Free Republic

Summary. While Israel has historically been regarded as a close ally of the United States—sharing democratic values, intelligence cooperation, and defense partnerships—certain individuals of Arab "Palestinian" origin or ideological affiliation have been involved in acts of violence against Americans. This article provides a factual overview of documented incidents that have shaped this complex relationship. 1. Sirhan Sirhan and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy (1968)Background: Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, a Palestinian IslamoChristian born in Jerusalem in 1944, moved with his family to the United States in 1956.[1]Defense : The ex Grand Mufti of Jerusalem dispatched two Arab lawyers to defend Sirhan....

The International Committee of the Red Cross chose a wing in Al-Shifa hospital "adjacent to the [Hamas] movement offices,” according to documents found by the IDF in Gaza and recently declassified. Two Hamas documents found by Israeli forces in Gaza indicate that international organizations such as the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders are well aware of the presence of Hamas in the Gaza Strip’s medical facilities despite obfuscating or outright denying it publicly, NGO Monitor revealed on Wednesday. The internal Hamas memos were among a cache of documents declassified by the Israel Defense Forces. NGO Monitor translated the Arabic-language...

Trump Stares Down Protesters in D.C. Safety Showdown: President Donald Trump faced a fiery protest while dining at a Washington, D.C. restaurant near the White House. Demonstrators stormed the venue waving Palestinian flags and chanting, “Free D.C., free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time.” Despite the uproar, Trump remained composed, continuing conversations with nearby guests. Vice President J.D. Vance reassured diners to enjoy their meals, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth watched as security tried to contain the scene. Watch

Observation: Former President Trump’s response to recent events may appear measured on the surface, but it carries a sharp undertone of reckoning — particularly for Qatar, a long-time U.S. partner that has walked a fine line between diplomacy and duplicity. For years, Qatar has positioned itself as an impartial broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, all while funneling support — financial and political — that has helped keep Hamas firmly in power in Gaza. Israel has long raised concerns about Qatar’s double game: projecting neutrality to the West while quietly propping up one of the most destabilizing forces in the region....

Pope Leo XIV met Sept. 4 with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, calling for swift action to end hostilities in Gaza and ensure urgent humanitarian access to the most afflicted areas. According to the Holy See Press Office, the meeting — held at the Vatican Apostolic Palace — addressed escalating tensions in the Middle East and reinforced the Vatican’s long-standing support for peace built on justice and dialogue. The statement described the discussions as “cordial” and noted they focused on the broader political and social instability across the region, “with particular attention to the tragic situation in Gaza.”The Holy See emphasized...

Israeli defense minister Israel Katz issued an ultimatum to Hamas: surrender, release all hostages, and disarm, or see Gaza City — the group’s last stronghold — destroyed. Katz’s statement came in apparently response to a statement by Hamas that it would be willing to release all of the hostages in return for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza — which would leave the group armed and in charge, ready to prepare for war again. The Times of Israel reported: “Defense Minister Israel Katz warns that Hamas will soon face a stark choice: either accept Israel’s conditions to end the war — including...

The White House is reportedly considering a plan to pay Palestinians $5,000 to relocate for 10 years while the Gaza Strip is transformed into the “Riviera of the Middle East” envisioned by President Trump. The Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation (GREAT) proposal would establish a trusteeship for control of the 25-mile-long strip of land that would be administered by the US for at least 10 years, while reconstruction – financed by billions of dollars in public and private-sector investments – takes place, according to the Washington Post. Gaza’s entire 2 million population would need to be temporarily relocated for...

In the Muslim Middle East, plotting revenge is a way of life, so it is not surprising that the Islamic Republic of Iran is seeking to avenge the humiliating defeat inflicted by the United States and Israel this past June. Although Israel is the main focus of Iran’s revenge, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are also targets for the ayatollahs. With Hezb’allah demobilized as the executive arm of Iran, and Assad’s Syrian territory is no longer available to transport arms to Hezb’allah, the entire Shiite crescent has been disrupted and is now close to elimination. Only...

The Israeli military on Friday ended its policy of pausing daytime operations in Gaza City, intended to ease aid delivery, in the latest indication that the military was moving toward a full-scale invasion of the area. In a statement, the military said the “local tactical pause in military activity” would not apply to the city as of 10 a.m. on Friday, describing the area as a “dangerous combat zone.” The Israeli military said in late July that it started instituting pauses of operations between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. in several parts of the Gaza Strip. It made the move...

Rep. Rashida Tlaib will headline a Detroit pro-Palestinian conference featuring ex-prisoners, extremistsA controversial pro-Palestinian gathering in Detroit is drawing scrutiny for featuring speakers with extremist views—including two former Israeli prisoners released in a Hamas deal—alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a prominent anti-Israel congresswoman. The second annual "People's Conference for Palestine" conference, which is being organized by a dozen different pro-Palestinian groups, will begin Friday afternoon and will end on Sunday. Rep. Tlaib will speak alongside several individuals accused of espousing antisemitic rhetoric, including a professor who has compared Jews to Nazis, a journalist who quipped about Hamas kidnapping "several...

In an interview with CNN, Ambassador Yechiel Leiter says his son was killed in Gaza because Israel avoids harming civilians: “If we were doing what we're accused of, maybe he'd be alive today.” Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, was interviewed by CNN’s Jake Tapper, underscoring the unprecedented challenges the IDF faces and the moral calculus guiding its operations. “You got to ask yourself a question,” Leiter said. “A country that's capable of taking out the control of all of Iranian airspace in 72 hours, allowing for the B-2s of the United States to come in and obliterate...

US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that the Gaza war will reach a “conclusive ending” in the next two or three weeks, saying that there was a serious “diplomatic push” underway to end the nearly two-year conflict. “I think within the next two to three weeks, you’re going to have pretty good, conclusive — a conclusive ending,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. What Trump based his prediction on was unclear, given that Israel has indicated it is not interested in the phased ceasefire proposal that Hamas agreed to last week. Rather, the Israeli government has instead been...

Peter Baum @baum_p: Palestinians steal the cultures of others because they have no culture of their own. They even call themselves Palestinians even though they speak Arabic though there is no letter ‘P’ in Arabic . So in Arabic the pronunciation is Filastin which means Philistine - or uncouth uncultured heathens……seems appropriate.

Israel attacks presidential palace, Egypt is moving with tanks and sh!t to block Palestinians fleeing Gaza via Rafah as Israel takes control of Gaza City, explosions in Iran, video of fat, happy kids in western Gaza eating at restaurants, playing arcades, etc., celebrating birthdays. Media won't show this, only bombed out shells of cities. Lots of contemporaneous phone videos of Gaza and Yemen. Transcript linked below video.

Hamas has apparently accepted the terms of a ceasefire deal similar to one that was proposed last month but never put in place. The deal would free some remaining hostages in exchange for more than 200 Palestinian prisoners.In a statement, Hamas said it had accepted the new proposal presented on Sunday by Qatar and Egypt.Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, said on social media, “The movement has accepted the new proposal from the mediators. We pray that God extinguishes the fires of this war on our people.”Two Israeli officials told CNN that Israel had received the Hamas...

COGAT @cogatonline: 🚨WATCH: 5 Armed terrorists operated under the cover of a fake emblem of @WCKitchen placed on a vehicle in Gaza - and were eliminated from the air. The terrorists deliberately affixed the emblem and wore yellow vests in an attempt to conceal their activity and avoid being targeted, cynically exploiting the status and trust afforded to aid organizations. Representatives from #GazaCLA verified the information with the WCK organization, which confirmed that the vehicle seen in the Gaza Strip bearing the organization’s emblem had no connection to its operations.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal assault on Israel. As 5,000 rockets slammed into civilian targets, terrorists massacred at least 1,200 Israelis, wounded about 3,500, and took 251 hostages. They raped, eviscerated, mutilated, beheaded, tortured, and incinerated their victims. At least 75 hostages have died, and about 20 remain in captivity. Prior to the attack, 137 UN member countries recognized Palestinian statehood. Apparently unbothered by Hamas’ savagery, and distressed by Israel’s aggressive military response, 10 additional nations recognized Palestine after the attack. In the last month, Australia, Britain, Canada, and France provisionally joined them. Led by France, the...

The Saudi Al-Hadath news channel reports: "Iran sent messages to Hezbollah last night, stating that it will start channeling additional funds to the organization through various countries around the world, as well as transferring weapons and means of warfare to Lebanon – with the aim of effectively taking control of all parts of the country and establishing a new coalition in Lebanon where Hezbollah is the sovereign."

Netanyahu claims Hamas is refusing to "lay down its arms" so Israel has "no choice but to finish the job". "Given Hamas's refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas," he says. The Israeli prime minister claims there are "two remaining strongholds" in Gaza, that he intends to "dismantle". Netanyahu used the map below to illustrate where he says they are - the central camps, and Gaza City. "We have about 70 to 75% of Gaza under Israeli control, military control," Netanyahu says. He adds: "Last Thursday,...

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Sunday that he would ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to propose “immediate operational steps” to collapse the Palestinian Authority. “I will appeal to the prime minister to bring to the upcoming Cabinet meeting immediate operational steps to bring down the Palestinian Authority,” the minister wrote on X. “This should be the response to terrorist Abu Mazen’s fantasies about a ‘Palestinian state’—the crushing of the terrorist authority he heads,” Ben-Gvir added, using P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas’s kunya, or Arabic nickname. Ben-Gvir was responding to a report by London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed claiming that Abbas...