The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced overnight into Sunday that it would postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners, using unsubstantiated claims of Hamas violating the ceasefire agreement as justification.

Accusing Hamas of so-called “humiliating ceremonies” and the “cynical use of hostages for propaganda,” Netanyahu’s office declared that the scheduled release of Palestinian detainees on Saturday would be delayed until Israel secures the next batch of hostages.

Iraq's oil ministry announced that preparations to restart oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline are complete. This development follows a near two-year halt in crude shipments from the Kurdistan region, which had been disrupted by disputes between Baghdad and Erbil. Improved relations between the central Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional administration have paved the way for resuming exports.

The suspension began in March 2023 when Turkey halted pipeline operations after an International Chamber of Commerce ruling required Ankara to pay $1.5 billion to Baghdad for unauthorized exports by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) between 2014 and 2018. Recent amendments to Iraq's federal budget law, which set transport and production costs at $16 per barrel and require the KRG to transfer its oil output to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), have facilitated the resumption of exports.

This comes amid reports that the Trump administration is pressuring Iraq to restart Kurdish oil exports, allegedly threatening sanctions similar to those on Iran if Baghdad does not comply. Reuters reported that this pressure is part of Trump's renewed "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran, aimed at cutting Iranian oil exports to zero to curb its nuclear ambitions. US officials argue that allowing Kurdish oil exports would help offset the loss of Iranian supply in global markets, stabilizing prices and maintaining energy security.

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday that a special agency would be established for the “voluntary departure” of Gazans, after Israel expressed commitment to a US proposal to take over the Palestinian territory and expel its residents.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) have agreed to integrate their military forces into the army of the new Syrian government.

The agreement is also believed to involve the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, commonly known as "Rojava", which is the civil authority that rules SDF-held areas of Syria.

The fighters are believed to be those affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which waged a decades-long insurgency against key Syrian ally Turkey, and which has many forces in neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Syrian Democratic Union (PYD), which is the main component force of the SDF, is essentially the Syrian wing of the PKK, meaning that this move will bring an end to fighting between the SDF and Turkish-backed forces that have blighted post-Assad Syria.

The SDF held around 25 percent of Syrian territory, including many of the richest areas in terms of oil, natural gas and minerals, with many of these areas being Arab-majority areas prior to the war and their conquest by the Kurdish force.

There has not yet been any comment from the US, which materially and physically supports the SDF, including the use of several American bases in the areas under their control.

An Israeli soldier recently released from Gaza has told media that Hamas allowed her and other prisoners to observe Jewish traditions and holidays, permitting them to practice their religious rituals.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth published an interview on Wednesday with Agam Berger, who was recently released from Gaza as part of the prisoner swap deal with the Palestinian resistance group.

She recalled that she and other captives "were surprised" when Hamas provided them with various items, including a Jewish prayer book, known in Hebrew as siddur.

"We have no idea how it happened, but they simply handed us prayer books," she said, describing the issue for her as "particularly unusual." "It (the prayer book) wasn't random ... it arrived exactly when we needed it most," Berger said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26284554

By Syma Mohammed
Published date: 20 February 2025 21:44 GMT

Alex Tyrrell, party leader of the Green Party of Quebec, who accompanied Engler to the police station on Thursday, spoke to the Middle East Eye about Engler’s arrest.

“I think it’s a shocking attack on free expression and democratic rights and criticism of Israel in Canada - a country that’s supposed to be a free, democratic society. We’re supposed to speak out about a genocide," Tyrrel told MEE.

“Most of the PA’s aid doesn’t come from the State Department. It comes from the CIA. Last I heard, they haven’t changed their policy on the PA,” a member of Fatah told MEE.

Tahani Mustafa, the International Crisis Group's senior Palestine analyst, told MEE it can be difficult to tally just how many American dollars are flowing to the PA’s security services because they are covertly funded by US intelligence, whose funding is likely not impacted by the aid freeze.

“State Department and Department of Defence funding are not the whole part of the PA security services funding,” Mustafa said.

“In fact, they are less than those that will have a critical impact on national security, that being funding from the CIA.”

Yesterday, two B-52H long-range bombers of the United States Air Force launched from the Fairford Air Force Base, as well as at least 4 KC-135R tanker aircraft launched from the Mildenhall Air Force Base crossed the Mediterranean Sea near Italy yesterday, heading towards the Middle East.

After they were denied access to Egyptian airspace, they received permission and began conducting exercises over Jordan, probably in conjunction with the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF). The long-range strategic bombers then crossed into Iraq and the Persian Gulf, flying along the border with Iran in an apparent "show of force," according to flight tracking websites.

There is already a serious problem in modern discourse with the term "independent media," a phrase commonly defined as any media outlet, no matter how big an empire it is, that is not owned or funded by the state (as if that is the only form of dependence or control to which media is subject). But even at this extremely low bar, all these outlets fail. Indeed, Weimers' warning underlines the fact that none of them are independent in any meaningful way. They are, in fact, completely dependent on USAID for their very existence.

Not only that, but some USAID-backed journalists candidly admit that their funding dictates their output and what stories they do and do not cover. Leila Bicakcic, CEO of Center for Investigative Reporting (a USAID-supported Bosnian organization), admitted, on camera, that "If you are funded by the U.S. government, there are certain topics that you would simply not go after, because the U.S. government has its interests that are above all others."

While USAID specifically targets foreign audiences, much of its messaging comes back to America, as those foreign outlets are used as credible, independent, and reliable sources for newspapers or cable news networks to cite. Thus, its bankrolling of foreign media ends up flooding domestic audiences with pro-U.S. messaging as well.