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Trump yanks Secret Service protection from his former top official despite looming threat

David Brummer

The presidential limousine, known as 'The Beast,' sits on the tarmac as Marine One, with Joe Biden aboard, arrives at Leesburg Executive Airport in Leesburg, Virginia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Official White House photo by Oliver Contreras)

The presidential limousine, known as 'The Beast,' sits on the tarmac as Marine One, with Joe Biden aboard, arrives at Leesburg Executive Airport in Leesburg, Virginia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Official White House photo by Oliver Contreras)

JERUSALEM – Middle East/Israel Morning Brief

Trump pulls Bolton security detail despite alleged threat from Iran to former NSA

U.S. president Donald Trump has ended Secret Service protection for John Bolton, his former national security adviser turned political antagonist, despite an alleged threat to Bolton’s life from Tehran, reported Iran International.

Then-National Security Adviser John Bolton in an interview Aug. 27, 2019, with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (video screenshot)
John Bolton

“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has decided to terminate the protection,” Bolton said in a statement on X on Tuesday, adding that Joe Biden had given the protection despite his criticism of Biden’s policies.

“The American people can judge for themselves which president made the right call,” he said, referencing Iranian threats, including an alleged plot against Trump himself.

The protection stemmed from Bolton’s role in Trump’s administration, where he was a key figure in the decision to kill Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force in Iraq in January 2020.

In retaliation, the IRGC allegedly sought to orchestrate Bolton’s assassination.

“The Justice Department filed criminal charges against an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official in 2022 for attempting to hire a hitman to target me. That threat remains today,” Bolton added.

Iraq passes law that could allow for child marriages

Iraq’s parliament passed three divisive laws Tuesday, including amendments to the country’s personal status law that opponents say would in effect legalize child marriage, according to the Times of Israel.

The amendments give Islamic courts increased authority over family matters, including marriage, divorce and inheritance.

Activists argue that this undermines Iraq’s 1959 Personal Status Law, which unified family law and established safeguards for women.

Iraqi law currently sets 18 as the minimum age of marriage in most cases. The changes passed Tuesday would let clerics rule according to their interpretation of Islamic law, which some interpret to allow marriage of girls in their early teens – or as young as 9under the Jaafari school of Islamic law followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq.

Stefanik: Israel has biblical right to Judea and Samaria

Israel-related issues dominated the Senate confirmation hearing of Rep. Elise Stefanik, R–N.Y., on Tuesday to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, according to the Jewish News Syndicate.

Nearly every senator on the Foreign Relations Committee probed her views on the Jewish state and the region.

The congresswoman vowed to use her seat in Turtle Bay to combat anti-Semitism just as she had done in Congress.

“If you look at the anti-Semitic rot within the United Nations, there are more resolutions targeting Israel than any other country, any other crisis, combined,” Stefanik said. “We need to be a voice of moral clarity on the U.N. Security Council and at the United Nations at large for the world to hear the importance of standing with Israel and I intend to do that.”

Some of the most intense scrutiny of Stefanik came under questioning from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D–Md., about her views on Israeli sovereignty and the rights of Palestinians.

“I asked you in my office also about whether Palestinians have the right of self-determination. My understanding was you said, ‘Yes.’ You have a different answer today?” Van Hollen asked.

“That was not the direct question that we discussed,” Stefanik replied. “I believe the Palestinian people deserve so much better than the failures that they’ve had.”

Stefanik did not say that she believed Palestinians have a right to self-determination.
Van Hollen said he was “surprised” to learn in his one-on-one meeting with Stefanik before the hearing that she believes “that Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank [sic].”

Asked to confirm that that was her belief, Stefanik said, “Yes.”

Evidence Israeli former hostages held in United Nations shelters

Surprise! Released female hostages were being held captive in U.N. compounds

With the first three Israeli hostages freed in the cease-fire for hostages deal, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned several terrorists captured by Israeli forces last month confessed Israeli captives were held at different times at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

The Israeli Defense Forces recently completed a major raid on the hospital, arresting some 240 terrorists. The director of the hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, the Israelis claim, had gathered intelligence showing that he not only allowed Hamas to infiltrate the hospital, but actively collaborated with the terrorist group.

Another captured terrorist, Anas Muhammad Faiz al-Sharif, who worked at the hospital as a cleaning supervisor and joined the Nukhba forces of Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades in 2021, told Israeli interrogators that the northern Gaza facility was viewed as "a safe haven for them because the [Israeli] military cannot directly target it."

He revealed that inside the hospital, terrorists distributed grenades and mortars, along with equipment for ambushing IDF troops and tanks.

Moroccan national with U.S. green card wounds 4 in Tel Aviv stabbing spree

Four people were wounded in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night in a terrorist attack perpetrated by a foreign national, according to the Israel Police.

The Jewish News Syndicate reported the attacker, a 29-year-old man identified via an ID card found on his person, was a U.S. permanent resident originally from Morocco. He was shot and killed at the scene by Israeli security personnel in the area, according to police.

Two of the victims were moderately and two lightly wounded, according to Israeli officials. Three of the victims, all of whom are male, are in their 20s, and one is 59.

Harvard settles Title VI anti-Semitism lawsuit

Harvard University has signed a settlement with a group of Jewish students and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, who sued the academic institution alleging that it failed to respond to anti-Semitism on campus, Ynet reported.

As part of the settlement, the university will pay the plaintiffs an undisclosed amount of compensation and adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism, which includes certain criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic speech.

In addition, the university has pledged to establish a formal partnership with a university in Israel, a move that was made in defiance of demands from pro-Palestinian organizations that have exerted heavy pressure on the administration. Harvard also pledged to publish a statement on its official website stating that "For many Jewish people, Zionism is a part of their Jewish identity. Conduct that would violate the Non-Discrimination Policy if targeting Jewish or Israeli people can also violate the policy if directed toward Zionists."

Hezbollah official assassinated outside his home, gunmen unknown

Hezbollah official Sheikh Muhammad Ali Hammadi reportedly died of his wounds after unknown gunmen opened fire on him, killing him instantly, Al-Akhbar, a Hezbollah-affiliated news source, reported on Tuesday.

He was shot outside his home in the Bekaa Valley. At this time, it is unclear who shot Hammadi, the Jerusalem Post reported.

An-Nahar reported that the assassination was not political in nature and was instead motivated by a four-year-old family feud.

Despite Hamas assurances, Russia concerned over Sasha Trufanov's condition

Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov told the Rossiya-24 TV channel that Moscow had evidence suggesting that Alexander Trufanov, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen and one of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip, is in poor health, according to the Jewish Press.

"Unfortunately, there is proof he was wounded and his condition is not quite okay," Viktorov said. "We hope that his situation will not deteriorate in the coming days. The Hamas leadership has strongly assured Russia he will be returned safe and sound according to the agreement which was recently established."

Last Thursday, Russia, which had called for the release of Trufanov and another Russian-Israeli hostage, Maxim Kharkiv, expressed its support for the ceasefire deal.

Rep. Ilhan Omar: 'Genocide' could continue in Gaza, calls for arms embargo on Israel

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D–Minn., expressed skepticism the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will hold during a newly released interview with virulently anti-Israel pundit Marc Lamont Hill, cautioning that the so-called "genocide" in Gaza could resume due to Israeli misconduct, the Algemeiner reported.

"I think the biggest danger for Palestinians is to have this genocide continue, and so if we have a window for that to end, I think the Palestinians are resilient enough to withstand a lot of things," Omar said on Hill's podcast, "Office Hours."

The congresswoman added she was "surprised" the Biden administration did not initially pressure Israel to implement a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza, claiming the United States "subsidizes" the Jewish state. Moreover, she expressed astonishment at reports Trump administration officials pushed their Israeli counterparts into brokering a ceasefire with Hamas. However, Omar claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might undermine the ceasefire in Gaza, causing the war to resume.

Report: Trump's team working on Phase-2 of ceasefire

U.S. President Donald Trump's new foreign policy team has already begun working on formulating the second phase of the cease-fire in Gaza, which should lead to the release of the rest of the hostages and a permanent cease-fire in the Strip, according to Ynet.

Trump's people admitted that there may be difficulties on the way to the next phase – and blamed the previous administration of Joe Biden. "What Biden left us with is the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end," said one official involved in the negotiations.

On Tuesday night, Trump was asked if he planned to travel to the Middle East, and said: "We're thinking about going to the Middle East – not yet. We have a thing called 'the hostages are coming back' going on right now. Some of them were badly hurt. You see this young woman with her hand that was shot . It was terrible. If I weren't here, they wouldn't be back ever. They would all be dead. If it had been done a year earlier ... ."

Report: Israel, Egypt agree on Palestinian Authority management of Rafah Crossing

Israel and Egypt have agreed that the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing will be managed by the Palestinian Authority, under United Nations supervision, according to a report published Wednesday in the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.

According to Israel Hayom, the agreement on the crossing – the only crossing point between Egypt and and the Gaza Strip – was reached during a meeting between Mossad Director David Barnea, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, and Egyptian intelligence head Hassan Rashad.

A source monitoring the Gaza ceasefire implementation confirmed the agreement, but noted no timeline has been set for the transfer of control or the reopening of the crossing.

Regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border, the source said disputes are "technical and logistical" and are expected to be resolved. Israel has proposed partial withdrawals from the corridor, but Egypt has rejected this approach, demanding a complete withdrawal and a return to the pre-conflict situation.

Knesset passes law making it punishable by up to 5 years in prison for denying, minimizing or celebrating Oct. 7 attacks

A law criminalizing the denial, minimization or celebration of the Hamas terror group's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel passed its third and final reading 16-0 in the Knesset plenum on Tuesday.

According to the Times of Israel, the legislation, sponsored by Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, is modeled after a 1986 law prohibiting Holocaust denial. "Anyone who says or writes things denying the Oct. 7 massacre with the intention of defending the terrorist organization Hamas and its partners, expressing sympathy for them, or identifying with them, will be sentenced to five years in jail," it states.

Statements made "in good faith or for a legitimate purpose," such as during research or to provide information as part of a legal proceeding, are not considered criminal activity under the law.

"The State of Israel today said in a loud and clear voice: The denial of the atrocities of Oct. 7 will not pass in silence, neither in the Knesset, nor on the street, nor in the world. Anyone who tries to deny Hamas's heinous crimes is an active partner in spreading lies and incitement that undermine the foundations of our society," Forer said following the law's passage.

Google employees facilitated IDF access to advanced AI tools in wake of Oct. 7 attack

In the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, a Google employee from its cloud division pushed for enhanced access to the company's AI technology for Israel's Defense Ministry, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post, and reported in the Jewish Press.

The documents reveal that, in the early weeks of the Gaza war, Google employees facilitated Israel's military in obtaining access to the company's advanced AI tools. This occurred despite Google's public attempts to distance itself from Israel's national security operations following employee protests against a cloud computing contract with the Israeli government.

The internal records highlight Google's direct support of Israel's Defense Ministry and military, even as the company faced employee backlash. Last year, Google dismissed at least 50 employees who opposed the Nimbus contract, which they feared could enable Google's technology to support military and intelligence programs that might harm Gaza Arabs.

Israel mulls transferring Russian-made military hardware seized from Hezbollah to Ukraine

Ukraine hopes a Knesset bill allowing Israel to transfer Russian-made weapons seized in Lebanon to Ukraine will pass, according to a social media statement by the Ukrainian Embassy to Israel on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian Ambassador, Yevgen Korniychuk, hosted Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, Sharren Haskel, during which Korniychuk thanked Haskel for having proposed the bill and "expressed hope for a positive resolution," according to a statement reported in the Jerusalem Post.

If this bill were to pass, it would indicate a sharp change in Israeli policy toward the Russia-Ukraine war, with Jerusalem largely having held a neutral stance to date, and diplomatic relations between Moscow and Jerusalem would likely deteriorate heavily.
Israeli officials stated the transfer of weapons from Israel to Ukraine was a private bill proposed by Haskel last November, before she was appointed as deputy foreign minister, and does not constitute an official policy change by the government, according to KAN.

Pro-Hamas protesters disrupt Columbia class given by visiting Israeli professor

Columbia University students learning about the history of Israel found their first day of class thrown into chaos Tuesday after four masked demonstrators barged into the classroom, banged on drums, chanted "free Palestine" and distributed posters to students that read "CRUSH ZIONISM" with a boot over the Star of David.

The masked demonstrators also held up, and tried to plaster the walls of the classroom, a sign featuring an illustration of Hamas terrorists pointing guns titled "THE ENEMY WILL NOT SEE TOMORROW."

"They started throwing fliers at us all and talking about how terrible it is that this class is even happening and that we have an Israeli professor," Lishi Baker, a junior studying Middle East history and a student in the History of Modern Israel course, told Jewish Insider. Baker praised the professor, Avi Shilon, a visiting professor from Israel, for responding "calmly."

"He said to them we're here to learn [and] offered for them to learn, [otherwise] if they don't want to learn, they should leave," Baker recalled. "They did not listen, they kept banging their drums and [trying to] put up their posters. It was clearly a performative disruption meant to intimidate and disrupt. After they were finished with that, they marched out, yelled 'Free Palestine' and went to join up with larger demonstrations outside and inside [of the Columbia entrance] gates."

Dozens killed as catastrophic fire rips through Turkish ski resort

A fire at a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday killed at least 66 people, Turkey's Interior Minister said, according to the New York Post. More recent reports put the number of deaths at some 76 people.

Ali Yerlikaya said at least 51 other people were injured in the disaster which struck the Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu province's Koroglu mountains, some 185 miles east of Istanbul. The fire occurred during the schools semester break, when hotels in the region are packed.

"We are in deep pain. We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel," Yerlikaya told reporters after inspecting the site.

At least two of the victims died after jumping from the building in a panic, Gov. Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency earlier, Private NTV television and other media reported that some people tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets.

There were 234 guests staying at the hotel, Aydin said.

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