The lad brandishing the huge pair of scissors is celebrating the jihadis’ humiliation of Druze elders by forcibly shaving their beards.
Anyway, where is the Vast Majority of Peaceful Muslims, exhorting these people to embrace the true, peaceful teachings of Islam?
Yasser Abu Shabab is the leader of one of the largest clans in Gaza, and is fighting against Hamas. More on him can be found here:
‘No stopping a civil war against Hamas,’
Gaza militia chief Abu Shabab tells KAN
Jerusalem Post, July 7, 2025:
Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of the allegedly Israel-backed, anti-Hamas Popular Forces group, revealed to Israeli public broadcaster KAN on Sunday that his militia is actively working against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, particularly operating in the Rafah area.
“There is no stopping a civil war against Hamas,” Abu Shabab said in the interview.
He told KAN that those who comprise his militia do not belong to any political or organizational ideology. However, Abu Shabab told Army Radio in an interview last month that he denied working with Israel and confirmed his group’s relationship with the Palestinian Authority. In that interview, he said that he wouldn’t rule out cooperating with the IDF on issues such as humanitarian aid distribution in the future….
Abu Shabab may deny working with Israel, but he is believed to have accepted weapons from the IDF; for obvious reasons, he keeps quiet about that. And he knows that his forces, and the IDF, share a common goal: to fight against and destroy Hamas. He has also said that he could see his group cooperating with the IDF on the distribution of humanitarian aid and similar issues, no doubt including the rebuilding of hospitals and schools. He claims to be open to people of all ideologies — except for Hamas, which is the Gazan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He also said that he has a relationship to the Palestinian Authority, which is Hamas’ bitter enemy, but offered no details.
He’s blaming Hamas, not Israel, for the Gaza War, and the misery that the war that Hamas started on October 7, 2023 has brought to so many people in Gaza. The “aggression” he deplores is that of Hamas, not the IDF. It’s a remarkable statement from a Palestinian leader in Gaza.
Abu Shabab is known to be receiving military assistance from Israel. Financial assistance — to pay his men — may come from the Arab enemies of Hamas, including the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, whose leaders would not want a Gazan enclave ruled by an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that is a direct threat to the Arab monarchies of the Gulf. Logistical support, however, could only come from the IDF, that has mapped out every part of Gaza and knows the positions, the weapons, the command-and-control centers, of all the forces belonging to Hamas.
Abu Shabab claimed that after Hamas leaves power, the Popular Forces will rule the enclave afterwards. “Hamas knows and understands this; the Popular Forces will be the heirs in Gaza after they are crushed and defeated,” KAN quoted him….
The Popular Forces is the name being given to the collective of local clans opposed to Hamas, of which the Abu Shabab’s clan is one part, albeit one of the most powerful.
Keenly aware of Hamas’ weakness, and of his own clan’s power — it has many hundreds of fighters, with more recruits, including non-family members, streaming in to join the group in its war with Hamas, and has been well provided with arms by the IDF — Abu Shabab is simply going to let the ultimatum pass. He knows Hamas is no longer capable of imposing its will on the powerful families like his own.
Hamas won’t dare to attack him when the ten-day ultimatum ends. It knows that if it is bloodied by Abu Shabab and his men, the humiliation will be so great as to efface completely whatever little authority it had left. Hamas doesn’t want to risk it. But in failing to enforce its own ultimatum, it will also be humiliated. In Gaza, what’s to come is still unsure, but one thing is certain: Hamas will be out of the picture, militarily and politically, and very likely, physically as well.
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There is, in Syria, a hideous effort to reduce Alawites to poverty and to enrich, at their expense, the very people who have made them abandon their property:
Held at gunpoint, with minutes to leave:
How Syria evicts Alawites from their homes
by Amina Ismail, Jerusalem Post, May 3, 2025:
For more than 50 years, Assad and his father before him crushed any opposition from Syria’s Sunni Muslims, who make up more than 70% of the population. Alawites took many of the top positions in government and the military and ran big businesses.
They now accuse supporters of Sharaa, who once ran an al Qaeda affiliate, of systematically abusing them as payback….
No other conclusion is possible. Despite that reassuring rhetoric, al-Sharaa has done nothing concrete to help the Alawites. When Alawites by the thousands were being murdered in Latakia, al-Sharaa did not send in troops to protect them. Nor has he done anything since about finding and punishing the Sunni Muslims who murdered the Alawites. In Damascus itself, hundreds, if not thousands of Alawite families have seen their houses seized and they are now out on the street, unless they are lucky enough to have relatives, most likely in Latakia, willing to take them in. Al-Sharaa knows all about the evictions, but as with the murders of Alawites in Latakia, has done nothing to stop them.
Two government officials said thousands of people had been kicked out of homes in Damascus since Assad was toppled by Sharaa’s rebel force, with the majority being Alawites.
The officials said most resided in government housing associated with their jobs in state institutions and, since they were no longer employed, they had lost their right to stay….
Why were these people no longer employed by the state? What was their fault? Were they really part of the Assad government’s terror state? Or was it only the fact of their being Alawites that condemned them to such barbarous treatment by Sunnis determined to take over their property?
As long as the Sunnis in Syria continue to wage war on the minorities — so far they have killed more than a thousand Alawites in Latakia and evicted many thousands of them from their homes in Damascus, and attacked the Druze in Jaramana and Sahnaya, two suburbs of the capital city — those minorities will not put any faith in Ahmed al-Sharaa’s assurances about inclusion and equal treatment. To protect the Druze, Israel has hit Sunni Muslims threatening the Druze suburbs, and even managed to conduct airstrikes all around the perimeter of the presidential palace in Damascus, as a way to warn al-Sharaa to protect the Druze. And since those airstrikes, IDF troops on the ground have moved northward from the Golan, providing enhanced protection to more of the Druze villages.
On April 16, STJ filed a complaint with the Damascus Suburbs Directorate, calling for an end to “sectarian-motivated” property violations and the return of looted properties.
It is doubtful that the Sunni Muslims will be stopped by a complaint from the STJ. Al-Sharaa surely knew what has been going on in Damascus ever since January, when the security services first started their evictions of Alawites.
Assad’s father Hafez al-Assad moved Alawites from coastal areas to urban centers to help cement his powerbase. He set up military installations and housing units for troops and their families around Damascus, where Alawites, who were over-represented in the army, made up a significant portion of the population, according to Fabrice Balanche, a Syria expert and associate professor at the University of Lyon 2 in France.
Balanche estimated that half a million Alawites have moved to coastal areas after being evicted from the capital, Homs, as well as Aleppo and other parts of Syria following Assad’s fall.
That’s a huge number of evictions of Alawites from homes all over Syria, that has received no attention in the Western media. Half a million Alawites, within less than four months, have been evicted from their homes, not just in Damascus, but also in Homs, Aleppo, and other cities, and have now sought safety in the Alawite stronghold of Latakia. The total Alawite population in Syria is between two and three million, so a very large percentage of the Alawites have now lost their homes to Sunnis. Nothing will assuage their despair and fury, nor will they ever trust the assurances of Ahmed al-Sharaa, whom they are sure knew about and did nothing to stop — and some think he may even have encouraged — these evictions.
Islamic apologists in the West routinely insist that Sharia applies only to Muslims. This is the reality.
Amid threats to kill Christians | Masked men in military uniform attack alcoholic beverages store in Homs countryside
SOHR, May 5, 2025
(thanks to The Religion of Peace):
…In this context, SOHR activists have reported that a group of masked men in military uniform attacked a store selling alcoholic beverages in Rablah town, which is inhabited mostly by Christian citizens, in Al-Qusayr countryside in Homs. The gunmen assaulted a young man who was in the store at the time of the attack, sabotaged the store’s contents and stole money.
Before leaving the area, the gunmen threatened to kill the town’s residents, called residents as “infidels” and insulted the Christian religion and its symbols.
Last night, gunmen stormed Al-Karawan night club in Al-Hejaz area in Damascus city and opened machinegun fire indiscriminately, killing a female dancer and injuring other persons, before they left the night club. The gunmen did not announce their affiliation, while no bodies or authorities claimed responsibility for the attack….
Sounds like Sharia is gaining strength in Syria as fundamentalist Muslims take over.
The destroyed shrines themselves will bear witness to the majesty of Allah. Many Muslims believe that the ruins and destruction of non-Muslim structures testifies to the truth of Islam, as the Qur’an suggests that the destroyed remnants of ancient non-Muslim civilizations are a sign of Allah’s punishment of those who rejected his truth: “7Similar ways have passed away before you. Just travel in the land and see the nature of the consequences for those who denied.” (3:137)
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One person was killed and nine others wounded in clashes near Damascus between forces affiliated to Syria's new rulers and gunmen from the minority Druze community on Saturday, according to a Syrian human rights monitor.
Issued on:
Clashes between forces affiliated with Syria's new rulers and local gunmen from the minority Druze community killed one person and wounded nine near Damascus on Saturday, a monitor said.
Since Islamist-led rebels in December overthrew longtime repressive ruler Bashar al-Assad, clashes and shootings have occurred in several areas, with security officials accusing armed supporters of the previous government.
Saturday's incident occurred in Jaramana, a densely populated suburb near Damascus that is home to a majority of Druze and Christian minority residents.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that "one person was killed and nine others from Jaramana were injured during clashes between security forces affiliated with the new authority and local gunmen tasked with protecting the area."
It could not specify whether the killed person was a civilian or a local fighter.
Tensions began on Friday when a dispute led to the killing of one security forces member and the wounding of another in a shooting at a checkpoint in Jaramana, according to the Observatory.
Syria's official news agency, SANA, quoted Colonel Hossam al-Tahhan, the local head of security, as saying the checkpoint had stopped Ministry of Defence personnel as they entered the area to visit their relatives.
After surrendering their weapons they were assaulted and "their vehicle was directly targeted by gunfire," resulting in the casualties, Tahhan said.
He warned such incidents could have repercussions on "Syria's security, stability, and unity."
Jaramana's Druze said in a statement that they would "withdraw protection from all offenders and outlaws" and pledged to hand over anyone proven responsible to "the relevant authorities to face justice."
Restoring and maintaining security across Syria remains one of the most pressing challenges for interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, following about 13 years of civil war.
The Druze, who also live in Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, make up about three percent of Syria's population.
They largely stayed on the sidelines of the civil war.
Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Islamist group led the offensive against Assad. The group has its roots in Syria's former al Qaeda affiliate, and is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many governments including the United States.
HTS has moderated its rhetoric and vowed to protect Syria's religious and ethnic minorities.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Saturday warned Syria's new rulers not "to harm the Druze", adding the military has been ordered "to prepare and to send a firm and clear warning: if the regime harms the Druze, it will suffer the consequences."
An Israeli defence ministry statement said the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was “under attack” by Syrian forces.
The statement, citing an order from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz, follows an Israeli warning last weekend that the forces of neighbouring Syria’s new government should not enter the area south of Damascus.
Saturday’s statement indicates that Israeli forces could push farther into Syria as its new authorities try to consolidate control after more than a decade of civil war. Israeli forces recently set up posts in a buffer zone and on strategic Mt. Hermon nearby. There have been no major clashes between Israeli troops and Syria's new forces.
“We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be harmed by us,” the statement said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
President Donald Trump gestures to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on November 13, 2019, and Erdogan might benefit politically from a cease-fire with Kurdish forces in Turkey that was announced Saturday. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License PhotoMarch 1 (UPI) -- The militia wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party announced a cease-fire with immediate effect Saturday to halt decades of conflict between Turkey and the Kurds.
The cease-fire announcement comes two days after the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which uses the acronym PKK, asked the militia to cease hostilities and dissolve the organization, CNN, the BBC and NPR reported.
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for the cease-fire while still imprisoned in Turkey.
"I am making a call for the laying down of arms and I take on the historical responsibility of this call," Ocalan said Thursday in a written statement. "All groups must lay [down] their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself."
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has raged for more than 40 years and claimed an estimated 40,000 lives. The conflict also has affected several other nations, including Iraq.
"We agree with the content of leader Ocalan's call as it is and we state that we will comply with and implement the requirements of the call from our own side," PKK Executive Committee members announced in a prepared statement. "We declare a cease-fire effective as of today."
For the cease-fire to work, the PKK Executive Committee said, "Democratic politics and legal grounds must also be appropriate."
Ocalan formed the PKK in 1978 and went to war with Turkey soon after while trying to establish an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey.
Kurds comprise up to 20% of Turkey's population and account for significant portions of the populations in Syria, Iran and northern Iraq.
Turkish authorities arrested Ocalan in Kenya in 1999, sentenced him to life in prison for treason and only allowed him to have limited contact with others outside of the prison.
Hostilities ramped up quickly in August 1984 when PKK militants killed two Turkish soldiers and mostly have continued since.
A cease-fire was implemented in 2013 but ended two years later at peace talks failed amid rising tensions between the PKK and Turkey.
Ocalan on Thursday said relations between the Kurds and Turkey were broken during the prior 200 years but welcomed an opportunity to end the conflict.
"Today, the main task is to restructure the historical relationship," Ocalan said.
Peace prospects between Turkey and the PKK appeared grim until recent months, but at least three Turkish delegations have visited Ocalan over the past three months.
Turkish lawmaker Devlet Bahceli invited Ocalan to appear before the Turkish Parliament and announce he has ceased hostilities with the Turkish government.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to run for a third term in 2028, which would require approval from Turkey's Grand National Assembly.
Turkish law places a term limit of two five-year terms for the nation's presidency.
For Erdogan to be approved to seek a third term, he needs the support of the Grand National Assembly in which the Kurds have significant representation.
Recent violence between the PKK and Turkish forces could complicate the current cease-fire.
Turkish forces have ramped up efforts to eliminate Kurdish forces and in February suggested new leadership in Syria wipe out the Syrian Democratic Forces that are led by Kurds.
The PKK in October claimed responsibility for an attack that killed five at the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries in Ankara.
