Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Defending Israel, US likens Somaliland recognition to Palestinian statehood acknowledgements JPost Editorial: Hamas’s sexual abuses aren’t allegations but facts, survivors need real support Iran protests enter third straight day as students join in WINEP’s Farzin Nadimi: Iran’s failing eastward pivot? The limits and risks of Russia-China alignment Ukraine now has Europe’s biggest military. What happens to it when the war ends? Washington Examiner’s Ani Chkhikvadze: Russia invents Ukraine’s assassination attempt on Putin U.S. operations in Syria against Islamic State kill seven, capture fighters Emirates to pull troops out of Yemen after Saudi-led airstrike Taiwan stays on high alert as Chinese ships pull back after massive drills WSJ Editorial: Japan steps up on military spending Dutch police arrest Syrian man suspected of being IS member and of planning attack Oil tanker pursued by the U.S. appears to claim Russian protectionIn The News
Israel
More than three dozen humanitarian groups will have their authorizations to operate in the Gaza Strip suspended on Jan. 1 and will have to clear out by March after failing to comply with new registration rules, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said on Tuesday. – New York Times
In the weeks before the ceasefire on October 10, Israel widely deployed a new weapon: M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers repurposed to carry between 1 and 3 tons of explosives, Reuters found. – Reuters
Several IDF soldiers have received punishments after entering a Palestinian village in the central West Bank without authorization and vandalizing vehicles, the military said Tuesday. – Times of Israel
The United States defended Israel’s right to recognize the breakaway territory of Somaliland as a state at the United Nations on Monday, comparing it to the recognition of a Palestinian state by numerous countries. – Times of Israel
Education Minister Yoav Kisch informed US President Donald Trump via phone call on Monday that he would be granting him the Israel Prize, considered the country’s highest honor. – Times of Israel
The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Tuesday approved the text of a bill that would establish a special military tribunal to prosecute Hamas’s Nukhba terrorists and accomplices for crimes committed during the October 7 attacks – including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity – while also barring their release in future hostage deals, according to a Knesset press briefing. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF on Wednesday morning released its summary of operational activity for 2025. According to data updated through December 15, roughly 20,900 targets were struck across all arenas, about 430 operations were conducted, and approximately 50 naval strikes were recorded. – Arutz Sheva
Editorial: Of course, gaps remain between the two countries. Although Trump was bullish about the next phase in Gaza beginning “very soon,” the issues of the return of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, and exactly which nations are agreeing to be part of his International Stabilization Forces (ISF) and if they will be tasked with disarming Hamas, are still on the table […] Despite those real differences that will pose challenges in the near future, the Mar-a-Lago summit can only be seen as a triumph for Netanyahu and Israel for the consensus items of a Hamas-free Gaza and a defanged Iran. At this juncture in time, those are the issues that matter the most. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: The moral burden does not rest only with the international community, which must continue to recognize Hamas’s sexual violence as a war crime and a crime against humanity. It rests with Israel as well. Bearing witness is not enough. Survivors must not be forced to relive their trauma to justify their worthiness for care. These testimonies do not serve a narrative. They dismantle one. The survivors and their testimonies are not symbols. They are individuals. They did nothing to deserve what was done to them, and their suffering cannot be contextualized away, balanced against geopolitics, or absorbed into abstraction. – Jerusalem Post
Terry Newman writes: Thunberg’s reads, “Stand with Gaza” — making it clear she’s chosen a side and everything that comes along with it. So, what? She took a side against war, some might say. But that doesn’t explain why in the next post she alerts her followers to seven accounts where they can find information and help Gaza — all of them antizionist. Only one sign held by the four activists was related to the environment. But it was tucked away in the corner, as if fading off into the distance, much like her more innocent history of climate activism. – National Post
Iran
Iranians protested for a third straight day over mounting frustration with a spiraling economic crisis that has gripped the country since its war with Israel. On Tuesday, university students in Tehran joined the protests, which began earlier this week after merchants angry over the Iranian rial’s falling value took to the streets in several cities. – Wall Street Journal
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday said his country’s answer to an attack would be harsh, which appeared to be in response to a warning by U.S. President Donald Trump over reconstruction of Iran’s nuclear program. – Associated Press
Iran’s president urged his government to listen to the “legitimate demands” of protesters, state media reported Tuesday, after demonstrations by shopkeepers in Tehran over economic hardship. – Agence-France Presse
The Iranian foreign ministry designated the Royal Canadian Navy a terrorist organization on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for Canada’s 2024 blacklisting of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. – Agence-France Presse
In the wake of the Israel-Iran war in June, the Islamic Republic is trying to rebuild its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News’ “Special Report” on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
Navid Mohebbi and Aidin Panahi write: Assumptions about stability no longer align with what is happening on the ground, and strategies built on the regime’s long-term durability may rest on fragile ground. Even if the current protests fade for now, they will not simply disappear. The language has changed, and with it the limits of what can be said publicly. Many Iranians are no longer talking about fixing the system. They are talking about replacing it. Once that line is crossed, it is rarely erased. – Jerusalem Post
Farzin Nadimi writes: Iran could gain the most from a Pakistan-style military cooperation relationship with China, potentially encompassing all categories of weapons, command-and-control capabilities, intelligence systems, joint research and development activities, co-production, and so forth. For its part, Beijing would benefit by gaining a firm foothold in West Asia’s most strategically placed country. Of course, the proponents of such an alliance inside both governments would first need to overcome all of the barriers, internal opposition, and skepticism discussed above. Yet this Chinese-Iranian “total” scenario is still the one Washington should be most concerned about and most focused on preventing. – Washington Institute
Russia and Ukraine
When the war with Russia eventually ends, Ukraine will be left with a military larger and with more recent experience than any of its European backers’. Whether it can outlast Russia’s long-term designs in the event of any peace deal is a question for the entire continent, which now sees Ukraine as a bulwark against Moscow’s ambitions. – Wall Street Journal
The Kremlin has alleged that Ukrainian drones targeted the well-protected site in Novgorod and is using its claim to justify a hardening of its stance in peace negotiations. The Kremlin on Tuesday declined to provide any evidence to back up its assertions. – Wall Street Journal
As President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine traveled back from Florida on Monday, he could breathe a sigh of relief. His meeting with President Trump to discuss a peace plan seemed to have passed without drama — the American leader had neither berated him nor echoed Kremlin talking points, at least publicly. – New York Times
A Ukrainian drone attack injured two people and sparked a fire that was quickly extinguished at the Tuapse oil refinery, the operational headquarters of Russia’s Krasnodar region said on Wednesday.- Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Kyiv was discussing with Washington a possible presence of U.S. troops in Ukraine as part of security guarantees, and also raised what he called a faked attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence.- Reuters
Russia’s top general said its forces were pressing forward in northeastern Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin had ordered expansion of territory Moscow calls a buffer zone there in 2026, Russian news agencies said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Ukraine launched a series of drone attacks on Tuesday targeting Moscow, parts of western Russia and annexed Crimea, injuring one person near the Russian capital, Russian authorities said. – Reuters
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s Odesa region, damaging residential buildings and infrastructure and injuring four people, including three children, regional authorities said on Wednesday. – Reuters
U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker cast doubt on Tuesday on Russia’s accusation that Ukraine attacked President Vladimir Putin’s residence, saying he wants to see U.S. intelligence on the incident. - Reuters
Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has entered active service in Belarus, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday, as the U.S. efforts to broker a deal to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine have entered a pivotal stage. – Associated Press
A Russian cargo ship that sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean under unusual circumstances last year is believed to have been carrying parts for a type of naval nuclear reactor, according to a new report. – Newsweek
Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, (ret.) writes: If not — if peace is pursued without strength, enforcement and clarity — then Sunday’s meeting will be remembered not as the beginning of the end, but as another moment when the West mistook words for power. Peace remains possible. But only if we abandon the comforting fiction that Vladimir Putin can be satisfied with half-measures — and build an agreement that makes renewed aggression unmistakably costly. – Fox News
Ani Chkhikvadze writes: The Kremlin counts on Western audiences growing weary of telling truth from lies. What we’re seeing here, then, is a textbook use of Russia’s Soviet era “active measures,” tactics aimed less at persuading than at muddying the picture for American voters and policymakers alike.The top-line reality remains clear, however. Moscow’s central objective remains that of dominant control over Ukraine. Negotiations are not a means to that end. The Kremlin wants to outlast Western support for Kyiv. As long as it believes time favors it, there is no incentive to compromise. The alleged drone attack is a bluff. – Washington Examiner
Syria
The U.S. military announced Tuesday that it had killed seven Islamic State members and captured more than a dozen as it continues to put pressure on the terror group in Syria, weeks after an ambush there killed two Iowa National Guard soldiers. – Washington Post
The heads of the security agencies arrived in convoys of black S.U.V.s to Bashar al-Assad’s presidential palace, a maze of marble and stone on a hillside overlooking Damascus. – New York Times
Turkish state lender Ziraat Bank has expressed interest in launching banking operations in neighboring Syria with the country’s central bank, its Chief Executive Alpaslan Cakar told Reuters on Wednesday. – Reuters
Turkey
Turkish police carried out further large-scale operations against the Islamic State group across Turkey on Tuesday, detaining 357 suspects, the interior minister said. – Associated Press
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Israel’s decision to formally recognise of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland was an illegal and unacceptable step, adding that it was trying to drag the horn of Africa into destabilisation. – Reuters
Somalia’s president is to visit close ally Turkey on Tuesday following Israel’s recognition of the breakaway territory of Somaliland, Turkey’s presidency said. – Agence-France Presse
Middle East & North Africa
Tensions between U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates flared Tuesday, when the kingdom warned its Gulf rival against endangering its security and said it would take all necessary measures to counter the threat. – Wall Street Journal
The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that it was pulling its remaining troops out of Yemen, hours after a Saudi-led airstrike targeted an Emirati shipment, an episode that has laid bare the deepening rift between two Gulf powerhouses. – New York Times
The Lebanese military claimed on Tuesday to have collected weapons from several Palestinian camps across Lebanon. The military said the disarmament was carried out in partnership with the Palestinian authorities, and a notable quantity was collected from the Ain al-Hilweh camp. – Jerusalem Post
Korean Peninsula
South Korea’s foreign exchange authorities sold a net $1.745 billion in currency market intervention transactions in the third quarter, more than double the amount sold in the second quarter, central bank data showed on Wednesday. –Reuters
South Korea gave the green light on Tuesday for the operation of a nuclear reactor with electricity output of 1,400 megawatts, the nuclear watchdog said, starting with a pilot run of six months. – Reuters
Karishma Vaswani writes: South Korean officials have hinted at the chance of a summit with the North in 2026, something unimaginable over a year ago. This gives Kim leverage he’s been looking for to potentially get sanctions relief, or extract tacit approval from the US that denuclearization has been a failure and that he can go ahead and continue with his nuclear weapons program. Expect more missile launches, diplomatic theater and other attempts to hijack the geopolitical agenda. Asia in 2026 is not on the brink of war. But the region will be more volatile than it has been in recent memory. Buckle up. – Bloomberg
China
The origin of China’s dominance of rare earths can be traced to an iron ore mine near Baotou in the country’s north, 50 miles from the Mongolian border. – New York Times
China is requiring chipmakers to use at least 50% domestically made equipment for adding new capacity, three people familiar with the matter said, as Beijing pushes to build a self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain. – Reuters
Taiwan remained on high alert on Wednesday after China staged massive military drills around the island the previous day, keeping its emergency maritime response centre running as it monitored Chinese naval manoeuvres, the coast guard said. – Reuters
President Xi Jinping declared China’s economy is set to hit its growth target in 2025, after what he called an “extraordinary year.” China’s gross domestic product is expected to expand by around 5% this year, Xi told an annual gathering held by the country’s top political advisory body, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. – Bloomberg
China’s missile branch, known as the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, has seen substantial growth in recent years as Beijing builds new platforms for conventional and nuclear strike. Its capabilities threaten US, allied, and partner forces. – Business Insider
South Asia
A once-banned Bangladeshi Islamist party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in polls in February, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief told Reuters on Wednesday. – Reuters
India has imposed a three-year import tariff of between 11% and 12% on some steel products, according to a finance ministry order published on Tuesday, as the government aims to curb cheap shipments from China. – Reuters
India’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, yesterday approved extensive procurement for an overall $8.7 billion. – Jerusalem Post
Dr. Lauren Dagan Amoss writes: They signal a quiet but consequential reordering of India’s regional security partnerships, less visible than military deployments, yet far more durable in shaping the strategic balance of the coming decade. As India deepens its integration into the region’s security, economic, and technological ecosystems, its relevance to Israel will only grow. Israel must recognize that in the new Middle East, New Delhi is no longer a distant friend operating on the margins, but an increasingly central pillar within its emerging national security architecture. – Jerusalem Post
Asia
Anti-graft activists in Malaysia have renewed calls for sweeping reforms to tackle corruption and prevent a repeat of 1MDB, after former Prime Minister Najib Razak was convicted last week over the $4.5 billion scandal at the state fund. – Reuters
Myanmar’s junta said slightly more than half of eligible voters cast their ballot in the first phase of a three-stage national election at the weekend, a figure that was markedly lower than the previous two elections. – Reuters
The Philippines Coast Guard said it deployed an aircraft on Tuesday to challenge a Chinese research ship that serves as a base for submersible vessels after it was spotted about 19 nautical miles off the coast of northern Cagayan province. – Reuters
Thailand released 18 Cambodian soldiers on Wednesday under an renewed ceasefire agreed by the two countries at the weekend, authorities from both countries said, easing tensions after weeks of deadly border clashes. – Reuters
Editorial: Chinese fighter jets this month gained radar lock on Japanese military aircraft, and days later Russia and China conducted a joint patrol with their bombers flying near Japan. Tokyo is also worried about North Korea, which claims to have test-fired long-range strategic cruise missiles that could carry conventional and nuclear weapons. One irony here is that while Japan is finally building its defenses, Mr. Trump’s defense proposal is close to Bill Clinton’s level as a share of GDP. On current trend, Ms. Takaichi will soon have standing to tell Mr. Trump to take China’s threat more seriously. – Wall Street Journal
Europe
The number of shootings in Sweden has more than halved since hitting a peak in 2022, reflecting new policing approaches introduced by the right-wing government, which is readying for parliamentary elections next year. – Reuters
Thieves used the quiet Christmas period to drill their way into the vault of a German retail bank and make off with at least 10 million euros’ worth of money and valuables from customers’ deposit boxes, police said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Britain said on Tuesday that China’s military exercises around Taiwan increased the risk of escalation, and reiterated a call for restraint. “China’s military exercises around Taiwan this week increase cross-strait tensions and the risk of escalation,” a foreign office spokesperson said in a statement. – Reuters
Europe must assert its interests more strongly to ensure peace and prosperity in 2026 amid challenges from Russian aggression, global protectionism and changing ties with the U.S., German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in his annual address. – Reuters
Dutch police have arrested a 29-year-old Syrian man they suspect of being a member of Islamic State and planning an attack somewhere in Europe, prosecutors said on Tuesday, based on the man’s social media posts. – Reuters
Leaders from Europe and Canada held talks Tuesday on U.S.-led peace efforts to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine, as Moscow and Kyiv sparred over Russian claims, denied by Ukraine, of a mass drone attack on a lakeside residence used by President Vladimir Putin. – Associated Press
On New Year’s Day, Bulgaria becomes the 21st country to join the euro currency union, furthering its integration into the European Union. But the historic milestone arrives amid political instability and skepticism among ordinary people fueled by fears of price rises. – Associated Press
Italy’s Parliament on Tuesday approved the government’s 2026 budget, including deficit-cutting measures. The budget of about 22 billion euros ($25.9 billion) aims to reduce the 2026 deficit to 2.8% of gross domestic product, down from the previously targeted 3%, in line with the European Union’s demands. – Associated Press
Instead of geese a-laying, the French Air Force got a different kind of bird for the sixth day of Christmas: two Saab GlobalEye radar surveillance planes. Paris finalized a deal today to buy the two planes for 12.3 billion Swedish Kroner (about $1.3 billion US), according to the Swedish manufacturer’s announcement. – Breaking Defense
Marc Champion writes: The desire of Greeks in the early 19th century and Ukrainians today to join the West is testament to the enduring soft power that this fundamentally liberal-democratic idea has had, for all the countless faults and misdeeds of its constituent states. It’s probably best thought of as the ideological glue that holds NATO and the EU together. Lose that bond, or try to replace it with a common identity manufactured from extreme nationalism, and it’s hard to see not just the West but also the secularism and tolerance that made it attractive surviving. – Bloomberg
Africa
Guinea coup leader Mamady Doumbouya has been elected president, according to provisional results announced on Tuesday, completing the return to civilian rule in the bauxite- and iron ore-rich West African nation. – Reuters
Police in Uganda said they have detained a prominent human rights activist as long-serving President Yoweri Museveni’s government widens its crackdown on dissent and political opposition ahead of the January 15 general election. – Reuters
Senegal hopes to finalise a programme with the International Monetary Fund “very quickly”, its finance minister said on Tuesday, adding that progress had been made on multiple issues related to managing the country’s debt crisis. – Reuters
Mali and Burkina Faso have said they are imposing a travel ban on U.S. citizens in response to an equivalent measure announced by the Trump administration earlier this month. – Reuters
The United States and Ivory Coast signed a health deal Tuesday requiring the U.S. to commit $480 million to the West African nation’s health sector as part of “America First” global health funding pacts that mirror the Trump administration’s foreign policy. – Associated Press
Tens of thousands of Somalis gathered across the country Tuesday to protest Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, a move condemned by more than 20 countries as an attack on the East African nation’s sovereignty. – Associated Press
The Americas
The pursuit of the Bella 1, an aging oil tanker that has been evading the U.S. Coast Guard for nearly two weeks, was complicated after a Russian flag was sloppily painted on the side of the vessel in an apparent attempt to claim protection from Moscow, according to senior U.S. officials. – Wall Street Journal
Shortly before Christmas, a swarm of drones killed seven soldiers as they rested inside a military compound in the country’s northeast, unaware that a cocaine-trafficking guerrilla group was about to strike. In the southwestern city of Cali, officials say they are scrambling to prevent gangs from dropping explosives from drones onto police stations. – Wall Street Journal
At least two oil tankers have made their way to Venezuela in recent days and others are navigating towards the country, a sign of state-run PDVSA’s effort to expand floating storage and keep selling crude even as a U.S. blockade has reduced exports to a minimum. – Reuters
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was temporarily released from prison last week for hernia treatment, underwent an unscheduled procedure on Tuesday to treat persistent hiccups, according to his doctors. – Reuters
Bolivian miners set off dynamite sticks and launched fireworks at police on Tuesday, the eighth consecutive day of protests against economic reforms decreed by incoming President Rodrigo Paz. – Associated Press
One of the Toronto men recently charged with alleged hate and extremism-motivated crimes targeting women and Jews was denied refugee status more than seven years ago, according to court records. – Global News
United States
The U.S. Treasury said on Tuesday it has added 10 individuals and entities based in Iran and Venezuela to its sanctions list, citing their aggressive weapons program. – Reuters
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked plans by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to end temporary protections from deportation that had been granted to hundreds of South Sudanese nationals living in the United States. – Reuters
President Donald Trump’s administration said on Tuesday it was auditing immigration cases involving U.S. citizens of Somali origin to detect fraud that could lead to denaturalization, or revocation of citizenship. – Reuters
The Trump administration said it has frozen child care payments for the state of Minnesota after a conservative YouTuber alleged that several centres run by Somali immigrants were taking public money without providing care. – BBC
Jewish and U.N. watchdog organizations are calling on Amazon to comply with U.S. sanctions law and stop hosting a platform for U.N. Human Rights rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, who was listed in July as a Specially Designated National. – New York Sun
American Jews consider Qatar the second most serious threat to the national security of Israel and the United States, according to a recent Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) survey. – Jerusalem Post
Cybersecurity
President Donald Trump’s administration has lifted sanctions on three executives tied to the spy software consortium Intellexa, according to a notice published to the U.S. Treasury’s website. The move partially reverses the imposition of sanctions last year by then-President Joe Biden’s administration on seven people tied to Intellexa. – Reuters
Nvidia is scrambling to meet strong demand for its H200 artificial intelligence chips from Chinese technology companies and has approached contract manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) to ramp up production, sources said. – Reuters
The Pentagon could pick up technology and talent at bargain prices if soaring investments in artificial intelligence finally come crashing down in 2026, experts told Breaking Defense. – Breaking Defense
OpenAI is warning that prompt injection, a technique that hides malicious instructions inside ordinary online content, is becoming a central security risk for AI agents designed to operate inside a web browser and carry out tasks for users. – Cyberscoop
Two cybersecurity professionals pleaded guilty last week to charges related to several ransomware attacks they launched on behalf of the now-defunct ALPHV/BlackCat cybercrime group. – The Record
Defense
The Department of Defense did not consistently hold Lockheed Martin accountable for F-35 poor sustainability performance in its 2024 contract, according to a Dec. 19 inspector general audit of the performance. – Defense News
Amid a global race to augment military forces with unmanned systems, the Air Force this year notched first flights for prototype drone wingmen, a step lauded by officials as a key milestone for a top service priority. – Breaking Defense
The Army recently established an artificial intelligence career field that select officers can transfer into starting next month, DefenseScoop has learned. It is also considering the potential for warrant officers to join the new role. – Defensescoop