This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – A newly released poll shows the level of support for the declaration of Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria continuing to climb following the current pause in the fighting of the Swords of Iron war.

The data, which the Sovereignty Movement and Pulse of Israel presented, examined the Israeli public's views regarding sovereignty versus a Palestinian state, sovereignty versus the prospect of normalization with Saudi Arabia, and more.

The headline result was the 71% of respondents – an overwhelming majority – oppose the creation of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre, which left some 1,200 people dead and kidnapped 251 people to Gaza, 79 of whom remain in captivity, with 35 of them assessed to no longer be alive.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

This is the second in a series of articles about the changing global order that began with "Let's talk Turkey about Islam."

"The U.K. boasts more civil servants per capita than China, more DEI employees per capita than anywhere else in the world, the highest tax burden since 1948, a national debt which equals 100 percent of GDP, record annual net migration of net-tax-recipients, and a capital city in which at least 1 in 12 is an illegal immigrant," writes Connor Tomlinson.

I suggest that if this trend does not rapidly reverse course to fully align with the U.S. MAGA agenda, we should switch sides in the centuries-long Britain vs. Russia clash of empires.

A year ago this month, I read a long but utterly fascinating article by Richard Poe, "How the British Invented Communism (And Blamed It on the Jews): The Untold Story of Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, MI6, and the Russian Revolution." And the next day I read an excellent piece by Alex Krainer, titled "France under attack," almost like an addendum to the Poe piece on the (still churning) chaos in France, also explaining behind-the-scenes geopolitics that point blame at the "Anglo-American Imperial Establishment."These articles, which remain timely and worth reading, offer a somewhat pro-Russian but still objective and scholarly perspective of the centuries-long rivalry of the British and Russian empires that you will never find among Western sources.

I offered constructive criticism to Mr. Poe in a private (unacknowledged) email to him, pointing out that the British government he blames for scapegoating the Jews was itself in part a product of an Anglo-Jewish partnership going even back to before the Glorious Revolution, manifesting most clearly in the Christian doctrine/political philosophy of British Israelism. BI peaked during the reign of Queen Victoria (whose genealogical chart claimed succession from the Judean kings) when Benjamin Disraeli was prime Minister. Disraeli's Jewish father had been convinced by top BI advocate and historian Sharon Turner to baptize his son as a Christian (becoming the child's godfather). BI persisted among select elites until the liberation of the Holy Land from the Ottoman Turks in 1917 and the formal restoration of the Jews there per the Balfour Declaration.

Indeed, I suggested to Poe that the hostility (he documents) Winston Churchill displayed toward "International Jewry" may have been in part a consequence of the breakdown of the "British Israelism" partnership after almost 500 years of Messianic Christian/Jewish shared dreams of a two-house reunification in a restored Israel, which I have summarized in three articles here. When that shared vision of two-house "Zionism" was supplanted in the unfolding Marxist era by exclusively "one-house" Jewish nationalism (formalized as a political movement in 1897), it presumably fostered bitterness and resentment among Christians. It must have seemed to many (not to me) that British Israelism had never been anything more than a cynical scam to manipulate the British monarchy and Church of England. It didn't help that once the nationalist Jews' goal of legal/physical restoration to the Holy Land was achieved, the entire 5-century-long BI campaign was dropped and memory-holed so thoroughly that the average Christian today knows literally nothing about it.

I cite those articles in support of the premise that Anglo-Zionism was and is the driving force of the British Empire – a force that was once benign but is now malignant due to infection by Marxism. Two weeks ago I read another phenomenal article by Krainer that goes to the question of how this force has steered America.

"When the United States declared independence from the British Empire, the signatories of the Declaration of Independence were not just a bunch of belligerent rebels with nothing to lose. In many ways, they were similar to the people flanking Donald Trump today," writes Krainer. "They were all educated men of means and privileged members of society.

"Of the 56 signatories, 24 were lawyers and jurists; 11 were wealthy merchants; nine were farmers and large plantation owners. In signing the Declaration of Independence they provoked the wrath of the empire, knowing for sure that if they were captured their penalty would be death. Five of them were in fact captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons and another two had their sons captured and imprisoned.

"Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships in the revolutionary war. … The home and properties of Francis Lewis were destroyed and his wife was jailed. She died within a few months. … The properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton were vandalized and destroyed by British troops or their proxy terror squads. British Gen. Cornwallis took over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. It was destroyed during the battle of Yorktown, and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart had to flee his homestead. … When he returned home, his wife was dead and their 13 children all vanished. The grief and distress killed him within a few weeks. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

"When the imperial cabal decided to break up the United States, which precipitated the Civil War, they were confronted by President Abraham Lincoln [who evaded the Rothschild banking cartel's grossly usurious debt trap by issuing interest-free Greenbacks to fund Union war efforts]. In 1863, Russian Czar Alexander II came to Lincoln's aid by dispatching his Baltic fleet to New York and his Pacific fleet to San Francisco. The move blocked the Empire's intervention on the side of the Confederation, which was planned by the British with the support of France and the Vatican. The U.S.-Russian alliance ultimately prevailed, and the United States was preserved.

If all this is true, has continued apace till today, and the U.K. decides not to repent and return to biblical values in the near future, perhaps we should consider partnering instead with conservative Christian Russia and the current religiously and socially conservative Israeli government that is so deeply hated by the Synagogue of Satan in London and New York. In my next article, "A vision for a U.S./Russia/Israel global order," I will explore what this might look like.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The U.S. Supreme Court is lining up to decide whether abortion profiteers can demand that they be allowed to participate in tax-funded programs like Medicaid – even after state officials determine they are not qualified.

It is the ADF that said it has submitted its opening brief to the high court in the Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic case in which lower courts said that officials in South Carolina are not allowed to direct Medicaid funding, that money intended to help low-income individuals get needed medical help – away from abortion industry representatives like Planned Parenthood.

"Taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund facilities that make a profit off abortion," said John Bursch, a lawyer for ADF.

"State officials should be free to determine that Planned Parenthood and other entities that peddle abortion are not qualified to receive taxpayer funding through Medicaid. Congress did not create a right for Medicaid recipients to drag states into federal court to challenge those decisions. Nor did Congress intend for federal courts to second guess states' decisions about which providers are qualified to receive Medicaid funding."

The state of South Carolina had determined that Planned Parenthood's abortion business components were not qualified to get tax money under the state's Medicaid, but a federal district court and then the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed.

ADF said the case could decide whether states like South Carolina are allowed to direct the aid program's money.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a series of steps Monday afternoon to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., thus receiving a 30-day pause in tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

"I just had a good call with President Trump," Trudeau said on X.

"Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan – reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl. Nearly 10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border.

"In addition, Canada is making new commitments to appoint a Fentanyl Czar, we will list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the border, launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering. I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl and we will be backing it with $200 million.

"Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together."

Trump also commented on the deal, indicating: "Canada has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl that have been pouring into our Country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, while destroying their families and communities all across our Country."

"As President, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of ALL Americans, and I am doing just that. I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured. FAIRNESS FOR ALL!"

Earlier Monday, Trump announced Mexico has agreed to send thousands of its troops to help secure its border with America in exchange for a temporary pause in tariffs on its products.

"I just spoke with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico," Trump posted on Truth Social.

"It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States.

"These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country.

"We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and high-level Representatives of Mexico.

"I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a 'deal' between our two Countries."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Just one of the big moves President Donald Trump, and his administration, took on Monday was the shutdown of USAID, the government agency that for years has been handing out billions of American taxpayer dollars to other nations.

The closure happened when the administration ordered the agency's headquarters closed down and told employees not to report.

Its exact future isn't known at this point, but later in the day Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly was named acting administrator.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or Bibi, at the White House on Feb. 4, the first foreign leader to meet in person with Trump at the White House since he was inaugurated.

The Trump-Bibi meeting is occurring right after the first American hostage was released this weekend by the Hamas terrorist group.

They were freed as part of the current Israel-Hamas deal, which mandates the release of 33 so-called "humanitarian hostages" during its first 42-day ceasefire phase.

The great news is that more of the 251 Israelis and foreigners are being released, those who were kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, when roughly 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists stormed into Israel, slaughtering 1,200-plus innocent civilians – including babies, kids, teens and elderly.

The tragic news is that, first, as Hamas' innocent hostages are gradually released, Israel is going to release some 1,904 Palestinian prisoners, including more than 100 serving life sentences for deadly terror attacks!

Further tragedy is found in the fact that Hamas finally got its way: The brutal barbarians abducted 251 innocent civilians not only to protect their own hides (as they cowardly live like rats in holes under Gaza) but ultimately as bargaining chips to get their terrorist friends and minions freed from Israeli captivity. That is why with each of the hostage releases, Hamas murderers have paraded them through streets and across pro-Hamas theatrical stages (with signs like, "Nazi Zionism will not win") for their own propaganda purposes. Repulsive!

While I'm ecstatic for the family and friends of the released hostages, I grieve as the terrorists around the world now realize that even Israel and America can be forced to the terrorist bargaining tables when you kidnap their people.

Do we not think the Hamas' hostage-for-prisoners swaps will spur on more terrorist abductions of innocent civilians in the future in Israel and elsewhere around the world?

Obviously, chief among the Trump-Bibi meeting at the White House this week is discussing and answering questions: Where do Israel and America go from here? How do they continue to destroy Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis (and the other Iranian proxies in the region) and yet prevent another Oct. 7th from ever happening again? How do Israel and America bring about a lasting Middle East peace?

I'll never forget when President Trump was speaking onboard Air Force One during his first term.

He compared one of the world's greatest territorial disputes – Israel vs. Palestine – to a business deal. He said, "I love doing deals." He added, "They say peace between Israel and the Palestinians is the toughest – the toughest of any deal."

He's right. There's no doubt, if Trump endeavors to "do a deal" in the Middle East during his second term, he will definitely encounter one of the (if not "the") greatest geographical strongholds in the entire world.

The truth is, Palestinian Arabs and other Islamic leaders have always been deadlocked with Israel over the Holy Land – since their very inception.

His enemies accuse Prime Minister Netanyahu and other conservatives of fighting against the peace process, but what peace process are they referring to? There's never been peace or a process that has worked well, despite political agreement after agreement that have been drafted.

For those who want to understand the history of the region, I encourage readers to go to YouTube and check out the five-minute video history summarizing the 4,000 years of upheaval in the Holy Land and its most sacred city, Jerusalem.

Tel Aviv became the temporary seat of government until the State of Israel moved it to Jerusalem in December 1949. Despite the shift in location, the U.S. Embassy was built in Tel Aviv in 1966. At the same time, believe it or not, the U.S. consulate has had a presence in West Jerusalem since 1844. Yes, you read that year correctly. (It is further interesting to note that other countries – like Britain and France – have their consulates in East Jerusalem.)

The new U.S. Embassy officially moved in 2018 under President Trump's direction on the site of the U.S. consulate. We are the first country to open an embassy in Jerusalem since before 1980, while 86 countries continue today to have their embassies in Tel Aviv.

The U.S. recognized Israel as a sovereign state in 1948, and it has promised to move its embassy there for more than 20 years. In 2018, President Trump fulfilled what three previous administrations promised to do but never did.

By doing so, the president fulfilled what Congress set out to do over two decades ago when a bilateral majority vote passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which formally recognized the sacred city as the country's capital and called for the U.S. Embassy to be moved there from Tel Aviv by 1999. Yes, 25 years ago was the deadline for Washington to move our embassy – just another broken promise from the swamp!

The Washington Post explained the 2-decade-old majority decision: "Support for the bill was overwhelming. Itpassed the Senate by a 93 to 5 vote, with four Republicans and one Democrat voting no. It passed the House 374 to 37, with 153 Democrats joining most of the new Republican majority that had swept into power in 1994."

What's crazy is this: Israel is the only country in the world not allowed to choose its own capital, at least in its enemies' eyes around the world. But one of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital.

As a response, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem, declaring it a violation of international law. However, that hasn't ever stopped Israel from occupying and fighting for its capital, which is also why Netanyahu has always encouraged other countries to move their embassies to Jerusalem just as he did President Trump and our former presidents.

So, most Palestinian territory was granted back in 1948 by the United Nations, but Israel rejected those demarcation lines from the outset, ultimately winning back sovereignty over such areas as the West Bank, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War.

It wasn't until the disastrous 1993 Oslo Accords, which culminated with President Clinton pushing for the awkward handshake between Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat, that things went from bad to worse.

The Oslo Accords granted limited autonomy to Palestine by further dividing territorial governance, but in the end the "peace treaty" did nothing but divide and escalate the tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Many Israelis and others despised Rabin for yielding land they believed was divinely granted to them. Rabin was assassinated just two years later. And massive walls would eventually be erected and increased security measures taken everywhere to stop the steady stream of terrorism from areas governed by the Palestinian Authority or others like Hamas.

Critics often love to point out that the disputed area called the Golan Heights (also sometimes referred to as "The thumb of Israel," being only 44 miles north to south and 27 miles east to west, was captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally. But what they fail in explaining is that it was technically a "recapture," at least from Israel's point of view, because the land had been theirs in history past going back to Old Testament times.

As Briticanna.com documents from the earliest point of Hebrew history: "The area's name is from the biblical city of refuge Golan inBashan (Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 20:8)."

Wikipedia even elaborated: "According to the Bible, an Amorite Kingdom in Bashan was conquered by Israelites during the reign of King Og. Throughout the Old Testament period, the Golan was 'the focus of a power struggle between the Kings of Israel and the Aramaeans who were based near modern-day Damascus.' The Itureans, an Arab or Aramaic people, settled there in the second century B.C. and remained until the end of the Byzantine period. Organized Jewish settlement in the region came to an end in 636 when it was conquered by Arabs under Umar ibn al-Khattāb. In the 16th century, the Golan was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and was part of the Vilayet of Damascus until it was transferred to French control in 1918. When the mandate terminated in 1946, it became part of the newly independent Syrian Republic."

With the recent fall of the Assad regime, Syrian control of any aspect of the Golan Heights at this point only complicates the issue and compounds the problem, especially with so much instability and so many international powers at work and war in and outside that war-torn country.

Trump tweeted during his first term as president, "After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!"

So, how does President Trump hope to engage his art of the deal and heal the Israeli-Palestinian divide?

The Times of Israel reported, "U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would use the momentum of the freshly agreed upon Gaza ceasefire deal to expand the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-backed agreements struck during his first term that normalized Israel's relations with several Arab countries."

"With this deal in place, my National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"We will continue promoting PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH throughout the region, as we build upon the momentum of this ceasefire to further expand the Historic Abraham Accords," he added, referring to the agreements that normalized Israel's ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

Historically, the U.S. has been Israel's strongest ally outside the Middle East, and Israel has been the strongest ally of the U.S. in the Middle East. And it needs to stay that way.

One thing I know for sure is that we all can make a powerful contribution toward achieving peace – it's something my wife, Gena, and I often come back to when we see the mess in the Middle East: Follow what the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) commands: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May they prosper who love you.'" (Psalm 122:6)

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – Middle East/Israel Morning Brief

70 released Hamas prisoners stranded in Cairo hotel as 'no country wants them'

Seventy members of Hamas released from Israeli prisons as part of the hostage agreement are currently stranded in a hotel in Cairo, with the countries that had committed to hosting them not yet formally agreeing to do so.

"To date, no Arab country has agreed to receive even a single released and expelled Palestinian prisoner," a source from the Palestinian Prisoner Authority said.

According to the Algemeiner, the ex-prisoners, who are not allowed to leave their hotel, describe their situation as moving "from an Israeli prison to an Egyptian prison." The source reports they had to stay for a long time with their prison clothes and sandals, adding "the Egyptians do not treat them warmly."
In addition to those stuck in Egypt, 23 other prisoners who were supposed to be deported abroad are trapped in the Gaza Strip. Among the countries mentioned as potential destinations are Algeria, Turkey, Tunisia, and Qatar.

In a joint statement, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced they would agree to host a portion of the released prisoners, without specifying their number. Al-Thani emphasized hosting the Palestinian prisoners "must be based on their own decision," while Fidan simply stated: "We have agreed to accommodate a certain number of Palestinian prisoners expelled abroad."

Hamas terrorists forced U.S.-Israeli hostage to write thank you letter to captors

In a letter distributed online by Hamas, Keith Siegel – who was released Saturday from captivity in Gaza – allegedly thanked the terrorists who held him for 484 days. "I was treated well by them," he allegedly wrote.

But a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum clarified "the Hamas terrorists who held Keith forced him to write them a detailed letter of thanks. This is one example of many of the cruel and cynical conduct of the Hamas terrorist organization and the urgency of returning all the hostages to Israel," Ynet reported.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Officials in Panama abruptly changed course on Sunday regarding China's influence over and control of the Panama Canal, built and paid for by the United States, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared with them President Donald Trump's concerns over that influence, and his intent that it should not continue.

A report from Fox News explained Jose Raul Mulina, the president of Panama, confirmed he would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding in which his nation joined China's Belt and Road initiative.

Under that program, China funds the construction and development of infrastructure, such as ports, and then takes control of them for its own profit and empire building.

In the case of the canal, it has worked on ports at both ends, creating the possibility that it could shut down the canal if it seemed in the best interests of the Chinese Communist Party. It also has been building bridges over the canal, which would offer the same option.

Trump has publicly warned that Panama actually has ceded control of the canal to China, which would be in violation of the original treaty that turned operations over to Panama, and that America would no longer allow its interests and security to be compromised like that.

Mulino claimed Panamanian control would remain, but the dealing with China is ending.

"I think this visit opens the door to build new relations … and try to increase as much as possible U.S. investments in Panama," Mulino said after meeting with Rubio.

Rubio had explained "the United States cannot, and will not, allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue with its effective and growing control over the Panama Canal area."

The canal was built over decades by the U.S. and finished in 1914. It was President Jimmy Carter who handed it over to Panama.

In Congress, there's already a bill in the House for the U.S. to repurchase the canal.

Trump, in fact, has said he would not rule out the use of the military to regain control of the canal, an option he explained the original treaty includes.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

JERUSALEM – One of the features of the Trump administration – and which perhaps differentiates it from the first time he served in the White House – is how tightly the messaging has so far been controlled. With the exception of the president and Vice President J.D. Vance, other top officials seem to be diligently attempting to correct the mess the Biden administration left them and actually not saying too much.

Contrast this approach with the Islamic regime in Iran, which seems to be offering pronouncements – sometimes in conflict with each other – about a myriad of issues, as it seeks to test the diplomatic water with regard to President Trump and the rest of his administration.

One is left with the impression the regime in Tehran is deliberately trying to muddy the waters, and having played former secretary of state Anthony Blinken among others like a fiddle, they are trying to repeat the trick with the Trump administration. By calibrating the mixed messaging – by turns aggressive and conciliatory – they are attempting to obfuscate what their intentions truly are.

Within the last month, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released a video which purported to show an enormous underground Navy base, buried some 500m below sea level. An IRGC Navy commander based there said three Zolfaghar vessels could destroy or put out of action a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.

The Islamic regime waited until Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed on U.S. soil to post pictures and videos of its underground so-called "Missile City," displaying hundreds of cruise and ballistic missiles. Paired with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's interview with Qatari state mouthpiece Al Jazeera in which he called military action against the country's nuclear sites "one of the greatest historical mistakes the U.S. could make," the threat part of the message seems obvious and clear.

On Sunday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei noted Iranians have the courage to say "Death to America," and were prepared to push back against its perceived "arrogance." Certain sections of Iran's leadership and society has been saying this for more than 40 years, so why the reminder?

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

President Donald Trump is withdrawing America support, again, from the United Nations' Human Rights Council, according to a Politico report.

He also is pausing funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency that was set up specifically to give money to Palestinians, an organization that was revealed to have had employees take part in the Oct. 7, 2024, terror attack by Hamas on Israel.

The publication said it obtained a document outlining the plans.