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Netanyahu’s Office: List of Hostages Published by Media Submitted by Israel in July

Israelis protest against the government and to show support for the hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

A list of 34 hostages to be released as part of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement that was published by foreign media on Monday was submitted by Jerusalem to mediators in July, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

“The list of hostages that has been published in the media was not provided to Israel by Hamas but was originally given by Israel to the mediators in July 2024,” the PMO said.

“As yet, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment by Hamas regarding the status of the hostages appearing on the list. Israel will continue to act relentlessly for the return of all of our hostages,” added the statement.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported earlier Monday that Hamas had agreed in principle to the list but was refusing or unable to confirm whether the designated captives are alive.

Saudi daily al-Sharq had previously published what it claimed are the names on the list. An anonymous Hamas official told the outlet that it would take about a week to determine the condition of each captive, a process the terrorist group is reportedly insisting it will undertake only after a ceasefire is in effect.

The list’s publication had caused distress among the hostages’ families, according to Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“The families of the hostages are deeply shaken and distressed by the list published this morning,” the forum said. “We call on the media and the public to show sensitivity and responsibility in handling this information and any further developments that may emerge before and during any agreement negotiation,” the statement continued.

“The time has come for a comprehensive agreement that will bring back all hostages — we know more than half are still alive and need immediate rehabilitation, while those who were murdered must be returned for proper burial. We have no more time to waste.”

The Directorate of Abductees and Missing Persons, led by Gal Hirsch, issued a statement saying, “This morning, the Directorate of Abductees, Returnees, and Missing Persons in the Prime Minister’s Office updated the families of the abductees regarding the list reported in the media. This ‘humanitarian’ list, submitted by Israel to mediators several months ago, includes women, children, individuals over 50, as well as the sick and wounded.”

“Hamas has not provided any response regarding the status of the abductees on this list. Negotiations are ongoing, and we are making every effort to bring back all abductees, both living and deceased. The directorate urges the public and media to act responsibly by refraining from publishing names or rumors that could harm the families or the efforts to secure the abductees’ return.”

Mossad chief David Barnea was scheduled to arrive in Doha on Monday for continued ceasefire negotiations, foreign sources involved in the talks told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster on Sunday night.

US Special Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk and other top American officials were expected to join as well, according to Ynet.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned senior ministers for an “urgent security discussion,” according to Hebrew media reports.

The discussion included Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and came amid reported progress in the ceasefire negotiations.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich oppose the proposals being reported in recent weeks, and Netanyahu has emphasized that Israeli forces will return to fighting after any ceasefire deal until Jerusalem’s war goals are achieved.

According to Israeli estimates, there are 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity in Gaza, including 96 abducted during the terror group’s massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 251 people were taken.

Of those, 155 have been returned or rescued, and Hamas is believed to be holding 36 bodies, 34 of them taken on Oct. 7 and the remaining two being IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were kidnapped in 2014.

According to Ynet, Jerusalem is insisting on the release of several hostages before agreeing to a one-week ceasefire to allow Hamas to verify the status of 34 captives listed for potential release.

The main sticking point in the negotiations remains the number of live hostages to be freed. Israel has reportedly pushed for at least 24 hostages to be released in the deal’s initial phase, including injured male hostages under 50, as part of a humanitarian exchange.

Hamas, however, has rejected this demand, claiming it was not part of the original agreement. Instead, Hamas is demanding the release of additional high-profile terrorists or a larger number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the younger hostages.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed optimism on Monday about the likelihood of a ceasefire agreement, though it might not materialize until after President Joe Biden’s term ends on Jan. 20.

Speaking to reporters in Seoul, Blinken stated, “If we don’t finalize it within the next two weeks, I’m confident it will be completed eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later. When it does, it will be based on the plan President Biden proposed.”

President-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 31 reiterated his call for the Israelis in Gaza to be released before he takes office.

An interlocutor asked Trump about the captives, at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida, noting that Trump had warned “there will be hell to pay” unless they are freed by the time he is sworn in.

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump replied. “They better let the hostages come back soon.”

The post Netanyahu’s Office: List of Hostages Published by Media Submitted by Israel in July first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Al Jazeera Hit With Defamation Lawsuit by Syrian Jewish Ex-Refugee

The Al Jazeera Media Network logo is seen on its headquarters building in Doha, Qatar, June 8, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon

A defamation lawsuit was filed against the Qatar-based Al Jazeera media network on Wednesday by Abraham Hamra, a Syrian pro-Israel advocate and lawyer.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Hamra “is a Jewish refugee from Syria, born in Damascus. He fled Syria with his parents and siblings in 1994 at the age of eight, following the partial lifting of restrictions on Jewish emigration by the Syrian regime under President Hafez al-Assad in 1992.”

The Algemeiner obtained a copy of the complaint, which explains that, on Aug. 25, Al Jazeera posted a video claiming that Hamra was paid by the Israeli government to visit an aid site of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israel- and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, operating independently from UN-backed mechanisms.

“This accusation is false in its entirety. Plaintiff has never received any payment, compensation, or financial incentive from the Israeli government or any affiliated entity for visiting aid sites in Gaza,” the lawsuit claims.

“The visit by Plaintiff related to Israel and Gaza was undertaken independently, in his personal capacity, on his own dime, as an advocate for his community and to bear witness against misinformation,” the suit continues.

The UN and critics of Israel have expressed concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach one of its four food distribution points, at times creating chaotic scenes where Israeli forces have used gunfire to control the crowd.

However, supporters of the GHF argue that it bypasses the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which often steals humanitarian supplies for its own purposes and sells the rest at inflated prices. The GHF has called on the UN to publicly condemn the killing of aid workers in Gaza and to collaborate in order to provide relief to the enclave’s population, accusing the UN of perpetuating a “vast disinformation campaign” aimed at tarnishing the foundation’s image.

The lawsuit notes that the social media post from Al Jazeera, which included the image of Hamra, “cites no sources for the ‘reportedly paid’ claim, and publicly available information about Plaintiff, including his professional bio, social media posts, and known activities, demonstrates he is an independent US attorney with no financial ties to foreign governments.”

Al Jazeera also “failed to conduct even basic fact-checking, such as contacting Plaintiff for comment or verifying the allegation, despite their status as a major media network with resources to do so,” according to the lawsuit.

Al Jazeera did not respond to a request for comment from The Algemeiner.

The lawsuit argues why the allegedly false claim rises to the level of libel, saying it “constitutes libel per se under New York law because it accuses Plaintiff of committing a serious crime, namely, violating FARA [the Foreign Agents Registration Act] by acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Israel, and tends to injure him in his profession as a lawyer.”

“FARA requires individuals acting as agents of foreign principals to register with the US Department of Justice, and failure to do so is a federal offense punishable by fines and imprisonment,” the suit says. “By falsely alleging Plaintiff was paid by a foreign government to promote its interests, the statement implies criminal conduct and undermines his professional integrity.”

Consequently, Hamra is seeking payment for damages of at least $1,00,000 and requesting a trial by jury.

Read the lawsuit here: Hamra v Al Jazeera ECF No. 1 Complaint

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US Lawmakers Launch Investigation Into Wikipedia Over Claims of Systemic Anti-Israel Bias

Nancy Mace (R-SC) (Source: Reuters)

US Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). Photo: Reuters

The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has opened an investigation into the nonprofit that operates the Wikipedia website, demanding answers over concerns that hostile foreign actors are exploiting the popular online encyclopedia to spread anti-Israel propaganda and antisemitic narratives.

Republican Reps James Comer (KY), who chairs the committee, and Nancy Mace (SC), who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on cybersecurity, information technology, and government innovation, on Wednesday sent a letter to Maryana Iskander, chief executive of the Wikimedia Foundation, asking the nonprofit to turn over records showing how the platform polices disinformation campaigns that target articles related to Israel and the Middle East.

The lawmakers cited studies showing that pro-Russia networks and other state-backed operations have sought to manipulate Wikipedia entries on conflicts involving Israel, often by inserting anti-Israel or antisemitic framing designed to sway Western audiences. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), for example, published a report earlier this year arguing that “malicious” Wikipedia editors have inserted anti-Israel bias onto the site, oftentimes violating the organization’s neutrality policies in the process.

Meanwhile, a report from the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab found evidence of Russian-linked attempts to shape narratives used to train AI chatbots by twisting information about Israel.

“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating the efforts of foreign operations and individuals at academic institutions subsidized by US taxpayer dollars to influence US public opinion,” Comer and Mace wrote. They emphasized the importance of stopping organized attempts to “inject bias into important and sensitive topics.”

Specifically, the committee is demanding records on possible coordination by nation-states or academic institutions to influence Wikipedia pages, internal arbitration files documenting how the site has handled editor misconduct, identifying data for accounts flagged for suspicious activity, and any analysis showing patterns of manipulation tied to antisemitism or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The letter also requests details of Wikipedia’s editorial policies to ensure neutrality and prevent the spread of bias.

Although the committee acknowledged that most online platforms face disinformation threats, the letter stressed that Wikipedia’s outsized influence as one of the most visited websites in the world and a key training source for artificial intelligence systems makes it especially important to prevent anti-Israel narratives from taking root unchecked.

The Wikimedia Foundation has previously stated that it takes action against volunteer editors who violate neutrality rules, but lawmakers say further transparency is needed to guarantee accountability.

However, a detailed investigation by Pirate Wires in October 2024 revealed that a powerful group of roughly 40 Wikipedia editors coordinated to “delegitimize Israel, present radical Islamist groups in a favorable light, and reshape the narrative around Israel with alarming influence,” particularly after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel. Notably, one editor removed mention of Hamas’s 1988 charter, which calls for the killing of Jews and the destruction of Israel, from the Hamas article just six weeks after the attack. The group also reportedly sought to suppress documented human-rights abuses by Iran, and a related effort by a Discord-based collective known as “Tech For Palestine” coordinated mass editing of articles related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to a report by the Jewish Journal, Wikipedia’s arbitration committee (ArbCom)  permanently banned two editors outright for engaging in off-platform coordination tied to the “Tech for Palestine” Discord campaign, citing violations of policies. Additionally, the committee imposed indefinite topic bans on eight editors in the Israeli-Palestinian area for disruptive behavior such as non-neutral editing, personal insults, and misrepresentation of sources. In December 2024, ArbCom permanently banned two anti-Israel editors and placed restrictions on three others for violation of site policies in the Israeli-Palestinian topic area.

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Tunisian Brothers to Face Trial for Cutting Down Olive Tree Honoring Murdered Jew Ilan Halimi in France

A crowd gathers at the Jardin Ilan Halimi in Paris on Feb. 14, 2021, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Halimi’s kidnapping and murder. Photo: Reuters/Xose Bouzas/Hans Lucas

Two Tunisian twin brothers have been arrested in France after allegedly cutting down an olive tree that had been planted to honor Ilan Halimi, a young French Jewish man tortured to death nearly a decade ago.

According to the Bobigny prosecutor’s office, two 19-year-old undocumented men with prior convictions for theft and violence were arrested for vandalizing Halimi’s memorial in the northern Paris suburb of Épinay-sur-Seine.

Both brothers appeared in criminal court on Wednesday and were remanded in custody pending their trial, scheduled for Oct. 22.

They will face trial on charges of “aggravated destruction of property” and “desecration of a monument dedicated to the memory of the dead on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion,” offenses that, according to prosecutors, carry a sentence of up to two years in prison.

Both suspects were taken into custody around noon on Monday while returning to the crime scene, French media reported.

Investigators tracked them down after discovering two slices of watermelon left by the perpetrators at the base of the olive tree, which contained their DNA.

Halimi was abducted, held captive, and tortured in January 2006 by a gang of about 20 people in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux.

Three weeks later, Halimi was found in Essonne, south of Paris, naked, gagged, and handcuffed, with clear signs of torture and burns. The 23-year-old died on the way to the hospital.

In 2011, an olive tree was planted in Halimi’s memory. Earlier this month, the memorial was found felled — probably with a chainsaw — in the northern Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine.

Halimi’s memory has faced attacks before, with two other trees planted in his honor vandalized in 2019 in Essonne, where he was found dying near a railway track.

Hervé Chevreau, the mayor of Épinay, announced that a new memorial tree will be planted in the second half of September.

After the attack, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the incident, vowing that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

“Felling the tree in honor of Ilan Halimi is a second attempt on his life,” the French leader said in a post on X.

Halimi’s sister, Anne-Laure Abitbol, also condemned the incident, warning that public denunciations are no longer enough and calling for concrete action.

“In France, we are no longer safe, neither alive nor dead,” Abitbol told RTL in an interview.

“I feel less safe in France,” she said. “By recognizing a Palestinian state, Macron is encouraging antisemitism and failing to take action against antisemitic attacks in the country.”

Last month, Macron announced that France will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September as part of its “commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”

Israeli officials have criticized the move, which was followed by several other Western countries, calling it a “reward for terrorism.”

France’s Jewish community has faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Jewish leaders have consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.

According to the French Interior Ministry, 646 antisemitic incidents were recorded from January to June this year — a drop from the previous year’s first-half record high but a 112.5 percent increase compared with the same period in 2023, when 304 incidents were reported.

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