RSS
‘Let’s Declare War to Terror’: German Chancellor Vows Deportations for Terrorists, Supporters After Stabbing
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in a government statement about current security issues in Berlin, Germany, June 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has vowed to enact tougher measures to deport criminals, terrorists, and terror supporters after a 25-year-old Afghan man committed a fatal stabbing last week.
Currently, Germany does not deport people back to Afghanistan or Syria partly due to the harsh conditions and oppressive leadership in those countries. Afghanistan is run by the Taliban, a brutal Islamist militant organization with which Germany does not have diplomatic relations, while Syria is led by Bashar al-Assad, the Iran-backed leader who has been accused of mass war crimes during his country’s ongoing civil war.
But Scholz is looking to restore deportations to those countries when people from there commit crimes or engage in acts of terrorism. He said on German public radio this week that national security is “more important than protecting the interests of extremists.”
Last week, a video of a brutal fatal stabbing of a police officer went viral in Germany. According to German authorities, the perpetrator was a 25-year-old Afghan man who arrived in Germany in 2014, stabbed a number of people, and struck a police officer in the back of the head. The incident sparked calls for tougher measures against terrorists.
“It outrages me when someone who has sought protection here commits the most serious crimes. Such criminals should be deported, even if they come from Syria and Afghanistan,” Scholz responded, in a speech to German lawmakers on Thursday.
“What happened in Mannheim — the fatal knife attack on a young policeman — is an expression of the misanthropic ideology of radical Islamism. There is only one term for this: terror. Let’s declare war to terror,” the German chancellor said.
Scholz indicated he does not wish to limit the deportations to those who have already committed crimes or acts of terrorism, but also wants to deport those who support terrorism.
German officials have recently called for deporting supporters of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that rules Gaza and launched the ongoing war in the Middle East with its Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
“If we can deport Hamas supporters, we have to do that,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said last year, following pro-Hamas protests and the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Scholz’s latest comments have caused a wide range of reactions in German politics.
“The time of warnings and condemnations, of denials and announcements, that time is now over. People expect us to act. They expect decisions,” said Friedrich Merz, the conservative opposition leader.
It is unclear how soon such measures could be implemented.
However, one Greens lawmaker said, “What the chancellor is calling for here violates fundamental human rights.” The lawmaker continued, “There are documented arbitrary executions in Afghanistan and torture is legal. Sharia law prevails, which is incompatible with our principles of the rule of law. The demand for deportations paves the way for the recognition of an Islamist terror regime: the Taliban.”
Scholz’s proposal comes amid an upcoming election where immigration is a top concern for Germans. According to a recent poll, refugee and asylum policies are the top issues for voters, and 41 percent put it in their top two issues — which is a greater proportion than any other topic.
Additionally, the far-right Alternative for Germany party is expected to make some gains in the election, putting pressure on other parties to take a tougher stance on migration and deportation.
The post ‘Let’s Declare War to Terror’: German Chancellor Vows Deportations for Terrorists, Supporters After Stabbing first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.