Khalil deliberately lied on his visa application form, concealing his previous work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

By Mike Wagenheim, JNS

The Trump administration plans to re-arrest and deport Syrian-born anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant U.S. secretary of homeland security for public affairs.

“It looks like he’ll go to Algeria. That’s what the thought is right now,” McLaughlin told NewsNation’s “Katie Pavlich Tonight.” Khalil’s mother has family ties to Algeria, and as a result, Khalil holds citizenship there.

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate of Palestinian descent, holds a green card as a U.S. permanent resident. He has been accused of organizing encampments and other protests at the Manhattan campus, several of which turned violent and included rhetoric supporting Hamas.

Khalil has said he served only as the spokesperson for the protests and has denied supporting violence. He has been fighting efforts to deport him through the legal system since Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him in New York in March 2025.

While efforts to deport Khalil on the grounds that his presence undermined U.S. foreign policy interests were largely rejected by federal courts, the Trump administration found more success in its case that Khalil deliberately lied on his visa application form, concealing his previous work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which Israeli and U.S. officials have shown has ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups.

Khalil also failed to disclose employment with the British embassy in Syria, according to federal authorities.

On Jan. 15, a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a 2-1 ruling dismissing a habeas action Khalil filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE officials, challenging his detention and vacating the lower court’s release order.

“It’s a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a green card. You are a guest in this country. Act like it,” McLaughlin said. “It is a privilege, not a right, to be in this country to live or to study.”

Khalil filed a $20 million claim against the Trump administration in July 2025, alleging wrongful detention and prosecution over his support for the Palestinian cause.

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But if Algeria wants reparations, how about we start with reparations for the over 1 million Europeans trafficked through Algeria’s slave markets?

By Daniel Greenfield, Frontpage Magazine

Islamic victimhood, whether it’s crying about colonialism or genocide, is entirely based on moral inversion.

Only in the most grotesque inversion could the Algerian Muslim terrorists have been transformed into anti-colonial freedom fighters.

But that’s what leftists did a few generations ago while completely disregarding not only Algeria’s extended history of piracy and slavery (the two overlapped with Muslim pirates abducting entire European towns, not to mention Miguel Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, and selling them into slavery) but also even while they were waging their ‘anti-colonial struggle’ against France, were also massacring the Jewish population, which the French had been oppressive enough to provide equal rights to.

A no-no in Islam.

Now, Algeria’s regime is demanding ‘reparations’ from France.

Algeria’s parliament has unanimously approved a law declaring France’s colonization of the country a crime and demanded an apology and reparations.

In a solemn ceremony steeped in symbolism, 340 of 407 members of Algeria’s National Assembly voted late Wednesday to approve the law.

The law stipulates prison sentences for any action by an Algerian celebrating French colonialism, for attacks on symbols of the Algerian resistance, and “remarks with colonial connotations.”

That last part is the actual substance. No one is allowed to oppose Islamic terrorism or suggest that minorities were better off before Islamic terrorists took over.

But if Algeria wants reparations, how about we start with reparations for the over 1 million Europeans trafficked through Algeria’s slave markets?

What’s the price to be paid for Algeria’s habit of taking European women as sex slaves?

The United States had to fight a war on Algiers to stop its habit of attacking American ships and taking their crews captive.

Before that we were paying ‘reparations.” Jefferson refused to keep paying reparations.

Meanwhile, Algeria has an estimated 89,000 slaves today. Where do they apply for reparations?

Algeria’s Islamic regime can consider French ‘colonialism’ a minor down payment on the reparations it owes for enslaving millions.

And then there are the current atrocities Algerian Muslim colonists are committing in France.

An Algerian Muslim refugee terrorist went on a stabbing spree at a market in France while shouting “Allahu Akbar” or “Allah is greater than your religion.” The Muslim terrorist managed to kill a 69-year-old man and stab several police officers.

Two Algerian men accused of abducting and raping a woman in Toulouse in September 2022, before leaving her naked on the roadside, appeared before the Assize Court on Monday to answer for their alleged crimes.

France left Algeria long ago. Perhaps it’s time for Algerians to leave France.

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Gilad Erdan blasts UN Security Council for ignoring Iranian threat, instead “wasting time on Hamas terrorists’ lies.”

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the United Nations used his final speech to slam the body for its hypocrisy, after it convened to discuss IDF air strikes on trusted but ignored Hezbollah’s killing of children and teens in late July.

Algeria, which does not recognize the State of Israel, called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss recent Israeli Air Force bombing of Hamas terrorists, who were hiding in a school in the Gaza Strip.

“You convened for these terrorists who used a school as their terror base, but for the children of Majdal Shams, murdered by Hezbollah’s rocket fire, you couldn’t find the time for an urgent session,” ambassador Gilad Erdan told the Council.

“Shame on you!”

Erdan noted that the terrorists’ decision to leverage a civilian site as a base for its violent attacks against Israel is in direct violation of international law, as it involves the use of human shields.

The Hamas-controlled Gazan Health Ministry claimed that dozens of women and children were killed in the strike, without providing evidence for that claim.

Israel has presented a list of the names of Hamas operatives who were killed in the bombing and has asserted that collateral damage to civilians was minimal.

“The Council convened today to discuss Hamas’ false claims,” Erdan continued.

“Shockingly, it seems that you have decided to dedicate your time to listen to the terrorists’ lies while no real concern has been shown when Israeli children were murdered recently by Hezbollah.”

Erdan also blasted the Council for ignoring ongoing Iranian threats towards Israel, which threatens to plunge the Middle East into a devastating all-out war.

“Right now, millions of Israelis are preparing for a direct Iranian attack, just as they did in April. Iran’s aggression threatens the entire region with war. Yet, you are here wasting time on falsehoods spread by the words of terrorists.”

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Algerian Olympic judoka appears to intentionally gain weight in order to be disqualified from match against Israeli.

By World Israel News Staff

An Algerian judoka who seemingly gained weight in order to be disqualified from an Olympic match against an Israeli is being investigated by the International Judo Federation (IJF), the sporting organization announced in a statement.

Messaoud Redouane Dris was set to face off against an Israeli opponent, Tohar Butbul, in Paris, in an under-73 kilogram bout.

But the Algerian, who appeared at the weigh-in just 10 minutes before the deadline, was found to weigh 73.4 kilos — disqualifying him from the match on Monday.

Butbul automatically qualified for the next round of matches, and Dris’ Olympic journey came to an end.

The Olympics bans athletes from refusing to compete due to an opponent’s country of origin, with serious consequences for those who flout the policy.

The last-minute weight gain was likely a strategic move by Dris to avoid the consequences of stating that he was refusing to compete against an Israeli for political reasons.

The Algerian newspaper al Nahar praised Dris for “cleverly avoiding meeting Israeli opponent by failing” the weigh-in.

However, Dris’s strategy may have failed. In a media statement, the IJF implied that they did not believe Dris’ weight-based disqualification, one day before a scheduled match with an Israeli, was a coincidence.

“The IJF firmly upholds the principles of fair play, the Olympic spirit and non-discrimination. We believe that sport should remain a realm of integrity and fairness, free from the influences of international conflicts,” the body said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, athletes often become victims of broader political disputes which are against the values of sport.”

The IJF added that “a full review and investigation of the situation will be conducted and further action will be taken if needed.”

Israel’s Olympic Committee chair Yael Arad demanded punitive measures against the Algerian Olympic delegation.

“I think this is a disgrace,” Arad, an ex-judoka told Reuters.

:I think that you can play with the weigh-in, the category, [say] I wasn’t prepared, but everybody knows this is a political issue. My heart goes out to this athlete.”

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Israeli judoka to face judo world champion after Algerian opponent drops out of match, after Tajikistani judoka snubbed Israeli rival.

By World Israel News Staff

An Algerian judoka forfeited his match with an Israeli competitor, removing himself from the championship and enabling his would-be opponent to advance to the finals and face the current world champion.

On Monday, Algeria’s Messaoud Dris was disqualified from competing in the under 73 kilogram (160.6 pounds) category, after he appeared at Monday’s weigh-in at 73.4 kilos.

Dris had been slated to compete against Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul. As a result of the disqualification, Butbul advances to the next round and will face the reigning world champion, Hidayat Heydarov of Azerbaijan.

According to a report by Ouest France, Dris had planned on forfeiting the match, due to his country’s lack of diplomatic ties to Israel and refusal to recognize the Jewish state.

By ensuring that he was slightly over the weight maximum, however, Dris will not be automatically sanctioned for dropping out of the match, though he may still face punitive actions by the International Judo Federation if it determines he in fact did intentionally act to avoid facing an Israeli competitor for political reasons.

Should he be found to have intentionally disqualified himself to avoid facing an Israeli opponent, Dris could potentially be banned for life from competing in games sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee and the World Judo Federation.

Israel’s Olympic committee condemned Dris in a statement Monday, saying: “The Israeli delegation will continue to compete with the Olympic values in mind. We believe this kind of behavior has no place in the world of sport.”

This is not the first time an Algerian judoka has refused to compete against Butbul.

In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 as a result of the COVID pandemic, Fethi Nourine dropped out from the competition to avoid facing Butbul. Nourine’s coach, Amar Benikhlef received a 10-year suspension as a result.

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The resolution will almost surely be vetoed by the United States, though no official has commented on the draft.

By Andrew Bernard, JNS

Following an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday afternoon, Algeria began circulating a concise draft resolution calling for an immediate end to Israel’s military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, tying it to a recent ruling by the International Court of Justice.

Algeria, which serves as the Arab and Muslim world’s de facto Security Council member, called for Tuesday’s closed consultations of the council following a Sunday night Israeli airstrike that killed two senior Hamas commanders.

It is thought by Israeli officials that shrapnel from the strike may have hit a gas tank or stored Hamas weapons, leading to an explosive fire that Hamas says killed 35 civilians.

An Israeli investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Much of the international community has long demanded Israel stay out of Rafah, where some one million Gazans evacuated from elsewhere in the enclave had sought refuge, bringing the population there to an estimated 1.3 million. More than a million people have since left the city.

Israel has insisted that Rafah, which is thought to be the final remaining Hamas stronghold, needs to be invaded to root destroy the terrorist group’s four remaining intact battalions as well as much of its leadership, and to rescue Israeli hostages believed to be held there.

The draft resolution unveiled shortly after Tuesday’s meeting, says that the council “decides that Israel, the occupying power, shall immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in Rafah.”

In its preambular section, the resolution references the recent ICJ ruling, thought by many, including some ICJ judges, to be unclear and ambiguous, but which Palestinian supporters say demands an immediate halt to Israel’s Rafah operation.

A different interpretation is that the operation must only be halted if it violates the Genocide Convention.

Additionally, the Algerian resolution “demands an immediate ceasefire respected by all parties, and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and further demands that the parties comply with their obligations under international law in relation to all persons they detain.”

It demands the full implementation of all previous Security Council resolutions passed on the Israel-Hamas conflict, including one calling for a ceasefire and the other two regarding humanitarian aid delivery.

A short decisive text

JNS sources indicate the Arab Group drafted a much longer resolution but that Algeria, seeking a quick vote devoid of drawn-out negotiations on the text, decided to move forward with something simpler.

Amar Bendjama, Algeria’s U.N. ambassador, told reporters after Tuesday’s session that the resolution will be “a short text, a decisive text, to stop the killing in Rafah.”

He did not indicate when he planned to bring it up for a vote.

Fu Cong, China’s new U.N. envoy, said, “We hope that it could be done as quickly as possible because life is in the balance,” expressing preference for a vote this week.

Nicolas de Rivière, France’s U.N. ambassador, addressed the media before the meeting, saying, “It’s high time for this council to take action. This is a matter of life and death. This is a matter of emergency.”

The resolution is almost sure to be vetoed by the United States, though no official has commented on the draft.

On March 25, Washington abstained on a resolution calling for a ceasefire, allowing it to pass the Security Council. The United States then claimed the resolution was non-binding, as it wasn’t a “decision” of the Security Council, since the word “decides” wasn’t used in the text.

A JNS source indicates that Algeria specifically used the word “decides” in the text about halting the Rafah operation so that Washington cannot make the same claim this time.

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Israel is blaming South Africa and Algeria for the incident, Reuters reports.

By World Israel News Staff

The Israeli delegation at the African Union’s annual summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was expelled Saturday, Reuters and Walla reported.

Sharon Bar-li, deputy director for Africa at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, headed the delegation, which was participating as an observer.

תקרית דיפלומטית חמורה: חברי משלחת ישראל גורשו מאולם ועידת האיחוד האפריקני | צפו@BarakRavid pic.twitter.com/uNiffXhugf

— וואלה! (@WallaNews) February 18, 2023

“Israel takes the incident in which the Deputy Director for Africa Ambassador Sharon Bar-li was removed from the African Union Hall despite her status as an accredited observer with access badges very seriously,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Hair, according to Walla.

“It is sad to see that the African Union has been taken hostage by a small number of extremist countries such as Algeria and South Africa, driven by hatred and controlled by Iran. We call on African countries to stand against these actions that harm the organization of the African Union itself and the entire continent.”

Ebba Kalondo, the spokesperson for the African Union’s commission chairman, said Bar-li was removed because she was not the duly accredited Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia, Reuters reported.

Israel disagreed, saying it was done at the request of South Africa and Algeria, two countries that are hostile to the Jewish state.

“We call on the countries of Africa to stand up against these actions that harm the organization of the African Union itself and the entire continent,” the Israeli foreign ministry stated.

“Until the AU takes a decision on whether to grant Israel observer status, you cannot have the country sitting and observing,” Clayson Monyela, head of public diplomacy in South Africa’s department of international relations, told Reuters.

“So, it’s not about South Africa or Algeria, it’s an issue of principle,” he added.

The Algerian delegation was not immediately available for comment to Reuters.

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Ruptured Moroccan-Algerian ties reflect long-standing rivalry that Israel has nothing to do with.

By Ariel Ben Solomon, JNS.org

Algeria’s decision last week to sever diplomatic ties with its neighbor, Morocco, put the spotlight on the strengthening Israeli-Moroccan relations that were born out of the Abraham Accords.

Prof. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, an expert on North Africa and senior fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, told JNS that Algeria and Morocco have been “geopolitical and ideological rivals for more than a half-century on the morrow of attaining independence.” The future of Spain’s ex-colony, Western Sahara, has been the center of their rivalry since 1975, with Algeria supporting the Polisario independence movement and Morocco acting to incorporate the territory into the kingdom, he explained.

In December 2020, the U.S. recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in return for Rabat normalizing relations with Jerusalem, as part of the series of normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states that were brokered by the Trump administration. Last month, Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid visited Morocco to inaugurate the Israeli liaison office there, while revealing plans to open mutual embassies within months.

But last year’s quid pro quo in the Abraham Accords process — unilateral U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the contested territory in return for Morocco’s restoration of diplomatic relations with Israel — was highly upsetting to Algeria, Weitzman noted.

“Moroccan expressions of support for the radical Kabylian Amazigh independence movement in Algeria, done mostly to irritate the Algerians, are also part of the background to the Algerian decision to sever relations,” he said.

Weitzman added, “Algeria has blamed the movement for the recent large-scale forest fires in Kabylia, in a transparent effort to divert criticism of the regime’s failure to contain the fires.”

At the same time, Sarah Feuer, an expert on Arab politics and fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, believes that Israel’s role in the North African dispute is minor.

“Algeria was indeed dismayed at Morocco’s decision to resume diplomatic relations with Israel, and more recently, Algeria criticized Morocco for advocating on Israel’s behalf in gaining observer status in the African Union,” she told JNS.

“But ultimately,” Feuer added, “the rupture of ties between Algeria and Morocco reflects a longstanding, locally driven hostility between these two states, principally over the Western Sahara, and an effort on the part of the Algerian regime to deflect attention away from a domestic political and economic crisis the state seems unable to resolve.”

Lapid’s statement in Morocco that Iran is working with Algeria to block Israeli observer status in the African Union upset the Algerians, and Israel replied in kind.

“Underpinning Algeria’s militant stance are the regime’s difficulties in renewing its legitimacy in the eyes of an angry and disillusioned public, which is showing signs of renewing the mass peaceful Hirak protest movement that shook the regime to its core in 2019,” Weitzman said.

An Israeli diplomatic source told AFP last week that Algeria “should focus on its own problems, serious economic problems especially, so its citizens can live the life they deserve, rather than trying to harm their neighbor and involve Israel in its disputes.”

Algeria said August 24 that it cut ties with Morocco due to “hostile actions.” Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra also accused Lapid of “senseless accusations and veiled threats.” Lapid had expressed “worries about the role played by Algeria in the region.” The Israeli source told AFP that Lamamra’s allegations are “unfounded and without interest — they bring nothing new.”

During Lapid’s visit to Morocco, he raised concerns that Algeria was “getting close to Iran” and that it worked to prevent Israel from admission as an observer member of the African Union.

Yet Feuer said, “We should be careful not to overstate the Iranian issue here. It is true that Algeria — in contrast to Morocco — maintains relations with Iran. Still, neither Algiers’ ties to Tehran nor Rabat’s firm placement within the pro-West camp are new.”

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Despite Israeli-Sudanese normalization of ties, Mohamed Abdalrasool did not show up for the competition, automatically giving Tohar Butbul the win.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A Sudanese judoka did not appear for his Olympic bout with his Israeli counterpart in the 73kg. division Monday, despite his country’s recent normalization of relations with the Jewish state.

Mohamed Abdalrasool weighed in for the competition but then failed to show up to fight world No. 7 Tohar Butbul, automatically catapulting Israel’s Butbul into the next round. Neither Sudanese Olympic officials nor the International Judo Federation (IJF) commented immediately on the reason for Abdalrasool’s disappearance.

He is the second Olympic player to drop out because he did not want to compete against Butbul. Algeria’s Fethi Nourine was suspended by the IJF on Saturday when he withdrew after the draw of entrants showed that he would face the Israeli if he beat his next opponent. Ironically, the judoka he was to face first was Abdalrasool, so no matter who would have won their bout, Butbul would have received a guaranteed win and kept his Olympic hopes alive.

While Nourine, whose country has no diplomatic relations with Israel, said his support for the Palestinian cause led to his decision, Sudan, on the other hand, joined the Abraham Accords last October.

Sudan’s decision to following in the footsteps of the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco in reestablishing ties with the Jewish state was not without its opponents in the Sudanese government, which is a combined military-civilian group put in place after longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir was deposed in 2019. It was only in April that its cabinet voted to annul the country’s official boycott of Israel that had been in place since 1958.

The U.S. promise to remove Sudan from its list of state supporters of terrorism played a large role in bringing Khartoum to the table with Israel.

Butbul, who had received a first-round bye due to his vaunted world standing, finally got to compete when he was matched against Victor Sterpu of Moldavia. He defeated the 2020 European Judo champion to reach the quarter-finals, but then fell against the former world champion, South Korean Chang-rim An, in an epic battle that lasted more than eight minutes.

Butbul then lost in the repechage round to Arthur Margelidon of Canada. Judo is the only sport where two bronze medals are awarded in each weight class, one to the third-place competitor, and one to the winner of the consolation rounds against the other losers of the quarter-finals.

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Algerian judoka insists “Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this;” Israel’s Tohar Butbul to fight on Monday.

By World Israel News Staff

In the first snub of the Tokyo Olympics, an Algerian judoka withdrew from the games rather than face an Israeli opponent.

Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine announced his withdrawal from the games after drawing a possible matchup against Israeli Tohar Butbul in the under 73 kg weight class. Nourine was scheduled to fight Sudan’s Mohamed Abdelrasool with the winner of that bout facing Butbul.

Abdelrasool will now advance to fight Butbul on Monday.

“We worked a lot to reach the Olympics… but the Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this,” Nourine told Algerian media.

The judoka’s coach, Amar Ben Yaklif, echoed Nourine’s position.

“We were not lucky with the draw. We got an Israeli opponent and that’s why we had to retire. We made the right decision,” Ben Yaklif said.

This wasn’t the first time Nourine withdrew from a competition to avoid fighting the Israeli Butbul. Nourine dropped out of the 2019 World Judo Championships in Japan for the same reason.

Algeria’s not the first Arab country to snub Israel in a judoka tournament.

In 2016, Egyptian judoka Islam Shelhaby was sent home early from Rio de Janeiro for refusing to shake hands with Or Sasson after losing to the Israeli.

In April, the International Judo Federation put a four year ban on the Iranian Judo Federation after Tehran demanded its athletes refuse to compete with Israelis. The ban, which was backdated, expires in 2023.

Iranian judokas had been faking injuries or deliberately lost fights to avoid competing with Israelis, but their behavior was put in the spotlight when Saeid Mollaei fled the 2019 Judo Championship in Japan rather than obey directives from Iran to throw a fight to avoid facing Israeli Sagi Muki.

After receiving asylum in Germany, Mollaei became a Mongolian citizen, represented his new country at the 2021 Judo Grand Prix in Tel Aviv, and counts Muki as a close friend.

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Algeria’s Lina TV aired a debate about whether to participate in international sporting events with Israelis on Jan. 22.

The post WATCH: Algerian TV debates whether to boycott or play Israeli athletes appeared first on World Israel News.

In recognition of their suffering during World War II, Germany has agreed to compensate 25,000 Algerian Jews.

By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Jews who lived in Algeria, then a French colony, between July 1940 and November 1942, suffered under the control of the Nazi-affiliated Vichy regime. At long last, these Jews will be eligible for a one-time payment of €2,556.46 ($3,183), announced the Conference on Material Claims Against Germany on Monday. The Claims Conference is an international Jewish group that distributes Holocaust compensation funds on behalf of the German government.

Approximately 130,000 Jews lived in Algeria at the time.

“This is a long overdue recognition for a large group of Jews in Algeria who suffered anti-Jewish measures by Nazi allies like the Vichy Regime” said Greg Schneider, the Conference’s executive vice president. When negotiations with the German government began in August 2017, Schneider explained, “It was obviously not like the camps in Poland, but it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t persecution — and on that basis we believe that people are entitled to compensation.”

Vichy France introduced a series of anti-Semitic laws in 1940 which stripped Jews of their French citizenship, barred Jewish children from public schools, and prevented Jewish doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and other professionals from working in their trades. Many Jewish businesses and properties were taken away from their owners and transferred to non-Jews. And according to historian Jean Laloum, a certain number of Jews were sent to harsh labor camps in southern Algeria “because they were Jewish,” unlike most other prisoners, who were imprisoned due to their anti-regime activities or political beliefs.

Such little compensation is purely symbolic, of course, “but the recognition is important and we will continue to fight until every survivor has been recognized,” said Ruediger Mahlo, the Claims Conference’s representative in Germany, in a statement.

According to figures provided by the non-profit Claims Conference, which has worked on the issue of compensation with the German government since 1951, Berlin has paid out some $70 billion to survivors and their families over the last seven decades.

Most of the Algerian survivors live in France, and four centers will be set up in various cities to register claimants. Letters explaining the eligibility for compensation will be sent to all other known survivors, including some 3,900 in Israel.
The German government has now recognized the persecution of Jews in three former French colonies in North Africa that were controlled by their Vichy allies during World War II – Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.

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The Saudi Ambassador to Algeria said Hamas does not legitimately represent the Palestinians and rather “seeks to create and cause problems.” 

Saudi Ambassador to Algeria Sami Bin Abdullah Salih referred to Hamas as a “terrorist organization” in an interview with an Algerian newspaper.

“Of course, [Hamas] is classified…It certainly is, if it seeks to create and cause problems,” Salih said when asked by a reporter from the Al-Nahar newspaper if his country considers Hamas a terror group, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Salih also criticized Hamas leaders for their lavish lifestyles while living in Qatar.

“The right to resistance is guaranteed to the PLO, not one sitting in a five-star hotel in Qatar, carrying out conspiracies from there,” Salih said. “It should be that one is with his people and trying to advance his issue.”

Khaled Mashaal, who recently stepped down as the Palestinian terror group’s top political leader, had been based in Qatar before the country jettisoned several Hamas officials. Mashaal’s replacement, Ismail Haniyeh, resides in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Salih’s comments come amid tension between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries broke off relations with Qatar last month over the country’s support for terrorist groups such as Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic State, in addition to its warm ties with Iran.

Hamas expressed its “utmost disappointment and disapproval” of the Saudi ambassador’s “inciting” statements, calling the comments “at odds with the values, principles and customs of our Arabic and Islamic nations…Hamas is a legitimate resistance movement against the Zionist occupation, the primary enemy of the Arabic and Islamic nations.”

By: JNS.org

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On her new instrumental album, ‘Oriental Soul,’ flutist Heftsiba Zer Aviv breathes new life into the sounds on which she was raised as the child of Yemenite and Algerian Jews.

The post WATCH: Israeli flutist brings the sound of the Mediterranean to life appeared first on World Israel News.

“Wonder Woman” may be a hit at the box office, grossing $228 million worldwide in its first weekend, but the movie has hit the rocks in much of the Arab world because of its Israeli star, Gal Gadot.

Wonder Woman may be a hit at the box office, grossing $228 million worldwide in its first weekend, but not in much of the Arab world. The reason? It’s Israeli star, Gal Gadot.

After being banned in Lebanon, Wonder Woman is now facing bans in Tunisia, Jordan and Algeria.

The Hollywood media site Deadline.com reported Thursday that the movie’s scheduled release in Tunisia was suspended because of Gadot’s defense of Israel’s 2014 incursion into Gaza.

Deadline said the secular Arab nationalist People’s Movement party petitioned the Tunisian culture ministry to ban the movie as part of an effort to isolate Israel.  “We must continue the mobilization on this type of affair, as on everything related to normalization with the Zionist entity,” the People’s Movement said in a statement.

Deadline quoted a spokesman for the ministry who said the cancellation of the screening was “purely administrative,” but the movie’s Tunisian distributor Lassaad Goubantini said, “It’s a decision based on bogus accusations… Today they prevent a film because of an actress, tomorrow they’ll invent another excuse. It’s an attack on liberties.”

Jordan also suspended screening of the movie Wednesday pending a decision by the country’s media commission.

“Cinemas that screen the film before the commission approves it will be closed, as this would be considered a violation of the law,” Mohammad Quteishat, director of Jordan’s Media Commission, told the Petra News Agency.

Wonder Woman was also taken off the schedule of a film festival in Algeria, however, festival organizers told AFP that it was pulled because of “administrative issues linked to exhibition rights.”  A petition titled, “Non! Pas en Algérie” (No, Not in Algeria), was launched last week, calling for a ban on screening the movie in the country.

Lebanon banned the movie before its premiere, following a decision by the country’s Ministry of Economy and Trade, which prohibits all ties with Israel.

By: TPS

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