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CNN Equates IDF With Dishonest Terror Group
IDF soldiers traveling in a military vehicle along the Israel-Gaza border. Photo: Reuters/Amir Cohen
Social media has been buzzing with rumors about journalist and former Hamas Labor Ministry Spokesperson Abdallah Aljamal’s role in holding three of the since-rescued hostages — Almog Meir-Jan, Shlomi Ziv, and Andrey Kozlov — in his family’s apartment in Gaza.
Sure enough, several media outlets have spun this story to fit their narrative — including CNN. It published a piece last week titled “Israel Alleges Journalist Held Hostages in Gaza, Without Providing Evidence.”
Yet when compared to how CNN covers Gaza’s side of the story, the contrast is night and day.
If you look really closely, you’ll notice a difference in how CNN treats claims from Israel and from Hamas.
Can you spot it? pic.twitter.com/wlwXrb919c
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) June 10, 2024
The article suggests that Israel makes claims with zero accountability: “Three hostages rescued during a deadly Israeli military operation on the Nuseirat camp,” it writes, “were held captive by a journalist …” saying that the IDF “alleged” this information, “without providing evidence to support their claim.”
In the case of Israel, a military must provide “evidence” of its intelligence to the public, whereas the Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry does not have to provide evidence of their numbers or how their civilians were killed.
Perhaps this discrepancy is driven by the fact that Aljamal was a journalist, or by the fact that he was Palestinian, or maybe it is because the IDF is involved. It could be all three.
However, calling CNN’s work unbiased journalism is incorrect. If the IDF has intelligence about where hostages are located, one could only assume that intelligence would indicate who is holding the hostages.
As it turns out, Aljamal was a past contributor for Al Jazeera, and regularly wrote for the Palestine Chronicle – a US-registered non-profit organization based in Washington State — which has links with both Hamas and the Islamic regime of Iran, according to an investigation done by the Washington Free Beacon.
According to the Palestine Chronicle, Aljamal’s articles were consistently about the Gaza humanitarian situation. Meanwhile, he had been holding Israeli civilian hostages for months in his family home, and barely feeding them.
WILD: Was a journalist working for the US-based 501(c)(3) organization, The Palestine Chronicle, helping hold Israelis hostage in Gaza? pic.twitter.com/UhZLjsgYf6
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) June 9, 2024
The Palestine Chronicle acknowledged Aljamal on its website as a regular “contributor,” unlike Al Jazeera, which all but denied any connection to him. However, as can be seen below, there still may have been a diminishing of his role at the paper.
Abdullah Al-Jamal was not a “freelance contributor” for the Palestine Chronicle. As the outlet itself has repeatedly stated, he was in fact its “correspondent in Gaza.”
They clearly changed the bio to try and avoid legal repercussions pic.twitter.com/i6cu22ZXTE
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) June 10, 2024
Regardless of Aljamal’s journalistic career, the IDF gathered intelligence proving that he was holding Israeli hostages in his home. Does that mean he is untouchable? It is also impossible to ignore the fact that he was linked to Hamas, since he was the former spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza Labor Ministry. Whatever their “evidence” may be, the IDF hasn’t shared it. But must they?
If a military, any military, gathers intelligence and carries out an operation based on that intelligence, it is completely legitimate — especially at first — to keep evidence of such intelligence under wraps. This is certainly true for sensitive intelligence such as this. There are still approximately 120 hostages, alive and dead, being held captive by terrorists in the Gaza Strip. If the IDF wishes to conduct more rescue operations, it must be assumed that keeping intelligence secret is necessary.
CNN can maintain that the IDF needs to provide “evidence” to “claims” about secret intelligence. But they are wrong to equate the IDF with a dishonest, savage terror organization, and to portray Hamas as righteous freedom-fighting saints.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post CNN Equates IDF With Dishonest Terror Group first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
The post Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
The post Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
The post Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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