Free Republic

President Trump likes his military and diplomatic victories quick, clean and decisive. (snip) But now, Mr. Trump has hit the stalemate phase of his presidency. The war with Iran is clearly at that stage. When he declared a cease-fire on April 7, Mr. Trump said on social media that the end of combat operations would be conditional on “the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.” It wasn’t. Even if commerce now resumes across the strait under a memorandum of understanding still under negotiation, it will still leave the future of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs exactly...

Faith FactsUnited Nations added Israel to its blacklist of entities accused of sexual violence in conflict zones, placing the democratic nation alongside terrorist organizations Hamas and ISISIsraeli Ambassador Danny Danon condemned the decision as disconnected from facts and reality, calling it a moral failure by the international bodyThe controversial listing comes despite documented evidence of sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians during the October 7 attacksIn a stunning and morally questionable decision, the United Nations has placed the nation of Israel on its official blacklist of entities accused of committing sexual violence in conflict zones. Israeli Ambassador...

The negotiations between the United States and Iran to end their war are following President Trump’s familiar playbook for resolving a Middle East crisis: agree to a cease-fire and deal with the toughest problems later. Analysts say the approach has had mixed results in the Gaza Strip, where Mr. Trump brokered a truce last year between Israel and Hamas, the Iranian-backed militant group. Plans for a so-called Phase 2 agreement — under which Hamas was to lay down its arms and Israel would allow Gaza to be rebuilt after a devastating war — have stalled. A similar approach in U.S....

Israel's foreign ministry has mocked the activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla online, alleging that injuries were "staged" for the cameras after an activist pictured in a neck brace displayed a "miraculous recovery" when returning home without it. This comes as many activists have returned to their home countries after being detained and deported from Israeli custody. Multiple activists have accused Israeli forces of abuse, torture and even sexual violence and rape whilst they were held in detention. The provocative posts sparked a rebuttal from the Global Sumud Flotilla online, which said activist Nesrin Zeaiter had "experienced a concussion and...

Israel detained flotilla activists and fed them sandwiches. Spain met similar activists with clubs and riot police. Guess which country the world condemned.

IDF spokesman says warning those holding the hostages 'would defeat the purpose' since the terrorists would 'kill the hostages'; CNN takes heat for saying that the hostages were 'released', implying that Hamas freed them. Ran Boker | published: 07.09.24 |14:34 The coverage of Operation Arnon, in which four hostages held captive in Gaza were rescued, aroused interest throughout the world media; But as is typical when it comes to the coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas, it did not go smoothly.. Conricus was forced to answer the obvious to the strange question: "Of course, we cannot anticipate Israel...

Israeli hostages who were freed in a rescue operation Saturday reportedly confirmed that they had been held by Palestinian journalist Abdallah Aljamal — but a CNN story about the claim continues to say it is “without … evidence.” The four rescued hostages had been held in two separate homes in Nuseirat, Gaza, within 200 meters of each other. One female hostage, Noa Argamani, was held in one location, while the three male hostages were held in another. As Breitbart News reported, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the three male hostages had been held by a journalist named Abdallah...

The UK government today branded a far-right Israeli minister a 'disgrace' as it added its voice to international condemnation of a video he shared showing him taunting Gaza flotilla activists. Hamish Falconer criticised Tel Aviv's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over an 'inflammatory' post on social media last week. The video showed masked officers aggressively subduing activists by pushing them down, forcing them onto all fours, and dragging them across the floor. The video posted to Ben-Gvir's X account on Wednesday also showed him goading them, waving an Israeli flag and saying 'That's how we welcome the terror supporters. Welcome...

GRAPHIC. Spanish Police Beat Flotilla 'Activists' Minutes After Landing in Bilbao | WATCH. Gaza flotilla activists deported from Israeli detention arrived at Bilbao airport and were met with police batons. Four arrested in clashes caught on video. May 23, 2026 Spanish police beat Gaza flotilla 'activists' Spanish police beat Gaza flotilla 'activists' Gaza flotilla activists who were deported from Israel on Thursday landed at Bilbao airport in Spain's Basque Country and were met with police batons. Clashes broke out between local police, returning activists, and a group of supporters who had gathered to welcome them back. Four people were arrested....

Israel was widely condemned for the “monstrous” and “unacceptable” humiliation of activists who were detained after trying to deliver humanitarian aid by boat to Gaza. Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, said she was “truly appalled” by a video posted by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli national security minister, in which he taunted protesters as they knelt on the floor with their wrists tied.“We have demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities and made ‌clear their obligations to protect the rights of our citizens and ‌all those involved,” ⁠Ms Cooper said. Around 430 protesters from more than 40 different countries were filmed...

VIENNA—On May 9, the day before the Eurovision Song Contest held its opening ceremony, protesters were already in the streets. Israel’s participation, a fact of Eurovision since the country joined in 1973, had become a flash point after the war in Gaza began in 2023. Ahead of this year’s contest, the 70th edition of Eurovision, the controversy reached a fever pitch. What began as calls from artists and activists for Israel’s exclusion transformed in the months leading up to the contest into an open revolt. Five countries—Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain—announced they would not attend. Numerous former contestants...

The European Commission found the treatment of the Gaza flotilla activists shown in a video released by Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is "completely unacceptable", a spokesperson said on Wednesday. "Every detained person must be treated with safety, dignity and according to international law," spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said in a post on X. "We call on the Israeli government to ensure the protection and dignified treatment of these activists, including several EU citizens," he added. Israeli police forced activists who were aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla to kneel on the ground in rows with their hands tied behind...

A millionaire anti-war activist who organized the high-profile “humanitarian aid” convoy to Cuba in March has ties to Hamas and the Iranian regime. The aid flotilla to Cuba attracted much attention as it included Ilhan Omar’s daughter Isra Hirsi and leftist streamer Hasan Piker — who both sung the praises of the ailing Communist ‘paradise’ after their trip. It was organized by Medea Benjamin, president of the Arc of Justice Foundation, a charity with $51 million at its disposal. Benjamin, 73, made at least seven trips to Gaza between 2009 and 2012 where she met with Hamas officials, including the...

Military officials indicate Gaza City airstrike eliminated terror group’s chief; former hostages hail reports of death of the man responsible for their abduction and captivity.Israel said that it had targeted Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and the head of the terror group’s military wing, in an airstrike in Gaza City on Friday. While there was no immediate confirmation that he was killed, news of the strike prompted a joyous response from several of the hostages he had personally held and many hailed the apparent death of the last of the major architects of the...

WASHINGTON D.C. (Worthy News) – Iran’s ability to threaten Israel, America’s regional allies, and U.S. personnel across the Middle East has been dramatically reduced, according to Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, who told a Senate committee Thursday that Tehran’s military reach has been severely weakened after recent U.S. operations. “Iran has a significantly degraded threat, and they no longer threaten regional partners, or the United States, in ways that they were able to do before, across every domain,” Cooper said. “They’ve been significantly degraded.” In one of the most striking assessments of the hearing, Cooper said...

Israel's Conduct in Gaza Does Not Resemble Genocide. David Bernstein | 5.11.2026. Frankly, I find the charge of genocide against Israel to be obviously absurd, one of those claims that true believers insist upon precisely because the claim is so implausible that promoting it is valuable to show you are a true believer. Hence the pressure by anti-Israel activists for everyone who purports to be "pro-Palestinian" to accept the genocide claim, or be excluded from the club. Nevertheless, because the genocide lie is so common in public discourse over Gaza, I thought it would be useful to write a piece...

0:00: There's a fascinating news item that um that was released in Israel just yesterday and it came out on Khan News 0:088 seconds: in Hebrew. Khan News is one of the major mainstream news outlets in Israel. And I want to read this to you. It I only saw 0:1717 seconds: it in Hebrew, so I translated it into English. And I want to read it to you in full and talk about the implications of this and what I think of this news story 0:2525 seconds: because I think it has huge implications if it's true for not...

Albanese specifically criticized Greek authorities for their cooperation with Israel's interception of the Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla Sumud off Crete on Friday."The fact that the Greek authorities go hand-in-hand with the Israelis in stopping a humanitarian mission is wrong," she said.Regarding the military cooperation between Greece and Israel, she added that Greece, while presenting itself as a defender of international law, is in practice assisting a state that maintains an illegal occupation."Israel has no right to stop anyone going to Gaza. Greece should be taking positive measures to stop the genocide, instead of cooperating with the Israeli weapons industry. Greece is...

Horrors! The latest atrocity in Gaza, reports Al Jazeera, is a wave of “luxurious” cafes and restaurants that have sprung up, “revealing a new genocidal reality.” That’s right: Israel-haters have yet another new definition of “genocide,” wherein “fancy” restaurants “built with expensive materials, carefully painted, furnished with tables, sofas, and elegant chairs, with glass facades and shining lights,” giving off a “luxury feel” are fresh proof of the “genocidal abnormality” that Israel has inflicted on the people of Gaza. It’s genocidal, you see, because not everyone in Gaza can afford to go there: “The expensive new establishments reflect the deeply...

Spain’s Foreign Ministry has called for the immediate release of a Spanish citizen detained by Israel following the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla, after an Israeli court extended his detention by two days. Saif Abu Keshek, a resident of Barcelona, and Brazilian national Thiago Ávila appeared before a court in Ashkelon on Sunday, several days after Israeli forces intercepted multiple vessels attempting to breach Israel’s maritime blockade on Gaza. The flotilla consisted of dozens of boats carrying activists from numerous countries. Israeli authorities stated that over 170 individuals were removed from the vessels, with Abu Keshek and Ávila transferred to...