PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas congratulates freed terrorist Yasser Abu Bakr, responsible for the 2002 Netanya attack that killed two Israelis, including a 9-month-old baby. He also planned a suicide attack at Tel Hashomer Hospital.
Tonight, he returned home to the West Bank.
Still trust Abbas with Gaza?
Denmark has charged two individuals under its law prohibiting the desecration of the Quran, authorities announced on Friday, according to the AFP news agency.
The charges mark the first use of the legislation introduced in the country following a series of high-profile holy burnings of the Quran.
The individuals, whose identities remain undisclosed, are accused of engaging in "inappropriate treatment of a Quran" during a June festival that brought together people from political, economic, and social spheres.
Details of their alleged actions have not been disclosed by Copenhagen's prosecution authority or local media.
"The actions took place publicly, were followed by a number of people, and were also broadcast to a wider circle by being filmed and streamed live on Facebook," prosecutor Lise-Lotte Nilas stated, as quoted by AFP.
The legislation, enacted on December 7, 2023, came into effect shortly after, amid international outrage in Muslim-majority countries over Quran desecrations in Denmark and neighboring Sweden.
Under the new law, public burning, tearing, or defilement of holy texts, including through widely shared videos, is prohibited. Violators face fines or prison sentences of up to two years.
Denmark and Sweden experienced a series of public protests in 2023, where anti-Islam activists burned or otherwise damaged copies of the Quran, triggering demands that the Nordic governments ban the practice.
In late July of that year, Denmark’s Foreign Minister said the government will seek to make it illegal to desecrate the Quran or other religious holy books in front of foreign embassies in the country.
Israel notified the U.N. on Saturday that it must evacuate its personal from all U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) premises in Jerusalem no later than Jan. 30, as Knesset legislation banning the agency’s operations within the Jewish state will take effect on Thursday.
“Israel expects that UNRWA take all the necessary steps to cease its operations in Jerusalem and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city within the stated time frame,” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said in a letter addressed to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
Outlawing UNRWA in Israel “came as a direct response to the acute national security risks posed by the widespread infiltration of UNRWA’s ranks by Hamas and other terrorist organizations, and the agency’s persistent refusal to address the very grave and material concerns raised by Israel, and to remedy this intolerable situation,” the letter notes.
Danon stressed that months of talks with the U.N. to address the situation have been met with “blatant disregard,” to a point “beyond repair.”
The ambassador specified two properties in Jerusalem to be evacuated, one in the Ma’alot Dafna neighborhood and the other in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood, both in the capital’s northeast. He accused UNRWA of flouting Israeli rules in these premises and creating “safety hazards to its staff and local communities.”
The letter continues, “This conduct reflects a clear abuse of UNRWA’s immunities and disregard for local laws and regulations, contrary to its obligations under Article 21 of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.”
Danon emphasized that Israel’s demand fully aligns with its commitment to its obligations under international law and its readiness to cooperate with the U.N. and its agencies—as long as these are not infiltrated by terrorists.
On Nov. 4, the Israeli parliament terminated the 1967 agreement outlining the terms of its relations with UNRWA.
The director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry sent a letter to U.N. General Assembly President Philémon Yang of Cameroon, explaining that Jerusalem “withdraws its request issued to UNRWA,” and instead “will continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure the facilitation of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not undermine Israel’s security.”
Then-Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, “UNRWA, whose employees took part in the Oct. 7 massacre and many of whose workers are Hamas operatives, is part of the problem in the Gaza Strip, not part of the solution.
“The U.N. was provided with countless pieces of evidence regarding Hamas operatives who work at UNRWA and about the use of UNRWA facilities for terrorism, and nothing was done,” he added.
Watch: Muslim terrorist from Gaza vows to blow himself up in an easy civilian target in Israel like a Jewish nursery or kindergarten. During the interview he explains his Islamic obligation to worship Allah (god of Islam), by killing as many Jews as possible, including children,… pic.twitter.com/Ru40lARp0X
— Liza Rosen (@LizaRosen0000) January 25, 2025
Murkowski voted for this thing and not Hegseth. pic.twitter.com/m1g7tB7J3m
— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) January 23, 2025
Lisa Murkowski was appointed by her governor daddy to the Senate
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) January 24, 2025
She voted with Obama 72.3% of the time in 2013
She opposed Brett Kavanaugh for SCOTUS but supported Kentanji Brown
She voted to convict Trump in his 2nd impeachment
She’s lost 2 GOP primaries and been censured… pic.twitter.com/gwCyaR6oKE
Pro-'Palestine' agitators in Israel receive a helpful education. The West has a few things to learn.
— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) January 24, 2025
pic.twitter.com/kTkqJAEnWA
President @realDonaldTrump, why would have anyone in your administration that advocates for a weak policy towards an organization that murdered over 200 American marines?… A terror group that is a direct arm of the Islamic regime in Iran, which literally attempted to assassinate… https://t.co/D0OtD1Xmif
— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) January 24, 2025
BREAKING: Eight Wikipedia editors accused of disruptive behavior have been barred from making changes to articles on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Of these, six have been pushing pro-Hamas propaganda.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) January 24, 2025
Wikipedia has a lot more work to do. pic.twitter.com/H5SACZCvlR
Released hostage Liri Albag was captured on video reuniting with her parents at an IDF facility near the Gaza border
His hate for Israel is paying off.
Socialist Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani — who was notoriously arrested at a pro-Palestine protest outside US Sen. Chuck Schumer’s house — has raised $641,816 since beginning his mayoral campaign three months ago, the most of any candidate during this stretch in the heavily contested race.
The Ugandan-born, card-carrying Democratic Socialist of America member’s staggering haul includes a jaw-dropping 1,426 donations totaling $97,254 from jobless supporters who declared themselves “unemployed” or “not employed,” a Post review of NYC campaign filings found.
He landed another 289 donations totaling nearly $30,000 from professors and other employees of Columbia University, New York University and the City University of New York – all targets of hate-filled pro-Palestine campus protests since Hamas’ invasion of Israel.
President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that he would prefer to address the crisis over Iran’s proximity to nuclear breakout time without Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump was asked by reporters in the Oval Office if he would support Israeli strikes, and responded, “We’ll have to see. I’m gonna be meeting with various people over the next couple of days. Hopefully, that can be worked out without having to worry about it.”
“It would really be nice if that could be worked out without having to go that further step,” Trump said. “Hopefully that can be worked out. Iran hopefully will make a deal, and if they don’t make a deal, I guess that’s OK too.” Implying that an Israeli strike is still an option on the table.
He added that his special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, would play a key role in the diplomatic efforts surrounding Iran’s nuclear program. Witkoff, a Jewish real estate investor with close ties to Hamas’s main sponsor Qatar, applied enormous pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza. Putting him in charge of his Iran strategy is part of Trump’s broader mandate to “stop the wars” in the Middle East, according to the Financial Times citing knowledgeable sources.
In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, imposing strict sanctions on Tehran and warning that any confrontation with Washington or pursuit of nuclear weapons would lead to “the official end of Iran.”
The Tehran Times noted on Friday that Witkoff is replacing Brian Hook, who served as US Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from September 2018 to August 2020 and in those positions led the first Trump administration’s harsh sanctions regime against Iran. In 2018, Pompeo set up the Iran Action Group to coordinate and run US policy toward Iran with Hook as its head.
After Trump’s victory in November 2024, Hook was reportedly tasked with overseeing the State Department’s transition team and recruitment process. He represented the Trump team in a CNN interview in which he asserted that Trump “understands” Iran is “the chief driver of instability in today’s Middle East.”
Trump recently stated in a post on Truth Social: “My Presidential Personnel Office is actively identifying and removing over a thousand presidential appointees from the previous administration who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again,” adding, “Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars… YOU’RE FIRED!”
When asked if he had assigned Witkoff to lead the negotiations with Iran, Trump answered, “No, but he’s certainly somebody I would use. He’s done a fantastic job, he’s a great negotiator and a good person. A popular person, gets along with people.”
Trump added, “I have great negotiators with no personality whatsoever, but Steve has a wonderful way about him. People like him, even in this case – both sides like him. That deal (meaning the Gaza ceasefire – DI) would have never been made without Steve.”
There’s no doubt about it, Trump is in love.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Witkoff expressed his willingness to engage directly with U.S.-designated Hamas terrorists.
“I think you can get everybody on board in that region. I really do. With a new sense of leadership over there,” the Jewish-American envoy stated.
“Oh my gosh, Qatar was enormously helpful in this [truce deal]. Sheikh Mohammed [bin Abdulrahman Al Thani], his communication skills with Hamas were indispensable here,” he said of Doha’s premier (Trump to Put Witkoff in Charge of Nuclear Talks with Tehran, Reports Say).
by David Israel JP
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari on Saturday warned that the Hamas terror group had violated the ceasefire-prisoner swap agreement, which clearly stated that civilian hostages would be returned to Israel before IDF soldiers.
"We will demand that Arbel Yehud return, and we are committed to bringing Agam Berger home," he emphasized.
Agam Berger is the fifth and only remaining IDF lookout kidnapped from the Nir Oz military base during the October 7 massacre and held hostage in Gaza. The other four - Liri, Naama, Daniella, and Karina - were released Saturday.
Arbel Yehud and Shiri Bibas are the last remaining civilian women held hostage in Gaza. Shiri and her two sons, Kfir (2) and Ariel (5) were among those who were supposed to be released in November 2023, in violation of a deal which demanded the release of all children held hostage in Gaza, and that the children not be separated from their mothers. Shiri's husband, Yarden, is also expected to be released in the current deal, due to his injuries.
Regarding the Bibas family, Hagari said that Israel is greatly concerned about their fate. "Israel expects to receive certainty on this matter," he added.
Regarding the release of Liri, Naama, Daniella, and Karina, he added, "Daniella, Liri, Karina, and Naama are in good hands. They arrived at the reception area in Re'im, to meet their parents. We are prepared to provide them with appropriate initial treatment, and from there they will continue to the hospital."
"These are very emotional moments," he said. "At the same time, we are all obligated to act responsibly. These are difficult days. Rely only on official reports, and do not spread rumors on social media."
"Hamas falsely represented how it treated the hostages, when in reality it brutally held innocent hostage for 477 days. During the past few hours, Hamas has proven its cruelty again, by organizing a cynical ceremony. This is a murderous terror organization, and it is important that the world remember this."
Four of the five IDF lookouts kidnapped during the October 7 massacre from the Nahal Oz military post were released from Hamas captivity on Saturday.
In a cynical and brutal act by the Hamas terror organization, the four hostages were turned over to the Red Cross at the center of Falastin Square in Gaza, as the square was full of terrorists watching.
IDF medics who examined the three returning hostages last week said that they were in good health and that they had been given vitamins to prevent refeeding syndrome. The hostages told the medical staff that they did not receive stimulants or drugs.
The IDF and ISA said that an elite unit and an ISA force accompanied the four young women on their way home, ahead of an initial medical assessment. "The returning hostages are currently on their way to an initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will be reunited with their parents." Following their arrival, the hostages and their parents "boarded an Israeli Air Force helicopter to make their way to the hospital, where they will be reunited with the rest of their families and receive medical treatment."
Earlier on Saturday morning, the IDF completed its preparations for the hostages' arrival. The helicopters were equipped with dry erase boards and appropriate markers, alongside blankets and headphones. Lt. Col. A. stressed to the team, "Understand the immense privilege you have, and above all, the great responsibility you bear — to receive the returning hostages, and safely fly them to the hospital."
Israel expects that later on Saturday evening, Hamas will publish the entire list of hostages to be released in the first stage of the deal, but it is not yet clear if the list will detail names. An Israeli official claimed that even though this is not a clearly-worded section in the agreement, it was agreed that Israel will receive full information on every one of the hostages.
This decision is expected to significantly impact Jewish communities, particularly in major hubs like New York.
Utilizing facial recognition and database technology, they’ve compiled approximately 30 names from countries including Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Canada, and the UK, enrolled in universities such as Columbia, UPenn, and UCLA.
