Israel prevents Palestinian committee members appointed by Trump from entering Gaza

The new violation comes as France has rejected Trump’s invitation to join the so-called 'Board of Peace,' which critics say aims to rival the UN

Israel has blocked members of the Palestinian technocratic committee meant to administer Gaza from entering the besieged strip, Hebrew media outlets reported on 20 January.

Israel is “refusing to allow” their entry, Palestinian sources told Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The technocratic committee was supposed to enter Gaza this week via the Rafah border crossing and take over civil administration. However, Israel is refusing to open the crossing in violation of the ceasefire agreement and despite US calls to do so.

According to Israeli reports, the committee members still do not know when or how they will begin their work in Gaza due to the rejection of their entry via the crossing.

“Israel’s Security Cabinet decided Sunday night not to open the Rafah Crossing at this time,” Israeli news site Ynet reported on Monday evening.

The reports come as Washington is planning to hold a signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, to officially launch the Gaza ‘Board of Peace,’ led by US President Donald Trump.

The signing is expected to take place on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos at 10:30 am.

However, some countries are unwilling to join.

A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron told AFP that France “does not intend to answer favorably” to the invitation to join the Gaza ‘Board of Peace.’ This was confirmed by the French president’s office.

The board’s charter “goes beyond the framework of Gaza and raises serious questions, in particular with respect to the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be called into question,” Macron’s office said.

In response, Trump threatened a 200 percent tax on French wine imports to the US. The UK and several EU officials are also hesitant about the plan, according to multiple reports.

Trump has demanded that countries seeking to join the ‘Board of Peace’ must pay $1 billion, Bloomberg and Times of Israel reported over the weekend, citing the board’s charter.

Former UK premier Tony Blair, who was designated as a member of the board, has rejected the $1 billion buy-in.

“Some countries would likely refuse to join the Board as a result of Trump’s terms. Others may agree in principle to joining the Board of Peace but decline to pay the fee for permanent membership, they added. They would then either seek to negotiate it away or quit the board if Trump insisted on the idea,” sources told Bloomberg.

World leaders are said to be wary of the plan due to language in the board’s charter suggesting that Trump may seek to transform the body into an alternative or rival to the UN.

“Durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common-sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed,” according to a draft of the charter seen by Reuters. It added that there is a “need for a more nimble and effective international peace-building body.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been invited to join. The Kremlin said the proposal was being studied.

The board is supposed to comprise 15 world leaders. Former Bulgarian politician Nikolay Mladenov has been designated the director-general.

Trump has named Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff, and Blair as chairs of a second ‘Executive Board’ which will be overseen by the ‘Board of Peace.’

The ‘Executive Board’ is meant to be tasked with overseeing the technocratic committee.

https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-prevents-palestinian-committee-members-appointed-by-trump-from-entering-gaza

Netanyahu accepts invite to Trump’s Board of Peace; Europe formulating common position

Egypt announces participation; Witkoff says Putin expected to join; Sweden and Norway reject invitations; Italy said to believe joining the board would violate its constitution

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace, the premier’s office announced Wednesday, as Sweden and Norway became the latest nations to say they would not be joining, and Spain said European leaders were working to consolidate a common position.

The proposed board would be chaired for life by Trump and start by addressing the Gaza conflict before expanding to other wars, with member countries required to pay a $1 billion fee each to earn permanent membership.

Western diplomats say the board could undermine the work of the United Nations.

Netanyahu has previously criticized Washington’s decision to place senior representatives from Turkey and Qatar on the Board of Peace’s operational arm for Gaza, called the Gaza Executive Board, making it initially unclear whether he would want to legitimize that panel’s makeup by joining the Board of Peace.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-accepts-invite-to-trumps-board-of-peace-europe-formulating-common-position/

U.S. Launches Mission To Move 7,000 ISIS Detainees From Syria To Iraq

The United States military Central Command (CENCOM) announced on January 21 that it had launched a new mission to transfer ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq to “help ensure the terrorists remain in secure detention facilities.”

The announcement came amid a large-scale offensive by the Islamist-led Syrian government on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeastern region of the country. Government forces captured most of the region in the last few days.

Some prisons hosting ISIS detainees were broken into, and at least dozens managed to escape from one facility in the town of al-Shaddadi in al-Haskah.

Government troops also took over a refugee camp near the town of al-Hawl in the same governorate, which hosts more than 25,000 people, most of whom are relatives of members of the terrorist group. It was allegedly that over a thousand escaped from there.

In its statement, CENTCOM said that the transfer mission began while U.S. forces successfully transported 150 ISIS fighters held at a detention facility in al-Hasakah, to a secure location in Iraq.

Ultimately, up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could be transferred from Syria to Iraqi-controlled facilities, according to the command.

“We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we sincerely appreciate their role in ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security.”

An official in the Syrian Foreign Ministry welcomed the announcement, telling Al-Jazeera that this step “is important for enhancing security and stability.”

“We reaffirm our commitment to providing all necessary logistical and security support to ensure the success of the operation,” the unnamed official said.

The announcement came amid a four-day ceasefire announced by the Syrian government a day earlier as a part of a wider understanding with the SDF that is meant to implement the merger agreement signed on January 18.

With many violations already reported by both sides, it is safe to assume that the main purpose of the ceasefire is to allow CENTCOM to transfer ISIS detainees to Iraq. Thus, fighting will likely resume once the ceasefire is over, unless some political breakthrough is achieved.

All in all, Washington’s decision to transfer ISIS detainees shows complete lack of trust in its new partners in the Syrian government.

This is not surprising, however, considering that government troops were responsible for letting many of the detainees out in recent days, and that many of the government’s senior officials, although not members of ISIS, have the same radical Islamist ideology.

https://southfront.press/u-s-launches-mission-to-move-7000-isis-detainees-from-syria-to-iraq/

Government Forces Slaughtered Kurds, Took Their Eyes And Tongues Out In Northeast Syria (18+ Videos)

The forces of the Islamist-led Syrian Transitional Government (STG) have committed a series of atrocities during their offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast of the country, against both fighters of the group and civilians.

The large-scale offensive which began from the eastern countryside of the Aleppo governorate on January 13, continued even after the SDF accepted a merger agreement on January 18, with government forces and allied Arab tribes taking over most of the governorates of Raqqa, Deir Ezzor and even al-Hasakah, where Kurds are the majority.

Reports of violations, including possible war crimes, by government forces and tribal fighters began to surface from the very first day.

Dozens of people, both SDF fighters and civilians, were captured by STG forces. Several videos that surfaced online show them getting humiliated and beaten after being questioned about their identity, specifically if they were Kurds or members of the Alawite community.

use link for vids

https://southfront.press/government-forces-slaughtered-kurds-took-their-eyes-and-tongues-out-in-northeast-syria-18-videos/

24 industrial-scale labs dismantled in the largest-ever operation against synthetic drugs

Over the course of the investigation, authorities seized 1 000 tonnes of chemicals, potentially removing 300 tonnes of synthetic drugs from the EU drug market

A large-scale law enforcement action, conducted within the Europol-coordinated operation Fabryka, led to the dismantling of a criminal network operating across the European Union. On Friday, 16 January, coordinated efforts took place in Poland, as well as in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. These actions targeted a network suspected of importing a large quantity of precursors used for the production of synthetic drugs in labs across multiple countries. Additionally, the network engaged in money laundering activities to further its illicit operations. The year-long operation Fabryka involved law enforcement and judicial authorities from Belgium, Czechia, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement authorities determined that the network may have imported over 1 000 tonnes of precursors – enough to produce over 300 tonnes of synthetic drugs such as MDMA, amphetamine, and cathinone. The illegal activities are estimated to generate billions in criminal profits for the involved criminal networks. The criminal assets flow into the legal economy, creating significant risks of market distortion, unfair competition, and the systematic infiltration of legitimate businesses by organised crime.

The investigation commenced in 2024 based on intelligence shared by the Polish Police, specifically from the Drug Crime Unit of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław. The information supplied by the Lower Silesian police officers was pivotal in initiating the case and facilitating subsequent international cooperation within the taskforce. Between February 2025 and January 2026, over 20 action days were conducted, targeting connected criminal groups, their production facilities, and storage sites across Europe. The operation culminated in a coordinated action day against the alleged wholesale network responsible for importing and distributing precursor chemicals.

This network was responsible for the importation, repackaging, and distribution of precursors used in the production of synthetic drugs. The chemicals, sourced from China and India, entered the EU through various countries and were transported to Poland for repackaging and further distribution to illegal labs across the EU. Since the beginning of the investigation in 2024, Europol supported action days targeting different cells of the network as well as connected groups involved in lab production of synthetic drugs.

https://youtu.be/8HNGy_xJQY4

President Trump: We’re going to be defending Canada. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also, but they’re not. I watched your Prime Minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful. They should be grateful to us. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/president-trump-issues-warning-canadian-prime-minister-mark/