Hamas Threatens With Regional War If Israel Resumes Assassinations

Deputy head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas Movement, the de-facto ruler of the Gaza Strip, has warned Israel against resuming assassinations, saying the move could spark a “regional war.”

Al-Arouri, who is wanted by Israel for allegedly masterminding the 2014 kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens, claimed during an interview with Al-Mayadeen TV that was aired on August 25 that Israel decided to target numerous figures, including top Hamas military commander Muhammed Deif.

The threat came after the Israeli security cabinet convened last week following several recent deadly attacks in the occupied West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said later that the ministers had agreed on “a series of decisions to target terrorists and authorized the prime minister and the defense minister to act on the matter.” Leaks from the meeting revealed the resumption of assassinations was one of the steps called for.

During his interview, al-Arouri also claimed that far-right members of the Israeli government were seeking to expel Palestinians from the West Bank and take control over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

“The leaders of the occupation government, with their extremist policies, will cause an all-out war in the region,” the senior Hamas official said. “Some in the cabinet are considering actions such as taking control of Al-Aqsa Mosque and dividing it, along with assassinations, knowing that this would lead to a regional war.”

“If we reach the point of an all-out confrontation, Israel will face an unprecedented defeat in its history, and we are confident of that,” he added.

Al-Arorui said that Hamas was “preparing for an all-out war, and we are closely discussing the prospects of this war with all relevant parties,” mentioning recent threats by Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

“The all-out war will be a defeat for Israel,” claimed al-Arouri.

Responding to al-Arorui threats, Netanyahu said that the Hamas deputy leader “knows well why he and his friends are in hideouts.”

“Hamas and the rest of Iran’s proxies know well that we will fight with all means against their efforts to cause terror — in Judea and Samaria, Gaza and anywhere else,” the premier said on August 27, using the biblical names for the West Bank. “Anyone who tries to harm us… will pay the full price.”

Violence surged in the West Bank in recent months as a result of an Israeli crackdown on Palestinians there and in other areas.

Tensions escalated between Israel and Hamas after the military wing of the group, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the August 19 Huwara attack, in which two Israelis were killed.

https://southfront.press/hamas-threatens-with-regional-war-if-israel-resumes-assassinations/

US Commerce Secretary Arrives in Beijing as CCP Struggles to Save Its Economy

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo arrived in Beijing on Sunday night, kicking off three days of talks with senior Chinese officials who are grappling with a faltering economy.

According to China’s state media, Ms. Raimondo was greeted by Li Feng, director general of China’s Commerce Ministry, as well as U.S. ambassador Nick Burns, at the Beijing Capital International Airport.

Ms. Raimondo is the fourth Biden cabinet official to visit Beijing in the past three months after Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and climate envoy John Kerry.

Outside observers expected the communist regime to be more friendly with Ms. Raimondo than its previous American guests, especially Mr. Blinken, who received a muted welcome in Beijing and his biggest request, to resume the military hotline, was rejected.

China is reaching out with warm messages for Ms. Raimondo as the regime wrestles with its faltering economy, Su Tzu-yun, a senior analyst at Taiwan’s government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told The Epoch Times, on Saturday when the commerce chief was en route to Beijing.

“The stock market will continue to slump, the ticking time bomb in the property sector could explode at any time, the [youth] unemployment is at a record high, and the foreign investors are leaving China,” he said. “The internal economic situation is very unfavorable.”

But the ailing economy was “created by the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] itself,” he noted.

Under CCP leader Xi Jinping, China updated its anti-espionage law, which broadens the definition of espionage to “all documents, data, materials, or items related to national security and interests.” The vaguely worded legislation, which did not specify what falls under national security, brings more challenges to global businesses after several raids and arrests rattled investors.

https://www.ntd.com/raimondo-arrives-in-beijing-as-ccp-struggles-to-save-its-economy_938570.html

Recent Mask Mandates Lifted Amid Pushback

Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa, California, on Aug. 24 reversed a recent policy that would require masks in its facility after it reinstated the mandate days before. A Hollywood studio also said it would do away with its mandate.

Officials for the hospital system told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that the mask policy applies only to staff, not patients. It said that it is “strongly encouraging masks for patients, members, and visitors in the hospital and medical offices in the Santa Rosa Service Area in response to this latest increase in COVID-19 cases.”

“Our intent was to communicate that as of Tuesday, we have expanded the masking requirement for our employees and physicians to medical offices and clinic settings; we apologize for any confusion among Press Democrat readers,” Kaiser said in its latest statement.

The statement also said that “visitors, patients, and members are strongly encouraged to also wear masks in these settings,” according to the paper. “We have not changed our masking requirements in the hospital, which have been in effect since April: employees and physicians are required to wear masks and we ask visitors to wear masks when in the hospital.”

It doesn’t appear that Kaiser Permanente, which operates hospitals across the United States and California, would also attempt to reinstate mask mandates at other locations.

Days before its latest statement, the hospital system said it would be mandating masks for patients, doctors, patients, visitors, and staff members at its hospital and medical offices.

“Kaiser Permanente Northern California is committed to protecting the safety of our members, patients, employees, physicians and visitors, which includes taking appropriate steps to prevent the spread of transmissible infectious diseases in our facilities,” it told local media.

Some Northern California locals weren’t happy with the announcement that mask mandates would return, according to local outlets.

“They told us a bunch of [expletive],” Richard Staudinger, a North Sacramento resident, told CBS. “I think most of the people don’t believe it now.”

Another, Craig Roberts, said “I think it’s more political than anything, just think they’re trying to do what they did in 2020.”

But some said they don’t mind the mandates. “I don’t have a problem if they reinstate the masks,” Kiona Cooper, of Northern California, said.

https://www.ntd.com/recent-mask-mandates-lifted-amid-pushback_938589.html

“HUGE Victory for Election Transparency,” Says Kari Lake – Lawsuit to Obtain Mail-in Ballot Signatures Is Going to Trial!

“Our lawsuit against Maricopa County seeking to review envelope signatures is moving to trial in September. Judge Hannah has declared that the envelopes are NOT part of the “voter record,” which destroys the county’s motion to dismiss & their entire defense case.

This is a huge victory for election transparency.

We’re moving forward.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/huge-victory-election-transparency-says-kari-lake-lawsuit/

Rabbi who lied to, had sex with several women to have detention extended

Rabbi Yosef Paryzer, also known as Jake Segal, dated several women while concealing his true identity.

Rabbi Yosef Paryzer is to have a hearing to extend his detention on Monday, a source said, after he was arrested last week for concealing his identity and having sex with multiple women through deceit.

Paryzer, a 34-year-old married father of two, is set to have his remand end on Tuesday.

The American citizen had posed as Jake Segal on dating apps, pursuing serious romantic relationships with at least nine women at the same time during a 10-month period.

Who is Jake Segal?

Segal presented himself with different levels of religiosity, depending on the women he dated, ranging from secular to traditional.

Rather than a rabbi at a Jerusalem yeshiva, he claimed to be a trainer for seeing-eye dogs. Paryzer was fired from the yeshiva as soon as his deeds were discovered, one of the women he had dated said.

Under the guise of his different personas, Paryzer met the families of the women he dated, spoke about marriage and starting a family with some of them, and slept with many of them.

A source close to the case said that many of the women are not in favor of arresting Paryzer and engaging with the media, preferring instead to move on and heal from the break-ups.

A few of the women he had dated notified the police about his deception when his true identity was discovered. Under Israeli law, “it is a sex offense to have consensual intercourse ‘obtained by deceit in respect of the identity of the person,’” according to the criminal code.

Police have collected the testimonies of at least five women, and published Paryzer’s photo on Thursday hoping more would come forward.

The legal provision for rape-by-deception has been a controversial clause in the criminal code section on sexual offenses.

An Arab man, Sabbar Kashour, was convicted in 2010 for rape-by-deception with a Jewish woman in Jerusalem. After a plea bargain, he was sentenced to 18 months, but his sentence was reduced in 2012 to nine months.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/crime-in-israel/article-756439