Connor Freeman | The Libertarian Institute

New Legal Powers for Settlers Facilitate West Bank Annexation

by Connor Freeman | Jun 23, 2024 | News

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) quietly issued an order which transfers substantial legal powers over the occupied West Bank to Settlements Administration bureaucrats working under Israel’s extremist minister Bezalel Smotrich, The Guardian reports. This paves the way for annexation of the territory, illegally occupied since 1967, where millions of Palestinian Muslims and Christians live. This objective, which will eliminate the potential for a two-state solution, has been long sought by Smotrich and other far-right elements in Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. Posted on...

IDF Kills Over 100 Palestinians in Weekend Strikes Across Gaza Strip

by Connor Freeman | Jun 23, 2024 | News

Tel Aviv carried out several attacks across the Gaza Strip this weekend. On Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 100 Palestinians were killed, along with 169 others wounded, in 24 hours amidst various strikes. This was the deadliest day in the Strip since the June 8 massacre on the Nuseirat refugee camp, which slaughtered at least 274 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more. A UN facility was hit on Sunday, killing at least four people. On Friday, the IDF bombarded areas in southern Gaza near the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) base at the al-Mawasi camp, a location...

Washington Approves $360 Million Arms Sale to Taiwan

by Connor Freeman | Jun 21, 2024 | News

The State Department said on Tuesday that it has green-lit a $360 million arms sale to Taipei, including hundreds of armed drones, missile equipment, and other support material. China views Taiwan as part of its territory, and while it prefers to reclaim the de facto independent island peacefully, it has not ruled out using force if its “red lines” are crossed. The latest sale comprises 291 Altius-600M systems, which are drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), armed with warheads. The State Department release notes 720 Switchblade drones, described as “extended-range loitering...

Netanyahu Accuses Security Minister Ben-Gvir of Leaking State Secrets, Government in Crisis

by Connor Freeman | Jun 20, 2024 | News

Major fractures within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition threaten to collapse the government, reports the New Arab. Netanyahu’s grip on power depends on the support of extremist and ultra-orthodox parties. But the Israeli leader is increasingly at odds with his National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the Jewish Power party, whom he has accused of leaking state secrets. Other disputes have also led some factions to threaten they will leave the coalition. One critical controversy is Ben-Gvir’s demand to join the now disbanded Israeli war cabinet, which was...

US: Ukraine Can Strike ‘Anywhere’ Russian Forces May Cross Border

by Connor Freeman | Jun 20, 2024 | News

Ukraine has been authorized to use US-supplied weapons to strike the Russian mainland wherever Moscow’s troops are advancing from across the border, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told PBS on Tuesday. The Pentagon also reiterated the escalatory change in policy on Thursday. Ukraine has suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties and continues losing territory in its war with Russia, in which Kiev serves as a NATO proxy. The White House green-lit Ukrainian strikes with American arms on Russia’s side of the border last month. At the time, the policy was supposed to only extend near...

Putin Accuses NATO of Threatening Security in Asia for Russia, Other Nations

by Connor Freeman | Jun 20, 2024 | News

President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of creating major security threats for Russia in Asia on Thursday, Reuters reported. This comes amid Washington’s escalating buildup for war with China, which has seen increased involvement by the North Atlantic alliance, as well as mounting tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Moscow maintains a “no limits” partnership with Beijing and inked a mutual assistance pact with Pyongyang this week. During a subsequent visit to Vietnam, Putin told a press conference that Moscow “[sees] what is happening in Asia: a bloc system is being put together.” He continued,...

Report: China’s Xi Says US Attempted To Trick Him Into Taiwan Invasion

by Connor Freeman | Jun 19, 2024 | News

During a conversation in 2023 with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese President Xi Jinping accused the US of attempting to goad him into invading the island of Taiwan. This is according to people familiar with the matter, speaking with Financial Times. Despite a long spate of provocations by Washington that threatened to cross China’s “first red line,” undermining cross-strait peace and regional security more broadly, the Chinese leader said he would not take the bait. US provocations have continued into the current year. The meeting between the two leaders took...

China Blamed as West Fuels Nuclear Buildup

by Connor Freeman | Jun 17, 2024 | News

A recent report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says China is undertaking a “significant” expansion and modernization of its nuclear arsenal and predicts Beijing could be on pace to obtain in 2030 an equal number of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMS) as Russia or the US. China’s actions are doubtless a response to the destabilization engendered by Washington’s new Cold Wars as well as the concomitant nuclear arms race successive American presidents have spearheaded this century. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) says...