hamas By Jewish News Reporter. 12 January 2026. JNews Avishai Grinzaig @avishaigrinzaig:The editor of Haaretz found out about this back on April 25, and whitewashed it. Only when Bar Peleg discovered this information in his own way was this information revealed and now published in Haaretz. Bar Peleg is truly a special kind of journalist. Jan 10, 2026. [https://x.com/avishaigrinzaig/status/2010057443359994219 On X] [https://archive.is/0VXWB] ____ This is the third such...

An Iranian protester told KAN Reshet Bet that many Iranians admire Netanyahu and Israeli strikes, while blaming economic collapse, repression, and inflation for the unrest. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently the most popular person in Iran, a Tehran resident told KAN Reshet Bet on Wednesday... They also told KAN that Iranians were "impressed" by Israeli strikes on Iran in June, as part of Operation Rising Lion, as the air force "focused only on regime infrastructure and did not harm civilians." ...The Iranian is an opponent of the Islamic Republic regime and has participated in demonstrations over the past 11...

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled Iranian opposition figure and son of Iran’s last monarch, has issued his first public call to action since the start of the current wave of nationwide protests, urging Iranians to take part in a coordinated act of protest later this week. In a video message released on Tuesday, coinciding with the tenth day of widespread demonstrations across Iran, Pahlavi called on citizens to chant slogans simultaneously on Thursday and Friday evenings, whether in the streets or from their homes. His appeal comes amid one of the most sustained periods of civil unrest in recent years, driven...

Christmas week was rather a slow week, with the big news being the further unraveling of the corruption in Minnesota, Washington state, California, and other Democrat redoubts. But like George Washington crossing the Delaware to beat the Hessians as they rested on Christmas, the U.S. pulled off an incredible military operation capturing Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro in his pajamas and bringing him back here to answer to criminal charges. The Venezuelan military was largely on Christmas leave and Maduro’s international protectors --- the Chinese and Russian forces in Venezuela -- were caught flatfooted, diminishing their credibility in the Western Hemisphere. The...

After the capture and arrest of Venezuelan dictator and cartel leader Maduro, the untiring gentlemen of the Senate, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer, have vowed to pass a resolution blocking any action against Venezuela. Sen. Schumer, Sen. Adam Schiff, Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary’s former VP, and Sen. Rand Paul are teaming up on a resolution to try and turn back the clock. No word on whether it will ask for Maduro’s return. While Congress has a legitimate role in declaring war, this resolution is stupid and destructive to the point of being treasonous. President Trump has signaled that he’s not...

Doha says it is ready to contribute to international efforts for de-escalation and dialogue regarding VenezuelaQatar said Saturday it is ready to contribute to any international effort aimed at reaching an “immediate peaceful solution” in Venezuela, calling for restraint and de-escalation. In a statement, the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep concern over developments in Venezuela, following US attacks on the capital, Caracas, and the detention of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The ministry urged all parties to exercise restraint, reduce tensions and pursue dialogue to address outstanding issues. It reaffirmed Qatar’s position in support of the UN...

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett claimed on Tuesday that the suspects in the Qatargate scandal deserve a life sentence for having “maliciously sabotaged” Israel’s ties with Egypt while promoting the image of Qatar, which Bennett branded an “enemy.” The comments, made in a social media video, were Bennett’s latest volley of harsh rhetoric about the scandal, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior aide Jonathan Urich and former spokesperson Eli Feldstein are accused of working as paid lobbyists on behalf of Doha while in the premier’s employ. In a subsequent post, Bennett shared the text of the law in question,...

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett warned that Israel’s status in the United States “has never been so bad” and that it is being seen as a “leper state” in a lengthy social media post on Tuesday. The post castigating the current government’s public diplomacy efforts came after Bennett, who plans to run in next year’s elections, spent 10 days in the US… “The Democratic party hasn’t been with us for some time. We’re also losing the Republican party, whose support for Israel could once be counted on,” he wrote, though he credited US President Donald Trump with retaining support for...

Thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets in the nation’s largest cities on Saturday night amid a series of damning reports about Qatar’s ties with aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The focus on Qatar, a key backer of Hamas, came after the publication this week of reports and interviews that appeared to tie Netanyahu to the so-called Bild and Qatargate probes in which his top aides have either been prime suspects or indicted. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called Qatargate “the most serious act of treason in Israeli history.” The anti-government rallies are backed by a...

It was bad enough that ostensibly conservative political commentators Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens both have been the main drivers of a growing divide in the MAGA movement, through their obsession with demonizing Israel and the Jews. Now they have also become leading Western apologists for Islam. Are they even conservative? Were they ever? (Owens in particular has never been committed to anything but her own grift, not a political philosophy.) Conservatives are defenders; we preserve. Our mission, in large part, is to defend and preserve the liberties our forefathers earned for us. It is to defend and preserve the...

Far-right podcaster and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has taken aim at Israel again, accusing the Israeli government and its supporters of engaging in a campaign to promote fear of Islamic extremism and terrorism, while he downplayed the threat of violence by radical Islamic groups. On Friday, Carlson spoke by phone with Harrison Berger in an interview published by The American Conservative magazine. The magazine was established by former Republican strategist and presidential hopeful Pat Buchanan to promote his isolationist brand of paleoconservatism after he split with the Republican party. Berger, a correspondent for The American Conservative, is also...

New revelations this week supercharged two scandals in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, drawing unprecedented criticism from political allies. At the heart of the controversy sit the so-called Qatargate scandal and an investigation into the leak of classified intelligence to the German Bild tabloid. Seemingly separate affairs, both involve Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for the premier, and Jonatan Urich, a close Netanyahu aide. In the Qatargate affair, Urich and Feldstein are suspected of taking money to spread pro-Qatari messaging to reporters, in order to boost Qatar's image as a mediator in hostage talks between Israel and Hamas, all while...

The decision comes after an interview in which a former militant revealed the government collaborated in attacks carried out in 2007. Spain's top prosecutor, Javier Zaragoza, called on Monday to investigate claims of links between the former Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and al-Qaida. The decision comes after an investigation made by Qatar's Al Jazeera TV network, which revealed in an interview earlier this month that a former member of the designated terrorist group confirmed that Saleh had collaborated with the group. The revelation has sparked the prosecutor's reaction as one of the case cited by the former al-Qaida member...