Latest news with #AhmedYassin
Yemen Online
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Yemen Online
Yemen's Houthis Launch Widespread Arrest Campaign in Ibb to Preempt Uprising
Ibb — In a sweeping crackdown aimed at suppressing growing unrest, Houthi forces have launched a broad campaign of arrests across Ibb Governorate, targeting educators, medical professionals, and civil society figures. The move comes amid rising tensions and fears of a popular uprising in the Sunni-majority province, long considered a flashpoint of resistance to Houthi rule. Local sources report that dozens of individuals have been detained in recent days, including prominent doctors such as Dr. Ahmed Yassin and Dr. Thaeer Al-Dueis, as well as academic leaders like Dr. Mohammed Qaed Aqlan, director of the Holy Quran House in Al-Yahari. The arrests follow the killing of Sheikh Saleh Hantous in neighboring Reimah Governorate, an incident that sparked widespread outrage. Human rights organizations have condemned the campaign, describing it as part of a broader pattern of repression in Houthi-controlled areas. Analysts say the arrests are intended to neutralize potential dissent and prevent the eruption of a coordinated uprising in Ibb, where tribal divisions and political grievances have simmered for years.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Assassinating Hamas leaders: A quick fix, but not long-term strategy, expert says
The expert said that targeted assassinations of senior terror leaders can bolster recruitment of new members to groups fighting Israel. Israel's long-standing practice of targeted assassinations of senior Hamas figures highlights limitations of Israeli and Western cultures when dealing with enemies of different cultural backgrounds, Middle East and cultural intelligence expert Roni Shalom told Maariv. He pointed out that "Israel has a long history of targeted assassinations of senior Hamas terrorists," citing figures such as Ahmed Yassin and, more recently, Yahya Sinwar. Shalom emphasized that these examples highlight the limitations of both Israeli and Western cultures when dealing with enemies from vastly different cultural backgrounds, adding, "Nurturing the enemy until it reaches unbearable proportions." Shalom explained that after enemies escalate their actions with horrific terrorist attacks, the Israeli security system often receives credit for eliminating threats perceived as a "ticking bomb." The cycle then repeats itself with the next target. He questioned whether this approach is effective in the Middle East, a region he referred to as a "harsh neighborhood." He raised a thought-provoking question about societies whose legitimacy isn't grounded in present achievements but in the expectation of future, often imagined, outcomes: "Is doomsday weaponry the elimination of charismatic figures who have reached key positions in these societies, particularly in terror organizations?" Shalom suggested that this might be an evasion of deeper questions, such as: "What are we doing here?"He pointed out that in the Middle East, such questions carry theological weight, offering people meaning and purpose in life. "In the Middle East, these questions have theological significance, providing people with meaning and purpose in life," he said. Shalom further examined cultural differences, particularly the relationship between two societies on a spectrum: on one side is the tradition of following and imitating established customs, and on the other is ideological innovation. He noted that societies built on imitating past traditions tend to replicate the collective according to fixed patterns. "The Israeli hegemony. Societies built on imitating past traditions tend to replicate the collective according to fixed patterns, so that harming someone, however senior, will allow the continuation of the survival of some sacred idea or another." Shalom concluded by discussing how different cultures perceive time. In polychronic societies, where the past, present, and future are interconnected and influence one another, there is less focus on immediate events. Instead, there is a belief that suffering in the present can be transcended for a better future. "Naturally, societies whose perception of time is polychronic, meaning the past, present, and future are intertwined and influence each other, are less affected by immediate events, as there is a perception that allows transcendence over current suffering for the sake of a blessed future," he explained. He also noted that in these societies, theassassination of senior figures serves a dual purpose: to recruit new members and to solidify the concept of martyrdom, which is then used as a tool for propaganda to boost morale. "For example, senior assassinations are used to recruit 'fresh meat' into organizations and resonate the martyrdom concept to instill this goal in the minds of young children – and through this, turning loss into a propaganda tool that strengthens morale." Shalom concluded that while targeted assassinations are an effective short-term tactic, they do not provide a long-term strategy for altering the fundamental dynamics of the struggle. "Eliminating senior figures is an effective tactic in the short term, but not a strategy for changing the face of the struggle for independence and the renewal of the only non-Arab and non-Islamic nation-state in the Middle East." He emphasized that while this tactic is useful for managing conflict, it is not a solution, and a broader approach that incorporates cultural intelligence is necessary to address the root causes. "This important tool is useful for managing conflict but not for resolving it, and requires a broader approach that addresses the components of the enemy's culture and uses tools from the world of cultural intelligence."
Scoop
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Bad Old Habits: Israel Backs Palestinian Militias In Gaza
It is one of those things that should be recorded and replayed for eternity: Israel, in order to guard some misplaced sense of security, happily backs Palestinian groups in order to divide themselves. Hamas, seen now as an existential monster, was tolerated and even supported for lengthy stints in efforts to undermine the various factions in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation represented by Fatah. In his 2008 work, Hamas vs. Fatah, Jonathan Schanzer, writes how the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the inspirational font for Hamas, was seen as an opportunity by the Israelis when taking root in Gaza. 'By the late 1970s, the Israelis believed that they had found Fatah's Achilles' heel.' Israeli strategy permitted the Brotherhood to thrive, going so far as to allow the cleric Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to operate a network of welfare, medical and education services. These had been sorely neglected by Fatah in the Gaza Strip. This approach effectively licensed the emergence of fundamentalism, seen, curiously enough, as more manageable than the military adventurism of the PLO. The First Intifada in 1987 spurred on the creation by Yassin and his followers of Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya ('Islamic Resistance Movement'). The 1988 charter of the organisation we know as Hamas, more youthful, and leaner, and hungrier than their Fatah rivals, made its purpose clear: 'There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad'. In 2009, while surveying the ruins of a neighbour's bungalow in Moshav Tekuma, the retired Israeli officer Avner Cohen, who had served in Gaza for over two decades, was rueful. 'Hamas, to my regret,' he told the Wall Street Journal, 'is Israel's creation.' Sustenance and encouragement from the Jewish state had effectively emboldened a mortal enemy. Such a record should chasten wise legislators and leaders. But the only lesson history teaches is that its grave lessons are left unlearned, with disastrous, inimical mistakes made anew. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is proof of that contention. His various governments proudly backed the policy of division between the Gaza Strip and West Bank, defanging Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the latter while propping up Hamas in the former. Every now and then, the Israeli Defense Forces would keep Hamas in bloody check, a strategy that came to be called 'mowing the grass'. Israel's support for Hamas has come in the form of work permits (up to 3,000 granted to Gazans in 2021, rising to 10,000 during the Bennett-Lapid government), and suitcases, heavy with Qatari cash, entering the Strip through crossings since 2018. In 2019, Netanyahu was quoted as telling a Likud faction meeting that opponents of a Palestinian state should support the transfer of funds to Hamas. Five years prior, Bezalel Smotrich, the current firebrand, pro-ethnic cleansing Finance Minister, declared with candour that 'The Palestinian Authority is a burden, and Hamas is an asset.' With Hamas now the target and sworn enemy, the PM feels that the same, failed experiment adopted at stages since the 1970s can be replicated: backing and encouraging yet another group of Palestinians to undermine any sovereign cause. The central figure and beneficiary of this latest folly is the shady Yasser Abu Shabab, a Rafah resident from a Bedouin family known for a spotty criminal record. Calling itself the 'Anti-Terror Service' or the Popular Forces, and possessing assault rifles and equipment seized from Hamas, his 'clan', as reports have described it, has a committed record of looting humanitarian aid in Gaza. In Netanyahu's eyes, these rapacious poachers have turned into opportunistic game keepers, partially guarding the paltry aid that is currently being sent into Gaza under the supervision of the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Georgios Petropoulos, a senior United Nations official based in Gaza last year, calls Abu Shabab 'the self-styled power broker of east Rafah.' For his part, Abu Shabab admits to looting aid trucks, but only 'so we can eat, not so we can sell.' The looting proclivities of such groups is well noted, with the head of the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in occupied Palestinian territories, Jonathan Whittall, making a damning accusation on May 28: 'The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces, and they were allowed to operate in proximity to the Kerem Shalom crossing point in Gaza.' On May 21, Abu Shabab's group posted on Facebook that '92 trucks were secured and entered areas under the protection of our popular forces, and exited safely under our supervision.' Details on which organisation was behind hiring the transporting vehicles were not given. With rumours bubbling that the Israeli government had embarked on this latest course of action, Netanyahu came clean. 'On the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas,' he announced in a posted video with usual, glowing cynicism. 'What's wrong with that?' The strategy 'only saves the lives of Israeli soldiers and publicising this only benefits Hamas.' The advice purportedly given by Shin Bet to Netanyahu to arm Gaza militias opposed to Hamas was an expedient measure, largely occasioned by the PM's continued refusal to involve the Palestinian Authority in the strip. Not all Israeli lawmakers were impressed by Netanyahu's latest effort at supposed cleverness. Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats in the Knesset, condemned him as a threat to Israeli security. 'Instead of bringing about a deal, making arrangements with the moderate Sunni axis, and returning the hostages and security of Israeli citizens, he is creating a new ticking bomb in Gaza.' The leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Avigdor Lieberman, is of the view that the transfer of weapons to Abu Shabab's outfit was done unilaterally. 'The Israeli government is giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons, identified with the Islamic State group,' he told the public broadcaster Kan. 'To my knowledge, this did not go through approval by the cabinet.' With humanitarian aid now at the mercy of a group scorned by UN officials, humanitarian workers and certain Israeli politicians – a rare coming together of minds – the next round of errors is playing out with rich, quixotic stupidity. Israel further adds to its own insecurity, while Abu Shabab knows all too well the views of his family, expressed in chilling statement: 'We affirm that we will not accept Yasser's return to the family. We have no objection to those around him liquidating him immediately, and we tell you that his blood is forfeit.'
Saba Yemen
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
On anniversary of Ahmed Yassin martyrdom, Hamas: We committed to rights, principles, resistance against Zionist enemy
Gaza - Saba: The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, stated that the 21st anniversary of the assassination of the Zionist enemy's founding martyr, Ahmed Yassin, comes today as the Palestinian people and their resistance draw inspiration from him to adhere to rights, steadfastness on the ground, patience, steadfastness, sacrifice, and the defense of the land and holy sites. In a statement issued on Saturday, Hamas affirmed that the assassination of the martyr Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the assassination of the leaders and national symbols of the Palestinian people will not break the will of the Palestinians to persevere, nor the courage and strength of their resistance. The Zionist enemy will not succeed in achieving its aggressive goals of displacement and obliterating the Palestinian cause. The movement's statement emphasized that the crimes of the Zionist enemy against the Palestinian people and the assassination of their leaders will only increase their determination and adherence to rights and principles, and that resistance is a strategic option to seize our rights, liberate our land, and return to it. In its statement, the movement noted that what the founding sheikh planted today has borne fruit in legendary steadfastness throughout all stages of the struggle and resistance against the Zionist enemy, not least the Battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa, which was a pioneering model of patience, sacrifice, steadfastness, and perseverance in modern history. Hamas recalled the words of the founding martyr, Yassin, that the Palestinian people have proven throughout history that they are the strongest and most resilient of peoples, possessing the energies and principles that qualify them to confront all challenges. It is these immense sacrifices that have forged within them the love of martyrdom and increased in the souls of their sons the courage to resist and defend the honor of the nation and its sanctities. The statement emphasized Yassin's belief in the role of the Arab and Islamic nation in defending Palestine, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa Mosque. On March 22, 2004, the Zionist enemy assassinated Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, 67, as he was returning from performing the dawn prayer. Israeli aircraft fired several missiles at the sheikh and his companions and civilians. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
