WILL NATO LET UKRAINE IN SO NATO CAN GET RID OF RUSSIA. OR WILL RUSSIA SNEAK NEW YORK FIRST. TIME WILL TELL.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

 WILL NATO LET UKRAINE IN SO NATO CAN GET RID OF RUSSIA. OR WILL RUSSIA SNEAK NEW YORK FIRST. TIME WILL TELL.

REVELATION VERESE BY VERSE BY DR JACK AND REXELLA VAN IMPE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIYtJAUUx0o&list=PLQ6QjtBzr5_eln4Wwdyqw8niA97w7bpv6
TAPE 1 - REV CH 1 - 4:6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4egxDQbC-Po&list=PLQ6QjtBzr5_eln4Wwdyqw8niA97w7bpv6&ind
TAPE 2 - REV CH 4:7-8 TO 9:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAHF8qRW_0c&list=PLQ6QjtBzr5_eln4Wwdyqw8niA97w7bpv6&index=3
TAPE 3 - REV CH 10:1 TO 14:1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8nvow7gDsI
TAPE 4 - REV CH 14:2 TO REV 18:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jzejO8qr1g
TAPE 5 - REV CH 19:1 TO REV 22:20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFSaL7wuOZU&list=PLQ6QjtBzr5_eln4Wwdyqw8niA97w7bpv6&index=6
TAPE 1 - REVELATION RUMBLINGS

DANIEL VERSE BY VERSE BY DR JACK AND REXELLA VAN IMPE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zvrylU6E2A
TAPE 1 - DAN 1:1 TO DAN 3:30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dySOniNlbjA
TAPE 2 - DAN 4:1 TO DAN 6:28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPlfIHcQVrE
TAPE 3 - DAN 7:1 TO DAN 9:27
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHB_jtS6NF8
TAPE 4 - DAN 10:1 TO DAN 12:13

ISLAM I BELIEVE IS A MADE UP FAKE CHRISTIAN RELGION IMMITATION.DREAMPT UP IN 600BC. (WATCH 2ND)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EaopH_EPfc
ARABS-NAME AN IMPORTANT ARAB IN HISTORY (WATCH 1ST)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deiShtWReYE

GAYS MARRYING-EVERYBODY CAN JOIN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/pope-francis-opens-meeting-on-future-of-catholic-church-by-saying-everyone-must-be-allowed-in/
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=POPE+FRANCIS+ANYBODY+CAN+JOIN+THE+CATHOLIC+CURCH+VIDEO&t=newext&atb=v387-1&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DMKh2nNVjV24
JVI THE FINAL POPE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIY8wdebNqo

WORLD TERRORISM

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

STRONGS CONCORDANCE FOR VIOLENCE IN THE BIBLE-SEE IT FOR YOURSELVES.
2554. chamas - Strong's Concordance - chamas: to treat violently or wrong - Part of Speech: Verb - Transliteration: chamas -Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-mas') - Definition: to treat violently or wrong - make bare, shake off, violate, do violence, take away violently, wrong -A primitive root; to be violent; by implication, to maltreat -- make bare, shake off, violate, do violence, take away violently, wrong, imagine wrongfully.

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)

ISAIAH 14:12-14
12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14  I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)

JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)

SECOND ANGEL: The Middle East DR DOCTORIAN
Then Isawthat the second angel had a sickle in his hand,such asis used in harvesting. The second angelsaid, “Harvest time has come in Israel and the countries all the wayto Iran.” Isawthose countriesin a fewsplitseconds. “All of Turkey and those other countries that have refused me and refused my message of love shall hate each other and kill one another.” I saw the angel raise the sickle and come down on all the Middle East countries.I saw Iran, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, all of Georgia – Iraq, Syria,Lebanon,Jordan, Israel, all of Asia Minor – full of blood. Isaw blood all over these countries. And I saw fire; nuclear weapons were used in many of those countries. Smoke rising from everywhere. Sudden destruction – men destroying one another. I heard these words, “Israel, Oh Israel, the great judgment has come.”The angel said, “The chosen, the church, the remnant, shall be purified. The Spirit of God shall prepare the children of God.” I saw fires rising to heaven.The angel said, “This is the final judgment My church shall be purified, protected and ready for the final day. Men will die from thirst. Watershall be scarce all over the Middle East. Rivers shall dry up, and men will fight for water in those countries.” The angelshowed me that the United Nationsshall be broken in pieces because of the crisisin the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

ISAIAH 54:3
03-King James Bible-For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

The right hand was a symbol of strength-Exodus 15:6, ” Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.”

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
8 Assyria (SYRIA) also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah
9 Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera, As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,
10 Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, Yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 Who said, “Let us take for ourselves The pastures of God for a possession.”
13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like the chaff before the wind!
14 As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be [e]confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
18 That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.

AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)(NUKED BY SNEAK ATTACK FROM RUSSIA)

IN REVELATION 17 & 18 IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL BABYLONS.IF YOU CAN NOT DECERN BETWEEN THE 2 BABYLONS IN REV 17 & 18.YOU WILL JUST THINK THEIR BOTH THE SAME.BUT NO-THERES A RELIGIOUS BABYLON (THE VATICAN IN REV 17)(AND THE POLITICAL BABYLON IN REV 18 (AMERICA OR NEW YORK TO BE EXACT)

ISAIAH 34:10
10  It (AMERICA-POLITICAL BABYLON) shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

JEREMIAH 51:29-32 (CYBER ATTACK 1ST)
29  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon,(AMERICA-NEW YORK) to make the land of Babylon (AMERICA) a desolation without an inhabitant.
30  The mighty men of Babylon (AMERICA) have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
031  One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon (NEW YORK) that his city is taken at one end,
32  And that the passages are stopped,(THE WAR COMPUTERS HACKED OR EMP'D) and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.(DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO)

COMPLETE SILENCE AFTER AN EMP GOES OFF
REVELATION 8:1
1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(AMERICA) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK CYBER,EMP ATTACK,THEN NUKE ATTACK ON AMERICA.

JOEL 3:2 (WW3 OCCURS WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED)
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people (ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(JERUSALEM)(WW3 STARTS BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AND ISRAELIS UPROOTED FROM THEIR GOD GIVIN LAND BRINGS 3 DEAD BILLION IN WW3)

BY THE SOUNDS OF IT BY ALEX JONES. THE EUROPEAN UNION AND NATO ARE FORCING RUSSIA INTO A MAJOR WAR. BY LETTING THE UKRAINE INTO NATO. THEN NATO CAN FIGHT AGAINST RUSSIA UNDER NATO IF THE UKRAINE IS LET INTO NATO.IF ONE NATO COUNTRY IS ATTACKED-ALL NATO COULD GO AGAINST RUSSIA. THE EUROPEAN UNION IS STARTING TO TAKE THE LEAD IN WORLD POWER OVER THE 3RD WORLD MUSLIM COUNTRY AMERICA.

Collective defence and Article 5-The principle of collective defence is at the very heart of NATO’s founding treaty. It remains a unique and enduring principle that binds its members together, committing them to protect each other and setting a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance.Collective defence means that an attack against one Ally is considered as an attack against all Allies.The principle of collective defence is enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.NATO invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in its history after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States.NATO has taken collective defence measures on several occasions, including in response to the situation in Syria and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.NATO has standing forces on active duty that contribute to the Alliance’s collective defence efforts on a permanent basis.

 A cornerstone of the Alliance Article 5-In 1949, the primary aim of the North Atlantic Treaty – NATO’s founding treaty – was to create a pact of mutual assistance to counter the risk that the Soviet Union would seek to extend its control of Eastern Europe to other parts of the continent.Every participating country agreed that this form of solidarity was at the heart of the Treaty, effectively making Article 5 on collective defence a key component of the Alliance.Article 5 provides that if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.Article 5-“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.”This article is complemented by Article 6, which stipulates:Article 61-“For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France 2, on the territory of Turkey or on the Islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer;on the forces, vessels, or aircraft of any of the Parties, when in or over these territories or any other area in Europe in which occupation forces of any of the Parties were stationed on the date when the Treaty entered into force or the Mediterranean Sea or the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.”The principle of providing assistance-With the invocation of Article 5, Allies can provide any form of assistance they deem necessary to respond to a situation. This is an individual obligation on each Ally and each Ally is responsible for determining what it deems necessary in the particular circumstances.This assistance is taken forward in concert with other Allies. It is not necessarily military and depends on the material resources of each country. It is therefore left to the judgment of each individual member country to determine how it will contribute. Each country will consult with the other members, bearing in mind that the ultimate aim is to “to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area”.At the drafting of Article 5 in the late 1940s, there was consensus on the principle of mutual assistance, but fundamental disagreement on the modalities of implementing this commitment. The European participants wanted to ensure that the United States would automatically come to their assistance should one of the signatories come under attack; the United States did not want to make such a pledge and obtained that this be reflected in the wording of Article 5.Invocation of Article 5-The 9/11 terrorist attacks-The United States was the object of brutal terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. The Alliance's 1999 Strategic Concept had already identified terrorism as one of the risks affecting NATO’s security. The Alliance’s response to 9/11, however, saw NATO engage actively in the fight against terrorism, launch its first operations outside the Euro-Atlantic area and begin a far-reaching transformation of its capabilities. Moreover, it led NATO to invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty for the very first time in its history.An act of solidarity-On the evening of 12 September 2001, less than 24 hours after the attacks, the Allies invoked the principle of Article 5. Then NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson subsequently informed the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the Alliance's decision.The North Atlantic Council – NATO’s principal political decision-making body – agreed that if it determined that the attack was directed from abroad against the United States, it would be regarded as an action covered by Article 5. On 2 October, once the Council had been briefed on the results of investigations into the 9/11 attacks, it determined that they were regarded as an action covered by Article 5.By invoking Article 5, NATO members showed their solidarity toward the United States and condemned, in the strongest possible way, the terrorist attacks against the United States.Taking action-After 9/11, there were consultations among the Allies and collective action was decided by the Council. The United States could also carry out independent actions, consistent with its rights and obligations under the United Nations Charter.On 4 October, once it had been determined that the attacks came from abroad, NATO agreed on a package of eight measures to support the United States. On the request of the United States, it launched its first ever anti-terror operation – Eagle Assist – from mid-October 2001 to mid-May 2002. It consisted in seven NATO AWACS radar aircraft that helped patrol the skies over the United States; in total 830 crew members from 13 NATO countries flew over 360 sorties. This was the first time that NATO military assets were deployed in support of an Article 5 operation.On 26 October, the Alliance launched its second counter-terrorism operation in response to the attacks on the United States, Operation Active Endeavour. Elements of NATO's Standing Naval Forces were sent to patrol the Eastern Mediterranean and monitor shipping to detect and deter terrorist activity, including illegal trafficking. In March 2004, the operation was expanded to include the entire Mediterranean.The eight measures to support the United States, as agreed by NATO were:to enhance intelligence-sharing and cooperation, both bilaterally and in appropriate NATO bodies, relating to the threats posed by terrorism and the actions to be taken against it; to provide, individually or collectively, as appropriate and according to their capabilities, assistance to Allies and other countries which are or may be subject to increased terrorist threats as a result of their support for the campaign against terrorism; to take necessary measures to provide increased security for facilities of the United States and other Allies on their territory; to backfill selected Allied assets in NATO’s area of responsibility that are required to directly support operations against terrorism;to provide blanket overflight clearances for the United States and other Allies’ aircraft, in accordance with the necessary air traffic arrangements and national procedures, for military flights related to operations against terrorism;to provide access for the United States and other Allies to ports and airfields on the territory of NATO member countries for operations against terrorism, including for refuelling, in accordance with national procedures;that the Alliance is ready to deploy elements of its Standing Naval Forces to the Eastern Mediterranean in order to provide a NATO presence and demonstrate resolve;that the Alliance is similarly ready to deploy elements of its NATO Airborne Early Warning Force to support operations against terrorism.Enhanced collective defence measures.Although NATO Allies have only invoked Article 5 once, they have coordinated collective defence measures on several occasions.On the request of Türkiye, on three occasions, NATO has put collective defence measures in place: in 1991 with the deployment of Patriot missiles during the Gulf War,  in 2003 with the agreement on a package of defensive measures and conduct of Operation Display Deterrence during the crisis in Iraq, and  in 2012 in response to the situation in Syria with the deployment of Patriot missiles.Following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the rise of security challenges from the south, including brutal attacks by ISIL and other terrorist groups across several continents, NATO implemented the biggest increase in collective defence since the Cold War. For instance, it tripled the size of the NATO Response Force (NRF), a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force; established a 5,000-strong Spearhead Force within the NRF; and deployed multinational battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. NATO also increased its presence in the southeast of the Alliance, centred on a multinational brigade in Romania. The Alliance further stepped up air policing over the Baltic and Black Sea areas and continues to develop key military capabilities, such as Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. At the 2016 Warsaw Summit, Allies recognised cyberspace as a new operational domain, to enable better protection of networks, missions and operations. At their meeting in November 2019, NATO Foreign Ministers agreed to recognise space as a new operational domain, to "allow NATO planners to make requests for Allies to provide capabilities and services, such as hours of satellite communications."Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – which started in February 2022 – and in line with its defensive planning to protect all Allies, NATO is taking additional steps to further strengthen deterrence and defence across the Alliance. This includes the deployment of the NRF for the first time in a deterrence and defence role. Allies have placed thousands of additional forces at high readiness, ensuring that the NRF continues to have the speed, responsiveness and capability to defend NATO territory and populations. Moreover, at an extraordinary Summit on 24 March 2022, NATO Leaders agreed to significantly strengthen the Alliance’s longer-term deterrence and defence posture. They agreed to reinforce the existing battlegroups and to establish four more multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. This has brought the total number of multinational battlegroups to eight, effectively doubling the number of troops on the ground and extending NATO’s forward presence along the Alliance’s eastern flank – from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. At the 2022 Madrid Summit, Allies committed to further concrete measures, such as deploying additional in-place combat-ready forces on the eastern flank, to be scaled up from the existing battlegroups to brigade-size units where and when required, underpinned by rapidly available reinforcements, prepositioned equipment, and enhanced command and control. They also made initial offers to NATO’s new force model, which will strengthen and modernise the NATO Force Structure and will resource a new generation of military plans. All these steps, together with the release of the 2022 Strategic Concept, which identified Russia as “the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area” will substantially strengthen NATO’s deterrence and forward defences.Standing forces-Collective defence measures are not solely event-driven. NATO has a number of standing forces on active duty that contribute to the Alliance’s collective defence efforts on a permanent basis. These include NATO’s standing maritime forces, which are ready to act when called upon. They perform different tasks ranging from exercises to operational missions, in peacetime and in periods of crisis and conflict.Additionally, NATO has an integrated air and missile defence system to protect Alliance territory, populations and forces against any air or missile threat or attack. NATO also conducts several air policing missions, which are collective peacetime missions that enable NATO to detect, track and identify all violations and infringements of its airspace and to take appropriate action. As part of such missions, Allied fighter jets patrol the airspace of Allies who do not have fighter jets of their own. They run on a 24/7 basis, 365 days a year. Article 6 has been modified by Article 2 of the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of Greece and Türkiye.On January 16, 1963, the North Atlantic Council modified this Treaty in its decision C-R(63)2, point V, on the independence of the Algerian departments of France.

EU leaders agree to open membership talks with Ukraine, Moldova by Ehren Wynder-Washington DC (UPI) Dec 14, 2023

European leaders agreed Thursday to open European Union membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova, over dissent from Hungary.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X he was glad to receive news of the EU's decision at the Brussels summit and congratulated Moldovan President Maia Sandu on the joint victory."I thank everyone who worked for this to happen and everyone who helped," Zelensky said. "I congratulate every Ukrainian on this day ... History is made by those who don't get tired of fighting for freedom."Sandu also expressed her gratitude for the decision and congratulated the Ukrainian president."We wouldn't be here today without Ukraine's brave resistance against Russia's brutal invasion," she said.The unanimous decision marks a major milestone for Ukraine, which seeks to join the EU once the war with Russia is over. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban opposed the decision but did not veto the move. He instead left the room while the other 26 leaders went ahead with the vote.He later said in a video the decision was "senseless," "irrational" and "incorrect" and added, "Hungary does not want to share in this bad decision."The EU's decision to open talks does not guarantee the countries membership, but it's a small victory for Ukraine as the U.S. Congress continues to battle over $60 billion in aid to the country.Zelensky met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington as Biden urged Congress to pass a comprehensive Ukraine-Israel aid package or give Russian President Vladimir Putin "the greatest Christmas gift they could possibly give him."Widespread support for Ukraine is popular in Europe, according to data from the European Commission. Sixty-one percent of EU citizens surveyed in October and November approved of the EU granting candidate status to Ukraine, and 60% approved of the EU financing the purchase of military equipment for Ukraine.

US, NATO air forces mobilize as war comes to Europe-By Rachel S. Cohen and Stephen Losey- Feb 24, 2022

American and NATO air forces are bolstering their stance in Eastern Europe after Russia launched its opening gambit in a far-reaching invasion of Ukraine on Thursday.The scope and speed of Russia’s military reach into the country has prompted Western officials to quickly decide on next steps, after weeks of vowing not to send reinforcements into Ukraine itself.Six U.S. F-35A Lightning II fighter jets deployed from Germany to multiple countries on NATO’s eastern flank on Thursday for air policing flights in solidarity with the transatlantic alliance. They’ll disperse alongside F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15 Eagle fighter jets across Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania, U.S. Air Forces in Europe said.7,000 more U.S. troops in armored brigade heading to Germany amid Ukraine attack
An armored brigade combat team's worth of troops and equipment is heading to Europe.By Meghann Myers-The presence of the Air Force’s most advanced fighter jet signals a swift response if Russia expands its offensive outside Ukraine’s borders and into NATO countries. The F-35A can act as a quarterback to pass targeting information and other data between other U.S. and NATO fighters in the region, should the alliance need to react quickly to Russian aggression.The six F-35As come after the Defense Department promised on Tuesday to send up to eight Lightning IIs that had arrived at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany from Hill Air Force Base, Utah.“Why are they in the Baltics? It’s assurance, deterrence and, quite frankly, I think they’ll do training as well, depending on how the situation evolves,” a senior F-35 official said Wednesday. Air Force Times is withholding their name because they were not authorized to speak to the press.That training involves working out the kinks in sharing targeting data and other sensor information between the F-35A and European jets, they said. The official expects multiple types of fighters running tactics drills together to ensure everyone is up to speed.“Europe’s going to have 500 F-35s. Only 50 of those are going to be U.S. airplanes at [RAF Lakenheath, England], give or take,” they said. “It has to be seamless with our partners.”U.S. Air Force and Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft, conduct a bilateral air-to-air training exercise over the Netherlands, Feb. 22, 2022. The U.S. and its allies are bound by shared principles of democracy, national sovereignty and commitment to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, vital to ensuring a strong and free Europe. (Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell/Air Force)-U.S. Air Force and Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft, conduct a bilateral air-to-air training exercise over the Netherlands, Feb. 22, 2022. The U.S. and its allies are bound by shared principles of democracy, national sovereignty and commitment to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, vital to ensuring a strong and free Europe. (Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell/Air Force)-The F-35As are likely collecting information about activity in the surrounding area through their sensors as well, while avoiding being tracked themselves, the official added.“They want to make sure that they’re communicating across the data links and sharing the right information. ‘Is this working? Are there any anomalies?’” the F-35 official said of training. “The other 50% of it is honing the tactics.”The official doubts U.S. fighters would enter Ukrainian airspace or fire weapons.They official estimated that about 200 people likely stayed at Spangdahlem while another 100 airmen moved farther east in a “hub-and-spoke” deployment intended to be more flexible in an emergency. That model keeps the bulk of military forces at an established installation like a brick-and-mortar base or an aircraft carrier, but sends a smaller group out to set up camp closer to the intended mission.Among those headed to the potential front lines may be Hill’s specialized cadre of versatile maintainers who know all about fixing the jets, known as the Lightning Technician Program.Rachel Cohen is the editor of Air Force Times. She joined the publication as its senior reporter in March 2021. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Frederick News-Post (Md.), Air and Space Forces Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy and elsewhere.Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

Real risk' Putin won't stop warns NATO chief; Putin claims over 600,000 troops deployed-by AFP Staff Writers-Brussels (AFP) Dec 14, 2023

There is a "real risk" that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop with Ukraine if he achieves military victory there, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned on Thursday.That prospect is why Ukraine's NATO allies must continue supporting Kyiv militarily, Stoltenberg stressed."If Putin wins in Ukraine, there is real risk that his aggression will not end there. Our support is not charity. It is an investment in our security," he said."The only way to reach a just and lasting solution is to convince President Putin that they will not win on the battlefield," Stoltenberg continued."And the only way to ensure that President Putin realises that he is not winning on the battlefield is to continue to support Ukraine."The NATO secretary general's comments came as support for further aid to Ukraine faltered in the United States and the European Union as a result of internal political manoeuvring.Opposition Republicans in the United States have opposed to providing more US military aid, while in the EU, Hungary has held up approval of a 50-billion-euro ($55-billion) package to stabilise Ukraine's war-hit finances over the next three years.EU leaders were gathered in Brussels on Thursday for a summit at which aid to Kyiv and Ukraine's bid to one day join the bloc were the headline issues.Stoltenberg's warning also came at the same moment Putin said his troops were progressing along most of the front line in Ukraine."The situation of our troops is improving throughout," Putin asserted during a Moscow press conference.Despite receiving weapons and ammunition from its allies, Ukraine has been unable over the past few months to make significant breakthroughs against entrenched Russian positions.Putin says 617,000 Russian servicemen deployed in Ukraine-Moscow (AFP) Dec 14, 2023 - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russian had deployed more than 600,000 military personnel in Ukraine, nearly two years after he ordered his troops to capture the capital Kyiv.Kyiv and Moscow are believed to have suffered massive casualties after months of large-scale hostilities and the United States believes some 315,000 Russian soldiers have either been killed or wounded."The front line is over 2,000 kilometres (1,242 miles) long. There are 617,000 people in the conflict zone," Putin said during his first end-of-year press conference since sending his army into Ukraine in February 2022.He added that some 244,000 mobilised troops were currently stationed in territories in Ukraine that are controlled by Russian forces.Putin made the comments during his end-of-year press conference, where he said that there were no immediate plans to introduce a fresh round of mobilisation of Russian men for the conflict.Vladimir Putin warns Ukraine war will continue until Kyiv capitulates-Washington DC (UPI) Dec 14, 2023 - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his plan for the war in Ukraine was unchanged and that the conflict would end only after Moscow's aims were realized.Speaking in an annual address to the Russian public, his first major news conference since Russia's forces full-scale invasion almost two years ago, Putin said there would be peace when his Ukraine objectives of "denazification, demilitarization and its neutral status," were achieved."These objectives do not change," he said."If they don't want to come to an agreement, then we are forced to take other measures, including military ones. Or we will agree on certain terms," he said at the carefully stage-managed event which was combined with a public phone-in.Putin claimed the sides reached an agreement in talks in Istanbul in March 2022, which was then scrapped -- Kyiv disputes there was ever any deal -- and re-iterated that there were only two possible outcomes to the conflict: come to deal, or resolve it by force."This is what we will strive for," Putin said.He said Russia's economy was performing strongly despite the demands being made on it by his so-called "special military operation," claiming Russian forces held front-line superiority all across the front line.However, he did reveal that a total of 617,000 troops were mobilized in Ukraine and that 300,000 men were drafted last year in addition to 486,000 "contract" soldiers -- but did not talk about casualties, estimated by the United States at 315,000.Warning that Russian sovereignty was inviolate, Putin said NATO was responsible for the war and the widening rift between his country and the Western world by threatening Russia's territorial integrity."The unbridled desire to creep towards our borders, taking Ukraine into NATO, all this led to this tragedy. Plus the bloody events in Donbas for eight years -- all this led to the tragedy that we are now experiencing. They forced us into these actions," he said."What the United States conceived and organized, Europe stands and silently watches, or plays and sings along with them there. Well how can we build relations with them?" Putin opined.He said the conditions for restoring "fully fledged" ties would only come with internal U.S. change resulting in it "respecting other people and other countries."

Seoul scrambles jets after Chinese Russian warplanes approach-by AFP Staff Writers-Seoul (AFP) Dec 14, 2023

South Korea's military said Thursday it scrambled fighter jets as two Chinese and four Russian military planes entered its air defence zone, an area wider than the country's airspace.The Chinese and Russian planes entered and exited the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, from 11:53 am (0253 GMT) to 12:10 pm, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.But "there was no invasion of airspace", it added, and the South Korean military identified the planes "before they entered KADIZ, and deployed air force fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for contingencies".An air defence identification zone is a broader area than a country's airspace in which it tries to control aircraft for security reasons, but the concept is not defined in any international treaty.China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning described the incident on Thursday as "a routine flight activity"."As far as I know, I think this was a routine flight activity by Chinese military aircraft above international waters, which is understandable and in accordance with international law," she told a regular press briefing.China and Russia are North Korea's traditional allies, and Washington warned last month that military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow were "growing and dangerous".The United States has called on Beijing -- the North's biggest economic benefactor -- to restrain Pyongyang.US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said last week that Washington and allies Seoul and Tokyo would "stand up" for stability across the Taiwan Strait, a sensitive waterway separating Taiwan from China.The three allies also reiterated their commitment to freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea.China has in recent years ramped up military and political pressures on democratic Taiwan, which it claims as its territory.To reinforce that both the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea are international waterways, Washington and its Western allies have increased "freedom of navigation" crossings by naval vessels, angering Beijing.Nuclear-armed North Korea last month put a military spy satellite into orbit, with Seoul saying it did so with Moscow's help, in return for supplying weapons for use in Russia's war with Ukraine.The satellite launch fractured an inter-Korean military agreement established to de-escalate tensions on the peninsula, with both countries ramping up security along the demilitarized zone separating them.In June, South Korea deployed fighter jets in response to Chinese and Russian warplanes near its airspace, as the two countries conducted joint air force patrols over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.Military jets from Moscow and Beijing also entered and exited Seoul's KADIZ in November last year, prompting the South to scramble its fighter jets.Similar to the incident on Thursday, none of them violated South Korea's airspace at that time.

Iranian president to meet Putin in Russia on Thursday: Kremlin-by AFP Staff Writers-Moscow (AFP) Dec 5, 2023

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Russia on Thursday for talks with Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said, as the two countries strengthen economic and military ties in the face of Western sanctions."I can confirm. There will be Russian-Iranian negotiations on December 7," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday when asked about media reports of Raisi's impending visit.Putin visited Iran in July last year and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov travelled to Tehran in October for talks with regional counterparts.Western countries have accused Tehran of supporting Russia's offensive in Ukraine by providing it with large quantities of drones and other weaponry.Iran's official news agency Irna said Raisi would be travelling to Moscow following an invitation from Putin."Bilateral issues, including economic interactions, as well as discussions about regional and international issues, especially the situation in Gaza, will be high on the agenda of the one-day trip," it reported.

Symposium in Finland brings industry and experts together to strengthen NATO’s responses to hybrid threats-updated: 15 Dec. 2023 16:12

Allied experts and representatives met with industry at the NATO Hybrid Symposium in Helsinki, Finland to address the challenges posed by adversarial use of hybrid tools (12-13 December 2023). At the two-day event, members of NATO’s Counter Hybrid Support Teams (CHST) convened for a training session, boosting the Alliance’s ability to respond to challenges and strengthening cooperation in the hybrid community. The Symposium also had a session with private sector representatives, to look at further collaboration between NATO and the private sector..David Van Weel, Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges with Elina Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland-“NATO remains the unique and indispensable forum to consult, coordinate and act on hybrid threats. We see authoritarian actors increasingly interfering in our democratic processes and institutions. In fact, we see them targeting the security of our citizens through hybrid tactics on a daily basis. Our discussions at the symposium therefore focused on how to better prepare for, deter, and defend against this coercive use of political, economic, energy, information and other hybrid tactics.” said David Van Weel, Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. In response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Allies are strengthening their national resilience against hybrid threats and improving their ability to understand the hybrid threat landscape, including strategies used by Russia and China. Russia seeks to destabilise Allied democracies through implementing hybrid campaigns that involve cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns and energy blackmail, as well as in recent months, its use of migrants against Finland. In Vilnius, NATO leaders addressed China’s ambitious and opaque military developments, its technological advances, and its malicious cyber and hybrid activities, confrontational rhetoric and disinformation.This is the first time that the symposium has been hosted in person. The event was co-organised with Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence. “We are proud of this opportunity to host the NATO Hybrid Symposium in Finland. The theme of the event is very topical. NATO has a key role in countering hybrid activities.”, said Foreign Minister Valtonen. Finland also hosts the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki. The Centre serves as a hub of expertise, assisting participating countries in improving their civil-military capabilities, resilience and preparedness to counter hybrid threats. Inaugurated in October 2017, the Centre is hosted by the Finnish Government and is supported by 35 other countries, as well as NATO and the EU.

NATO Deputy Secretary General concludes two-day visit to Paris to meet senior government and industry representatives-4 Dec. 2023 - 15 Dec. 2023
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NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană concluded his two day visit to Paris on Friday (15 December 2023). In Paris, Mr Geoană engaged with French government officials and representatives from the private sector.-NATO Deputy Secretary General at the French National Assembly-On Thursday morning the Deputy Secretary General visited the French National Assembly and had an engagement with with Mrs Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the National Assembly and her team. He also met Ambassador Anne-Marie Descôtes, the Secretary General of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.On Friday, Mr Geoană met the Romanian ambassador to France and other Allied ambassadors before meeting with Préfet Stéphane Bouillon, Secretary General for Defence and National Security.While in Paris, the Deputy Secretary General also held talks with representatives from the defence industry, including Mr Éric Trappier, CEO of aerospace manufacturer Dassault Aviation, and Mrs Pascale Sourisse, senior executive vice-president of Thales Group.

NATO Secretary General with Prime Minister of Slovakia: support to Ukraine is not charity, it is an investment in our security-14 Dec. 2023.
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Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico to NATO Headquarters on Thursday (14 December 2023). Mr Stoltenberg praised Slovakia’s commitment to the Alliance, including hosting a multinational NATO battlegroup, deploying forces to Latvia, and planning to invest 2% of GDP in defence this year. They also discussed continued support to Ukraine and further bolstering the Alliance’s deterrence and defence.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Róbert Fico, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic.The Secretary General welcomed Slovakia’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasising that “there are no signs that Putin is preparing for peace. Instead the Kremlin is preparing for a long and grinding war”. Mr Stoltenberg thanked Prime Minister Fico for confirming that Slovakia would continue to provide humanitarian aid and contribute to NATO’s comprehensive assistance package for Ukraine. He also welcomed continued defence industry cooperation between Slovakia and Ukraine and that the crucial repair hub in Slovakia will remain operational. “Stopping military assistance to Kyiv would prolong the war, not end it,” said the Secretary General. He stressed that “if Putin wins in Ukraine, there is a real risk that his aggression will not end there.”On NATO’s deterrence and defence, the Secretary General said that a long-planned US missile defence base in Poland will become operational on Friday (15 December 2023). “This is an important step for transatlantic security” and it will “boost Allies’ ability to defend against the threat of ballistic missiles, particularly from the Middle East,” said Mr Stoltenberg.

NATO agrees 2024 budgets, demonstrating Allied solidarity in addressing shared security challenges-13 Dec. 2023 -

Allies agreed NATO’s civil and military budgets for 2024 at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Wednesday (13 December 2023). The civil budget is set at €438.1 million, and the military budget is set at €2.03 billion, representing a 18.2% and 12% increase respectively over 2023.31 NATO Flags at NATO headquarters in Brussels-NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană highlighted that increasing and broadening the use of NATO common funding allows Allies to more effectively address shared security challenges. “Common funding demonstrates Allied solidarity and collective will. In turbulent times, we need this more than ever,” he said.At the Madrid Summit in 2022, Allies agreed to invest more together in NATO, in response to rising global competition and threats to Euro-Atlantic security caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. At the Vilnius Summit in 2023, NATO leaders took further steps to strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence and committed to ensuring that these decisions are adequately resourced.  They reaffirmed their enduring commitment to a strong transatlantic bond, unity and cohesion at a critical time for global peace and security.NATO’s civil budget provides funds for personnel, operating costs, and programme expenditures of NATO’s Headquarters and its international staff. The military budget covers the operating costs of NATO Command Structure headquarters, missions, and operations around the world. NATO’s third principal common funded element is the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP), which covers major construction, and command and control system investments. The 2024 ceiling for the NSIP is €1.3 billion, representing a 30% increase over 2023.Common-funded budgets strengthen NATO, providing major capabilities, enabling deterrence, defence and interoperability, and supporting consultation and decision-making at the highest levels. NATO is committed to providing security in a way that is effective, transparent, and financially responsible.

Britain, Japan, Italy sign $32B treaty to develop next-generation fighter jet-by Paul Godfrey-Washington DC (UPI) Dec 14, 2023

Britain, Japan and Italy signed a $32 billion deal Thursday to develop a next-generation AI-enabled stealth fighter jet that may fly without a pilot.The defense ministers of the three countries inked the treaty in Tokyo committing their joint Global Combat Air Program to deliver one of the most "advanced, interoperable, adaptable and connected fighter jets" in the world by 2035, Britain's Ministry of Defense said in a news release.The goals for the supersonic stealth aircraft, to be known as "Tempest" in Britain, which is leading the program, are to deliver enhanced military capability and strategic benefits and underscore the "indivisibility" of the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions.The future fighter jet will offer battle-winning advantages including next-generation technologies such as pilotless flight and powerful radar that can provide 10,000 times more data than current systems."Thousands are already working to deliver the next generation fighter jet the U.K. needs to fight and win against future enemies," British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps wrote in a post on X."Today's treaty signing will drive forward our Global Combat Air Programme, which will support thousands more jobs and unlock billions to grow the economy."GCAP's main contractors -- Britain's BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, defense contractor MBDA, Italy's Leonardo Aerospace and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- welcomed the signing of the deal.Leonardo program director Guglielmo Maviglia hailed the development of the innovative next-generation core platform underpinned by advanced technology as "charting a transformational new approach to international industrial collaboration."Mitsubishi said the deal provided a structure through which it could collaborate more closely with Britain and Italy to ensure the success of the program."We will work to ensure that GCAP contributes to strengthening Japan's defense capabilities," pledged Mitsubishi GCAP Senior Fellow Hitoshi Shiraishi.Under the treaty, Britain -- which has already invested $3.3 billion on technology and training in readiness for driving forward the program -- will host the joint GCAP government headquarters working with Japanese and Italian colleagues, with its first CEO coming from Japan.The formal agreement comes a year after the three countries first announced the GCAP program for future fighter jets to strengthen their defense and create high-skilled jobs and strengthen the industrial bases of all three nations while driving innovation that would deliver beyond pure military utility.

Denmark widens terror probe as alleged Hamas members arrested in Germany-Danish police holding 2 in custody in terrorism investigation; Berlin says 3 arrested there suspected of planning attacks on Europe Jewish targets; no confirmed links between cases
By Jan Olson Today, 7:37 pm 0-DEC 15,23

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark is holding two people in custody and four others are the target of a terrorism investigation, a prosecutor said Friday, in a case that coincided with an arrest in the Netherlands and several in Germany of alleged Hamas members.Authorities in Germany said three people arrested there were suspected of preparing for attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe. Danish authorities said that one person was arrested in the Netherlands, but it wasn’t clear if there were any ties to the Hamas investigation in Germany.Denmark hasn’t cited an alleged Hamas link in its investigation. The two people being held in Denmark were ordered to remain in pretrial detention until January 9. Danish media identified them as a man in his 50s and a 19-year-old woman.Danish intelligence agency PET on Thursday announced the arrests of three people on suspicion of plotting to carry out “an act of terror.” One of them, identified by Danish media as a 29-year-old man, was released, prosecutor Anders Larsson said early Friday after a night-long custody hearing at a Copenhagen court.Larsson also said that four other people were held in “pretrial custody in absentia,” but he didn’t say whether authorities knew their whereabouts or if an active search for them was underway. Without elaborating, he said there was “still someone at large.”None of the suspects can be identified because of a court order, and the custody hearing was held behind “double closed doors” — meaning no details were available about the case, which is shrouded in secrecy.Senior police inspector and head of emergency services in Copenhagen Police Peter Dahl gives a joint press briefing at the police station in Copenhagen, Denmark, December 14, 2023. (Martin Sylvest/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)-A joint statement from the Mossad spy agency and the Shin Bet security service released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Thursday said that the arrests “thwarted a terror attack plot that aimed to kill innocent civilians in Europe.”Jerusalem accused the Hamas terror group of increasingly seeking to sow terror across the continent.German prosecutors allege that the three men detained in Germany on Thursday were tasked with finding a previously set-up underground Hamas weapons cache in Europe. “The weapons were due to be taken to Berlin and kept in a state of readiness in view of potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe,” they said.On Friday, a judge ordered the three men detained in Berlin to be held in custody pending a possible indictment for being members of a foreign terrorist organization, prosecutors said. A fourth suspect in the German case was taken into custody on Thursday in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.German prosecutors alleged the suspects “have been longstanding members of Hamas and have participated in Hamas operations abroad.” They said the suspects were closely linked to the leadership of Hamas’s military wing, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.Earlier this month, the EU’s home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, warned that Europe faced a “huge risk of terrorist attacks” over the Christmas holiday period amid the Israel-Hamas war.War erupted in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw 3,000 terrorists storm the border with Israel, killing 1,200 and kidnapping over 240 people — mainly civilians — amid horrific acts of brutality.In response, Israel launched a wide-scale offensive on the Gaza Strip, which is governed by Hamas, and vowed to destroy the terror group’s military and governance capacities.Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks with the media as she arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, December 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) At a European Union summit on Thursday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen mentioned the Danish, German and Dutch cases but declined to tie them together. She said the wider picture for security in Europe was worrying.“We have seen how ships are attacked in the Red Sea off Yemen,” she told a press conference in reference to a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that slammed into a cargo ship Friday in the Red Sea, following another attack only hours earlier that struck a separate vessel.“Individually, these incidents are serious and worrying, but together they paint a picture of something bigger. That we are facing a more serious and complex threat picture,” she said. “It is very, very serious.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

In first since war, cabinet approves reopening of Israeli crossing to Gaza for aid-PMO reveals Israel committed to allow entry of 200 trucks as part of last month’s hostage release deal; official: decision temporary, only extends to aid from Egypt, not UN-By Jacob Magid Today, 6:47 pm 0-DEC 15,23

The cabinet has voted to approve the temporary reopening of Israel’s Kerem Shalom Crossing for the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza for the first time since the outbreak of the war on October 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Friday.The statement came after escalating pressure from the Biden administration and hours after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan wrapped up his final meetings in Israel.Netanyahu’s office revealed for the first time that Israel had committed as part of the truce that secured the release of 105 hostages last month that it would facilitate the entry of 200 trucks per day of humanitarian aid into Gaza.Egypt’s Rafah crossing, which until now has been the only one open for the entry of aid, has only been able to keep up with 100 trucks per day, even after Israel began using Kerem Shalom for inspections earlier this week in addition to its Nitzana Crossing, said Netanyahu’s office.The current framework has led to significant bottlenecks in the entry of aid.“To comply with the agreement, today the cabinet temporarily approved the unloading of trucks on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing,” the Israeli statement, employing the vaguest language possible, to announce that it had reopened Kerem Shalom for the entry of aid.The cabinet decision only extends to aid from Egypt and not the United Nations, an Israeli official said.Netanyahu’s office also revealed that “the US has pledged to finance the upgrading of the Rafah crossing as quickly as possible.” The Egyptian access point will eventually be beefed up enough to be the sole crossing where aid is allowed into the Strip, so that Israeli crossings will not be needed for this purpose as well.US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who was wrapping up a visit to Israel on Friday, called the decision a “significant step.”“President (Joe) Biden raised this issue in recent phone calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and it was an important topic of discussion during my visit to Israel over the past two days,” he said.The United States hoped “this new opening will ease congestion and help facilitate the delivery of life-saving assistance,” Sullivan added.The World Health Organization welcomed the announcement but also called for  the aid to be distributed throughout the Strip, including the north which has been largely cut off by the fighting.The cabinet decision is the latest flip-flop from Netanyahu’s government regarding humanitarian aid since Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.Netanyahu initially pledged not to allow any aid into Gaza, essentially imposing a siege on the Hamas-run enclave.Two weeks later, though, Israel began allowing aid trucks into the Strip through Egypt’s Rafah Crossing. It kept its own Kerem Shalom goods crossing closed, arguing it that it would not directly facilitate the entry of aid into Gaza as long as hostages remained inside.Jerusalem said it was part of a broader policy to try to disconnect from the enclave.Just over a month into the war, Israel approved the entry of fuel tankers into Gaza for the first time after Netanyahu initially declared that “not one drop” would be allowed in since it would be diverted by Hamas.But the amount of aid still lagged well behind the 500 trucks a day that entered Gaza before the war, which the UN says is still not currently sufficient given Gaza’s unprecedented humanitarian crisis.Until a seven-day truce was implemented at the end of November, just about 50 trucks were entering Gaza on average each day. The temporary ceasefire saw a major spike of 200 trucks per day.That number had plummeted back down to roughly 100 a day since.War erupted in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing over 240 hostages of all ages — mostly civilians — under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.In response, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas, and launched a wide-scale offensive aimed at rooting out the terror organization’s military and governance capabilities. The offensive has drawn international reproach for its mounting death toll, with the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reporting over 18,000 Palestinians dead. However, these figures cannot be verified and are believed to include both combatants and noncombatants.The Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.

EU, 14 countries urge Israel to halt ‘unprecedented violence’ by West Bank settlers-Call from Australia, Britain, Canada, France, EU, several other European countries — but not Germany or US — says Israel’s settlement policy ‘illegal under international law’
By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 6:35 pm 0-DEC 15,23

Western nations and the European Union Friday urged Israel to “take concrete steps to halt unprecedented violence by Israeli settlers” in the West Bank, in a joint statement published by France’s foreign ministry.The call from Australia, Britain, Canada, France, the European Union and several other European countries — but notably excluding Germany and the United States — highlighted “an unprecedented number of attacks perpetrated by extremist settlers” since early October that they said had claimed eight Palestinian lives and wounded 83 people.Reiterating that Israel’s settlement policy “is illegal under international law,” the signatories of Friday’s statement said that “as the occupying power, Israel must protect Palestinian civilians in the West Bank” and “bring those responsible for this violence to justice.”Israel denies the settlements are illegal, saying that the West Bank, which it captured in 1967 from Jordan, is disputed territory.Friday’s statement came days after EU chief Ursula von der Leyen backed imposing sanctions on “extremist” Israeli settlers — although not all of the bloc’s 27 nations agreed.While some members such as Spain have sharply criticized Israel’s response to Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, others including Germany have stood firmly behind Jerusalem.Violence in the West Bank has soared since October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst into Israel from the land, air and sea in a shock assault in which they massacred more than 1,200 people and seized some 240 hostages, mostly civilians. Entire families were slaughtered in their homes and some 360 people were mowed down at an outdoor music festival.In response to the deadliest massacre in the country’s history, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip, where the terror group has ruled since 2007.Since the start of the war, an uptick in violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank has been noted by human rights groups in Israel and abroad.On November 28, anti-West Bank settlement organization Yesh Din said it had recorded 225 incidents of Israeli civilian violence in 93 Palestinian communities in the West Bank since October 7.According to activist groups such as B’tselem and Peace Now, as well as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), this wave of harassment has led hundreds of Palestinians in vulnerable rural communities to abandon their villages.There have also been a number of deadly terror attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and Israel since October 7.Israeli troops have arrested some 2,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,100 affiliated with Hamas.According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, some 200 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, and in a few cases settlers.Based on military estimates, the vast majority of the 200 Palestinians killed since October 7 were shot dead during clashes amid arrest raids. Around 60% of them, according to data seen by The Times of Israel, were armed with either a firearm or an explosive device.The IDF has said that it is aware of at least three cases of uninvolved Palestinians being killed by troops in recent weeks, and a handful of cases of settlers killing Palestinians, which are still under investigation.While the US did not join the call, last week the State Department said that it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of recent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, as well as on Palestinians involved in attacks on Israelis.

IDF carries out large-scale drills in north-Gantz: If world doesn’t push Hezbollah from the northern border, we will-IDF attack helicopter, drone strike South Lebanon targets; sirens blare in Kiryat Shmona; US national security adviser calls for ‘diplomacy’ in eliminating terror threat from north-By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff Today, 5:51 pm 0-DEC 15,23

War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz on Friday warned that Israel would be forced to push the Hezbollah terror group away from the Lebanese border if the international community could not do so through diplomatic means.Gantz, speaking during a visit to Ma’alot-Tarshiha in the Upper Galilee, said he had invited top Western diplomats to visit the area and realize the threat posed by Hezbollah.Gallant warned, “If the world doesn’t get Hezbollah away from the border, Israel will do it.”At the same time as he was speaking rocket sirens sounded in the largely evacuated northern town of Kiryat Shmona, as the Israel Air Force struck a number of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, amid the ongoing exchanges of fire with the terror group along the northern border.An attack helicopter and drone struck terror targets in southern Lebanon, including a rocket launcher used to fire projectiles at northern Israel.The IDF said some of the rockets were intercepted, while others landed in open areas. There were no immediate reports of casualties.The Iron Dome also intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, and a drone launched from Lebanon crashed near an army post close to Menara, the IDF said.Earlier in the day, the IDF also said that troops carried out a strike on two gunmen identified near the border.Israel has warned it will no longer tolerate the presence of the Iran-backed terror group along the northern frontier, after some 3,000 Hamas terrorists stormed the border from the Gaza Strip on October 7, murdering 1,200 people and kidnapping over 240 — mainly civilians.Since that date, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, though they have attempted to limit the scope of the attacks in an apparent bid to avoid all-out war.In an apparent warning to Hezbollah, the IDF issued a statement Friday saying it was carrying out intensive training in northern Israel.The army said the drills, dubbed “precious time,” are aimed at preparing the soldiers for “additional possible scenarios on the northern border,” while carrying out their routine operations in the area.It said the troops are training during the day and at night, in open and urban areas, and from the level of platoons to battalions. The soldiers were also being taught how to use armored vehicles and other weaponry.US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Friday that “the citizens of Israel who have been evacuated from the north have to be able to return to their homes and have to be able to do so with a true sense of security. “And that means dealing with the threat that comes from the other side of the border.”However, he said, Washington still believes “that threat can be dealt with through diplomacy and does not require the launching of a new war.”Sullivan conceded that such an effort requires “deterrence as well, because we need to send a clear message that we will not tolerate the kinds of threats and terrorist activity that we have seen from Hezbollah and from the territory of Lebanon.”The message appeared to reflect an intensification of Israeli pressure on the US and other members of the international community to restore calm on the border through diplomatic means. Jerusalem is hoping that the US, France, or other foreign mediators will be able to broker the enforcement of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.The resolution called for the disarmament of all non-state armed forces in Lebanon as well as for the region between the Israel-Lebanon border and the Litani River to be free of all armed forces other than the Lebanese army and the UN’s peacekeeping mission UNIFIL.Over the years, however, Hezbollah has repeatedly violated the resolution, amassing weapons and forces near the border with little enforcement by UNIFIL.Meanwhile, residents of southern Lebanon on Friday said that the IDF had dropped leaflets warning residents not to help Hezbollah, for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began.“Early Friday morning, a drone dropped leaflets over the village that landed between the houses,” said a resident of Kfarshuba near the border, requesting anonymity due to security concerns. Another resident said leaflets were dropped twice after the wind blew many from the initial batch away.“To the residents of South Lebanon, we inform you that the terrorist Hezbollah is infiltrating into your homes and your lands,” read a copy of a leaflet seen by AFP.“You must stop this terrorism for your own security,” the text added, warning the population that assisting Hezbollah would expose them “to danger.”Residents along the Lebanese border have said the Israeli army has stepped up its strikes on targets in the frontier villages in recent days.Israel also dropped leaflets over parts of south Lebanon during a 2006 war with Hezbollah, and has dropped fliers encouraging Palestinians not to help Hamas during the current war in Gaza.So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in four civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of six IDF soldiers. On the Lebanese side, more than 120 have been killed, according to an AFP tally. Hezbollah on Wednesday said three more of its members were killed, bringing the group’s stated toll to 103 — some of whom were killed in Syria.More than 64,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, mostly in the south, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration.In Israel, an estimated 100,000 people have evacuated their homes on the northern border with Lebanon.Israeli defense officials estimate that the Hezbollah death count is higher and that the terror group is covering up the true number of fatalities among its ranks. Sixteen other Palestinian terrorists have also been killed on the Lebanon side of the border, along with at least 14 civilians and three journalists.

ASML, Samsung ink 700mn chip plant deal as S.Korea president visits-By Jan HENNOP-Veldhoven, Netherlands (AFP) Dec 12, 2023

Dutch tech giant ASML and Samsung Tuesday signed a deal worth around 700 million euros to build a semiconductor research plant in South Korea, as President Yoon Suk Yeol wrapped up day one of a technology-focused visit.Yoon was the first foreign leader to visit ASML's highly secure "cleanroom", on a trip to the Netherlands aimed at forging a "chip alliance" between the two global semiconductor powerhouses.He toured the city-sized facilities of ASML, which makes cutting-edge machines to manufacture the semiconductor chips that power everything from your smartphone to your car.ASML and Samsung later agreed to "jointly in the future" invest in the facility that would "develop cutting-edge semiconductor processing technology using next-generation EUV (extreme ultraviolet) equipment". Semiconductors are the "linchpin" of ties between Korea and the Netherlands, Yoon told AFP in an exclusive written interview before becoming the first Korean leader to visit since ties were established in 1961.But they have also emerged as a battleground between China and the West.Washington and the Netherlands are among the powers that have imposed restrictions on exporting advanced chip-making equipment to China, fearing Beijing could use it to make cutting-edge weapons.Beijing has described this as "technological terrorism".Yoon said his host ASML's innovation in the sector had "been a major driver of an industrial revolution pushing the boundaries in areas like AI (artificial intelligence) and 5G communication".As competition with China hots up, the semiconductor industry is "strategically more important than ever before, which makes this visit to the Netherlands especially meaningful", added Yoon in his AFP interview.Yoon was joined on his visit to ASML by the heads of major chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.The two Korean firms are affected by the export curbs to China since they have based a large portion of their production, especially of advanced DRAM and flash memory chips, in China.ASML too enjoys healthy sales to China, especially of DUV (deep ultraviolet) systems that print the tiny elements that make up a microchip.Yoon told AFP his visit to ASML would mark a "crucial turning point" for ties between the two countries, with discussion on chip co-operation his "top priority" during the visit.- 'Chip alliance' -His office has said the two nations want to forge a "chip alliance" that would involve governments, businesses and research universities.The two countries are expected to sign several agreements after a meeting between Yoon and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday.The Netherlands and Korea already enjoy strong trade ties.Korea is the third-largest trade partner for the Dutch in Asia, while the Netherlands is the second-top partner for Korea in the European Union, according to the Dutch government.During a summit between Yoon and Rutte in November 2022, the two countries signed a "strategic partnership" including a pledge to boost semiconductor ties.The visit kicked off with a welcome ceremony from Dutch King Willem-Alexander, before the trip to ASML in Veldhoven, southern Netherlands.In the ceremony on Amsterdam's historic Dam central square, Yoon and Willem-Alexander inspected a military guard of honour and chatted to children waving Korean and Dutch flags.Yoon will head to The Hague for the meeting with Rutte Wednesday, following which the two men will hold a news conference.

Exposure to soft robots decreases human fears about working with them-Doctoral students Justin Allen, left, and Ryan Dorosh, demonstrate a soft robot in development at WSU. Photo by Dean Hare, WSU Photo Services.by Sara Zaske for WSU News
Vancouver WA (SPX) Dec 07, 2023

Seeing robots made with soft, flexible parts in action appears to lower people's anxiety about working with them or even being replaced by them.A Washington State University study found that watching videos of a soft robot working with a person at picking and placing tasks lowered the viewers' safety concerns and feelings of job insecurity. This was true even when the soft robot was shown working in close proximity to the person. This finding shows soft robots hold a potential psychological advantage over rigid robots made of metal or other hard materials."Prior research has generally found that the closer you are to a rigid robot, the more negative your reactions are, but we didn't find those outcomes in this study of soft robots," said lead author Tahira Probst, a WSU psychology professor.Currently, human and rigid robotic workers have to maintain a set distance for safety reasons, but as this study indicates, proximity to soft robots could be not only physically safer but also more psychologically accepted."This finding needs to be replicated, but if it holds up, that means humans could work together more closely with the soft robots," Probst said.The study, published in the journal IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors, did find that faster interactions with a soft robot tended to cause more negative responses, but when the study participants had previous experience with robots, faster speed did not bother them. In fact, they preferred the faster interactions. This reinforces the finding that greater familiarity increased overall comfort with soft robots.About half of all occupations are highly likely to involve some type of automation within the next couple decades, said Probst, particularly those related to production, transportation, extraction and agriculture.Soft robots, which are made with flexible materials like fabric and rubber, are still relatively new technology compared to rigid robots which are already widely in use in manufacturing.Rigid robots have many limitations including their high cost and high safety concerns - two problems soft robots can potentially solve, said study co-author Ming Luo, an assistant professor in WSU's School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering."We make soft robots that are naturally safe, so we don't have to focus a lot on expensive hardware and sensors to guarantee safety like has to be done with rigid robots," said Luo.As an example, Luo noted that one rigid robot used for apple picking could cost around $30,000 whereas the current research and development cost for one soft robot, encompassing all components and manufacturing, is under $5,000. Also, that cost could be substantially decreased if production were scaled up.Luo's team is in the process of developing soft robots for a range of functions, including fruit picking, pruning and pollinating. Soft robots also have the potential help elderly or disabled people in home or health care settings. Much more development has to be done before this can be a reality, Luo said, but his engineering lab has partnered with Probst's psychology team to better understand human-robot interactions early in the process."It's good to know how humans will react to the soft robots in advance and then incorporate that information into the design," said Probst. "That's why we're working in tandem, where the psychology side is informing the technical development of these robots in their infancy."To further test this study's findings, the researchers are planning to bring participants into the lab to interact directly with soft robots. In addition to collecting participants self-reported surveys, they will also measure participants' physical stress reactions, such as heart rate and galvanic skin responses, which are changes in the skin's electrical resistance in reaction to emotional stress.

China's sea-based rocketry expands with Smart Dragon 3's success-The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center launches a Smart Dragon 3 carrier rocket from waters off the coast of Yangjiang, South China's Guangdong province, at 3:24 am (Beijing Time), Dec 6, 2023.by Simon Mansfield-Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 07, 2023

In a historic event that marked a significant milestone in space exploration, the South China Sea became the backdrop for its very first space launch mission. The early morning of Wednesday witnessed the awe-inspiring spectacle of a Smart Dragon 3 carrier rocket lifting off the coast of Yangjiang in Guangdong province.The clock read 3:24 am as the rocket, a creation of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, embarked on its journey from a launch service ship. Its mission: to transport a space-based internet technology demonstration satellite into its preset orbit.This satellite, known as CX-19, was conceived and constructed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, located in Shanghai. The successful launch of CX-19 is a testament to China's growing prowess in space technology.While this historic launch made headlines, it takes place against the backdrop of complex geopolitical issues in the South China Sea. The South China Sea is a region of significant strategic importance, with multiple countries, including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan, having competing territorial claims over various islands and features.China has asserted its territorial claims in the South China Sea through the controversial "Nine-Dash Line," which is not recognized under international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This has led to ongoing tensions and disputes in the region.In addition to territorial disputes, China's extensive island-building activities and militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea have raised concerns among neighboring nations and the international community. These actions have the potential to alter the strategic balance in the region and have prompted freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) by the United States and other countries to challenge excessive maritime claims.The South China Sea is not only a hotspot for geopolitical tensions but also a region rich in natural resources, including fish stocks and potential oil and gas reserves. Competition over these resources has intensified the disputes in the area.Despite the diplomatic efforts, including negotiations and dialogues facilitated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), progress in resolving the South China Sea disputes has been slow due to differing interests and positions among the parties involved.While the launch of the Smart Dragon 3 represents a significant achievement in China's space exploration endeavors, it's important to acknowledge the broader context of regional and international concerns surrounding the South China Sea. The region has witnessed increased military posturing and the involvement of major powers like the United States, Japan, and Australia, all of whom have expressed interest in the stability and security of the South China Sea.The successful launch of the Smart Dragon 3 in the South China Sea not only represents a significant step forward in China's space capabilities but also underscores the complex interplay of geopolitical and strategic interests in this crucial maritime region. It reaffirms China's commitment to pushing the boundaries of space technology and highlights the potential of sea-based rocketry as a vital component of future space endeavors.Based on a Xinhua News Agency article

Israel reports progress against Hamas militants with air strikes, tunnel fightinG-by Doug Cunningham-Washington DC (UPI) Dec 14, 2023

The IDF Thursday said it is making slow but steady progress in Gaza ground fighting against Hamas, including killing several Hamas militants in what the IDF described as a significant tunnel.The IDF released footage Thursday showing several Hamas fighters killed in the tunnel. The video appears to show a camera lowered into the tunnel when a Hamas fighter touches it before being hit by either a shot or an explosive. Bodies of other Hamas fighters are then seen on the floor of the tunnel.According to the IDF, more than 100 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza fighting.The Gaza Ministry of Health reports 18,787 Gazans have been killed and 50,897 injured since the war started Oct. 7.Al Jazeera reports that at least 26 people were killed Thursday in an Israeli air strike in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. The ministry said at least 179 people were killed and 300 wounded over the past day.At least eight Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded Thursday in the fighting including 82nd battalion commander Lt. Col. Shahar Barkai. Two other Maglan special force troops were also wounded, according to the IDF.Those casualties came just a day after 10 IDF soldiers were killed and six wounded in Gaza ground fighting.Hamas military spokesman Abu Obaida said on Telegram that the Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, killed and wounded dozens of Israeli troops and partially or completely destroyed 72 Israeli Army vehicles within the last 72 hours.Though Al Jazeera reported those numbers, they could not be independently confirmed.Hamas also on Thursday called for mass worldwide demonstrations 'in solidarity with Gaza.'The IDF said it apprehended "dozens of terror operatives in the Gaza Strip and transferred them for further questioning.""During operational activity in the area of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, IDF troops located a building used by Hamas terrorist operatives and located weapons inside. Additionally, during engagements with terrorists in the area of the hospital, a number of terrorists were killed by IDF troops," the IDF said in a statement.According to another IDF statement Thursday, the Paratroopers Brigade has operated over the past week killing and apprehending Hamas fighters and uncovering and destroying more tunnel networks."During searches in the areas and the residences of Hamas operatives, soldiers of the 7421st Battalion found ready-to-launch Grad missiles, hundreds of explosive devices, dozens of weapons, and a lathe used to produce rockets," the IDF statement said. "Additionally, soldiers of the 202nd Battalion discovered several memory cards containing materials filmed by Hamas terrorists on Saturday, October 7th."Top US official arrives in Israel amid public rift over Gaza-Tel Aviv (AFP) Dec 14, 2023 - Top White House official Jake Sullivan arrived in Israel on Thursday amid a public rift over civilian casualties in Gaza more than two months into the Israel-Hamas war.President Joe Biden's national security adviser was greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of talks expected to focus on Israel's military offensive in the Palestinian territory.A photo shared by the Israeli prime minister's office showed Sullivan and Netanyahu shaking hands in Tel Aviv.It said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that "an expanded meeting with the members of the war cabinet will be held later".Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also met Sullivan and told him the war would "last more than several months," according to his office."Hamas is a terrorist organization that built itself over a decade to fight Israel, and they built infrastructure under the ground and above the ground and it is not easy to destroy them."It will require a period of time -- it will last more than several months, but we will win and we will destroy them."Ahead of his trip, Sullivan told a Wall Street Journal event he would discuss a timetable to end the war and urge Israeli leaders "to move to a different phase from Palestinian presidency slams mosque 'desecration' by Israel army-Jenin, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Dec 14, 2023 - The Palestinian presidency on Thursday condemned what it called the "shameful desecration" of a mosque in the occupied West Bank by Israeli troops who were seen reciting a Jewish prayer.Video footage obtained by AFP showed soldiers inside a mosque in Jenin refugee camp using loudspeakers to recite the Shema Yisrael, a central prayer in Judaism.Towards the end of the clip, laughter can be heard as troops walk outside the mosque and a Hanukkah song rings out from the loudspeaker.It was not clear when the footage was filmed but Israeli forces were engaged in a deadly raid in Jenin this week that saw 11 Palestinians killed, according to the Palestinian health ministry."Israeli occupation forces' desecration of a mosque in the Jenin camp is shameful and condemnable behaviour," Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.He warned against "dragging the region into a religious war" and of "the repercussions of these attacks"."The flames of religious war that Israel seeks to ignite will not be limited to Palestinian region only, but will extend to the entire world if it remains silent about Israel's crimes and violations of the rights of Palestinian people."Abu Rudeineh called on the international community and the United States to "put pressure on Israel to stop its violations against Palestinian people, their property and their sanctities".The Israeli army said the soldiers involved had been removed from operational duties to face disciplinary procedures.Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement: "Steps will be taken accordingly against those who don't act according to IDF (army) values."In Gaza, where Israel is engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas and has shelled the territory for weeks, the Hamas antiquities ministry estimates more than 100 mosques have been destroyed.the kind of high-intensity operations that we see today."The United States is a major funder of the Israeli military and last week vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire.The war began when militants from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas burst across the Gaza border on October 7 and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to the Israeli authorities.In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a relentless bombardment and ground invasion that has left swathes of Gaza in ruins.The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory says 18,787 people have been killed, mostly women and children.

Putin says peace possible after 'de-militarisation'of Ukraine-by AFP Staff Writers-Moscow (AFP) Dec 14, 2023

Russia President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that peace was possible with Ukraine only after Moscow achieved its goals in the nearly two-year conflict."There will be peace when we achieve our goals. They are not changing. I will remind you what we talked about -- the de-nazification and de-militarisation of Ukraine and its neutral status," he said during his press conference in Moscow.When Putin launching his troops on Ukraine in February 2022, he requested the "de-nazification" of its pro-Western neighbour, a loosely defined term that survivors of the Holocaust have condemned.He also demanded the "de-militarisation" of Ukraine, which was fending off Russia's assault."As for de-militarisation, they don't want to negotiate, so we are then forced to take other measures, including military measures," Putin said.He also said that the sides "agreed on this during the talks in Istanbul" but that Ukraine subsequently disavowed the agreements."Either we agree or we need to resolve (the issue) by force," he said.

Inside the US Army’s failed nuclear ice lair in Cold War Greenland-By Claire Barrett- Dec 13, 12:06 PM

As Soviet ICBM tests and the launch of Sputnik in the 1950s added intensity to the Cold War, the United States turned its attention to the ice sheets of Greenland for an edge.Meant to be a “city under the ice,” Camp Century was designed to be a series of “twenty-one horizontal tunnels spidering through the snow,” according to the University of Vermont. Designers boasted that, once complete, it would be three times the size of Denmark — replete with a movie theater, hot showers, a chapel, a library, chemistry labs, and, most importantly, a portable nuclear reactor.Destined to house nearly 200 residents, the top-secret missile base in northwestern Greenland, far north of the Arctic Circle, was publicly touted as a “remote research community” under the auspices of the Army Polar Research and Development Center.In reality, it was “a top-secret plan to convert part of the Arctic into a launchpad for nuclear missiles,” according to the Washington Post.Dubbed “Project Iceworm,” the city nestled under layer after layer of ice was to be positioned less than 3,000 miles from Moscow. During the Cold War, the frigid location offered the U.S. Army a more covert and convenient cover for its medium-range ballistic missiles, or MRBMs.The project was to take advantage of the strategic location of Greenland — midway between the two superpowers — so as to avoid using long-range Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, located stateside, professor Nikolaj Petersen of Denmark’s Aarhus University wrote in a 2007 article for the Scandinavian Journal of History.In 1958, the U.S. received tacit approval from Denmark — which has maintained control of the world’s largest island since the 1814 Treaty of Kiel — after being approached with the plans for Iceworm by U.S. ambassador Val Petersen.According to Petersen’s account, Danish Prime Minister H. C. Hansen replied, “You did not submit any concrete plan as to such possible storing, nor did you ask questions as to the attitude of the Danish Government to this item. I do no[t] think that your remarks give rise to any comments from my side.”The U.S. deemed this a green light, with construction slated to begin in June 1959. Despite temperatures as low as -70°F, winds as high as 125 miles per hour and an annual snowfall of more than four feet, the audacious project was completed the following October, according to the Atomic Heritage Foundation.“The missile force is hidden and elusive,” a 1960 planning document noted. “It is deployed into an extensive cut‐and‐cover tunnel network in which men and missiles are protected from weather and, to a degree, from enemy attack. The deployment is invulnerable to all but massive attacks and even then most of the force can be launched. Concealment and variability of the deployment pattern are exploited to prevent the enemy from targeting the critical elements of the force.”U.S. soldiers within the icy catacombs of Camp Century, an Arctic military base in Greenland. (U.S. Army)The audacious $2.71 billion plan didn’t account for one thing, however: Mother Nature.It became increasingly clear, in short order, that building an atomic city under shifting ice sheets was tenuous at best. The project was scrapped entirely by 1967, and the massive underground structure collapsed shortly after.Despite this rather large military gaffe, the project wasn’t entirely a waste. During the building of Camp Century, U.S. glacier scientist Chester Langway drilled “a 4,560-foot-deep vertical core down through the ice,” according to an account in the University of Vermont Today. “Each section of ice that came up was packaged and stored, frozen. When the drill finally hit dirt, the scientists worked it down for twelve more feet through mud and rock. Then they stopped.”For decades, this layer of ice and rock from Greenland’s core remained untouched, stored in cookie jars at the bottom of a freezer in Denmark.Then in 2017, it was rediscovered by Jørgen Peder Steffensen, a professor and curator of the ice core repository at the University of Copenhagen, and glaciologist Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, who were going through the university’s extensive collections of ice cores in preparation for a move to a new freezer.“Some were oddly labeled ‘Camp Century sub-ice,’” Steffensen told UVM Today. “I never thought about what was in those two boxes.“Well, when you see a lot of cookie jars, you think: who the hell put this in here?” he continued. “No, I didn’t know what to make of it. But once we got it out, we picked it up to see these dirty lumps, and I said: what is this now? And all of a sudden it dawned on us: Oh s--t, this is the sediment underneath it. The ‘sub-ice’ is because it’s below the ice. Whoa.”In October 2019 the overlooked bits of dirt finally had their time in the sun as more than 30 scientists from around the world gathered in Vermont to study what the silty ice and frozen sediment might tell us.The convention discovered that the sediment contained “fossilized leaf and twig fragments, proving that plants had once grown under one of the coldest regions on earth,” according to the Washington Post story.While the U.S. didn’t get to act out its Bond villain lair fantasies, it did, at the very least, further scientific understandings of the world around us — and below us.Observation Post is the Military Times one-stop shop for all things off-duty. Stories may reflect author observations.