A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – The Democratic National Committee was not hacked by Russia — nor by anyone else — but instead was ‘an inside job by someone with access to the DNC’s system,’ according to a report in The Nation.

(Worthy News) – Hamas is reportedly considering advancing an unprecedented move in the Gaza Strip in response to the harsh sanctions imposed on it by the Palestinian Authority. This is a scenario that has been taken into account in Israel and could lead to chaos in the Gaza Strip. A source within Hamas said that the organization’s military wing recently submitted a proposal to the organization’s political leadership, suggesting Hamas create a political and security vacuum in the Gaza Strip by waiving its management of the Gaza Strip.

In such a scenario, Hamas will not hand the reins of power over to the Palestinian Authority, but implement a four-part plan that will create a vacuum in the Strip that could lead, among other things, to a new military confrontation with Israel.

The plan details that after Hamas relinquishes its political rule over the Gaza Strip, Gaza Police will continue to function together with local institutions that will provide services to Gaza residents. At the same time, security forces in the strip that are subordinate to Hamas will carry out civilian missions but not security ones. Hamas’s military wing would then fill the security vacuum in Gaza, by assuming control over the region’s security and deploying its forces throughout the territory, along with the smaller military forces of other factions. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – US President Donald Trump’s sharing of Israeli intelligence with Russia without prior coordination “has an erosive and corrosive effect” on global data sharing with Washington, a former US intelligence chief told The Jerusalem Post.

“I am not surprised that [Israel’s] intelligence officials were appalled by it. There have been similar reactions from other countries as well,” Former Defense Intelligence Agency chief and CIA veteran David Shedd said in a telephone interview after ex Mossad chiefs urged Israel to temporarily freeze intelligence sharing with Washington after the leak.

Shedd gives Trump a range of minuses but also some pluses in intelligence and national security. He noted how England had also recently frozen intelligence-sharing after a US official revealed classified British intelligence. The former defense intelligence chief voiced the concerns of foreign allies, saying they might ask, “Is this a person who can be trusted with sources and methods? Hopefully a little further down that path the answer becomes ‘yes’. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Department of State has announced it will restrict all U.S. citizens from traveling into, in, or through North Korea beginning Sept. 1. This warning, issued on Thursday, comes in the wake of the escalating rhetoric between the DPRK and President Donald Trump over the past few days.

All persons traveling to North Korea could possibly be implicit in the funding of its nuclear program, according to the warning.

“The DPRK funnels revenue from a variety of sources to its nuclear and weapons programs, which it prioritizes above everything else, often at the expense of the well-being of its own people,” the warning said. “It is entirely possible that money spent by tourists in the DPRK goes to fund these programs. We would urge all travelers, before traveling to the DPRK, to consider what they might be supporting.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the opioid crisis is a national emergency.

“The opioid crisis is an emergency, and I’m saying officially right now it is an emergency,” Trump said. “It’s a national emergency. We’re going to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money on the opioid crisis.”

“There’s never been anything like what’s happened to this country over the last four or five years,” he continued. “And I have to say this in all fairness, this is a worldwide problem, not just a United States problem. This is happening worldwide. But this is a national emergency, and we are drawing documents now to so attest.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran was not upholding its obligations under the landmark nuclear deal struck in 2015 by former president Barack Obama.

“I don’t think they’re living up to the spirit of the agreement,” he told reporters at his private golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey, where Trump is currently spending a 17-day retreat from Washington.

“They are not in compliance with the agreement and they certainly are not in the spirit of the agreement in compliance, and I think you’ll see some very strong things taking place if they don’t get themselves in compliance,” he went on to say. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump’s administration reiterated arguments defending its temporary travel ban in a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, repeatedly citing the executive’s broad powers to exclude foreigners from the United States.

The travel ban barring refugees and people from six Muslim-majority nations was signed as an executive order in March, after an earlier version had to be scrapped in the face of legal challenges.

Two federal appeals courts blocked the revised order from taking effect until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June it could move forward on a limited basis.

The nation’s highest court has agreed to hear oral arguments about the lawfulness of the ban on Oct. 10, and the brief laid out the legal position the government plans to make. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The underground barrier designed to prevent tunnels from crossing into Israel from Gaza will stretch into the Mediterranean to stave off Hamas infiltration by sea.

During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, five Hamas frogmen (naval commandos) tried to infiltrate Kibbutz Zikim before they were engaged and killed by the IDF. Hamas has significantly expanded their naval commando unit in the three years since the last conflict, with a reported 1,500 frogmen.

The border with Gaza is Israel’s most explosive, with a rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip striking near Ashkelon on Tuesday evening. While Hamas quickly arrested those responsible for firing the rocket, the construction of Israel’s underground barrier, which has become symbolic to both sides, may push Hamas to attack Israel. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Jerusalem Waqf said on Wednesday that when Israeli security services conducted searches on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem following a shooting attack at the site, they did not damage or steal any historical items.

Israeli police closed down the Temple Mount on July 14 after three Arab Israelis smuggled guns into the compound and used them to shoot two policemen to death.

The shutdown lasted for two days while police investigated the incident. Israel then reopened the site with newly installed metal detectors and cameras — security measures that led to two weeks of protests by Palestinians. The measures were eventually removed. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – United Nations children agency UNICEF warned on Wednesday that more than half a million children in Libya need help and called on warring parties to end the violence and negotiate a political solution to the crisis.

Libya has spiraled into turmoil after a civil war ousted longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Rival brigades of former rebels backed by competing political factions have turned against each other in a fight for control.

UNICEF Regional Director Geert Cappelaere said that 550,000 children need assistance due the political instability, on-going conflict, displacement, and economic collapse. [ Source (Read More…) ]