1) At the JISS, Dr Emmanual Navon explains ‘Why Somaliland Exposes the UN’s Double Standard’.
“Israel’s recognition of Somaliland was challenged at a special session of the UN Security Council on December 30. The charges were predictable: violation of sovereignty, destabilization of Africa, erosion of international law. Yet these criticisms conceal a more troubling reality. Israel’s decision does not undermine global norms; it exposes how selectively and politically they are applied.
The real question is not whether Somaliland satisfies an abstract legal checklist of statehood. It is why political entities that clearly fail such tests are routinely recognized, while one that has met them in practice for more than three decades has been systematically excluded.”
2) At the JCFA, Jonathan D. Halevi reports on ‘The Role of Qatar in Promoting Jihad through the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas’.
“Hamas leaders operated for years from Qatar, which hosted the movement’s political leadership and facilitated its external activity. This presence was publicly justified by Qatari officials as a mediation role allegedly requested by the United States, intended to maintain communication with a non-state actor to facilitate ceasefires, humanitarian access, and hostage negotiations. Qatar maintains that all aid sent to Gaza was transparent and coordinated with Israel and international actors, and that no Qatari funds were directed to Hamas’s military wing.
However, intelligence material cited here asserts that Qatar was uniquely positioned as the only actor with influence over both Hamas’s political leadership abroad and its military command in Gaza. From this vantage point, Hamas leadership allegedly used Qatar as a base for strategic deliberations, long-term military planning, and coordination with Iran and its regional proxy network.”
3) At the Middle East Forum, Jonathan Spyer explains ‘Why October 7 Didn’t Ignite the West Bank’.
“The Middle East has been engulfed in war over the last two years. The spark that lit the fire was cast with the Hamas massacre of Israelis on October 7, 2023. The war rapidly metastasized: to Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Iran.
Yet, for all this, notably absent from the list of fronts were the two possible arenas most geographically and politically linked to Gaza – namely the West Bank, and the Arab Israeli population. What explains this curious and notable absence? And where may things be headed in this regard?”
4) At the Alma Center, Tal Beeri and Dvir Peri report on ‘What the World Does Not See: al-Sharaa’s Islamist Education System’.
“The “Dar al-Wahy al-Sharif” network, (دار الوحي الشريف – in English: The House of the Honored Revelation) is an Islamist education network consisting, as of today, of elementary schools and kindergartens belonging to Ahmad al-Sharaa’s organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) (هيئة تحرير الشام) in Syria.
The “Dar al-Wahy” network is based on independent indoctrination and education systems familiar to Hezbollah and the Taliban, based on HTS ideology – according to which Islamic Sharia will rule Syrian society. This education network is expanding rapidly and “under the radar,” at the expense of the public education system.”
5) The ICT’s Cyber Team looks at the ‘Handala Hack Team — A Mask for Iranian Psychological Warfare’.
“The group was first observed operating in December 2023, after publishing details of its hacks on its social media accounts. Between February 2024 and February 2025, HHT conducted at least 85 attacks, primarily against targets in Israel, with several incidents reported in the United States. Healthcare has been a frequently targeted sector, followed by information technology, electronics, education, and government and defense, which in recent months has become their primary focus. The group’s main modus operandi consists of DDoS attacks, data-leak operations, phishing attacks, and website defacement.”
CAMERA UK wishes all our readers a happy, healthy and peaceful 2026.
