“Yehuda Fox was more than clear. In recent months, "nationalist crime has resurfaced under the guise of war," said the outgoing commander of the Central Command of the Israeli armed forces in his farewell speech last Monday. It has led to "chaos and fear among the Palestinian residents, who pose no threat." Some Israelis have adopted "the methods of the enemy."[…] "There is an extremely radical settler movement in Israel. Its supporters live in the West Bank and see this as a political-ideological act," says Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the international Counter Extremism Project, to the Tagesspiegel. By constantly putting pressure on Palestinian communities in the immediate vicinity, the settlers tried to persuade the Palestinians to leave the West Bank, says Schindler. In doing so, they often set up so-called outposts, small settlements that are illegal even under Israeli law.”

CEP Senior Research Analyst Josh Lipowsky interviewed: "Mr. Lipowsky’s work focuses primarily on antisemitism and on Iran-backed terrorism, including terrorism committed by Hezbollah, Hamas, and militias in Iraq. He has seen a significant rise in antisemitism in the United States in recent months. “Since Hamas’s attack on October 7 and the resulting war, we have seen an explosion of antisemitism in this country related to protests surrounding the war,” he said. “A lot of these protests are, at their core, focusing more on hating Israel than helping the Palestinians. At its core, it is largely being driven by antisemitism.

"Israel's declared aim with the war is to eliminate Hamas and liberate the Israeli hostages held by militant groups. Both have yet to be achieved. But the Israeli military chief of staff says the structure of Hamas in the city of Rafah is nearly dismantled. Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that the "intense phase" of Israel's military operations against Hamas in Gaza is drawing to a close. But the Israeli prime minister says fighting won't stop until the group no longer controls the Gaza Strip. DW asks Hans-Jakob Schindler, Director of the Counter Extremism Project in Berlin, how he views the progress of Israel’s war in Gaza."

“It could alleviate the suffering of many people in the southern Gaza Strip a little and at least temporarily spare them from new fighting: Israel's military announced "daily tactical pauses" on Sunday. Between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central European Time), the guns will be silent in selected parts of the coastal area, meaning that army operations will cease. Israel says it wants to enable the delivery of larger quantities of aid supplies. The ceasefire will apply to the route from the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Salah al-Din Street and then further north. The decision was made following consultations with the United Nations and other organizations, it said. […] Hans-Jakob Schindler believes it is plausible that the ceasefire is justified by humanitarian concerns. However, according to the senior director of the international Counter Extremism Project, military considerations are probably also behind the decision.”

“Is this the beginning of the end of the Gaza war? On Monday, the UN Security Council adopted a ceasefire proposal in Gaza from US President Joe Biden. 14 countries agreed, only Russia abstained. Israel has been fighting the terrorist organization Hamas for eight months, and the international community is desperately looking for a way to end the war. The hope now is that the actors involved - Israel and Hamas - will also support the plan. It could not only be a step towards resolving the conflict in the Middle East, but could also be important for Biden's election campaign. […] "While Hamas would give up its guarantee of survival by releasing the hostages, Israel would have to release a considerable number of Palestinian prisoners, which could be exploited by Hamas for propaganda purposes," says Hans-Jakob Schindler of the international Counter Extremism Project.”

“Only one third of Hamas terrorists eliminated, two thirds of their tunnels still intact. According to a report by the magazine "Politico" analysts of the US intelligence services come to this assessment. The Islamists are also said to have succeeded in recruiting a large number of new fighters in recent months. On Sunday, Hamas also proved that it is still able to fire rockets at the greater Tel Aviv area. This is all bad news for Israel. After almost eight months of war, the country seems to miss one of its main goals: the complete destruction of Hamas.” 

"Austin told a US Senate hearing the Biden administration was concerned about Israel launching a major offensive in Rafah, without a plan to protect civilians there. Meanwhile, Israel continues to bombard the city. The army says it's conducting a limited operation to kill Hamas fighters and dismantle the group's remaining infrastructure.

For more on this, we talk to Hans-Jakob Schindler. He is the Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project."