Habib Siddiqui

  My classmate, Cadet Arshad Jamal , is one of the few survivors of the horrific massacre of the Bihari community in Shantahar on April 17–18, 1971 , during the War of Liberation. His father (Abdul Ahad) — shown seated at the center in the photograph — had passed away three months before the turmoil engulfed East Pakistan, spared from witnessing the unspeakable violence that would soon claim so many lives. Arshad himself — shown standing on the left corner in the picture — survived only because one of our cadetmates,  Ruhul Rabban (Baten) , risked everything to save him. Ruhul Rabban sheltered Arshad and his immediate younger brother Kokab (not shown in the picture below) for two months (in his village home, 80 km from  Naogaon/Shantahar) , protecting them until in May when Pakistan military sheltered them. He and Kokab later lived with close relatives in Dhaka before moving to Pakistan. Arshad’s older brother (Manzar) — standing on the right corner — also survived ...

  By Qassam Muaddi   Four Palestinians and two Israelis are dead after Palestinians confronted a group of invading Israeli settlers who had stormed the Palestinian village of Til , southeast of Nablus, earlier last week. The incident has become the pretext for Israel’s latest and most sweeping escalation in the West Bank, heralding a new phase in Israel’s assault on Palestinian existence in the territory. But underlying these developments is a deep ideological and social divide in Israeli politics and society that is driving a particular approach to dealing with the local Palestinian population, characterized by unleashing violent settler pogroms on Palestinian villages and towns. In the wake of the events at Til, settler groups launched a renewed spree of attacks on Palestinian towns and villages across the West Bank, from the countryside of Nablus to the southern Hebron hills, torching cars and farmlands, damaging property, taking over houses, and opening fire on civilians...

  Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Thursday against what he described as Israeli “false-flag operations” following a drone attack on a gas vessel at Egypt’s Damietta Port, saying Egypt’s security is of “utmost importance” to Tehran. In a post on the US social media company X, Araghchi described Egypt as “an important friend and partner in the region” and said: “Its security is of utmost importance to us.” “We must all be vigilant against Israeli plots and false-flag operations designed to undermine regional peace,” he wrote. “The threat is clear, mutual, and fearful of Muslim solidarity,” he added. The comments came a day after a drone attack set two gas vessels ablaze at Egypt’s Damietta Port on the Mediterranean coast. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said early Thursday that authorities had recovered the drone’s wreckage and were conducting a security analysis to determine its origin, stressing that Cairo would base its conclusions on facts rather than spec...

  very political mystery begins with something that wasn’t supposed to attract attention. This one is tucked inside the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, a sprawling defense bill where transformative policies disappear beneath thousands of pages of technical language and routine appropriations. Amid the clutter sits a provision with an unremarkable title: the United States–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative. Yet deep below its dry legislative prose lies a proposal that could fundamentally redefine the military relationship between the United States and Israel—and further poison the Middle East. What if the U.S. and Israel gradually stop operating as two separate defense establishments? Not by treaty. Not by proclamation. Not with matching uniforms and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Just by quietly welding together everything that matters. The provision began life as Section 224 before becoming Section 219 as it moved through the House. The number change...

  Israeli officials know they’re losing the American public. Panicked that America’s political consensus on Israel is collapsing, they’re pursuing a long-term strategy to permanently enmesh Israel within America’s military, intelligence, and defense establishment – in ways future administrations would struggle to unwind – according to a new confidential U.S. intelligence assessment. Israeli officials believe the political fight over Israel in the United States is becoming harder to win, and that the era of indefinitely securing billions of dollars in annual military aid is coming to an end, according to the assessment, which was described to Capital & Empire by several U.S. officials. Instead of relying on direct U.S. military aid – an increasingly visible and politically contentious form of support – Israel is racing to embed itself more deeply in America's military, intelligence, and national security apparatus in ways designed to outlast future administrations. The assessmen...

  United States President Donald Trump has been triumphal since the announcement that Palestinian group Hamas had agreed to hand over its weaponry in Gaza. But the terms of Thursday’s disarmament agreement also stipulate that Israel should withdraw from the Palestinian enclave, and gradually transfer power to a Palestinian administration – conditions that have been met with a frosty reception by Israeli politicians and in the Israeli press. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4 How Netanyahu lost America list 2 of 4 Why Saudi Arabia holds the key to Palestinian statehood list 3 of 4 Hamas reaches Gaza disarmament agreement with Trump’s Board of Peace list 4 of 4 Gaza Board of Peace announces Hamas disarmament agreement: What we know end of list The Israeli government has yet to officially comment, but one unnamed senior Israeli official told reporters on Friday that, despite “various publications” reporting “diplomatic progress in the Gaza Strip”, there would be no with...