Eye on Extremism: April 24, 2026
Top Stories
President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday.
Some Israeli and American officials believe Mojtaba Khamenei is not functioning as the Iranian supreme leader and is not in control, two people familiar with the matter have told The Jerusalem Post.
Analysis
Jerusalem Post: Inside the vortex: Why Israel keeps getting dragged into the Lebanese mud
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a vortex as a “mass... with a whirling or circular motion that tends to form a cavity or vacuum in the center of the circle and to draw toward this cavity or vacuum bodies subject to its action.” That seems a fair way of describing the role that Lebanon has played for Israel, over much of the last half-century.
Washington Institute for Near East Policy: Round 2: Lebanon-Israel Talks Inch Forward
Given Hezbollah coup threats, Beirut may seek to proceed incrementally toward establishing a state monopoly on weapons, but Washington and Israel will expect quicker results this time.
United States
Straits Times: US State Department offers $12m reward for leader of Iraqi armed group
The US State Department is offering up to US$10 million (S$12.79 million) for information on the leader of the Tehran-backed Iraqi armed group Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), which Washington designates as a terrorist organisation. US officials said in a social media post on April 23 they were seeking information on KSS leader Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, also known as Abu Alaa al-Walai.
Reuters: Pentagon chief Hegseth says US blockade on Iran 'going global'
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that a U.S. blockade on Iran is going global, adding Tehran had a chance to make a "good deal" with Washington. "Our blockade is growing and going global," Hegseth told reporters.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup but he added the players will not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). "Nothing from the U.S. has told them they can't come," Rubio told reporters.
Washington Post: Elon Musk’s near-daily online posts about race are turning off some fans
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is on the cusp of a record-setting initial public offering that could soon make him a trillionaire. But in recent months he’s been increasingly vocal about something else: rallying White people to stand up for their race.
Jewish groups protested to California’s secretary of state this week after her office sent out a guide to voters that included antisemitic conspiracies in a statement from a candidate. The office of Shirley Weber, California’s secretary of state, started sending out a guide to voters statewide this week with information about the state’s June primaries.
Associated Press: 2 young people arrested in alleged plot to attack Houston synagogue
Two young people have been arrested in an alleged plot to attack a Texas synagogue that involved driving through the congregation to “kill as many Jews as possible,” according to authorities and court documents. The arrests come a month after an armed man crashed his pickup truck into a major Detroit-area synagogue in another attack on Jewish people. Synagogues around the world have increased security and protections for worshippers since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran on Feb. 28.
The Trump administration on Thursday launched a civil rights probe into New York City’s public schools over claims that pro-Palestinian teachers discriminated against Jewish students. In a news release, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said it received reports about a coalition of teachers known as “NYC Educators for Palestine” organizing seminars focused on “Palestine, Zionism, and Resistance.”
An East Bay Jewish teenager sued her principal, two former teachers and her school district this week, alleging “pervasive and unrelenting” antisemitic harassment and discrimination over two years leading to panic attacks and a precipitous drop in her grade point average.
STLPR: Missouri schools and colleges will be required to address antisemitism
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed several bills into law Thursday, including measures targeting antisemitism in schools and colleges, restricting hemp sales and consolidating governance of the Dome at America’s Center and the convention center.
Fox 9 KMSP: Minneapolis ISIS supporter sentenced to 8.5 years after trying to join terrorist group
A Minneapolis man was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for trying to join and support ISIS, after federal investigators tracked his online activities and travel attempts.
The Tennessean: As Islamophobia rises, Nashville Muslims focus on bridge-building
Hani Nofal recently joined the Davidson County GOP with one other Muslim. The other Muslim is his brother. “For a lot of these people, they have this certain idea of how Muslims are,” Nofal said. “The second you start talking, their entire reality just shatters.”
Canada
CTV News: ‘They are monsters:’ Experts warn of online network grooming Canadian children
Experts are warning that a violent online extremist network targeting vulnerable Canadian children and teenagers is using grooming tactics to coerce victims into self-harm, sexual exploitation, and violence. However, the motive isn’t necessarily money. “They are monsters,” said Darren Laur, the founder of The White Hatter, a digital literacy education company. “And their goal here is to inflict as much emotional, psychological and physical harm on their targets as possible.”
Germany
European Conservative: Establishment Parties Push Through Reform To Curb Surging AfD
Germany’s political establishment has pushed through a controversial parliamentary reform in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in a thinly veiled attempt to curb the rising influence of the right-wing populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party ahead of September’s state election.
The State parliament of Saxony-Anhalt has approved a major reform of the eastern German state’s constitution — supposedly aimed at “strengthening democracy” ahead of a potential election victory by the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD).
United Kingdom
The Telegraph: Starmer: I’ll move to ban IRGC within weeks
Sir Keir Starmer has announced that he will move to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation within weeks. The Prime Minister said he would bring forward laws to ban the group “in a few weeks”, when the next session of Parliament begins following the local elections.
BBC: Man admits attack on Orthodox Jewish man
A man has admitted racially aggravated assault after being filmed abusing an Orthodox Jewish man and accusing him of "killing babies". Shafiq Rahman, 48, of Lismore Park, Slough, admitted racially aggravated common assault, fear or provocation of violence by words and criminal damage at Reading Magistrates' Court.
Iran International: Two men accused of spying for Iran to appear in London’s Old Bailey court
Two men accused of carrying out surveillance on Jewish and Israeli-linked sites in London on behalf of Iran are due to appear at the Central Criminal Court on Friday for a preliminary hearing.
Jewish News: Starmer slams Polanski over ‘disgraceful’ antisemitism comments
Keir Starmer has launched a scathing attack on Zack Polanski after he spoke of British Jews facing “perceived” and “actual” antisemitism, branding the Green Party’s leader’s observation as “disgraceful.”
BBC: Reform UK expels candidate over BNP ties
Reform UK has expelled a candidate for May's local elections for failing to declare his former membership of the British National Party (BNP), the BBC understands. David Prior was standing for the party in Saltwell for a seat on Gateshead Council, and will still appear on ballot papers on 7 May.
Middle East
Naharnet: Report: US, KSA, Egypt working on Lebanon-Israel non-aggression pact
Political and diplomatic developments are accelerating toward forging an understanding between Lebanon and Israel, that has started to be known as a "non-aggression pact," based on a U.S.-Saudi initiative joined by Egypt, a political source informed on the talks said. "Egypt is reviving its previous proposal to contain Hezbollah's weapons, given the inability to remove them," the source told al-Joumhouria newspaper.
New York Times: Afghans Who Helped U.S. Forces Say They’re Being Pushed Back to the Taliban
Afghan refugees who once helped U.S. forces and have been stranded for years at a former U.S. military base in Qatar, say they are being forced to choose between returning to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan or resettling in a third country that some have never heard of.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Jerusalem Post: Hamas terrorists significantly recovering capabilities during ceasefire - N12
Hamas is significantly recovering its capabilities under the cover of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, N12 News reported on Wednesday, citing an intelligence document.
New York Times: Gaza Set to Hold First Local Election in Two Decades
For 20 years, Palestinians in Gaza have endured Israeli bombardments, repeated displacement and a brutal dictatorship. Under such conditions, the holding of elections seemed a distant prospect. Now, Palestinian officials are making preparations for municipal elections this weekend in a single Gaza city, Deir al-Balah, one of the few places where the Israeli military did not conduct a large-scale ground invasion during two years of war, though it still bears many signs of bombardment.
Iran
Reuters: Iran fast-boat swarms add to Hormuz threats for shipping
Iran's use of a swarm of small, fast boats to seize two container ships near the Strait of Hormuz could undermine suggestions U.S. forces have disabled its naval threat and reveals the challenges facing reopening one of the world's most important oil export routes. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday acknowledged that while Iran’s conventional navy had been largely destroyed, its "fast-attack ships" had not been considered much of a threat.
Israel
Times of Israel: Hezbollah fires rocket salvo at northern Israel shortly before ceasefire extended
Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets at northern Israel late Thursday night, in the first such breach of the shaky ceasefire, shortly before US President Donald Trump announced the truce would be extended as envoys from Beirut and Jerusalem met in Washington.
Lebanon
Reuters: Hezbollah says ceasefire 'meaningless' as fighting continues in south
Lebanon's Hezbollah said a U.S.-mediated ceasefire in the war with Israel was meaningless a day after it was extended for three weeks, as Lebanese authorities reported two people killed by an Israeli strike and Hezbollah downed an Israeli drone.
Naharnet: Lebanese residents call for peace in south Lebanon
Some residents in Beirut believe south Lebanon should be included in a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. They said a deal will not be sustainable without a lasting truce between Iran and the United States.
Naharnet: Hezbollah MP says Israel talks 'will in no way enjoy Lebanese consensus'
Lawmaker Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, called on Friday for Lebanon to "withdraw" from direct talks with Israel that U.S. President Donald Trump says have a "very good chance" of achieving peace.
Syria
Reuters: Main suspect in Syria's Tadamon massacre arrested, ministry says
Syria's Interior Ministry said on Friday it had arrested the main suspect in the 2013 Tadamon massacre, one of the worst acts of violence attributed to the former government of Bashar al-Assad, in which 288 civilians were killed.
Long War Journal: Syria thwarts Hezbollah plot, vows at UN to fight terrorist groups
The Syrian Interior Ministry and General Intelligence Service thwarted a plot by a Hezbollah cell, Syrian state media reported on April 19. Four days later, Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi, told the UN that Damascus was continuing its counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State, Hezbollah, and other groups. Syria has continued to crack down on smuggling in the country and says it has busted a number of terrorist cells recently. These developments come as Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa traveled to the Gulf states to deepen regional ties and diplomatic support.
Pakistan
Reuters: No US-Iran peace talks in sight, but Islamabad maintains security lockdown
For nearly a week, Pakistan's capital has been waiting for peace talks between the U.S. and Iran to take place there, and although there is no sign the two sides will meet, large parts of the city remain sealed off by authorities.
Africa
France 24: French foreign minister Barrot voices concern about 'terrorist threat' in the Sahel
France's foreign minister on Friday voiced concern about the spread of Islamist extremism in west Africa, after talks with his Togolese counterpart in the capital Lome. Violence by jihadist groups affiliated with al Qaeda and the Islamist State group has blighted the Sahel region for the last decade.
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