Free Republic

A senior Hamas leader declared that surrendering weapons would “criminalize the resistance” and vowed Gaza would never accept “foreign rule,” openly defying President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace framework as Phase Two of the U.S.-brokered plan moves toward implementation. Speaking Sunday at the 17th Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Khaled Mashaal — the terror group’s former chief and current head of its diaspora office — flatly rejected the core requirement of Trump’s Gaza plan: disarmament tied to reconstruction and international oversight. Mashaal praised the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, arguing that the attack had thrust what he called...

Every child learned how to throw stones at Jews because they teach it. The teacher would tell us to go out and throw stones...The teacher would tell us to go out and throw stones; then come back and open books as though we were studying. "...these Jews, we will slaughter them like Hitler did.’” Between Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Qassam Brigades, and any other terror group, and most Palestinians in Gaza, they share the same ideas about Jews. “I wanted to be a Jew because I chose life, I chose love and not hatred,” says Dor Shachar, who was born Ayman...

Iran’s leadership is edging toward a war scenario not because diplomacy is necessarily collapsing, but because confrontation is increasingly seen as the least damaging option for a ruling system under intense internal and external pressure

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have prepared a draft defence agreement after nearly a year of talks, Pakistan's Minister for Defence Production said, a signal they could be seeking a bulwark against a flare-up of regional violence in the last two years. Raza Hayat Harraj told Reuters on Wednesday the potential deal between the three regional powers was separate from a bilateral Saudi-Pakistani accord announced last year. A final consensus between the three states is needed to complete the deal, he said.

While Washington searches for ways to weaken Iran’s murderous rulers, our supposed NATO ally Turkey is working overtime to keep the mullahs alive — and in power. This week’s diplomatic tug-of-war over US-Iran negotiations is a win for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s Islamist strongman, who has led a cynical campaign to stall for time and block US and Israeli military action against the Islamic Republic after its brutal crackdown on civilian protesters. He’s feigning concern that military action would spark “regional instability,” but his real goal is simple: Keep Iran’s theocracy from falling — and stop the emergence of a...

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.

Zero famine deaths and 60,000 newborns – IDF rebuts claims of Gaza "genocide". IDF confirms estimates of 70,000 fatalities in Gaza war, including 25,000 terrorists, as Israeli military says not a single famine death could be confirmed, while number of live births tops pre-war level. By World Israel News Staff. Jan 29, 2026. Israel’s military said Thursday that it estimates that roughly 70,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war with Hamas in October 2023, similar to the figures provided by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. However, the IDF and the Gaza health...

Per capita per unit time, suppose around 30,000 Iranians were massacred in just a couple of days. Let’s contrast that with Gazan civilian deaths, which may be of the same order of magnitude relative to population, but spread over two years. Let’s put Gazan deaths at 50,000 (a likely overestimate). Iran: 167 deaths per million per day (30,000 of 90 million killed in 2 days) Gaza: 34 deaths per million per day (50,000 of 2 million killed in 2 years) Even this is not a fair comparison. Per-capita rates implicitly treat all 90 million Iranians as equally at risk as...

Syria’s Al Qaeda regime is massacring Kurds to free imprisoned ISIS terrorists, state sponsors of Hamas in Turkey and Qatar are being named to boards running Gaza and thousands of democracy protesters are being massacred in Iran while Al Jazeera defends the regime. This isn’t American foreign policy, but it is Qatar’s foreign policy. The White House’s foreign policy in the Muslim world is now virtually identical to Qatar’s foreign policy apart from Israel. And as thousands die in Iran after empty promises of support, there is a bigger picture here of institutional capture by a tiny and powerful Islamic...

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.

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...

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...

17:03 EST 08 Jan 2026, updated 08:06 EST 09 Jan 2026 By NATALIE LISBONA AND MILES DILWORTH Sir Tony Blair's sister-in-law has sparked outrage after footage emerged of her describing October 7 as a 'legendary day' for Muslims. Lauren Booth, a British-born journalist who has converted to Islam, said 'only Allah knows' how many 'millions' would pick up the Quran in the wake of the attacks, arguing that the world had reached a historic 'tipping point'. The comments, made during an interview with Turkish media last year, have sparked outrage given that October 7 marked the deadliest massacre of Jewish...

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...

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,...

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...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia has quietly expanded access to its only store that sells alcohol, allowing wealthy foreign residents to buy booze in the latest step in the once-ultraconservative kingdom’s experiment in liberalization. There’s been no official announcement of the decision, but word has gotten out, and long lines of cars and people can now be seen at the discreet, unmarked store in the Diplomatic Quarter of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The store opened in January 2024 for non-Muslim diplomats. The new rules allow non-Muslim foreigners who hold Premium Residency to buy. The residency permit goes to...

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign on Monday, accusing him of engaging in the cover-up of the Qatargate affair, which Bennett called “the most serious act of treason in Israeli history.” The statement from Bennett, who is running against Netanyahu in next year’s election, follows new revelations about the scandal. The affair involves allegations that top aides to the prime minister were acting as paid lobbyists for Qatar, where Hamas’s leadership is based, while simultaneously working for Netanyahu. On Sunday, i24 News reported that communication between the suspects showed they had fabricated information,...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to brief US President Donald Trump that any expansion of Iran’s ballistic missile programme could pose a threat requiring swift action, NBC News reported on Saturday (Dec 20). The report said Israeli officials believe Iran may be rebuilding nuclear enrichment sites bombed by the United States in June, and are preparing to present Trump with options for renewed strikes targeting Iran’s missile capabilities.