Free Republic

Global energy markets were put on alert after Iran temporarily restricted movement in parts of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most strategically important oil transit routes on Earth. The move came as Tehran simultaneously engaged in sensitive diplomatic talks with the United States over its nuclear program, underscoring how quickly geopolitical tensions in the Middle East can ripple through global markets. While the disruption was limited and short lived, investors, energy traders, and policymakers immediately focused on what the action signals about regional stability, oil supply risks, and the broader geopolitical chess match between Iran and the West....

The 162-article draft "constitution," however, shows that, if and when the Palestinians have a state of their own, it would actually not be different from the two mini-states they have had for the past two decades: the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank. Both Palestinian regimes have miserably failed their people, mainly by depriving them of international aid, democracy, opportunity, free elections, and freedom of speech. Notably, the new "constitution" repeats and reaffirms the long-standing and familiar positions and policies of the PA and Hamas, especially towards Israel and Jews. These...

The Jerusalem Post @Jerusalem_Post: Editorial: For the first time during the war, a major international organization has publicly recognized the presence of armed groups operating within a Gaza hospital.

Speaking at the 2026 edition of the Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the UN has "tremendous potential," but needs reforms to be of real use.

Over a year has passed since the world saw the terrified face of Arbel Yehoud forced to walk through a baying mob of Hamas terrorists to freedom. Only now does the 30-year-old feel strong enough to reveal that this sickening spectacle was just the last act in a monstrous campaign of abuse unleashed throughout her 482 days held in Gaza.

Nickolay Mladenov, the head diplomat in charge of the Board of Peace's subcommittee on the Gaza ceasefire, stressed on Friday that all armed groups in the Gaza Strip must disarm. Mladenov was responding on social media to a post by Aaron Goren, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who wondered why Mladenov refused to respond to a question on whether reports that Hamas will only be partially disarmed as part of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan are accurate. “I've made it very clear that all militants in Gaza need to be disarmed and there is...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., alleged at the Munich Security Conference on Friday that U.S. aid to the Jewish state enabled a genocide by Israel. AOC’s attack on the Jewish state in Munich unfolded in the birthplace of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi movement that carried out the worst genocide in human history. During the town hall event in Munich, the Squad member said, "To me, this isn't just about a presidential election. Personally, I think that the United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws, particularly the Leahy laws. And I think that personally, that the idea of completely unconditional...

PORT ORANGE, Fla. — A Florida couple was arrested after a game of pickleball escalated into a fight, authorities said. According to Volusia County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Anthony Edward Sapienza, 63, and his wife, Julianne Sapienza, 51, both of Ponce Inlet, were arrested on Feb. 8. ... While five people on the court were directly involved in the fight, it was unclear how many other witnesses participated. The affidavit stated that 20 people were involved.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot tells lawmaker the French government demands UN Rapporteur's resignation after her latest hateful rant against Israel. “France unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made by Ms. Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable," Barrot said. He stated that Albanese's remarks “target not the Israeli government, whose policies can be criticized, but Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable," and that they "add to a long list of...

The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, with the support of international labor unions, intends to sue Israel for compensation on behalf of Palestinian Authority Arab workers who lost their jobs in Israel since October 7, 2023, when Hamas and civilian Arabs infiltrated Israel en mass and brutally tortured, massacred, and dismembered Israeli men, women, children, and infants. The petition to the International Labour Organization (ILO) focuses on the right to wages and the protection of workers' social rights in accordance with binding international conventions and agreements. Shaher Saad, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Workers Union, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the...

Key Takeaways: Headlines claiming the IDF “accepted” Hamas’ 70,000 death toll stemmed from an anonymous briefing remark—not official data—and were later clarified by the IDF as not reflecting its position, yet the narrative spread globally before the correction. Hamas’ published figures lump together combatants, civilians, natural deaths, and deaths caused by Hamas itself, with no breakdown—embedding an estimated ~11,000 natural deaths, ~1,000 errors, and ~4,000 internal or misfire-related killings that are routinely attributed to Israel. Reconstructing the data shows roughly 25,000 Hamas fighters killed and about 36,000 civilians—a civilian-to-combatant ratio of around 1.5:1—undercutting claims of indiscriminate slaughter and revealing how...

Here we go again. President Donald Trump says he wants to make a deal with Iran and avoid war. And he’s sending negotiators to Oman for talks with Iranian diplomats on Friday. Sound familiar? Ahead of scheduled U.S.–Iranian talks in Oman last June, Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, instigating a war that Trump later briefly joined with a bombing raid on Tehran’s main nuclear facilities. Not quite eight months later, the world anxiously waits to see if recent history will repeat itself, this time with America leading the charge. Israel, of course, is worried that Trump won’t attack....

The video marks the first time Trump has launched such a blunt, direct attack against these antisemitic influencers, who regularly criticize the president's foreign policy and his close ties to Israel. The move signals Trump's willingness to confront elements within his own political coalition over their antisemitic rhetoric, even as he seeks to consolidate support across the Republican Party.

A man in his 30s from Jerusalem attempted this morning (Sunday) to set a 12-year-old boy on fire during a bus ride on Route 375, near Beitar Illit. According to police, the background to the incident is a prior dispute between the suspect and the child’s father. The boy, who was on his way to an educational institution in Beitar Illit, was lightly injured in his hands. At a certain point, the bus driver noticed what was happening, stopped the bus, and allowed passengers to flee. The suspect tried to use the stop to escape but was apprehended by an...

Five people were killed, and 14 were reportedly injured in two blasts that rocked Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas and Ahvaz.Further explosions were reported in Karaj, and the Parand neighborhood of Tehran.Five people were killed, and 14 were reportedly injured in two blasts that rocked Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas and Ahvaz.Further explosions were reported in Karaj, and the Parand neighborhood of Tehran.According to a Reuters report citing local officials, one person was killed and 14 were injured in the Bandar Abbas blast. An additional five people were confirmed dead from blasts in Ahvaz, Iran International reported.According to...

Iranian officials have warned of an "immediate and unprecedented" response to any US attackAmid the din of global speculation over US military build-up in the Middle East, Israel's leaders have remained unusually silent.Aside from some remarks in support of Iran's anti-government protests this month, Israel's prime minister has had little to say publicly about his superpower ally taking on his biggest enemy. His government has remained equally silent."It shows you the importance Netanyahu puts on this moment," said Danny Citrinowicz, who served for 25 years in Israel's Defence Intelligence, and is now senior Iran researcher at Israel's Institute for National...

Senior U.S. military officials warned key Middle East allies on Friday to prepare for a possible strike on Iran as multiple reports said Washington and Jerusalem now view military action as decided, with one source saying the only remaining question is timing, not whether an attack will occur. According to an exclusive report published Friday by Drop Site News, senior U.S. military officials informed the leadership of a key U.S. ally in the Middle East that President Donald Trump could authorize strikes on Iran as early as this weekend, and the ally was told operations could begin as soon as...

As recent American military deployments to the Middle East and President Donald Trump’s escalatory rhetoric have heightened speculation of an imminent attack on Iran, there are increasing signs that such action would trigger a regional and even global “Shiite jihad,” particularly should the U.S. take out Iran’s clerical leadership. This would present a new phenomenon which is likely to pose daunting security challenges, not least for the United States itself. In a recent speech, the secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, Sheikh Naim Qassem, warned that a new war on the Islamic Republic would engulf the entire region. The assassination...

<p>Federal investigators arrested an Alabama man this week for attempting to assassinate then-US president Joe Biden in 2024, the latest in a string of violent incidents or attempted attacks in the US tied to the anti-Israel movement.</p><p>Adam Benjamin Hall, 23, allegedly brought a firearm to a debate between Biden and Donald Trump, then the Republican candidate, held in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024, to kill Biden. Hall failed to enter the debate, federal prosecutors said.</p>

Bounties as high as $100,000 are being offered to contract killers for the murder of dozens of Israeli researchers, including some in the US, on the website of a hateful anti-Zionist group. “The Punishment for Justice Movement” website offers between $50,000 for murdering one of the Jewish academics listed — and twice that amount for the killing of “special targets” — claiming the high-achieving researchers are complicit in child murder. Home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and social media accounts were listed for at least 40 academics, according to The Jerusalem Post. The website offered a $2,000 USD as reward...