Erdogan allegedly made the request during a 90-minute meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an international forum in Turkmenistan last weekend. The Turkish Presidency and Defense Ministry declined to comment on the report, while the Kremlin denied that any such request had been made. According to the report, Turkey hopes its role as a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv will encourage the Kremlin to agree to the move.

US Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake said earlier this week that Washington is engaged in ongoing discussions with Ankara about its desire to rejoin the F-35 program. He said the positive relationship between US President Donald Trump and Erdogan had created a new atmosphere of cooperation, leading to "the most productive talks we've had on the issue in a decade."

Flake emphasized that Turkey would have to not only cease operating the S-400 system, but also relinquish possession of it in order to be readmitted to the F-35 project. "Our hope is that these discussions will yield a breakthrough in the coming months," he added. Last week, at a conference in Abu Dhabi, Flake expressed optimism that the hurdles preventing US approval of an F-35 sale to Turkey could be resolved "within four to six months."

Turkey signed a $2.5 billion deal with Russia for the S-400 systems in September 2017, with the first shipment arriving in July 2019. Just one week later, the US expelled Turkey from the F-35 program, citing concerns that Russia could use the S-400 systems on Turkish soil to gain sensitive information about the advanced American jet.

Bloomberg also reported that Ankara may seek financial compensation for the returned system, possibly by offsetting the cost against the price of natural gas and oil imported from Russia. The matter would be subject to further negotiation between the two governments, according to the sources.

Since returning to the White House, President Trump has shown warmth toward Erdogan. During the Turkish leader's visit to Washington in September, Trump expressed willingness to move forward with the sale of F-35 jets, but made clear that "he will have to do something for us" to make the deal happen.

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According to the report, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation examined one of the terrorists, Naveed Akram, 24, who was wounded during an exchange of fire with police, six years ago over suspected ties to an ISIS cell in Sydney.

The review began shortly after the arrest of Issak al-Mattari in July 2019, an ISIS terrorist who planned a "revolt" in Australia and was identified as the group's commander in the country. Counterterrorism sources said Akram was closely linked to al-Mattari and to others in the cell who were later convicted of terrorism offenses.

ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said Sunday that one of the attackers had been known to the agency, but added it was not in the context of an "immediate threat," and that authorities needed to examine what had happened.

The father, Sajid Akram, 50, a fruit shop owner, had held a firearms license for at least a decade and owned six registered weapons, all of which were found at the scene. Sajid was killed in the exchange of fire with police. Improvised explosive devices were also found in the attackers' vehicle and were dismantled by bomb disposal teams.

Dramatic footage from the attack shows the son standing on a bridge near the lawn where the Hanukkah celebration was being held, firing rapidly with a shotgun. The father was seen advancing toward the revelers and shooting until he was subdued by a civilian who happened to be nearby, leapt on him with courage and disarmed him. The civilian was identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed.

Australian media reported that Naveed had worked as a construction laborer until about two months ago, when the company that employed him collapsed. Screenshots circulating on social media show him marking the completion of studies at a local religious institution.

The family lived in the suburb of Bonnyrigg in western Sydney with the parents and two younger siblings. Police raided the home after the attack, and a video circulating on social media showed two people exiting the house with their hands raised.

The mother, Verna, was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as police surrounded her home: "He has no weapon. He doesn't even go out. He doesn't drink, doesn't smoke. Anyone would want a son like mine, he's a good boy." She said she was unable to identify her son from images published from the scene.

Describing her last conversation with him on Sunday morning, she said: "He called and said: Mom, I went swimming. I did a dive. We're going to eat now, and then we'll stay home because it's very hot."

Fifteen people were killed in the attack and 38 wounded, some in critical condition. The victims' ages ranged from 10 to 87, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said. Two of the wounded died overnight in Sydney hospitals.

Australian media identified 10-year-old Matilda as one of those killed, without giving her surname. She was reported to be a student at the local Russian school, and a former teacher described her as "a radiant, joyful child full of life." Her aunt wrote on social media: "A great tragedy has happened to my family. My beloved niece Matilda was murdered in a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach. I don't know how one survives such grief."

Alex Kleytman

A Holocaust survivor born in Ukraine, about 80, was killed while shielding his wife, Larisa, with his body. The couple had been married for about 50 years and left behind two children and 11 grandchildren. Larisa told the Daily Mail: "We were standing there and suddenly there was 'boom, boom,' and everyone fell. I think he was shot because he raised himself to protect me. A bullet hit his head." Speaking outside the hospital, she was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald: "I have no husband. I don't know where his body is. No one can give me an answer."

Rabbi Eli Schlanger

Schlanger, 41, a British-born assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi since 2008, was the organizer of the event at which he was killed. He was married and the father of five, the youngest an infant. In September, after Australia recognized a Palestinian state, he sent a public letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: "As a rabbi in Sydney, I beg you not to betray the Jewish people."

His father-in-law and community rabbi Yoram Ullman delivered a tearful eulogy before worshippers at the morning prayer service. "All the terrorists want to do is suffocate our lives as Jews, to bring us down, to destroy us, to make us lose hope," he said, wiping away tears. "They are looking at us now and waiting to see whether we continue, whether we ensure that everything they worked for continues even stronger. Now is the time to unite, to forget the small things that happened between us in the community."

Dan Elkayam

Elkayam, 27, arrived in Australia from France about a year ago and worked at a high-tech company. The local football club where he played wrote: "He was a talented and deeply loved figure. Our heartfelt condolences to Dan's family, his friends and everyone who knew him. He will be missed."

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed the nation's "full solidarity" with his family, and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote: "This criminal act is another tragic expression of the shocking surge of antisemitic hatred. The lights of Hanukkah do not go out, and will not go out."

Reuben Morrison

A businessman who emigrated from the Soviet Union, Morrison discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney and became a pillar of the city's Chabad community, according to local media. He split his time between Sydney, where he ran his businesses, and Melbourne, where he lived with his wife and daughter, Shayna.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Bondi Beach in the morning after ordering Australian flags lowered to half-staff following the attack. "Australia will not be divided by hate or violence," he wrote on X. "We will confront this head-on and stand together in solidarity with Australian Jews and with each other."

Opposition Leader Susan Ley accused Albanese of allowing antisemitism to "spread" and of failing to protect Australian Jews. "Everything must change from today," she said. "We have seen public sites turn into symbols of antisemitic hatred. We have seen campuses taken over and Jewish students made to feel afraid. We have seen synagogues torched at the direction of foreign terrorist states."

Gillian Segal, the government-appointed envoy to combat antisemitism, also said Australia had not been strong enough. "Sadly, I have to say I held my breath out of fear that something like this would happen," she told ABC. "From October 9, when we saw that hatred at the protest at the Sydney Opera House that was not stopped, then the extreme demonstrations at the Harbour Bridge, and now Bondi Beach."

Throughout the day, many residents came to the scene to lay flowers and pay their respects to the victims. At the same time, New South Wales Police announced a special operation to bolster security around synagogues, schools and other Jewish community institutions.

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The policy paper opens with sharp criticism of the administrations that preceded Trump. According to the White House, since the end of the Cold War, American "elites" convinced themselves that permanent American dominance worldwide was good for the country but in practice were mistaken. They overestimated Washington's ability to finance both a sprawling welfare state and an enormous military diplomatic machine at the same time, bet on "globalization" and "free trade" that hollowed out the middle class and industrial base, and allowed allies to shift their defense costs onto the American public.

Under the new approach, the United States seeks to remain "the greatest and most successful nation in human history." It aims to protect its own sovereignty and exercise full control over its borders. Among the goals listed are a military that is "the strongest, deadliest and most advanced in the world," a modern nuclear deterrent, a dynamic economy, a robust industrial base and leadership in energy. Abroad, Washington seeks stability in the Western Hemisphere, to keep the Pacific free and open, to support allies in protecting Europe, to prevent any hostile power from dominating the Middle East, and to preserve America's technological leadership in fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

The Monroe Doctrine and China

The strategy reasserts the Monroe Doctrine, articulated by President James Monroe in 1823, which held that the Western Hemisphere is the natural sphere of US influence and that any foreign interference would be seen as hostile. Trump adds his own extension to that doctrine that outside competitors must be prevented from controlling strategic assets in the region. This view has been reflected in the administration's public interest in buying Greenland from Denmark, in escalating tensions with Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela, and in friction with Panama over Chinese activity in ports near the canal.

Competition with China also features prominently, though without surprise. Past administrations frequently spoke of a "pivot to Asia" as they shifted strategic attention away from the old Cold War and Middle East theaters toward rising confrontation with Beijing. China is defined as a major economic threat, and the White House promises to end "unfair trade practices," "large scale intellectual property theft and industrial espionage," and "propaganda, influence operations and other forms of cultural subversion."

At the same time, a key goal is preventing military conflict. The document calls for "strong and sustained deterrence to prevent war" in the region and states that "deterring conflict over Taiwan, ideally by maintaining military superiority, is a priority."

"Civilizational erasure"

What has generated the strongest reaction among experts is the section addressing Europe, which sets out what appears to be a US national security interest in Europe's internal political trajectory.

The document warns of Europe's potential "civilizational erasure" and cites several contributing factors. These include policies of the European Union and other multinational bodies that it says undermine political freedom and sovereignty, migration policies that change the continent and fuel tensions, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, collapsing birth rates, and the loss of national identities and self-confidence.

It adds that Washington should work to "cultivate resistance to Europe's current trajectory from within European states." These themes echo the speech US Vice President J. D. Vance delivered at the Munich Security Conference in February, where he said that "the threat that most worries me in the context of Europe is not Russia, not China, not any external actor. What concerns me is the threat from within." Vance also urged European governments to remove the "firewalls" that block parties seen as far right from joining governing coalitions. He met with Alice Weidel, leader of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD). Across Europe, these statements are widely viewed as blatant interference in domestic politics.

Security demands of Europe

The document also addresses more conventional expectations of Europe, chief among them bearing its own defense burden. The White House cites the "Hague Commitment," under which NATO members agreed to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, and calls on Europe "to stand on its own feet and act as a coordinated group of sovereign states, including by taking primary responsibility for its own defense."

In this context, Reuters reported Friday that the Pentagon has presented European governments with a deadline requiring them to assume most of NATO's conventional defense capabilities by 2027, ranging from intelligence capabilities to missile systems. The message was delivered during a meeting in Washington this week between the Pentagon officials overseeing NATO policy and European delegations.

According to the report, American defense officials warned that if Europe fails to meet the deadline, the United States may stop participating in some of the alliance's coordination mechanisms. European officials at the meeting told Reuters the timeline is unrealistic because Europe needs far more than money and political will to replace certain American capabilities in the near term. These include unique intelligence and information gathering assets that proved crucial during the war in Ukraine.

The pressure is already being felt in Europe. In March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled an 800 billion euro rearmament plan and declared that "we are in an era of rearmament." Germany announced a new recruitment model to expand its military to 260,000 soldiers and Chancellor Friedrich Merz set a goal to make the Bundeswehr "the strongest conventional military in Europe." France also announced the creation of a voluntary military service program for young people.

The document addresses the war in Ukraine as well and defines as a US "core interest" the achievement of a "rapid cessation of hostilities" to stabilize European economies, prevent unintended escalation or broader war, "restore strategic stability with Russia," and allow Ukraine to rebuild "as a viable state." Among Washington's policy objectives is "to end the perception, and prevent the reality, of NATO as an alliance that expands endlessly," a clear signal of US opposition to admitting Ukraine, which has been a central Russian demand.

The Middle East and Israel

The document defines Washington's core regional interests as ensuring that Gulf energy supplies do not fall into hostile hands, that the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea remain open to shipping, that the region does not serve as a platform for exporting terrorism to the United States, and finally and explicitly that "Israel remains secure."

The White House presents the Middle East as a success story for the Trump administration. "The days when the Middle East dominated American foreign policy have fortunately ended," it states. "Not because the Middle East is no longer important, but because it is no longer the constant irritant and source of potential disaster it once was. It is becoming a place of partnership, friendship and investment." The strategy pledges to avoid "endless wars" of nation building, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to encourage reforms "when they grow organically, without trying to impose them from the outside."

Israel appears in the document five times, always in a positive context. Along with defining its security as an American interest, the White House cites the Abraham Accords from Trump's first term as a historic achievement and sets a goal of expanding them "to additional states in the region and the Muslim world." As for the Israeli Palestinian conflict, the document says the situation "remains complicated," but thanks to the ceasefire and the release of hostages that Trump brokered, "progress has been made toward a more lasting peace."

The paper also lists the regional accomplishments the administration credits to itself. These include "Operation Midnight Hammer" in June 2025, which damaged Iran's nuclear enrichment capabilities, "peace between Israel and Iran," the end of the Gaza war and the return of all living hostages to their families. It adds that Iran, described as "the central destabilizing force in the region," has been significantly weakened by Israeli actions since 7 October 2023 and by the American operation.

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Over the weekend, Dendias presented "Achilles Shield", a major shift in Greece's security doctrine that would place missile batteries on hundreds of Aegean islands. "We will seal the Aegean from the ground", he said in a Friday speech, again calling Turkey "the greatest threat" to Greece. "Greece is defending itself and Turkey is the one issuing threats", he declared. According to him, "the country that represents the most tangible threat to us is producing drones. Based on the information we have, it has more than a million drones ready at this moment".

A significant portion of the weapons systems for the Greek plan is expected to come from Israel, reflecting deepening defense ties between Israel, Greece and Cyprus, who share longstanding hostility toward Turkey. According to reports, Jerusalem and Athens are negotiating a deal worth roughly 3.5 billion dollars that would include air defense systems built by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries: Spyder, Barak MX and David's Sling.

At a weekly press briefing in Ankara, Defense Ministry spokesperson Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk addressed Dendias's remarks. "All developments in our region, including the military activity of our neighbor Greece, are under close monitoring by us", he said. "Our country's basic priority is for our region, including the Aegean Sea, to be an area of peace and stability. Our expectation is that Greece also demonstrates a similarly constructive approach".

Aktürk described statements by Greek officials as "detached from reality, delusional and contrary to international agreements", and argued that they "damage the positive atmosphere created on the basis of understandings reached between the leaders of the two countries".

He added: "The Turkish armed forces do not pose a threat to anyone who does not threaten them, but they have the power and determination to thwart any threat directed at our country. Initiatives aimed against Turkey have failed in the past and will not succeed now or in the future".

The briefing also noted that Turkey has begun construction of a domestically produced submarine, the first of its kind in the country. Ankara has also signed an agreement to sell a corvette to Romania, marking Turkey's first sale of a naval vessel to a NATO ally. Last week, Turkey announced it had started building a TF-2000 class air-defense destroyer, which will be part of the multilayered "Steel Dome" system the government previously unveiled.

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Trump wrote that the new president of Syria is "Working diligently to make sure good things happen, and that both Syria and Israel will have a long and prosperous relationship together."

The president also addressed the lifting of sanctions following the fall of Bashar Assad's regime. He wrote that "One of the things that has helped them greatly was my termination of very strong and biting sanctions — I believe this was truly appreciated by Syria, its Leadership, and its People!"

He concluded that this is a "Historic opportunity, and adds to the SUCCESS, already attained, for PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST!"

Trump's post was published against the backdrop of the Beit Jann incident that took place last Friday. IDF troops entered the village in southern Syria, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the border, to arrest suspects belonging to al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya, the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Gunfire was directed at the forces during the operation, and six soldiers were wounded, three of them seriously. The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the operation and called it a war crime, claiming that 13 Syrians were killed in Israeli strikes.

Trump's comments also came in the context of the visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to the buffer zone in southern Syria about two weeks ago. The visit was held a week after the historic White House meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa, and was also attended by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and the head of the Shin Bet.

Talks over a US-brokered security agreement between Israel and Syria form the backdrop to the current developments. Washington had hoped to conclude the agreement and announce it at the UN General Assembly last September, but the negotiations stalled due to significant gaps between the sides. Syria is demanding a return to the 1974 disengagement agreement and an Israeli withdrawal from areas captured after the fall of the Assad regime, particularly Mount Hermon.

Israel, for its part, is demanding the demilitarization of southwest Syria, preservation of a humanitarian corridor to the Druze community in the As Suwayda region, and normalization steps from Damascus.

In early November, al-Sharaa visited the White House, becoming the first Syrian leader to meet with an American president in Washington since the country gained independence in 1946. During the visit, Trump announced that the freeze on sanctions on Syria would be extended for another six months. The president praised al-Sharaa and described him as a young and appealing, tough leader with a very strong background.

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Also on Thursday, France announced a new voluntary military service program for young people, due to launch in mid-2026, aimed at strengthening the country's capabilities in the face of what officials describe as accelerating global threats.

Germany began drafting its plan, known as OPLAN DEU, at a special military gathering held roughly two and a half years ago at a base near Berlin. The classified document maps out the routes for moving NATO forces eastward through ports, rivers, rail lines and roads, as well as the methods for supplying and protecting those forces.

Thanks to its geography and central position on the continent, Germany would become a critical logistical hub in any major conflict with Russia, serving as the main corridor for NATO troops heading east. Look at the map, said Tim Stuchtey, head of the Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security. With the Alps forming a natural barrier, NATO forces will have to cross Germany in any clash with Russia, regardless of where hostilities begin.

According to the report, the plan outlines a comprehensive approach to war that seeks to mobilize society and civilian infrastructure for a battlefield effort. It amounts to a return to Cold War thinking, while grappling with new challenges such as aging infrastructure, insufficient legislation and much smaller Western armies than in past decades.

The Journal noted that German officials believe Russia will be ready and willing to strike NATO in 2029. Yet multiple incidents across Europe involving espionage, sabotage attacks and airspace intrusions, many attributed to Moscow, suggest Russia could prepare for an attack even earlier. Analysts quoted in the report warned that a possible cease-fire in Ukraine might free up Russian time and resources to plan a move against NATO countries.

The planners argue that strengthening Europe's resilience would not only ensure victory but also reduce the likelihood of war. "The goal is to prevent war by making clear to our enemies that if they attack us, they will not succeed," a senior officer involved in drafting the plan told the newspaper.

The report describes an exercise held this fall in eastern Germany in which Rheinmetall, the country's largest defense company, built a temporary camp for 500 soldiers including housing, showers, fuel stations, a field kitchen and anti-drone protection. The camp was constructed in 14 days and dismantled in seven. Imagine building a small town from scratch and taking it down within days, said Rheinmetall's Marc Lemmermann.

But the drill also exposed shortcomings. The site was too small for all the vehicles, and the land plots were not adjacent, forcing troops to shuttle back and forth. The plan faces additional challenges such as cumbersome procurement rules, rigid information laws and regulations not adapted for wartime conditions.

"We have to relearn what we once knew", said Deputy Defense Minister Nils Schmid. "We need to bring people out of retirement to remind us how we used to do this."

The article highlights the deterioration of Germany's military preparedness since the end of the Cold War. Whereas highway segments were once designed to double as emergency landing strips, jet fuel tanks were buried beneath parking lots, and guardrails could be removed within minutes, the years since have brought new tunnels and bridges that are too narrow or too weak for military convoys.

Germany's existing infrastructure has also decayed. Officials in Berlin estimate that 20 percent of the Autobahn network and more than a quarter of bridges require repair. North Sea and Baltic ports need an estimated 15 billion euros in upgrades, including 3 billion for military-related improvements.

Another exercise in September underscored Europe's unpreparedness. The drill, known as Red Storm Bravo, was meant to simulate on a small scale the massive troop movements envisioned by the German plan. Five hundred NATO soldiers were supposed to land at a port and travel east in convoy. But things quickly went wrong. Protesters, who were actually reservists, jumped from bushes and glued themselves to the road. The soldiers were not permitted to remove them, and police realized they lacked the tools to do so. It took two hours before the convoy could move again, ultimately covering only about ten kilometers.

The threat is not theoretical. Earlier this month, damage was discovered on the Warsaw-Lublin rail line, a critical route for delivering military aid to Ukraine. An investigation found that an explosive device had been detonated remotely, with suspicion directed at Russia. The chief of staff of Poland's military, Gen. Wieslaw Kukula, said the enemy has begun preparations for war, adding that the situation is not war but pre-war, or what many call hybrid war. Poland has attributed the sabotage to Russia.

The German and French measures are part of a broader European trend. In March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled an 800-billion-euro rearmament program. "We are in an era of rearmament", she said. Europe is prepared to increase defense spending massively: at a NATO summit in The Hague in June, alliance members agreed to raise their defense-spending target from 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP by 2035.

France's announcement on Thursday came as President Emmanuel Macron introduced a new voluntary military service program for 18- to 19-year-olds. Scheduled to begin in mid-2026, the program will run for ten months and cost 2 billion euros. It will initially recruit 3,000 participants, rising to 10,000 by 2030, with Macron hoping to reach 50,000 by 2036.

The French move followed an announcement earlier this month by Germany's governing coalition parties, who agreed on a new voluntary-based recruitment model, leaving open the possibility of mandatory service if volunteer numbers fall short. Macron made clear that France will not follow that path. There is no going back to the days of conscription, he said. This hybrid army model fits the threats and risks we face. France aims to reach 100,000 reservists by 2030, up from about 47,000 today.

Macron's announcement came as controversy erupted over remarks made last week by France's chief of staff, Gen. Fabien Mandon, who said France must be prepared to lose its children to deter Russia. What we lack is the strength of spirit to endure hardship to defend who we are, he told a gathering of mayors.

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Pollard confirmed the meeting to the newspaper and noted this was the first time an American official hosted him in an office since his release. "It was a friendly meeting," he was quoted as saying. It should be noted that after being released from prison, Pollard is prevented from returning to the US, so the meeting with Huckabee could only take place in Israel.

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In his August statement, Chancellor Merz explained, "The intensified military action by the IDF in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, makes it harder in the German government's view to achieve a ceasefire and free the hostages. Under these circumstances, Germany will not approve any export of military equipment that can be used in Gaza until further notice."

I welcome Chancellor Merz's move to revoke the decision regarding the partial "embargo".
I call on other governments to adopt similar decisions, following Germany

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) November 17, 2025

Germany is considered a key arms supplier for Israel, and the scope of defense exports from Germany has grown significantly in recent years – particularly after the October 7 events. Germany has previously supplied Israel with shells, spare parts for tanks and armored personnel carriers, explosives, small arms, and equipment for warships. Israel has purchased submarines and warships manufactured by German shipyards. Additionally, Germany has previously supplied Israel with engines for tanks and armored vehicles manufactured by the Israeli defense industry.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomed the German chancellor's decision to restart arms exports to Israel and urged other governments to follow Germany's example: "I welcome Chancellor Merz's move to revoke the decision regarding the partial 'embargo'. I call on other governments to adopt similar decisions, following Germany," the minister said in a post on X.

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The indictment alleges al-Halabi, 62, evaded capture for years in European cities with assistance from Western intelligence agencies – including Mossad, for which he allegedly served as a double agent while actively serving in the Assad regime.

Al-Halabi was arrested in December in Austria after a 12-year manhunt. Alongside him, Lieutenant Colonel Mua'sab Abu Ruqba, 53, who served as head of criminal investigations in Syrian intelligence in Raqqa, was also charged, though his custody status remains unclear. Both deny the abuse allegations through their attorneys.

This represents Austria's first indictment against senior Assad regime officials, joining similar prosecutions in Germany and Sweden. Prosecutors identified 21 victims tortured by al-Halabi and his team, many testifying about severe beatings and electrocutions carried out by his operatives at Branch 335 of Syrian State Security in Raqqa, which he commanded from 2008.

Al-Halabi, from Syria's Druze community, served extensively in the Syrian military and hails from Sweida near Damascus. He joined the intelligence services in 2001 and was appointed to lead Branch 335 of State Security in Raqqa in 2008. When anti-Assad protests erupted in March 2011 during the Arab Spring, his unit spearheaded activist arrests and interrogations designed to expose protest organizers and prevent documentation from reaching international media.

Dr. Obada Alhamada, a 39-year-old physician who helped organize protests and ran a secret clinic for wounded activists, said he was arrested at gunpoint in February 2012 and tortured throughout the night in al-Halabi's private office. "His mistake was removing my blindfold," Alhamada told The New York Times, recounting how he was stripped and beaten with a bat or pipe by Abu Ruqba, who demanded activist names from the uprising.

According to The New York Times report citing the indictment and Syrian organizations, Halabi operated as a double agent for Mossad before escaping Syria in 2013 to Paris, aided by Mossad and Austrian intelligence, who transported him by vehicle across Europe and sheltered him in a safehouse.

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Pro-Palestinian activists climbed the Brandenburg Gate on Thursday, the iconic symbol of Germany's capital, where they unfurled a banner reading "never again genocide, Free Palestine." They displayed Palestinian flags and used flares.

Berlin police reported that 75 police officers and firefighters are at the scene, after "three people illegally climbed Brandenburg Gate using a crane." Officials added that three others who operated the crane were arrested in the central square.

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