Alarm as black-clad neo-Nazis rally in Sydney for third day in row

Masked men dressed in all black have gathered in Sydney, Australia, for a neo-Nazi rally for the third day in a row, prompting a police operation and threats from the top politician in New South Wales to unmask those involved.

“In New South Wales the police have the right to unmask Nazis on our streets,” says NSW Premier Chris Minns, according to ABC.

He adds that he supports sharpening legislation outlawing Nazi gestures and symbols, which came into effect in Australia last month in response to more antisemitic incidents following Israel’s war on Hamas.

“We’ll make sure that the people of New South Wales are safe and we protect the tenants of our multicultural, harmonious community.”

Police said late on Friday, a holiday known as Australia Day, that they arrested six people and issued 55 others with infringement notices for offensive behavior at a train station in Sydney as they gathered for a neo-Nazi rally, clad in all black.

38.4c in Sydney. National Nazi meet up thwarted by cops They just marched around empty streets, looking ridiculous in "Melbourne chic" black bloc. pic.twitter.com/MZg7pnZdDD

— Dr Kaz (@tassiekaz) January 26, 2024

Another gathering was stopped by police Saturday night, according to ABC.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Saturday that the country had seen a rise in neo-Nazi activity, condemning it.

“I don’t want to see people in balaclavas dressed in black from head to toe, who are engaged in neo-Nazi activity in this country,” Albanese said.

Saturday marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

US, French, Indian navies helped put out fire on tanker hit by Houthis — Pentagon

The US Central Command says the USS Carney, the French Navy Frigate FS Alsace and Indian Navy Frigate INS Visakhapatnam responded to a “major fire” aboard a tanker carrying a flammable chemical off Yemen earlier Saturday, helping the crew douse the dangerous blaze after they had “depleted their organic firefighting capability.”

The Marshall-Islands flagged Marlin Luanda burned for several hours after being hit by a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. It was carrying Russian-produced naphtha.

“Thanks to this rapid response by the US, Indian and French navies, the fire is now extinguished,” CentCom says.

“There were no casualties in the attack, the ship remains seaworthy and has returned to its previous course,” it adds, confirming an earlier statement from Trafigura, a Singapore-based trading firm.

Yesterday, the Iranian-backed Houthis struck the Marshall Islands-flagged, Bermuda-owned M/V Marlin Luanda with an Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) in the Gulf of Aden. Marlin Luanda is transporting for commercial use a cargo of Naphtha, a highly flammable liquid hydrogen… pic.twitter.com/BHCCqMltiY

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 27, 2024

In its statement, the company said that “no further vessels operating on behalf of Trafigura are currently transiting the Gulf of Aden.”

The Indian Navy said the Marlin Luanda has 22 Indians and one Bangladeshi onboard.

It said a fire-fighting team of 10 Indian naval personnel battled the blaze for six hours along with the ship’s crew before bringing it under control.

According to CentCom, vessels from over 40 countries have been targeted by Houthi attacks, which have ostensibly been launched to show support for Gaza.

“These unlawful actions have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza. Neither the vessel nor its crew have any affiliation to Israel,” it says.

US negotiators said to draft deal for phased release of hostages, two-month pause

Negotiators have drafted a tentative agreement bringing together Israeli and Hamas demands that would see the rest of the hostages released and fighting paused for up to two months, The New York Times reports.

According to the report:

“In the first phase, fighting would stop for about 30 days while women, elderly and wounded hostages were released by Hamas. During that period, the two sides would work out details of a second phase that would suspend military operations for roughly another 30 days in exchange for Israeli soldiers and male civilians being held. The ratio of Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons is still to be negotiated but that is viewed as a solvable issue. The deal would also allow for more humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Hamas has demanded a full ceasefire, but the Times reports that “officials close to the talks believe that if Israel halts the war for two months, it would likely not resume it in the same way that it has waged it until now” opening a pathway for a more permanent ceasefire.

The report, citing US officials, says that the Washington-led draft will be presented at a summit in Paris Sunday bringing together Israel, Qatar, Egypt and the US to push moribund hostage negotiations forward.

Negotiators are “cautiously optimistic” about the sides reaching a deal, the report says, claiming one could be reached within two weeks.

MK, demonstrators show up at police station to demand release of arrested protesters

Protesters are rallying outside a police station in Herzliya demanding that protesters arrested at an anti-government rally in neighboring Tel Aviv hours earlier be released.

Among the protesters is Labor MK Gilad Kariv, who is seen in footage shared on social media presenting his ID card as a parliamentarian and requesting access to the station to lobby for their release.

חה"כ גלעד קריב מציג תעודת ח"כ ומבקש להכנס לתחנת המשטרה, בכדי לשוחח עם נציג מערך העצורים.ות. הרצליה, מול תחנת גלילות.
קרדיט: ליאורה בנימין Liora Binyamin pic.twitter.com/U4XHY8cGDo

— ש????ולי ????️????️‍???? Sh????uLi (@Shaulirena) January 27, 2024

Police said earlier they arrested five protesters for disturbing the peace and another person for attacking an officer as demonstrators moved from their rally site at Habima Square toward Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv.

Outside the Glilot police station, demonstrators use air horns and chant into megaphones demanding the protesters’ release and criticizing police for expending resources on arresting people when there are hostages in Gaza and the country is at war.

“Protesting is not a crime,” they chant.

Foreign minister urges UNRWA chief to resign

Foreign Minister Israel Katz says UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini should step down, after the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees expresses alarm as countries pull funding over allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel.

“Mr. Lazzarini please resign,” reads a terse tweet from Katz.

Mr. Lazzarini please resign.@UNLazzarini https://t.co/QKbrz7G9aB

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) January 27, 2024

Katz earlier said UNRWA should be replaced “with agencies dedicated to genuine peace and development,” once fighting dies down.

Also on X, government spokesman Eylon Levy accuses UNRWA of being a “front for Hamas” and covering up for the terror group after the agency reported that Hamas had commandeered fuel and medicine before backtracking shortly after the war broke out.

UNRWA is a Hamas front.

It literally covers up for Hamas.

At the start of the war it admitted Hamas stole fuel and medical equipment from its stockpiles, then deleted the tweets and denied “reports on social media” (its own tweets).

This isn’t about 12 bad apples. pic.twitter.com/1oIh38O2et

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) January 27, 2024

Meanwhile, Scottish First Minister Humza Youssef appears to back Lazarini, despite his government joining others in freezing funds to UNRWA.

“The people of Gaza are dying in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe, they cannot be collectively punished,” tweets Youssef, whose wife is from Gaza.

Important statement from @UNRWA head @UNLazzarini that all allegations will be independently investigated.

The people of Gaza are dying in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe, they cannot be collectively punished. Aid must get to those who are already suffering so badly. https://t.co/8q58iwz2V9

— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) January 27, 2024