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CNN’s Nima Elbagir Parachutes Into Israel to Whitewash Palestinian Prisoners
Mia Leimberg, a hostage who was abducted by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, holds her dog Bella while she and others are handed over by Hamas terrorists to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce, in an unknown location in Gaza, in this screengrab taken from video released Nov. 28, 2023. Photo: Hamas Military Wing/Handout via REUTERS
Over the past couple of weeks, CNN’s chief international investigative correspondent, Nima Elbagir, has been reporting from Israel, focusing on the Palestinian prisoners who were released as part of the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
However, rather than providing an objective look at the subject, Elbagir’s seven written and video reports are overly sympathetic to these prisoners, whitewashing them and their crimes while simultaneously deriding Israel’s justice system.
In separate reports, Elbagir spotlighted four different female Palestinian prisoners, all of whom were released as part of the deal: Hanan al-Barghouti, Marah Bkeer, Malak Silman, and Fatima Shahin.
Hanan al-Barghouti’s story is told by her sister-in-law, Iman al-Barghouti, who claims that “neither she nor Hanan is involved in the politics of this war, yet they suffer its consequences.”
Aside from the fact that Hanan al-Barghouti’s arrest was unrelated to the current war between Israel and Hamas (she was arrested in September 2023), it is inaccurate to portray Hanan as apolitical, as she was arrested on allegations of supporting terrorism.
Following the airing of Elbagir’s report, Hanan al-Barghouti’s political stance has been made very clear, as she has publicly expressed support for both Hamas and Hezbollah.
In her first interview after release from Israeli jails with Palestinian TV, Hanan Barghouti called ‘mother’ of the Palestinian prisoners describes the joy in the female wards on October 7th:
“We cheered at the top of our lungs ‘We are all men of Muhamad Dief!’” pic.twitter.com/WMTMmEk2mE
— Gaza Report – اخبار غزة (@gaza_report) November 27, 2023
Elbagir also referred to al-Barghouti’s brother, Nael al-Barghouti, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jail, describing him as a “political prisoner.”
In a written report that Elbagir published alongside other journalists, Nael al-Barghouti is also described as having first been arrested in 1978 for “engaging in attacks against the Israeli military.”
What the terms “political prisoner” and “attacks against the Israeli military” don’t tell us is that Nael al-Barghouti was originally incarcerated in 1978 for the murder of an Israeli bus driver, Mordechai Yekuel.
In another video essay, Elbagir reported on the case of Marah Bkeer, who she describes as having been “just 16 when she was arrested.”
In an interview with Elbagir, Marah’s mother describes her as “a child and she’s so innocent.”
The impression one gets from this report is that Marah Bkeer was an innocent Palestinian teen who was unjustly incarcerated by Israel.
It’s only at the end of the report that CNN notes that following its initial publication, the news organization was made aware that Bkeer was in jail for “stabbing an Israeli police officer.”
The fact that Nima Elbagir could initially publish such a sympathetic portrayal of a prisoner without informing the viewer that she’s imprisoned for committing a violent crime is the height of journalistic negligence, especially for someone considered to be the “chief international investigative correspondent.”
The child is Marah Bakir. On Oct 12, 2015, age 15, she left school, took a knife and stabbed two Israelis in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah quarter. Shot by police before she could finish off her victims, she was saved by an Israeli medic whose father was murdered some weeks earlier. pic.twitter.com/ZYfnCs5vE5
— This Ongoing War (@ThisOngoingWar) November 24, 2023
The third Palestinian prisoner who is profiled by Nima Elbagir is Malak Silman, whose boisterous reunion with her mother was highlighted by CNN in two separate reports.
While Elbagir does acknowledge the reason for Silman’s imprisonment (she attempted to stab an Israeli police officer), she almost immediately downplays this by claiming in one report that her family, lawyers, and some human rights organizations have described her imprisonment as a “miscarriage of justice” and by noting in another report that she was imprisoned for attempted murder even though no one was injured (which is not the legal threshold for attempted murder).
Are you saying that membership of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is not grounds to call Malak Salman a terrorist, @nimaelbagir?!
All of these people were in prison for a reason. Most of them for committing violent acts of terror.
Shame on you, @CNN. pic.twitter.com/iolHEXxxHO
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 25, 2023
The last Palestinian prisoner featured in Nima Elbagir’s reports was Fatima Shahin, who was arrested after stabbing an Israeli outside Gush Etzion in April 2023.
In her piece, Elbagir reports that Shahin was accused of “attempted murder” but then allows her to deny this and accuse Israeli forces of recklessly shooting at her.
At no point does Elbagir alert the viewer that, unlike Malak Silman, Shahin is accused of actually stabbing someone and wounding them.
In the report, Elbagir claims that Shahin was “only detained, not charged. She didn’t go to trial. She wasn’t given any opportunity to defend herself.”
However, in acting as a passionate advocate for Fatima Shahin rather than as an objective journalist, Nima Elbagir is disregarding the fact that her incarceration is fairly recent and that, like in many other democratic countries, it can be a while before cases go to trial.
In addition, a report from June 2023 shows that Fatima Shahin had appeared at least once in a hearing before a judge.
Alongside her sympathetic portraits of these four Palestinian prisoners, Nima Elbagir’s bias against Israel is further evident in several of these reports.
Elbagir refers to the Israeli government’s prohibition of public celebrations for these released prisoners in eastern Jerusalem as the demonization of “Palestinian joy.”
In these reports, the testimonies of Palestinian prisoners and their families (including blatant falsehoods) are published without criticism and comment, but Israeli claims are investigated and denigrated.
In her report on the first batch of released Palestinian prisoners, Elbagir claims that “there is no grounds to call them terrorists” even though this group included Malak Silman (who is also a member of Islamic Jihad) and Fatima Shahin (who stabbed a civilian).
The Israeli military justice system is described as being “murky” and a report alleges that the administrative detention system allows “Palestinian prisoners to be detained indefinitely, without trial or stated charge.” This ignores the fact that Jews can also be subjected to administrative detention, that there are a wide variety of safeguards in place, and that the detention has to be renewed by a judge every six months.
Lastly, Elbagir’s reporting equates the families of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages, with such statements as “Families on both sides … are dealing with the reality of those who won’t be coming home,” and “This week’s diplomatic breakthrough offers a glimmer of hope for the families of Palestinian prisoners, as well as those of Israeli hostages.”
This false moral equivalency between prisoners detained for violence and terrorism and hostages kidnapped from their homes is emblematic of Nima Elbagir’s recent reporting from Israel — a sympathetic portrayal of Palestinian prisoners that depicts them as innocent victims of a malicious justice system, an empathetic eye to the families of these prisoners, and total disregard for the severity of their violent pasts.
The post CNN’s Nima Elbagir Parachutes Into Israel to Whitewash Palestinian Prisoners first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.