Free Republic

The Trump administration’s mass deportation raids have nabbed more than 200 known or suspected terrorists since January — including one of India’s “most wanted,” who is accused of masterminding a grenade attack on a cop there and has ties to a US-designated terrorist organization in Pakistan. Since President Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have arrested 219 known or alleged terrorists, marking a 655% increase from the same period last year when 29 such arrests were made under former President Joe Biden, according to new Homeland Security data obtained by The Post. Among the dozens of...

When war once again came to Gaza in late 2023, Palestinian photographer Fatma Hassona began documenting all aspects of life: death, displacement, destruction, children celebrating during Eid, relief as people were allowed to return to northern Gaza during a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas this year. Despite the challenges she faced, the 25-year-old was planning for the future: She was engaged to be married this summer and received news last Tuesday that a documentary about her life in Gaza during the war had been accepted to Acid Cannes, which runs alongside the Cannes Film Festival in France. A day later,...

Ten years ago, when President Barack Obama and other leaders reached a deal with Iran to limit its nuclear program, Saudi Arabia was dismayed.Saudi officials called it a "weak deal" that had only emboldened the kingdom's regional rival, Iran. They cheered when President Trump withdrew from the agreement a few years later.Now, as a second Trump administration negotiates with Iran on a deal that might have very similar contours to the previous one, the view from Saudi Arabia looks quite different.The kingdom's Foreign Ministry issued a statement recently saying that it hoped the talks, mediated by neighboring Oman, would enhance...

Dan Caldwell was one of the strongest voices at the Pentagon opposing war with Iran. Then he was falsely accused of leaking classified documents and fired. (0:00) Introduction (1:10) What Would Happen if the US Went to War With Iran? (9:13) The Real Reason the US Invaded Iraq (15:38) The Military Power of Iran (22:25) The Global Coalition Iran Has Formed Because of the US (26:37) Is This Evil or Stupidity? (31:10) How Trump Exposed Regime Change Wars (41:37) Caldwell’s Experience in the Marine Corps (50:31) The Impact of the Iraq War on Veterans (1:00:59) How Caldwell Helped Pete...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Monday.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) delivered an address to the press on Sunday in which he claimed that, based on intelligence in his possession, there is a fear of a political assassination. "I now want to warn, based on unequivocal intelligence information: we are on the way to another tragedy. This time it will come from within. The levels of incitement and madness are unprecedented. There will be a political assassination. Jews will kill Jews," Lapid warned. He added, "The most threats are against the director of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar. The Israeli ruling party, the Likud, published...

In his belated Easter message, King Charles III praised Islam as ‘caring for the stranger and those in need.’When King Charles III finally issued a statement celebrating Easter, he couldn’t keep himself from mentioning Islam. Before he even described the Christian meaning of Easter, he praised Islam and other religions for “caring for the stranger and those in need.” The king — the head of the Church of England and “defender of the faith” — neglected to celebrate Palm Sunday, which commences Holy Week, as The Federalist previously reported. Instead, he honored the Sikh holiday of Vaisakhi.When King Charles III...

Vladimir Putin met with freed Russian-Israeli hostage Sasha Troufanov, who spent nearly 500 days in captivity in Gaza, and urged him to thank his Hamas captors for the “humanitarian act” of releasing him. “The fact that you managed to go free is the result of the fact that Russia has stable, long-term relations with the Palestinian people, with its representatives, and with a wide variety of organizations,” the Russian president told Troufanov at the Kremlin, where he was joined by his mother, Elena Trufanova, and partner, Sapir Cohen, who were also both abducted by Hamas. “I think we need to...

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said Thursday that Israel "had failed to respect" January’s ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, APA reports, citing Al Arabiya. “As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement,” said the ruler of Qatar, a key mediator of the deal. Putin on Thursday told Sheikh Tamim that it was important for Moscow to discuss the Israel-Palestine conflict and the future of Syria during the Qatari ruler’s visit to Moscow.

Russian leader tells Sasha Troufanov, his mother and partner of 'need to express words of gratitude' to political heads of terror group who murdered his father during Oct. 7 attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin met Wednesday evening with freed hostage Sasha Troufanov at the Kremlin in Moscow, along with his mother, Elena Trufanova, and partner, Sapir Cohen, both of whom are also former captives. “The fact that you managed to go free is the result of the fact that Russia has stable, long-term relations with the Palestinian people, with its representatives, and with a wide variety of organizations,” Putin told...

Woof. Mother Jones republished an article from fellow progressive outlet The Guardian on Saturday that argued that while dogs may be man's best friend, they're Mother Nature's "villains." The left-wing magazine highlighted new research, originally published by The Guardian, that concluded dogs have "extensive and multifarious" environmental impacts, disturbing wildlife, polluting waterways and contributing to carbon emissions. It pinpointed how canines are disturbing native wildlife, particularly shore birds.

President Trump has vowed to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon — but inside his national security team there's a divide over the best way to do it. -snip- One camp, unofficially led by Vice President Vance, believes a diplomatic solution is both preferable and possible and that the U.S. should be ready to make compromises in order to make it happen. Vance is highly involved in the Iran policy discussions, another U.S. official said. This camp includes also Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff — who represented the U.S. at the first round of Iran talks on Saturday — and...

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel said Wednesday it would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, where a relentless military offensive has turned the Palestinian territory into a "mass grave", a medical charity reported. Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday Israel would continue preventing aid from entering the besieged territory of 2.4 million people. "Israel's policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population," Katz said in a statement. "No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian...

Well-meaning liberal Americans sympathize with the Arab-Palestinian cause because of the group’s determined, decades-long struggle against Israel’s superior military might. Recently, that favoritism among Democrats for the first time shifted to a majority who support the Palestinians over Israel. But if supporters of the Palestinians knew the whole truth, as the Palestinians tell it, they might reverse their sympathies. Indeed, when we listen to what the Palestinians say, and what they do, their underdog image is betrayed by belligerent goals, cruel methods and values anathema to Western civilization.

Mahdawi was arrested after arriving at a citizenship center in Vermont, The Intercept reports. ICE’s database appears to confirm Mahdawi’s detention. The database says Mahdawi is in ICE custody, listing his birthplace as Jordan. Mahdawi was born in the West Bank, but the ICE database does not have a category for the Palestinian territories. Several Columbia University anti-Israel activists have been targeted by the Trump administration, starting last month with protest leader Mahmoud Khalil. Mohsen Mahdawi’s Calls for Israel’s Destruction, Justification of Hamas Terrorism and Support for the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia University (Columbia). Mohsen Mahdawi’s Calls for Israel’s Destruction,...

A wave of Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday hit a hospital and other sites, killing at least 21 people, including children, as Israel vowed to expand its security presence in the small coastal strip. The predawn strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City was the latest of several attacks on northern Gaza’s last major hospital providing critical health care. Hospital director Dr. Fadel Naim said the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, affecting over 100 patients and dozens of staff. One patient, a girl, died during the evacuation following an Israeli warning because staff were unable...

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, but he is also a very important personage in Islam. While both religions assign him great respect and importance, their teachings differ in some important ways. What are these differences? In particular, what do Muslims believe about the crucifixion of Jesus? Why Jesus features in Islam First of all, let us consider why Jesus is an important figure in Islam. Islam is one of the three main Abrahamic religions. The other two are Judaism and Christianity. All three of them view Abraham as an important figure in their early history. In the first...

He had no doubts at first, but slowly they emerged. He was struck, he says, by the fact that the first coins bearing Muhammad’s name did not appear until the late 7th century — six decades after the religion did. He traded ideas with some scholars in Saarbrücken who in recent years have been pushing the idea of Muhammad’s nonexistence. They claim that “Muhammad” wasn’t the name of a person but a title, and that Islam began as a Christian heresy. Prof. Kalisch didn’t buy all of this. Contributing last year to a book on Islam, he weighed the odds...

NEW YORK (AP) — Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests. The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, a legal permanent U.S. resident and graduate student who served as spokesperson for campus activists last year during large demonstrations against Israel’s treatment...

A prominent Palestinian-American businessman, Bashar Masri, quits his position at Harvard University after a lawsuit alleged he abetted Hamas with development projects in Gaza. Masri served on the dean’s council at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. The school confirms to The New York Post that Masri has resigned. “The lawsuit raises serious allegations that should be vetted and addressed through the legal process,” a spokesperson tells the news outlet. …