CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed for story: The Gaza health ministry says more than 60,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the 21 months of war. These latest figures come as a group of UN-backed experts warns that the territory is now on the brink of a full-scale famine. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has again rejected claims of starvation policies in Gaza, saying the international media's focus on the topic was a 'distorted campaign of international pressure.' Israel has repeatedly said that there is no shortage of food in the Gaza strip, and that Hamas is withholding supplies from civilians.

CEP Senior Advisor, former UK Ambassador to Yemen and coordinator of the UN Security Council's sanctions monitoring team, Edmund Fitton-Brown appeared on "Times Radio Drive with John Pienaar" to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the loss of confidence in UNRWA following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler writes: Of course, due to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, there is still an increased risk that Hamas or Hezbollah sympathizers will decide to commit acts of violence even without instructions from Iran. Unfortunately, it can be assumed that the current military conflict has further radicalized the violence-oriented anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli milieu in Germany. For these reasons, it is important that the German security authorities continue to monitor these dangers closely in the current phase in order to be able to intervene at an early stage. The German government's decision on June 13, the day of the first Israeli airstrikes on Iran, to increase the protection of Israeli and Jewish facilities was important. This increased protection should be maintained.

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed about the situation in Gaza: “The Hamas control and command infrastructure in Gaza is very damaged. They’re literally running out of senior leaders. So obviously Hamas wants to portray a still kind of functioning terror group and hence does not confirm necessarily the death of another leader… [Mohammad Sinwar]."

CEP Senior Advisor Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown writes: "I worked at the United Nations in New York for five years as a co-ordinator for counterterrorism. I cherish those years at the UN, an organisation capable of doing great things for the world and full of brilliant people. But it has lost its way. Now I hear of recriminations between colleagues, disenchantment with the leadership and a belief that serious reform is needed to break the UN out of its malaise."

The demonstrations also serve to mobilize people. Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the "Counter Extremism Project" think tank is convinced. From the beginning, this was an integral part of Hamas' strategy. These demonstrations were not spontaneous, but part of a relatively well thought-out tactic. The expert emphasizes that it must be possible to criticize the Israeli government. "But what took place here was a glorification of a pogrom-like act of terror," says Schindler. In April 2025, pro-Palestinian activists occupy the Emil Fischer lecture hall at Berlin's Humboldt University. The rector tries to de-escalate the situation, but in the end the police clear the place. The result: property damage of up to 100,000 euros and 100 investigations. In recent months, such pro-Palestine actions rarely seem to be a spontaneous expression of political anger - rather an expression of a targeted strategy by Hamas activists and their sympathizers. There are clear references to the terrorist organization in the occupation: slogans such as "From the River to the Sea" and banners with red triangles - a Hamas symbol used to mark targets - dominate the scene.