Sundown syndrome

US Senate moves to protect Israel’s access to American secrets

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A United States flag waves in front of the United States Capitol building in Washington D.C., United States, on September 24, 2025. [Yasin Öztürk – Anadolu Agency]

The US Senate is considering a measure that would force the president to expand intelligence sharing with Israel and make it harder for any administration to restrict Israeli access to American secrets, even amid growing concern in Washington over Israeli espionage against US officials.

Section 622 of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, titled “United States-Israel Intelligence Sharing Enhancement”, would require the president, through the director of national intelligence and, when necessary, the secretary of defence, to “expand and enhance intelligence sharing with the Government of Israel”.

The bill was introduced by Israeli loyalist Senator Tom Cotton, the Republican chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and one of Israel’s most hardline supporters in Congress.

The provision would cover a wide range of intelligence across the Middle East, including cyber threats, terrorism, sanctions evasion, missile threats, drones, air defence and the plans of governments and armed groups. In practice, critics say, it would give Israel broader access to sensitive US assessments on many of the region’s most important security issues.

READ: US Congress moves to fuse Israel’s war machine into American military system

The measure would also make it difficult for a president to suspend, reduce or restrict intelligence sharing with Israel. According to the bill, any reduction would need to be based on a “specific and identifiable national security concern”. The White House would then have 15 days to notify Congress and explain what information was being withheld, why it was being restricted and how the decision could affect Israel, US forces and regional security.

Former CIA officer Paul R Pillar, writing in Responsible Statecraft, warned that the proposal would move US support for Israel deeper into the less visible world of intelligence cooperation. Unlike military aid, intelligence sharing does not come with a public price tag and is far harder for the public to scrutinise.

Pillar argued that Congress does not normally legislate such relationships because intelligence agencies need flexibility to decide what to share, what to withhold and how to protect sources.

The proposal comes shortly after reports that the Pentagon’s Defence Intelligence Agency raised its counterintelligence threat assessment for Israel to “critical”, the highest level.

READ: “My plan”: Netanyahu letter reveals Israel’s bid to replace US aid with military fusion

Israel has a long record of spying on the United States. The most notorious case involved Jonathan Pollard, a US naval intelligence analyst who stole large volumes of classified material for Israel. Israel treated Pollard as a hero after his release, despite US officials describing the damage he caused as severe.

Critics say Section 622 would risk giving Israel intelligence that could be used in military operations opposed by Washington or in breach of international law. Israel has repeatedly carried out attacks across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, while the US has faced mounting accusations of enabling Israeli escalation through military, diplomatic and intelligence support.

The measure is seen as a wider shift in Washington’s support for Israel. As unconditional military aid becomes increasingly unpopular, Israel’s supporters in Congress are pushing less visible forms of cooperation, including military integration, shared air defence systems and intelligence sharing.

If passed, critics warn that Section 622 would embed expanded intelligence sharing with Israel into US law, even as US defence agencies warn that Israeli espionage poses a serious threat to American officials and secrets.

OPINION: Israel-First: US Congress is quietly merging America’s military with Israel’s

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue ReadingUS Senate moves to protect Israel’s access to American secrets

Hezbollah says it shot down Israeli drone over eastern Lebanon

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Hezbollah fighters on September 25, 2024 [AFP via Getty Images]

Hezbollah said Thursday that it shot down an Israeli military drone over eastern Lebanon, claiming the aircraft was targeted with a missile in the Bekaa region, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the group said its fighters downed a Heron 1 drone belonging to the Israeli army.

According to the statement, the drone was flying over the Nahle area in the eastern Bekaa Valley when it was struck by “a specialized missile.”

There was no comment from the Israeli military on Hezbollah’s statement.

Earlier Thursday, Hezbollah said in a series of statements that it had targeted Israeli army vehicles and troop concentrations in the southern Lebanese towns of Tayr Harfa, Deir Siriane, and Odaisseh with drones and missiles in response to Israeli ceasefire violations and ongoing assaults.

Despite a ceasefire that took effect on April 17, Israel has continued its aggression in Lebanon since March 2, killing 3,711 people and wounding 11,483 others as of Wednesday, while displacing more than one million people, according to official figures.

READ: Israeli army says Hezbollah fighter crossed border as northern communities placed on high alert

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue ReadingHezbollah says it shot down Israeli drone over eastern Lebanon

Israel deports French journalist over criticism of Gaza genocide

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Israeli border police check the passports of tourists in the occupied West Bank. [Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images]

Israel on Thursday denied entry to a French journalist and deported her to Paris over her criticism of Israel’s two-year genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports.

Israeli Communications Minister Amichai Chikli said in a post on US social media company X that French journalist Alice Froussard was leaving Ben Gurion Airport and returning to France.

“I am pleased to announce that Alice Froussard, the pro-Hamas French journalist who believes the Oct. 7 massacre should be viewed in context, is leaving Ben Gurion Airport on her way back to Paris,” Chikli wrote.

According to Israeli news website The Times of Israel, the Foreign Ministry said Froussard arrived in Israel on Thursday for work but was stopped and placed on a return flight to France.

The ministry claimed that investigators found that the journalist had made a series of statements deemed hostile to Israel, including describing Israeli military operations in Gaza as a “massacre,” accusing Israel of apartheid and allegedly justifying the Oct. 7, 2023 events.

READ: Israeli police bar foreign journalists critical of Israel: Report

Froussard did not immediately comment on her deportation or the allegations against her.

According to The Times of Israel, Froussard has spent the past six years living and working in Jerusalem and Ramallah and has worked for several French media outlets, including Radio France Internationale (RFI), France Culture, Le Figaro, TV5 Monde and Mediapart.

The report said the French Embassy in Israel expressed strong dissatisfaction with the decision.

Israel has deported and barred entry to several foreign journalists and activists in recent months over criticism of Israeli policies and actions.

The Israeli army has killed nearly 73,000 people and injured over 173,000 others, mostly women and children, in a brutal offensive in Gaza since October 2023, that has also caused widespread destruction to 90% of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.

READ: ‘A stain on our city’: UK urged to ban Israeli property fair selling stolen Palestinian land

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue ReadingIsrael deports French journalist over criticism of Gaza genocide

‘A stain on our city’: UK urged to ban Israeli property fair selling stolen Palestinian land

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Israeli heavy duty machines carry out excavation work, damaging Palestinian-owned lands to build an illegal Jewish settlement in the Jabal Juheihan area of Hebron, West Bank on October 27, 2025.[ Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]

UK ministers are under mounting pressure to ban a London real estate event accused of marketing land in illegal Israeli settlements, after several MPs challenged the government in Parliament and Green Party leader Zack Polanski warned that allowing it to proceed would be a “stain” on the capital.

The Great Israeli Real Estate Event 2026 is scheduled to take place in London on Sunday 14 June. Its website says attendees will be able to meet consultants on Aliyah, higher education, finances, taxation, mortgages, transferring funds and home management, and invites them to “explore the best Anglo neighbourhoods to find your dream home”. It lists areas including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramat Beit Shemesh, Netanya, Raanana, Modiin, Herzliya, Haifa, Ashdod, Beersheva and Ashkelon, while offering “special deals exclusive to event participants”.

The event promotes property in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including Gush Etzion, alongside homes inside Israel. During a debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller described the event  as “Palestinian land being advertised, bartered and sold on the streets of our capital.”

Addressing the Commons, Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, urged Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to stop the event, drawing a direct comparison with Russia’s occupation of Ukraine.

“Let us just imagine that, this weekend in our capital city, there was a ‘great Russian real estate event’ selling off Ukrainian land. Quite rightly and without hesitation, the Government would move to ban such an illegal event. This weekend in London, there is the Great Israeli Real Estate Event, openly advertising the illegal sale of land in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories. Given that the Government rightly recognised the state of Palestine, surely we should now move to ban this event, which is selling off land illegally in Palestine.”

READ: 140 Labour MPs urge UK to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements

Cooper did not commit to banning the event, but said the government was looking into it. “We are pursuing that particular event. If we find any cases where there are breaches of UK law, we will also pursue them,” she told MPs. “The wider issue is that nobody in the UK should be advertising illegal settlements. Nobody should be pursuing illegal settlements. No businesses or organisations should be getting involved in them.”

Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, also wrote to Cooper and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan demanding urgent intervention, describing the planned event as “deeply disturbing”.

“This is obscene,” Polanski wrote on X. “I’ve called on @MayorofLondon and @YvetteCooperMP to stop the event and for this govt to take real action on illegal settlements.”

In his letter, Polanski said the event is due to come to London “to auction stolen Palestinian land to the highest bidder” and “proudly promotes the sale of land in settlements like ‘Gush Etzion’ in the occupied West Bank, marked as illegal under international law”.

Polanski warned that “many Londoners are rightfully concerned that an event promoting land confiscation and the destruction of homes is set to take place in our city.”

Addressing Khan, Polanski said: “Sadiq, you have previously stood with campaigners and Londoners of conscience in condemning the DSEI arms fair, and I welcomed your leadership on that issue. I ask that you now take the same principled stance against this proposed land sale, which would be a stain on our city if allowed to proceed.”

READ: 6 nations impose sanctions on networks financing, enabling occupiers’ attacks in West Bank

Polanski also called on Cooper to move beyond statements of concern. “Your government has a moral and legal responsibility to take action against illegal settlements,” he wrote. “This must include banning the import of settlement goods and imposing further sanctions on all Israeli Government officials responsible for authorising illegal settlements. Empty condemnation is not enough — we need to see action.”

The Green Party leader also highlighted Bank Leumi’s sponsorship of the event, saying the Israeli bank had been identified by Human Rights Watch for directly supporting settlement expansion through mortgage loans and work with construction companies building on stolen Palestinian land, including in Gush Etzion.

Cooper used the wider debate to announce new sanctions against organisations accused of supporting illegal settlements and settler violence, and said the government had strengthened business guidance to make clear that British citizens and businesses should not conduct economic or financial activity in illegal settlements.

“The expansion of the illegal settlements is not only deeply wrong, because Palestinians are being forced from their own land, sometimes in the most brutal of circumstances, but deliberately designed to try to make it impossible to ever get to a two-state solution,” Cooper told MPs. “That is the purpose for some of those involved, and we should be very clear on that and call it out for what it is.”

However, Cooper stopped short of backing a formal trade ban. She said the government wanted to target illegal settlements and activity linked to them, while avoiding an impact on what she described as “long-standing, legitimate trade” with Israel.

READ: Israel allocates $51M to build 69 illegal settlements in occupied West Bank, watchdog says

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue Reading‘A stain on our city’: UK urged to ban Israeli property fair selling stolen Palestinian land

Iran says nearly 3,500 people killed in US-Israel attacks since February

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A symbolic classroom is set up at Vanak Square in memory of students who lost their lives in attacks carried out on February 28 in Minab, Hormozgan province, with photographs of students from Shajarat al-Tayyiba Girls Primary School placed on desks and the phrase “Today’s lesson: defense of the homeland” written on the blackboard, highlighting the impact and losses caused by the attacks, in Tehran, capital of Iran, on March 29, 2026. [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]

Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said on Wednesday that nearly 3,500 people have been killed in attacks by the US and Israel since the outbreak of hostilities on Feb. 28, Anadolu Agency reports.

According to statistics released by the foundation, 3,499 people have been killed so far in the war launched by Washington and Tel Aviv.

The dead included 2,988 men and 511 women, the foundation said, adding that 1,609 of those killed were unmarried.

The region has remained on edge since the US and Israel launched the airstrikes on Iran, triggering Iranian retaliation against Israel and other regional countries hosting US assets.

READ: 2 high-ranking military personnel killed in Monday’s Israeli strikes on Iran

A temporary ceasefire was reached on April 8, but a permanent deal to end the conflict has yet to be signed.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday said they carried out attacks on US assets in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain after American strikes on southern Iran.

The drone and missile strikes came after US President Donald Trump said Iran had downed a US Apache helicopter a day earlier.

Trump later said in a social media post that Iran took “too long” to negotiate an agreement and will now “have to pay the price.” He, however, did not elaborate on the status of the truce.

WATCH: 100 Days In: Palestine, Iran, and the War Remaking the Middle East | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Keir Starmer confirms that he doesn't know anything about democracy.
Keir Starmer confirms that he doesn’t know anything about democracy.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue ReadingIran says nearly 3,500 people killed in US-Israel attacks since February