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Thursday, August 26, 2021

Some Surfside victims likely survived for hours after initial building collapse in Florida, report shows

 



Some of the 98 people killed after the Champlain Towers South crumbled to ground in southern Florida appear to have survived for hours after the initial collapse, but were not rescued by crews in time.

As many as nine victims, or about 10% of the death toll, remained alive and buried under the mountains of debris after parts of the 12-story residential building in Surfside, a quiet neighborhood just outside of Miami Beach, caved in on June 24 around 1:25 a.m. According to fire logs obtained by USA Today, one woman survived for as many as 10 hours after the worst building collapse in modern U.S. history.

The collapse triggered a weeks-long search for survivors, which relied on sonar and the use of canines, who signaled potential live victims on two separate occasions around 6:42 a.m. and 7:44 a.m.

Bennett Arives in New York and Puts on Talis & Tefillin









Audio feed cuts out as Biden Barks at reporter’s Afghanistan question

President Biden delivered a sarcastic answer Wednesday to a reporter’s question about the ongoing evacuation of Americans from Afghanistan — but viewers couldn’t hear it because the audio feed from the White House cut out.

As the president wrapped up the public portion of a cybersecurity event, NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander asked: “Mr. President, if Americans are still in Afghanistan after the [Aug. 31 withdrawal] deadline, what will you do?”

Biden initially ignored the question, leading Alexander to ask again: “Sir, what will you do if Americans are still there after the deadline?”

That’s when the audio dropped out.

However, Alexander later tweeted that Biden barked: “You’ll be the first person I call.”

An official White House transcript confirmed the statement.

Some critics accused White House staff of trying to shield Biden, while others blasted the commander incchief for giving a flip response to a reporter during an international crisis.

“Biden’s behavior in this is becoming obscene,” tweeted John Daniel Davidson, the political editor of The Federalist.

“If he is serious, that’s an issue,” Sean Spicer, who served as White House press secretary under former President Donald Trump, reacted. “If he’s trying to be funny about something this serious and screwed up, that’s also an issue.”

Spicer later questioned why the audio of Biden’s exchange with Alexander was cut and asked whether the “feckless” White House Correspondents’ Association would “say anything” about the matter.

“Americans were already worried that Joe Biden has no plan,” tweeted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “This won’t help.”

“When Joe Biden does take questions, his handlers screen reporters and provide him a list of preapproved reporters to call on,” Cruz adviser Steve Guest chimed in. “Now, The White House is cutting the audio feed when a reporter tries to ask him a question. Operation Protect Joe Biden is in full swing.”

“Oh my gosh they cut the President’s microphone so nobody could hear him answer,” added GOP communications specialist Matt Whitlock. “That’s how worried this White House is about Biden answering questions on Afghanistan.”

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Biden made the joke shortly before Secretary of State Antony Blinken estimated that up to 1,500 American citizens remain in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan with less than a week to go before the withdrawal deadline set by both the White House and the Islamic fundamentalist group.


The "almost" President


 Yup, that's Hillary Clinton. 

Remember the debate whether frum publications would publish her photo ? 

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

London suspect is filmed in FOURTH 'hate-attack' in just hours as he smashes Orthodox Jewish man in the face with bottle

 



This is the shocking moment an Orthodox Jewish man is struck in the face with a bottle in the fourth alleged hate-attack by the same assailant just hours apart in north London. 

Footage shows the 30-year-old victim being hit on the head by a man wearing Islamic clothing on a street in Stamford Hill at around 6.40pm last Wednesday.

A separate video taken shortly afterwards shows a 14-year-old boy on a bicycle being 'assaulted without warning' in the same area at 7.10pm.

And at 8.30pm, a 64-year-old grandfather was left unconscious after being punched in the face while walking to a synagogue, suffering facial injures and a broken foot.

All three of the victims are Jewish, said police, who are linking the incidents and treating them as hate crimes. 

Officers have also been informed of a fourth victim who has yet to contact police, added the force, with enquiries to identify them ongoing. It is understood that this attack took place on the same evening.

The Met has now released an image of the suspect, who can be seen wearing a white kufi cap, glasses and a green-brown coat in each clip.

No arrests have been made but an investigation is underway.  

Neighbourhood watch group Shomrim posted on its Stamford Hill account yesterday: 'Yet another racially motivated assault.

'Wed 6:40pm Orthodox Jew struck in the face with a bottle.

'MPSHackney are urgently trying to identify the assailant who went on a racist rampage assaulting multiple Jews over a three-hour period.'

One of the victims - the 64-year-old - has spoken out since the spate of attacks.

He told ITV News London: 'I went into deep shock, terrible pain for the first two nights after I heard it was an attack.

'Although I didn't see the footage - I was advised not to - I replayed in my mind what I was told happened, as if I saw it. It was nightmarish.'

The grandfather, whose head slammed into a nearby wall due to the force of the punch, also said that he now suffers from memory loss.

In a statement, the Met said: 'Anyone who recognises the man, or who witnessed the assault and is yet to speak with officers, is asked to come forward.


The photo that led Mossad to Adolf Eichmann


This is the photo of Adolf Eichmann (circled) with Gerhard Klammer stood to his right, which ultimately led to his capture  




The photo that helped bring Nazi mass-murderer Adolf Eichmann to justice has been revealed for the first time, alongside the identity of the man who turned him in.

That snap - taken in the early 1950s - shows Eichmann, who is circled in red, standing next to Gerhard Klammer, a German geologist who worked alongside the infamous Nazi at an Argentinian construction firm. 

Klammer's involvement in bringing Eichmann to justice was only revealed last week, 32 years after his death, with his family's blessing.

He emigrated to Argentina in the early 1950s to seek work, and began working for the Capri construction company in Tucuman Province, which sits in the north of the country.

Shortly afterwards Eichmann joined the same firm, calling himself Ricardo Klement. Klammer knew of his colleague's true identity, and tried to inform German authorities.

Klammer knew who Eichmann was because their company, which planned hydroelectric power plants, employed many Nazis, according to German magazine Der Spiegel

But they ignored his message, and he never received a response to the astonishing tip. 

Klammer shared the identity of his former colleague again in 1959 after returning to his home country.

He confided in a close friend - a priest who had served in the German army, and shared the photo of himself with Eichmann, as well as the mass-murderer's home address in Argentina. 

That information was then passed to a bishop, who in turn passed it to Fritz Bauer. Bauer was a German Jewish prosecutor who had made it his mission to hunt Eichmann down. 

US troops captured Eichmann after World War II, but he escaped from a prison camp in 1946. He landed in Argentina after living in Germany under a false identity for years, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

Bauer fled his homeland during World War Two, but returned after fighting stopped.

Prosecutor Fritz Bauer (right) followed up on Klammer's claims and handed the information to Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency

He was the most powerful Jewish prosecutor in the country at the time. Eichmann was widely-known to have escaped to Argentina, but Bauer was the only German lawyer intent on bringing him to justice

Bauer had previously received intel on Eichmann from a half-Jewish man called Lothar Hermann who'd moved from Germany to Argentina.

His daughter had gone on a date with Eichmann's son, who'd boasted of his father's true identity.

That information sparked a 1957 attempt by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad to try and track Eichmann down.

But they couldn't find him, and returned empty handed.

Bauer traveled to Israel to meet with head of Mossad Isser Harel to pass on Klammer's information.

Harel and Israel's then Attorney General Haim Cohn were sufficiently convinced  

It was Klammer's tip-off which ultimately helped Mossad track Eichmann down in Argentina in May 1960.  

Eichmann had since moved from the address Klammer had given him, but Mossad agents were still able to track him down from it.  

They were able to kidnap him and bring him back to Israel to face justice, in one of the most daring and famous missions ever carried out by government agents. 

An eight man team of Mossad agents arrived in Buenos Aries a month before Eichmann's capture on fake passports, and planned to seize him off a bus he regularly took to work. 

Their plan was almost abandoned when he failed to take that bus, but the Mossad crew got lucky when they spotted Eichmann getting off another bus 30 minutes later, and seized him. 

He was transferred between local Mossad safe houses for nine days. The Nazi killer was then sedated by an Israeli doctor, and dressed in a flight attendant's uniform before being loaded onto an El-Al plane, and flown to Israel. 

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion shared news of his capture with the world the following day.   

He spent nine months in jail, and was put on trial for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity in April 1961

Eichmann was convicted on all counts, and was hanged in June 1962. Klammer made Bauer promise never to reveal where the tip that led to Eichmann's capture had come from.

Bauer kept his promise, with Klammer's name finally revealed in a German newspaper story published Friday finally explaining his role in the historic capture.  

Klammer's name was first reported by German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which said Klammer has earned 'a place of honor in Israeli history.' 

Eichmann was sent to Vienna with the mission of ridding the city of Jews after the city's annexation in 1938, according to History.com

'He set up an efficient Jewish deportation center and in 1939 was sent to Prague on a similar mission. That year, Eichmann was appointed to the Jewish section of the SS central security office in Berlin,' the website says.

In January 1942, Eichmann met with top Nazi officials at the Wannsee Conference near Berlin, where he was appointed to organize the identification, assembly, and transportation of millions of Jews from occupied Europe to Nazi death camps where Jews were gassed or worked to death.

Eichmann's trial began in April 1961 following his capture.

He was convicted in December of 15 counts of crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, war crimes and membership in a criminal organization, according to the International Crimes Database of The Hague.

He was hanged in May 1962 in prison in Ramla, Israel.    

Frum Guy slapped at Aventura hotel pool in Front of his wife and 5 Children

 

A physical assault at the pool of a South Florida resort hotel was caught on camera, and the suspect may face hate charges.

It happened on Sunday at the J.W. Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort and Spa in Aventura.

The suspect, Marcos Rodriguez, can be seen in the video slapping the victim, Alain Altit, in the face as they stood by the children’s pool area of the hotel’s resort water park, Tidal Cove.

According to Aventura police, Rodriguez’s wife called a woman at the water park a “dirty Jew.”




Israeli protesters block cargo transfers to Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip ...."When there is Terror, then There are no Supplies"

אנו משכימים להגן העם היהודי והם משכימים לדברים בטלים        

Yesterday there were two protests, one which I posted previously, was about a bunch of bored chareidim that were violently protesting the building of the Light Rain in Yerushlayim. No one knows as to what is wrong with building the Light Rail, and they had to drag a 95 year-old tzaddik that didn't have a clue of why he was there, to support their nothing cause while another one of their leaders is so obese that he couldn't even get out of his car. 

In this video, protestors are blocking supplies to a bunch of murderers ....

So who are the tzaddikim?

Activists from the Zionist organization Im Tirtzu together with residents of the south blocked the Kerem Shalom crossing to Gaza on Wednesday morning, calling on the government to enact harsher measures to combat terrorism stemming from the Hamas-ruled Strip.

The activists blocked dozens of trucks bringing supplies to Gaza and chanted slogans including "If there's terrorism, there are no supplies," "The blood of our soldiers isn't cheap," and "Justice for Barel."

On Saturday, border policeman St.-Sgt. Barel Shmueli was critically injured after a terrorist shot him as hundreds of Gazans rioted at the border. Terrorists also continued to launch incendiary balloons into Israel, sparking more than ten fires in Israel.

Despite the violence, Israel has kept the Kerem Shalom crossing open and is permitting the transfer of supplies to Gaza.

On Monday, Egypt announced that it was closing the Rafah crossing into Gaza until further notice. According to Egyptian security officials, the closure is due to security concerns following the violence stemming from Gaza.

The activists also decried allowing supplies into Gaza as Hamas continues to hold captive two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.

Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg called on the government to halt the transfer of supplies to Gaza.

"We are witness to a dangerous neglect of Israel's security in which terrorists are storming the border, soldiers are ordered not to shoot, and terrorists are launching incendiary balloons with impunity," said Peleg.

"The Prime Minister and Defense Minister should immediately halt the transfer of supplies, or we will soon see a dangerous security deterioration and additional attempts to harm the residents of the south and our soldiers."

Naif Rahal, head of the Bedouin Forum for the Security of Israel, also joined the protest and said: "There are many Bedouin soldiers who are involved in the fighting around the Gaza Strip. It is important for us to express our loyalty and support in combatting terrorism in Gaza."



APPEASER IN CHIEF

 

Neville Chamberlain can rest easy. He is no longer the most shameful appeaser in modern history. 

Joe Biden is the new champion of cowards.

Biden didn’t just blink in the face of terror. He is groveling before the Taliban, acknowledging their victory and laying the groundwork for their legitimacy as the rulers of Afghanistan.

Who could imagine any American president allowing murderous thugs to set the terms of our military’s surrender? But that’s what has been happening and it crystalized Tuesday. 

The Taliban declared that no more Afghans should go to the Kabul airport, that those already there should leave and then they shut the main airport road. For all practical purposes, those words and actions ended the mercy mission of getting our ­allies out. 

And Biden didn’t object. Not even a whimper, just silent ­acceptance.

Even more unforgivable, by agreeing to the Taliban’s demand that he stick to his own initial deadline of Aug. 31 for the withdrawal of all troops, Biden shows he is willing to strand thousands of Americans behind enemy lines. 

Exactly how many Americans will be left behind is unknown, but most estimates put it in the thousands. They are now hos­tages to Biden’s fear and failure.

Their fate is uncertain, but the fate of the tens of thousands of abandoned Afghans who helped us and whom we promised to rescue is almost certain death.

This is extraordinarily callous and will ricochet around the world as evidence that America is no longer the home of the brave. 

As is always the case with appeasement, our allies will be shaken and our adversaries emboldened.

The crisis at the airport has been building for more than a week, but Biden still had a chance to adapt by moving the deadline back so the evacuation could be completed. 

But as word circulated that he would not extend the mission beyond next Tuesday, the White House said the president would make a statement. 

First he was to speak at 2 p.m., then 3:30, then 4:30, delays that gave the impression policy changes were at least being debated. 

It wasn’t to be. In fact, when he finally appeared shortly after 5 p.m., Biden first started talking about infrastructure and voting-law initiatives working their way through Congress.

The message was clear: I have bad news about Afghanistan and I want to turn attention away from it by feeding my left-wing base and promising the American people more free stuff. 

It was pathetic and as such was consistent with Biden’s entire conduct during this crisis. He created it and, as it spins further and further out of control, he shrinks and opts for deception instead of truth and partisanship instead of completing the ­mission.

Because of the hard deadline, the military reportedly has ­already started its drawdown of the nearly 6,000 troops at or near the airport. The move renders as lies Biden’s many promises to get all Americans out of the country. 

The fact that he didn’t repeat that promise Tuesday reveals he doesn’t have the courage to be straight about the implications of his decisions. 

Even his statement that he asked the military for contingency plans if the evacuations weren’t complete rings hollow. By withdrawing the troops and presumably abandoning the airport, where would any troops added later land safely?

Besides, if such plans were a real option, why are they only now being called for? It would be much easier and safer to stay at the airport longer rather than leave and return.

Coming on the eve of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Biden’s bad judgment and poor leadership have undercut the heroes who prevented Afghanistan from again becoming a safe haven for other terrorist attacks on ­America. 

All along, his obsession seems to have been that he would be the president to end the war. He even tried to sell it as a victory by saying the troops would come home on Sept. 11. 

He reversed that piece of ­lunacy, but never adjusted to the changing realities on the ground. Once he ordered the abandonment of our air bases, the Afghan army saw the war was hopeless and collapsed. 

Still, Biden didn’t react until the evacuation became impossible, then he started sending more troops into Kabul. While some 70,000 people have gotten out in the round-the-clock flights, the mission is far from finished. 

But he defends his decision by over and over citing threats of an attack by remnants of the Islamic State terrorists. He talks of “increasing risks . . . every day we’re on the ground.”

No doubt there is some truth to that, but is the possibility reason enough to run away and abandon our citizens, allies and prin­ciples? 

America’s fighting men and women are brave and resourceful beyond measure. They deserve a commander in chief as committed as they are. 

Unfortunately, the one they have has gone wobbly at the most crucial hour.

by Michael Goodwin

Ezra "the saar ha'nashim" Says New Lady Governor very "warm" person

 

Ezra "the Lisker" with unidentified chickiepoo


No TV.. No Internet.. No Ball Playing? Of Course No Torah Learning .....No Problem .. Let's protest the "Light Rail"





A large protest took place on Tuesday night in Jerusalem’s Bar Ilan intersection where Admorim (?) and the head of the Eidah Chareidis,  HaRav Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss, who was shlepped and was totally out of it, and had no clue where he was, were joined by hundreds of bored Charedim in protesting the construction of the Jerusalem Light-rail. 

Rav Weiss, who celebrated his 95th birthday on Tuesday, helped organize the protest (hard to believe) which turned violent as police fired foul-smelling water cannons on the crowds. 

One border police officer was lightly injured and required medical attention from Magen David Adom after she was hit in the face with pepper spray by one of the perverts. In addition to the Gavad, the Toldos Aharon Rebbe also joined the protest from his car, as he can hardly walk.

The Eidah Charedis has previously decided to increase the number and the intensity of the protests against the construction of the light-rail through Chareidi neighborhoods in Jerusalem, because the bochrum are going stir crazy from doing nothing and they had to come up with something to keep them busy .

 

Viznitzer Bochrum Return from Baal Shem Tov's Kever in Ukraine Only to get Sick from Food Poisoning

 

Approximately twenty Yeshiva Bochrim who had landed in NYC, were transported to the hospital in Boro Park on Tuesday evening.

 The victims had all just returned from Ukraine where they visited Mezibuz. The group landed in an NYC area airport, and all boarded a bus which took them to Brooklyn. The bus stopped at the Boro Park Hatzolah garage on 14th Avenue, and a mass casualty incident (MCI) was immediately requested.

The Bochrim, all in their upper teens were complaining of nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, fever and other symptoms.

Hatzolah ambulances from Boro Park and Flatbush transported the victims to Maimonides Hospital, Lutheran Hospital and Methodist Hospial, it appeared they were suffering from some type of food poisoning.

They were all reportedly is stable condition.

UPDATE 8:30PM: At least 8 patients are sick in the Monsey area and Rockland Hatzolah are treating them. In the Catskills there are reports of patients in Kiamisha Lake (at Vishnitz Yeshiva). Additionally, Boro Park Hatzolah has responded to private homes to treat additional victims in addition to their original call on 14th Ave. It appears that the Bochrim are all Vishnitzer Chassidim who traveled together.


All Israelis Covid Patients On ECMOs Machines Are Young And Unvaccinated

 




All of Israel’s COVID patients currently attached to ECMO machines are under age 60 and unvaccinated, Yediot Achranot reported.

Additionally, all coronavirus patients who died after being attached to an ECMO machine during the current fourth COVID wave were unvaccinated, according to data from the Israeli ECMO Society.

Since the beginning of the fourth wave, 31 coronavirus patients have been attached to ECMO machines, five of whom died – all unvaccinated patients under the age of 60.

The most recent patients to be attached to ECMO machines are a 48-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman – both unvaccinated – at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.

“The main thing we’re seeing from this data is the fact that the patients who aren’t vaccinated are the worst cases,” said Dr. Yigal Kassif, who heads the Israeli ECMO Association.

“These patients in the 40 to 60 age group, who are treated with the ECMO machines – die, while older patients including some with underlying conditions who had been vaccinated – survive.”

“Anyone who has never seen a seriously ill virus patient on the machine can’t understand the horror. These are people who are tragically unable even to bid their families farewell in their final days.”

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Two Sisters Killed By A Truck In Chareidi Kehilla In Antwerp

 

A terrible tragedy occurred in the Chareidi community in Antwerp, Belgium on Tuesday morning when two sisters crossing the street in the Jewish quarter were run over and killed by a truck.

The accident occurred when a truck turned onto a main street lined with shuls and Jewish stores and failed to notice the two sisters in the crosswalk, crossing the street after the light turned green.

The sisters were identified as Hindel Adler, a’h, age 9, and her sister Gittel, a’h, age 1.5, from a well-known family of six children belonging to the Gerrer community in the city. Their father, Reb Gavriel Adler, is one of the leaders of the kehilla.

Hatzolah of Antwerp quickly arrived at the scene but sadly could do nothing but determine the girls’ deaths. Meanwhile, the police closed the streets near the scene of the accident.

The police have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident. The driver is in shock and is being treated at the hospital. He will be questioned when his condition improves.

Two brothers in yeshiva are on the way home for the levaya which will be held on Tuesday afternoon.


Just when you thought you knew all aspirin’s secrets! Scientist says yet more uses of the drug may emerge in time


 As the world’s most commonly taken medicine, aspirin is the go-to pill for everything from headaches and hangovers to maintaining heart health.

But the wonders of aspirin don’t end there, with research suggesting its benefits range from staving off cancer to boosting the odds of pregnancy. Even perking up a man’s love life may be within its powers.

Professor Gino Martini, chief scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, says yet more uses of aspirin may emerge in time.

‘Many biochemical pathways intertwine and it takes time for us to unwind them and understand how a particular drug affects them,’ he says.

‘This means that as our understanding of a medicine increases over time, new uses can emerge. With aspirin, I am sure there are still surprises to be found.’

While many already take aspirin for headaches (typically one to three 300mg tablets every four hours), and millions also take it to prevent heart attacks and strokes (usually 75mg once a day), with so many possible added benefits, should we all be taking it?

The main ingredient, acetylsalicylic acid, is made from salicylic acid, a compound that occurs in the bark of willow trees.

Taliban captures and executes Afghan TikTok comedian - who carried on telling jokes about the militia even as they dragged him away

 


This is the moment an Afghan comedian continued mocking the Taliban as fighters from the insurgent group dragged him away from his home before later executing him by firing squad.

In a viral video filmed at the end of July, Nazar Mohammad, better known as Khasha Zwan, can be seen in the back of a car with an insurgent on either side of him - one of them brandishing a Kalashnikov machine gun.  

According to Human Rights Watch, Zwan was killed by the Taliban at the end of July in Kandahar after that city fell to the jihadists.  

He was known for routines that poked fun at the Taliban through song and dance, including some that were uploaded to his TikTok account. 

In the video of his final moments, Mohammad continues to make jokes about the group after his capture, causing the Taliban fighter to his right to begin slapping him across the face.

The man to his left is seen laughing throughout before menacingly switching his gun for an even bigger-looking firearm. 

Nazar was later killed after being shot multiple times. 

According to reports, photos showed him backed up against a tree and then lying on the ground with his throat cut.

The Taliban initially denied involvement in the star's death before admitting responsibility - and confirming the two men in the car were Taliban. 

The group said the suspects had been arrested and will be tried in a Taliban court. 

The group alleged that Nazar, from the Kandahar province, was involved in the torture and killing of Taliban - adding that he should have faced a Taliban court instead of being immediately put to death. 

Nazar previously worked for the Afghan National Police - making him a target for revenge killings - and was known for his crude jokes and funny songs. 

He would regularly make fun of topics suggested by his followers - with the Taliban being no exception. 

His brutal killing at the end of July sparked fears of revenge killings as Afghanistan being falling city by city to the Taliban. 

Zwan left behind a wife and daughters. 

After his death, Ziauddin Yousafzai, whose daughter Malala Yousafzai survived being shot in the head by Taliban militants in Pakistan in 2012 - was among those who paid tribute on social media.   

Others who denounced the death included Sarwar Danesh, the Afghan vice president before the Taliban took over Kabul this month.

He said that slapping Zwan was the same as slapping all of the Afghan people and said his killing was against Afghan culture.

It was also one of the first major dents in the insurgent group's attempt to brand itself as Taliban 2.0.

Leaders promised that no harm would come to those working for the Government, the US military or anyone associated with American organisations. 

Trump Out.. Biden In.. ISIS Returns

 

The U.S. warned that Islamic State poses a threat to Americans in Afghanistan as the Biden administration seeks to evacuate thousands of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies.

“The threat is real. It is acute. It is persistent. And it is something we are focused on with every tool in our arsenal,” Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, told CNN on Sunday when asked whether crowds at the Kabul international airport are vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

President Biden, speaking from the White House, said: “We know that terrorists may seek to exploit the situation and target innocent Afghans or American troops. We’re maintaining constant vigilance to monitor and disrupt threats from any source.”

Concerns over Islamic State attacks were one reason the U.S. Embassy warned Americans on Saturday to avoid traveling to the airport in Kabul and to avoid airport gates, defense officials have said.

Islamic State is among several terrorist groups present in Afghanistan, each with a different relationship with the Taliban. The Taliban had harbored al Qaeda before that group’s terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001, and reports have surfaced that the Taliban have freed al Qaeda fighters from prisons as they gained control of the country this month.

Yamina to quit government if Lapid advances Palestinian state

 

The Yamina Party will quit the government if Foreign Minister Yair Lapid advances Palestinian statehood when he replaces Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked warned on Sunday.
“There will not be a Palestinian state in a government that we [Yamina] are party to,” said Shaked, who is a member of Bennett’s Yamina Party.
There is an agreement that this government will not deal with divisive matters such as this one, Shaked told the KAN News radio program.
Last week Lapid told KAN’s television station Channel 11 that a two-state resolution could be advanced when the government rotates in two years’ time, but until then nothing can happen on this matter because Bennett doesn’t support it.
The question of two states has suddenly resurfaced in the headlines because Bennett is due to meet with US President Joe Biden later in the week.
What happens if Biden asks Bennett to support a two-state resolution to the conflict? KAN asked.
“He will say that he is opposed,” Shaked said, adding, “This is nothing new. Bennett’s opinion is known. We [Yamina] are opposed to a Palestinian state – and even President Biden knows Bennett’s opinion.”
Shaked said she believed the meeting would deal primarily with Iran and the COVID-19 pandemic.
KAN asked what would happen if Biden simply waits until Bennett leaves and then moves forward on two states with Lapid?
“There won’t be a government,” Shaked said. “This is known both to Lapid and to the left-wing partners” in the coalition.”
“The topic of the Palestinians is not the most burning issue on the agenda, not even for the President,” said Shaked.
In contrast to what Shaked said, the White House has been clear that the Palestinian issue will be on the agenda along with Iran.
Biden believes in a two-state resolution to the conflict based on the pre-1967 lines but has not put forward any initiative for the resumption of an Israeli-Palestinian peace process.