The secret services of Israel, Turkey, China, the U.S. and UAE vie for influence in Somaliland
Since October 7, 2023, a rivalry has been unfolding between Israel and Turkey that evokes the “Great Game,” the 19th-century struggle between Czarist Russia and Britain for control and influence in Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. Then, as now, this rivalry involves espionage and intelligence gathering, diplomatic intrigue, proxy warfare, and military missions. The U.S. is on the verge of getting more involved.
The Israeli army announced today, Thursday 1 January, the deployment of forces from the “Hasmonean Brigade” in the security zone in southern Syria, marking the first time the brigade has been stationed in the area.
The Israeli army said the brigade’s infantry forces carried out field activities after a series of military drills in the area. These included “targeted searches” during which intelligence was collected, with the stated aim of “removing threats and ensuring the security of civilians in Israel, especially Golan residents.”
Türkiye has been providing financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since its founding in 1949. The country is now preparing to host the agency’s fifth liaison office, in the capital of Ankara, in early 2026, a senior UNRWA official confirmed with PassBlue.
Latakia’s Internal Security Command announced a curfew in Latakia city (on Syria’s Mediterranean coast), starting at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, and lasting until 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
Pour poursuivre en toute impunité le génocide à Gaza, Israël a interdit à 37 organisations humanitaires internationales l’accès à l’enclave côtière dévastée sous occupation militaire. Seules cinq organisations humanitaires sont désormais en mesure d’opérer à l’intérieur de Gaza.
«Après 34 ans, voir Israël surgir soudainement pour reconnaître le Somaliland est extrêmement inattendu et très étrange», déclare Hassan Cheikh Mohamud.
Le président somalien Hassan Cheikh Mohamud a mis en garde contre les ambitions d’Israël, qu’il accuse de vouloir installer de force des Palestiniens en Somalie et d’étendre son accès stratégique au golfe d’Aden et à la mer Rouge.
Swelling waves of dissatisfaction are sweeping the Islamic Republic of Iran into the new year. What began on December 28 as demonstrations in downtown Tehran has crossed the country to Malard, Isfahan, Hamedan, Kerman, Ahvaz, Qeshm, and several other cities. They have been joined by coordinated strikes held by merchants and business owners, who have traditionally held great influence. Nationwide protests and strikes have persisted through a fourth day, despite the fact that there have been arrests and even cases of authorities firing on protesters.
Donald Trump, le président soi-disant défenseur de « l’Amérique d’abord », a été élu par des électeurs exaspérés par les guerres absurdes, surtout celles menées par Israël. Cette semaine, il a trahi ces électeurs en offrant à Israël un cadeau de Noël : le bombardement de trois pays qu’Israël souhaitait voir bombardés. Curieusement, aucun de ces pays ne se situe au Moyen-Orient.
The Stimson Center recently convened a meeting of U.S. regional experts to discuss three scenarios for the Middle East over the next 18 months: a continuation of low-level fighting in Gaza; an “all-hell-breaks-loose” nightmare of increased war and violence; and a “keep-hope-alive” vision entailing a long-term cease fire in Gaza and a plan for physical and political reconstruction. Throughout the discussion it became apparent that some variation of the first scenario is most likely with the second scenario having some plausibility; the third scenario, however, was seen as unlikely by 2026. The meeting was held under the Chatham House Rule to foster an atmosphere conducive to frankness.
Abu Mariya al-Qahtani unmasked (source: Majd talid 2, Islamic State’s Wilayat al-Khayr, July 2017)
Last week, Abu Mariya al-Qahtani, a senior leader in Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), delivered a controversial message on his Telegram channel. The time had come, he wrote, for al-Qaida’s branches to shut the organization down. After the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri on July 31, 2022, and with the question of succession complicated by the leading candidate’s presence in Iran, this was the best path forward. He urged the affiliates to consider an alternative model of jihadism, one that embraces cooperation with regional states as part of a strategy of confronting “the Iranian project” in the Middle East.
The advice, or nasiha, was not received well in al-Qaida circles. Several critics of the nasiha wrote at length against it, castigating its author as an ignoramus and dismissing his arguments as unfounded. Two of these authors purport to be members of al-Qaida. The exchange is worth considering, as Abu Mariya is no stranger to the inner workings of al-Qaida—he belonged to it for more than a decade—and the advice he offered clearly struck a nerve. It may well shed light on the still murky future of the group after al-Zawahiri.
