Free Republic

(2011 editorial) I have always been fascinated by the timeless parable of the scorpion and the frog. It’s a short yet powerful warning about the often immutable nature of certain beings. In this case, the deadly and incontrovertible nature of evil. As the story goes, a scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a body of water, since the scorpion cannot swim. The frog then rightly asserts that doing so would put its life at great risk, as the scorpion is known to lethally sting other creatures, sometimes without provocation. To counter the frog’s argument, the scorpion insists that...

Nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria also banned, plus 12 countries already on list; US was already reportedly rejecting Palestinians’ visa requests US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expanded a travel ban by barring Palestinian Authority passport holders from entering the United States, along with banning five other nationalities. In a social media post, a White House account said that Trump, who has long campaigned to restrict immigration, was acting “to protect the security of the United States.” The policy announced Tuesday will go into effect on January 1, 2026. In June, Trump had announced that...

ERUSALEM, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet has decided to give legal status to 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, including two that were vacated 20 years ago under a pullout aimed at boosting the country's security and the economy, Israeli media reported. The Palestinian Authority on Friday condemned the move, announced late on Thursday. Some of the settlements are newly established, while others are older, Israeli media said. The move to legalise the settlements in the West Bank -- territory Palestinians seek for a future state -- was proposed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israeli Defense...

Footage purports to show boxes of formula strewn around a warehouse in plot to heap diplomatic pressure on Israel, says expert

The IDF conducted an airstrike in Gaza City on Saturday and sent Ra'ad Sa'ad, the head of Hamas’ weapons production in the Al-Qassam Brigades and a key planner behind the inhuman and utterly brutal attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, to another world, according to the Israeli government.It’s one in a long line of Hamas commanders that the Israel Defense Forces have removed from the earth:The Israeli Defense Forces said Saad, a member of the Qassam Brigades, the terror group’s military wing, had been involved in efforts to “restore and manufacture the group’s weapons.”He served as chief of Hamas’...

A joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz read: "In response to the detonation of a Hamas explosive device that wounded our forces today in the yellow zone of the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the elimination of the terrorist Ra’ad Sa'ad, head of Hamas’ force-build-up directorate." "Sa'ad was one of the architects of the October 7th massacre and had recently been involved in rebuilding the terror organization, planning and carrying out attacks against Israel, and reestablishing an offensive capability, in blatant violation of the ceasefire terms and...

When deadly clashes erupted last July between Bedouin and Druze militias in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, some members of the Druze community living in Israel crossed the border to protect their kin. For Safi Ibrahim, an IDF colonel from the community, the crisis sparked genuine solidarity and brought emotions to the surface. As part of the events, he participated in a military operation in Syria – a mission that became deeply personal for him, fusing his military service with his identity. snip Unlike the Druze of the Galilee and Carmel – who serve proudly and prominently in the...

Amnesty’s new report outlines widespread killings, hostage‑taking and abuses by Hamas-led forces during the October 7 attacks, based on verified testimony and forensic evidence.

Israel's Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter unleashed a pointed retort at NBC News anchor Kristen Welker on Meet the Press on Sunday, dismissing her citation of casualty figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry as unreliable propaganda. Welker referenced the ministry's reported death toll while grilling Leiter on civilian casualties during Israel's operations in Gaza and Lebanon. Leiter fired back: "Kristen, you just quoted the Gaza Health Ministry. That’s like quoting MS-13 Social Welfare Ministry." The analogy, equating the ministry to the brutal Salvadoran gang MS-13, quickly went viral via the Washington Free Beacon's X post. Link to...

"Mic-drop" truth bomb. Israeli Ambassador Claps back at NBC Host: "Quoting Gaza Health Ministry is Like Quoting MS-13's Welfare Stats" | WATCH. An on-air clash goes viral as Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter slams NBC’s Kristen Welker for citing Gaza casualty figures, igniting a fierce debate over media bias, wartime propaganda, and the battle to control the narrative. Welker referenced the ministry's reported death toll while grilling Leiter on civilian casualties during Israel's operations in Gaza and Lebanon. Leiter fired back: "Kristen, you just quoted the Gaza Health Ministry. That’s like quoting MS-13 Social Welfare Ministry." The analogy, equating the ministry...

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — With the remains of one hostage still in Gaza, the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing. Now, the key players — including Israel, the Palestinian militant Hamas group, the United States and a diverse list of international parties — are to move to a far more complicated second phase that could reshape the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan — which was approved by the U.N. Security Council — lays out an ambitious vision for...

At first glance, Mike Waltz’s visit to Israel this week may look like a new UN ambassador’s routine orientation tour – a series of meetings, border briefings, and handshakes meant to signal continuity. But nothing about the timing or the choreography of this particular visit suggests anything routine. Waltz’s first major foreign trip since taking office is not just a symbolic gesture. It is the operational rollout of the Trump administration’s Gaza plan, carried out under the umbrella of UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which the US drafted and pushed through. And the visit comes just days after the UN...

Qatar, Turkey trying to dissuade Hamas from disarming, as Phase II of ceasefire still under discussion. Alternatives proposed would see Hamas give up its weapons to the Palestinian Authority or transferred them to a secure storage under oversight, which could preserve Hamas' influence in Gaza; this is likely to be the main issue discussed at the Trump-Netanyahu meeting in Florida The second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan is still being shaped by the Americans, though nothing has been finalized. Israel and the U.S. jointly drafted the original 20‑point plan, which included a clear agreement that Hamas must be disarmed....

Palestinian Official Calls Drop Site News Founder an ‘Apologist’ for Hamas, Ex-Obama Aides Say They ‘Love’ the Site. A Palestinian diplomat accused a popular new anti-Israel website of running cover and acting as an apologist for Hamas. Abdal Karim Ewaida, the Palestinian ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, posted on social media about Drop Site News on Tuesday, after the website reported that the Palestinian Authority was planning to ban Hamas and other terrorist factions from running in future elections. “Pro-resistance parties and armed resistance remains one of the single most popular points in [Palestinian] public polling,” said Jeremy Scahill, founder of...

Iran, Qatar, other foreign actors backing anti-Israel demonstrations, LA Israeli consulate says. The Israeli LA consulate warned that authorities need to pay attention to aggressive and violent protests before another Washington shooting occurs. By Michael Starr. December 5, 2025. Foreign actors backed protests like the Wednesday Los Angeles synagogue demonstration, claimed the Israeli Los Angeles consulate, also warning that unless authorities checked belligerent behavior, it could lead to another Washington embassy staff terrorist attack. Some of the protesters at the Innovating Safety, Empowering Communities public safety event at Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s Audrey Irmas Pavilion had no connection to the Israeli-Palestinian...

Yasser Abu Shabab, an Arab militia commander who collaborated with Israeli forces in eastern Rafah, was murdered on Thursday in a violent scuffle in territory that is under Israeli military control. Defense officials estimate that the fight stemmed from internal disputes in the militia, which escalated over the past few weeks and became out of hand. Abu Shabab was punched and kicked by the members of his own militia. The defense establishment stresses that "Hamas terrorists were not involved." During the scuffle, Abu Shabab's second-in-command, Rasan a-Dahini, was injured. The two were evacuated to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. A-Dahini...

For two decades, Muhammad Abdulrahman, 58, lived with his wife and his beehives on a remote hillside in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. But in May, Israeli settlers set up camp about 200 yards away and took control of the road leading to Mr. Abdulrahman’s home, blocking him from returning, he said. Israeli soldiers then evicted him and his wife, Suha Abdulrahman, the couple said. The Israeli military said that Mr. Abdulrahman left voluntarily, but he said that he has still been unable to return home. Last month, a video shared by an Israeli lawmaker on social media showed his house...

US President Donald Trump warned Israel via social media on Monday against destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, shortly before holding a phone conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces in the south of the country. Trump said he was “very satisfied” with Syria’s current performance under former Islamist rebel President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who made a historic...

Special forces went into hostile village of Beit Jan in Syria to arrest two known terrorists, ambushed, six IDF injured, three badly. 16 jihadis killed, two terrorists arrested. Airlifted, and lost humvee blown up on the way out to prevent it being taken by enemies. Footage from conflict. Friend of Ashkar, fellow vet, speaking from party similar to Burning Man. Transcript linked below video.

Tens of thousands rallied in Paris on Saturday to show support for Palestinians in Gaza, as protesters accused Israel of violating a fragile US-brokered ceasefire and demanded tougher international action amid soaring death tolls and ongoing restrictions on aid. Gaza’s health ministry, run by Hamas, said Saturday that more than 70,000 people have been killed since the war began. “Gaza, Gaza, Paris is with you.” Marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, tens of thousands of people, according to organizers, marched in Paris on Saturday to show support for Palestinians in Gaza, devastated by more than two...