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Hostage Deal Is a Necessary Deal With the Devil

Aviv Asher, 2,5-year-old, her sister Raz Asher, 4,5-year-old, and mother Doron, react as they meet with Yoni, Raz and Aviv’s father and Doron’s husband, after they returned to Israel to the designated complex at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Petah Tikva, Israel, in this handout picture released on November 25, 2023. Photo: Schneider Children’s Medical Center Spokesperson/Handout via REUTERS.

In opposing the current deal to release Palestinian terrorists in return for innocent Israeli hostages, many point to the deal where Israel got back kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar, now a chief leader of Hamas. Even if that deal was miscalculated, this one is different.

Many are discussing how they are for or against the deal, which is supposed to free 50 — mainly women and children — in return for Palestinian women and children (or people who started as children) most of whom were convicted of violent crimes. I wish we could get all our hostages back now, but it is crucial to save the lives of at least these 50.

There is a huge concern that Israeli soldiers will lose actionable intelligence and that Hamas will re-arm and perhaps Sinwar will escape. We’re already hearing reports that Hamas is telling all its civilians to go back into areas where Israel is operating, which could hamper future military action.

Any time an army has momentum and its enemy is on the ropes, it’s never a good idea to stop. But to bring back hostages out of Hell, you have to make a deal with the devil.

We learn in the Talmud that “whoever saves a single life, is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.”

This shows that freeing captives is sacrosanct. At the same time, there is a real fear that freeing criminal prisoners will only encourage more kidnapping. Here’s a big secret: evil people, who make it their mission to kill and torture, will find a way to do it.

Some of the prisoners being released were violent and we know that violent criminals will likely be violent again. How do you stop that from happening? These are tough questions with no good answers.

But you can’t answer the cry of a relative who wants their loved one back with, “Sorry, maybe at a later point” — because at a later point, they may not be alive.

Israel did not ask to be in this war or to be in this position. We do know we are dealing with terrorists we cannot trust.

The ceasefire is a clear propaganda win for Hamas and gives them legitimacy. But this decision, as hard as it was, may be followed by a much harder decision: What if after the four days, Hamas says it will continue to release hostages but only if Israel releases some of the most dangerous murderers and terror planners?

Israel must calculate at what point their soldiers lose so much that many are in danger, and at what point the population is in peril if certain criminals are let go. President Biden had been pushing for a ceasefire, and perhaps while getting hostages back, this will get Israel some points with the United States.

A big tragedy is the failure of the international community and all major countries for not strongly demanding all hostages back from day one.

Based on the information that is known, we must be thankful to get these hostages back. We shouldn’t do this with blinders on, and should continue to make a cost-benefit analysis, while respecting the lives of all the hostages.

American college students who took down posters of the hostages thought they were big shots. Should these hostages be released, I hope these college students take a look in the mirror and work on being less hateful. It isn’t likely.

The author is a writer based in New York.

The post Hostage Deal Is a Necessary Deal With the Devil first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS

Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.

The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.

Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.

The post Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements

A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne

Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.

“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.

The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”

Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.

The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.

“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”

“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”

Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.

“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.

Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.

“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.

The post Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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US Justice Department Warns of Threats to Jewish Targets as Concern Mounts Over Iranian Sleeper Cells

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to the national anthem as Air Force officers salute during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

The US Department of Justice is closely tracking potential threats to the Jewish community nationwide amid growing concerns over Iranian sleeper cells launching attacks and fallout from recent American and Israeli military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

On Wednesday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated the Trump administration’s recent warnings about potential Iran-linked sleeper cells and domestic radicalization, following escalating tensions in the Middle East during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.

During her testimony on Capitol Hill, Bondi reassured lawmakers that all federal agencies are working around the clock to keep Americans safe and are closely monitoring any potential national security threats.

Sleeper cells are covert operatives or terrorists embedded in rival countries who remain dormant until they receive orders to act and carry out attacks.

“Iran, of course, is a threat. They have been a threat, and they always will be a threat to our country,” Bondi said in her testimony. “And we are working hand in hand with all of our agencies to protect Americans and to keep us safe.”

Tehran’s ability to coordinate or inspire attacks on American soil has long been a concern for US law enforcement and intelligence officials — a fear that only deepened after US President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

According to Janatan Sayeh, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based think tank, the threat from sleeper cells remains credible due to the Iranian regime’s ongoing desire to avenge Soleimani’s death.

“Tehran takes its reputation seriously and holds long-standing grudges,” Sayeh told The Algemeiner. “Its defeat in the recent 12-Day War, when top generals, nuclear scientists, and major nuclear infrastructure were lost, will likely deepen its motivation to retaliate, including the possibility of action on US soil.”

Last weekend, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a former member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with suspected Hezbollah ties, a former Iranian army sniper, and a terror watchlist suspect during a sweep targeting illegal Iranian migrants across the country. Both the IRGC and Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy based in Lebanon, are US-designated terrorist organizations.

When entering the US, Iranian migrants are flagged as “special interest aliens” and undergo heightened federal screening for possible terrorism ties, given Washington’s designation of Tehran as a state sponsor of terrorism.

In last weekend’s ICE operation, five of the 11 Iranians arrested had prior criminal convictions, including grand larceny as well as drug and firearm possession.

Bondi noted that the administration had arrested 1,500 undocumented Iranian immigrants in the US, saying she would discuss the issue further in a classified setting.

“Have they invaded our country? Absolutely,” Bondi said.

For decades, Iran and its proxy Hezbollah have established a strong foothold in the Western Hemisphere, leveraging alliances with governments such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to expand their influence and support terrorist operations and illicit activities.

Backed by Tehran with an estimated $700 million in annual funding, Hezbollah is regarded by experts as the world’s most technically sophisticated terrorist organization, although the group suffered severe losses during its war with Israel last year. Active in at least 15 US cities, the Islamist movement was responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist group prior to 9/11.

“While the [Iranian] regime often tries to obscure its role to deflect responsibility, that effort doesn’t always succeed, especially given how deeply Israel has penetrated its intelligence apparatus,” Sayeh told The Algemeiner.

“To hedge against these vulnerabilities, Tehran has strengthened ties with Western criminal networks. This allows the regime to distance itself from the assassination and terror plots it orchestrates,” he continued.

Following the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, law enforcement agencies across the country have ramped up surveillance of Iran-backed operatives amid growing fears of retaliation.

Beyond facilitating illicit financing, these operatives act as sleeper agents, poised to carry out terrorist attacks on US soil on behalf of Iran if given such an order.

According to NBC News, Iranian officials warned Trump during last week’s G7 summit that they would deploy “sleeper cells” to carry out attacks on American soil if Washington decided to strike.

Although no specific or credible threats have yet emerged, US Customs and Border Protection says the threat of sleeper cells has “never been higher.”

But this is far from a recent development. It’s an ongoing pattern, with Iranian and Hezbollah agents repeatedly documented over the past two decades surveilling and collecting intelligence on multiple targets throughout the US.

“Tehran has a record of using Iranian nationals to carry out assassination plots and attacks inside the United States,” Sayeh told The Algemeiner. “These operations are typically run by either the Ministry of Intelligence or the IRGC, often through coordination between specialized departments.”

One notable case is the foiled 2011 plot in which US authorities uncovered an Iranian plan to assassinate the then-Saudi ambassador to the US by bombing Café Milano, a Washington, DC restaurant frequented by American officials.

In May 2023, the Justice Department announced that Alexei Saab, 46, was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for receiving military-type training from Hezbollah, marriage fraud, and making false statements.

In 2000, Saab entered the United States, where he lived while remaining a Hezbollah operative who “continued to receive military training in Lebanon and conducted numerous operations.” According to law enforcement and Saab’s own admission, he surveilled various “soft targets” in the US for potential future attacks.

One Hezbollah operative told the FBI during interviews in 2016 and 2017 that if the US and Iran went to war “the US sleeper cell would expect to be called upon to act.” That operative, Ali Mohamed Kourani, and another Hezbollah member were carrying out preoperational surveillance for potential Hezbollah attacks in the US and Panama, according to federal prosecutors.

The post US Justice Department Warns of Threats to Jewish Targets as Concern Mounts Over Iranian Sleeper Cells first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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