Witkoff also rejected the notion that Hamas had accepted his offer for a hostage deal and a ceasefire in Gaza, telling Reuters that what he had seen was „completely unacceptable“ and the proposal being discussed was not the same as his.
Archiv: hört hört.. / hear hear...
Hamas accepted Witkoff proposal for Gaza truce, Reuters and AFP report
Several news outlets reported on Monday that Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal that reportedly involves the releasing of 10 captives in two batches and a 70-day truce.
Citign a Hamas source, the AFP reported that Hamas agreed to the new proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
However, Witkoff appeared to walk back the reports. He told Axios on Monday that he was „disappointed“ that Hamas did not accept his proposal.
White House envoy says Hamas‘ response to ceasefire proposal „unacceptable“
White House envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios on Monday he is „disappointed“ that Hamas has so far failed to accept his proposal for a new Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
White House quiet on possible Gaza ceasefire deal
The United States government has not said anything about this deal to reporters, in fact, it’s a bit of a ghost town at the White House North Lawn because it’s a federal holiday here.
Hamas agrees to US proposal on Gaza ceasefire, Palestinian official says
Hamas has agreed to a proposal by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff for a Gaza ceasefire, a Palestinian official close to the group told Reuters on Monday, paving the way for a possible end to the war with Israel.
The new proposal, which sees the release of ten hostages and 70 days of truce, was received by Hamas through mediators.
Hamas Says Witkoff Personally Promised to Lift Gaza Blockade in Exchange for Edan Alexander
“It was a deal,” said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau who has previously engaged in direct talks with U.S. officials. He said the pledge was made by “Witkoff, himself.” In an interview with Drop Site, Naim said the agreement was: “If we release [Alexander], Trump will speak out thanking Hamas for its gesture, obliging Israel on the second day to open the borders and allow aid to come into Gaza, and [Trump would] call for an immediate ceasefire and to go for negotiations to end the war.”
“He did nothing of this,” Naim added. “They didn‘t violate the deal. They threw it in the trash.”
Türkiye urges Russia and Ukraine to compromise for peace
Speaking at a press conference following the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Antalya on May 15, Fidan said there was cause for hope ahead of prospective talks between the two warring nations.
“If the parties‘ positions are harmonized and trust is established, a very important step towards peace will have been taken. We have enough reasons to be hopeful,” Fidan said.
But he also urged Russia and Ukraine to compromise for peace and stability in the region.
Russia-Ukraine peace talks: Live Updates
While Zelensky has insisted he would only speak with Putin directly, the Russian president has so far given no indication that he is planning to travel to Türkiye.
Moscow and Ukraine last held direct talks in April 2022, also in Istanbul. Following reports that an agreement had been reached, Kiev unilaterally withdrew from the talks. President Putin later blamed Western interference and, in particular, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had reportedly urged Kiev to “just continue fighting,” for derailing the peace process.
Türkiye hails PKK decision to disarm as ‚historic‘ for regional peace
“The decision taken by PKK is a historic and important decision, especially in terms of permanent peace and stability prevailing in our region,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a joint press conference with visiting Syrian and Jordanian foreign ministers on May 12 in Ankara.
“We will closely follow the pragmatic steps needed to be taken,” Fidan stated, explaining that the process includes so many details and requires many steps to be taken.
Russia’s 72-hour ‘Victory Day’ truce begins
The pause in fighting, set to last until midnight on May 10–11, has been described as a humanitarian gesture marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The Kremlin says the ceasefire also aims to create space for direct peace talks with Ukraine, without preconditions.
”Yes, this is an initiative by the Russian side, by President Putin. It remains in force,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday, stressing that Moscow is committed to honoring the truce despite Ukraine’s record-breaking drone assault ahead of its start.
Aid vessel bound for Gaza attacked near Malta, Cyprus-based ship received SOS
Initial reports said Cyprus received an SOS distress signal and sent a ship to help extinguish a fire which had resulted on board.
The defence ministry in Cyprus clarified that the ship was aided by a Limassol-based vessel, sailing under a Liberian flag, which happened to be in the area and responded to the SOS as per international maritime requirements.
UPDATED | Freedom Flotilla Coalition says ship attacked by drone just outside Maltese territorial waters
The Maltese government has disputed claims that it did not offer assistance to the Conscience, insisting that a tugboat with firefighting equipment was on site within minutes.
In a statement on Friday morning, the government released a timeline of events, including a photo of the tugboat spraying water onto the humanitarian ship.
The Conscience, which has remained anchored just outside territorial waters, is being monitored by the authorities.
The timeline provided by the government being reproduced below contradicts the claim that the humanitarian vessel received no assistance:
00:20am (local time): Malta Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) received a Mayday call from the passenger vessel Conscience, reporting a fire on the bow while outside territorial waters. The vessel had 12 crew members on board and 4 civilian passengers; no casualties were reported. The crew confirmed the fire was not under control and requested immediate assistance.
00:21am: A nearby tug located approximately one nautical mile away contacted Malta VTS, confirmed it was equipped with firefighting capabilities and offered immediate support. The tug arrived on scene and began firefighting operations.
1:28am: The fire was reported under control. An Armed Forces of Malta patrol vessel was also dispatched to provide further assistance.
2:13am: All crew were confirmed safe but refused to board the tug. Assistance was provided to support interior firefighting efforts.
3:45am: The vessel and its crew were secure.
‘No country has foolproof intelligence’: Shashi Tharoor defends govt on Pahalgam attack, cites Israel‘s example
(April 27, 2025)
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday appeared to dismiss criticisms of the government‘s intelligence services in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and stated that no country had foolproof intelligence, citing an example of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
#Shashi Tharoor said there are operations that are successful but we only get to know about the terror attacks that the agencies failed to thwart.
“No country can ever have a foolproof 100 per cent intelligence. We will never know about the various terror attacks that were successfully thwarted.
U-turn: Brussels won’t arrest Netanyahu, Belgian PM says
(April 4, 2025)
France, Hungary and Poland are among the countries that said they would not act on the arrest warrant. Germany and Italy criticized the warrant without explicitly saying they would ignore it. The Netherlands and Austria are among the countries that criticized it but said they would act on it.
Qatargate: Third journalist summoned to give open testimony to police
After Israeli journalists Nir Dvori and Suleiman Maswadeh were summoned by police this morning to give open testimony in the ongoing Qatargate probe, Channel 13 reports that a third journalist, Israel Hayom’s political commentator Shirit Avitan Cohen, has also been summoned.
The three are not suspects in the case, and were instead summoned as individuals with knowledge of the events.
‘There will be no civil war,’ Netanyahu tweets; insists gov’t decides who heads the Shin Bet
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweets, “There will be no civil war!” hours after Israel’s most revered jurist, former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, expressed his fear that the country is heading in that direction due to the government’s recent efforts to fire the head of the Shin Bet security agency and the attorney general.
“The State of Israel is a country of law and according to the law, the Israeli government decides who will be the head of the Shin Bet,” Netanyahu tweets, before adding, “Shabbat Shalom.”
In shocking public spar, Herzog hits back at Netanyahu by expressing support for Israeli judiciary
(March 19, 2025)
After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweets an attack on the “leftist deep state’s weapon[ization] of the justice system[s]” in the US and Israel, President Isaac Herzog’s office quickly posts a rebuttal.
“Israel’s strong and independent judicial system is an asset to our democracy, and the president of Israel is very proud of it,” Herzog’s office tweets.
Srulik Einhorn for Jerusalem Post: How Israel is winning the war against progressive elites – opinion
(January 2024)
In Israel, they like to say that they are fighting a war on seven fronts: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, the West Bank, and Iraq. But the truth is that Israel has fought, and with great success, against one more front, which is not talked about much: the front of the global left and progressive activists.
This front encompasses a network of activists, academics, and media that often cast Israel in a negative light, focusing on narratives of colonialism and oppression. Israel’s victory in this campaign is perhaps the most important for the future of the world.
Kremlin has no information on US-Ukraine talks so far — spokesman
(March 11, 2025)
The Kremlin has no information about Tuesday’s talks between the US and Ukraine that could be used as part of the efforts to settle the Ukrainian conflict, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
„No, not yet,“ he said in an interview with Izvestia in response to a question on the subject.
Ukrainians must sit down at negotiating table, start talks with President Trump – Vice President Vance
He explained that, in his opinion, the most important thing is not the public statements, such as President Zelenskyy saying he was committed to peace or apologizing to the president. He emphasized that what matters more is what the Ukrainians do to get meaningfully involved in what a peaceful settlement would look like. He stated that they need Ukrainians to come to them privately and say what they need, what they want, and how they will participate in the process of ending the conflict. He concluded that this lack of private participation is what concerns them the most.
Vorfall in Mannheim: Innenminister bestätigt zwei Tote und mehrere Verletzte
„Erneut trauern wir mit Mannheim“, schrieb Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (SPD) auf X. Mit einer solchen „sinnlosen Gewalttat“ könne man sich „nicht abfinden“, so Scholz weiter. Ähnlich äußerte sich Unions-Kanzlerkandidat Friedrich Merz: „Wir müssen alles tun, um solche Taten zu verhindern.“ Deutschland müsse wieder ein sicheres Land werden.
Trump and the end of the geopolitical ‘West’
Trump and Vance may delight in shocking Europe, but their counterparts across the pond are coming to terms with the collapse of a united West. “Trump’s rhetoric melds with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s,” wrote Le Monde columnist Alain Frachon. “In less than two weeks, concessions to Moscow have piled up. Even if they had already been in the pipeline since Joe Biden’s administration: No Ukraine in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); no NATO forces to monitor a possible ceasefire; necessary territorial concessions from Kyiv.”
Trump says ongoing Gaza talks are ‘pretty good’
An initial six-week first phase of that ceasefire is due to expire in two days. Israel said on Thursday it was sending negotiators to Cairo for talks, seeking to extend the first phase.
Trump was asked whether phase two would come to fruition.
“We’ll see what happens. Nobody really knows, but we’ll see what happens,” he said at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “We have some pretty good talks going on.”
NYT coverage of war creates ‚imbalanced‘ sympathy for Palestinian side, study finds
(February 19, 2025)
The study, published by Yale professor, Edieal Pinker, revealed that „Little mention is made of Israeli casualties post-October 7 or of Palestinian acts of violence post-October 7.“
Wahlkampfhöhepunkt in Hamburg: Annalena Baerbocks ganze Rede
10:20
wenn wir unsere Humanität unseren
10:22
Zusammenhalt bewahren wollen wenn wir
10:25
nicht das Spiel derjenigen mitmachen
10:27
wollen die nur noch in Schwarz und Weiß
10:30
einteilen die nur noch in Gegner und
10:33
Feinde einteilen die die Menschen teilen
10:36
wollen aufgrund ihrer Herkunft in
10:38
Deutschland wo plötzlich gefragt wird wo
10:40
bist du eigentlich geboren wo es aber
10:43
auch Akteure gibt die uns in den
10:45
schlimmsten Situationen die man
10:47
überhaupt nur begegnen kann wie z.B nach
10:50
dem 7 Oktober nach dem furchtbaren
10:52
Angriff der hamasterroristen auf Israel
10:56
immer mehr Stimmen gab die gesagt haben
10:58
man muss sich entscheiden zwischen dem
11:00
Schutz von Israel zwischen dem jüdischen
11:02
Leben und dem Schutz von Palästinensern
11:05
auch da braucht es eine Partei die klare
11:07
Haltung Zeit die deutlich macht zwischen
11:10
den Menschen unterscheiden wir nicht die
11:12
Menschlichkeit ist unteilbar es gibt
11:15
kein jüdisches Blut es gibt kein
11:17
muslimisches Blut es gibt kein
11:18
christliches Blut sondern nur
11:20
menschliches Blut wie magot Friedländer
11:23
es immer so deutlich und so wichtig
11:25
betonte
„Eher trete ich zurück …“: #Baerbock verteidigt Gaza-Hilfen
(…)
Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock verteidigte am Freitagabend die deutschen Unterstützungsleistungen in #Gaza – und wäre dafür sogar zum Rücktritt bereit!
Egypt says Trump backs its Gaza plan, convinced by Jordan‘s king
The official confirmed that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is set to travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, likely on Thursday, to discuss Egypt’s plan for post-war Gaza governance. (…)
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that the Egyptian plan would not include Hamas or the PA. The report said it would involve a police force made up of PA policemen who remained in Gaza after 2007, when Hamas won legislative elections and took control of the enclave.
MEE reported in May that Hamas was prepared to show „flexibility“ about the future governance of Gaza, stating its condition was that Gaza’s fate was agreed upon by other Palestinian factions and not imposed by either the United States or Israel.
‘Non-negotiable’: Saudi Arabia flatly rejects Trump’s Gaza takeover plan
“His Highness [Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman] has affirmed this position in a clear and explicit manner that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances.
“His Highness stressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that.”
Hamas announces killing of top military commander Mohammed Deif
Hamas confirmed Deif’s killing in a statement.
Israel had claimed that it had killed Deif in an air attack in July, but the Palestinian group had not confirmed his death.
Scoop: White House envoy met senior Palestinian official in Saudi Arabia
Why it matters: This was the first meeting between a Trump administration official and a Palestinian official since November‘s election.
– The meeting between Witkoff and Hussein al-Sheikh took place amid efforts by the Trump administration to end the war in Gaza and push for a Saudi-Israeli peace deal that includes a path toward a Palestinian state.
Saudi envoy to UK: No normalisation with Israel without Palestinian state
He added that Palestine has been fought over for 6,000 years, and that “it is not an easy thing to find, whether it’s during the Crusades […] I can’t think of anywhere that’s had that much done to it.”
However, he stressed that “good things are never easy. And anyone who is objecting to what almost the whole world sees as the solution cannot be right. So, you know, again, that’s why I’m not optimistic, because we have a lot of problems along the way.”
Al Saud asserted that “there’s no other solution” other than a two-state solution.
In an interview, Putin echoes Trump’s claim that conflict in Ukraine could have been avoided had he been in office
In an interview with Russian state television, Putin praised Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” who is focused on U.S. interests.
“We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current U.S. president,” Putin said. “I couldn’t disagree with him that if he had been president, if they hadn’t stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided.”
Israeli military intercepts rocket from Yemen ahead of Gaza ceasefire
The Israeli military on Saturday said it intercepted a rocket from Yemen, one day before a ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas is set to take effect.
Residents rushed to shelters as alerts sounded in Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel.
There were no initial reports of casualties or damage.
Yemen‘s Houthi militia, a Hamas ally, has so far not claimed the attack.
Transcript: NPR‘s full conversation with CIA Director William Burns
(January 10, 2025)
Kelly: Iran, which had a pretty lousy 2024, weakened internally, mounting pressures externally. We interviewed Jake Sullivan, the national security, the national security adviser at the White House the other day. He told me the big question on his mind is, given the losses Iran has sustained, will it make it more likely, more likely that Iran tries to go for a nuclear weapon? Director Burns, will it?
Burns: It‘s something we watch very intently, because you‘re right, Iran has it‘s strategic position has suffered considerably over the course of the last six or seven months. You know, two failed efforts to launch significant ballistic missile strikes against Israel, the collapse of its leading proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the severe degradation of Hamas in Gaza, and then the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. All of that, I think, strategically puts the Iranian regime in a much weaker position. And so Jake Sullivan was right to express the concern that, you know, the Iranian regime could decide in the face of that weakness that it needs to restore its deterrence as it sees it and, you know, reverse the decision made at the end of 2003 to suspend their weaponization program. We do not see any sign today that any such decision has been made, but we obviously watch it intently.
Diese Gefahren sind in Deutschland real
20.12.2024, 10.30 Uhr
Der Präsident des Bundeskriminalamts warnt: Internationale Krisen und Konflikte verschärfen die Lage im Inland. Deutschland braucht eine Zeitenwende der inneren Sicherheit.
Syria: Mass Grave in Damascus Should be Protected, Investigated
Residents in Tadamon said that executions in the area were common. In interviews in 2022, they described at least 10 other incidents of summary killings between August 2012 and January 2014 in Tadamon, Daraya, Moadamiya, and surrounding areas. This evidence suggests that other bodies were buried in and around the area. The area was also the site of armed clashes between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) at numerous points between 2012 and 2013.
Human Rights Watch began investigating the massacre in October 2021, after receiving a leaked video discovered by a member of a Syrian militia on a laptop and handed to Annsar Shahhoud and Uğur Ümit Üngör, researchers at the University of Amsterdam and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam, and ARD, a German Public Broadcaster.
“This video, filmed by the perpetrators themselves who laughed as they killed their victims, shows the Syrian government’s callous disregard for people’s lives,” Zayadin said. “This massacre is just one horrific incident in a pattern of state violence and apparent war crimes.”
US Strikes over 70 ISIS camps in Syria
The United States army announced on Sunday that it carried out airstrikes against 75 Islamic State (ISIS) camps in Syria, to prevent the group from taking “advantage” of the recent kerfuffle in the country.
“The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS,” read a statement from the army’s Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US troops in the Middle East.
Gulf Cooperation Council summit‘s points on Gaza
– The council condemned Israel‘s aggression in Gaza, and said it reaffirmed its stance demanding an „immediate and permanent cessation of Israeli military operations“ and lifting the blockade on Gaza.
– The council said Israel bears „full responsibility“ for its targeting and assault on civilians in Gaza, and said these attacks were war crimes and crimes against humanity.
– The council welcomed the International Criminal Court‘s decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
– The council said Israel‘s ongoing war on Gaza is a part of „a genocide and ethnic cleansing agenda“, and condemned Israel‘s attacks on hospitals and on aid workers in Gaza.