The President's Daily Brief - December 27th, 2023: Hamas Hijacks Aid In Gaza, Iran Threatens Israel, & AOC's Bizarre Christmas Message

Episode Date: December 27, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:     The U.N. group in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza is under fresh scrutiny as evidence mounts that Hamas is in direct control of the organization. Iran is threatening payback against Israel after the death of a senior IRGC officer in an alleged Israeli airstrike. Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has been found in a remote Arctic prison after vanishing for more than two weeks. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing widespread condemnation over a Christmas Eve Instagram post slamming Israel and comparing Jesus to Palestinian refugees. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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You talking to me? Kayak. Got that right. It's Wednesday, December 27th. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll lead off today's show with allegations that Hamas is in direct control of the United Nations Group overseeing the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Of course, if true, that could explain how Hamas has managed to siphon off billions of dollars in humanitarian aid over the years that was intended for the better,

of the people of Gaza. It's shocking, a terrorist organization run by the Iranian regime that's corrupt, and just when you think you've seen it all. Later in the program, Iran has issued a threat against Israel after the death of a senior IRGC officer in an alleged Israeli strike in Syria. And in Russia, opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been located in a remote Arctic prison after vanishing for more than two weeks. And finally, in today's back of the brief, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing widespread condemnation over a Christmas Eve Instagram post slamming Israel and comparing Jesus to Palestinian refugees. She's full of something, and it's not the Christmas spirit. But first up, the PDB spotlight. The UN group in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza is under

fresh scrutiny as evidence mounts that Hamas is in direct control of the organization. The latest insights come from the testimony of a Palestinian man who told Israel Defense Forces that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, is under the thumb of Hamas who have been tightly controlling the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza. In audio shared with the New York Post, the Palestinian man expressed frustration over the lack of access in Gaza to aid supplies, saying Hamas is stealing much of the aid to give to their own fighters. In the recording, the man tells IDF forces that, quote, the situation is terrible because the humanitarian people, those responsible for the humanitarian

aid, are thieves. Hamas has their hands on UNRWA administration workers, and it manages UNRWA. He continued, from the day they rose to power, they took control of everything, end quote. Now you may recall that Hamas has been in control of Gaza for almost 20 years. Officials with the IDF said the conversation was recorded as soldiers patrolled Gaza to inform civilians of where to go to evacuate and seek humanitarian assistance. The claims put a spotlight on the UNRWA, which is facing an increasing intense scrutiny over the alleged relationship with Hamas. Now, there were reports in early October that some UNRWA staffers were celebrating the brutal 7 October Hamas attacks. Unsurprisingly, the UN was disinclined to investigate those reports.

The group itself has long denied any affiliation with Hamas. Oh, well, that should be fine, but there's sufficient reason to doubt their word. The IDF has repeatedly found UNRWA labeled bags in Hamas's possession and reportedly found Hamas tunnels built near UNRWA schools. More disturbingly, an Israeli hostage released in November during the brief pause in fighting, said that they were imprisoned in the attic of a UNRWA teacher for roughly 50 days, suggesting a more direct connection between the group and Hamas terrorists.

Now, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee will reportedly launch an investigation into the UNRWA over their alleged ties to Hamas. Officials with the IDF said they will gladly cooperate with the probe. Republican Representative Daryl Issa told the New York Post, quote, there is extensive evidence of a troubling connection between UNRWA and Hamas, and it's far deeper than was known, end quote. Now, the bad news here is that congressional investigations, they're like construction projects on the Pennsylvania turnpike. They never seem to end. You have no idea how your money is being spent, and you rarely see results. These reports come as Egypt issued a new proposal to Israel and Hamas to end the war, which calls for a phased release of the remaining Israeli hostages

and the formation of a transitional government in Gaza, made up of various Palestinian factions, and here you go, including Hamas. Israel's War Cabinet is reviewing the proposal, as pressure melts on Prime Minister Netanyahu, to pursue all options available to secure the release of Israeli hostages. But frankly, they're not expected to accept these terms. Officials signaled that any agreement that sees Hamas retain a foothold in Gaza is a non-star for Israel. And given that Hamas has promised to continue attacks similar to 7 October, and their reason for being is the destruction of Israel, you would assume that no sane person

would promote a resolution that leaves Hamas in full or partial control of Gaza. Hamas itself does not appear eager to accept the proposal either, which would force them to relinquish much of their control of the government in Gaza. And after spending almost 20 years, stealing billions of dollars from the people of Gaza, you can understand why the Hamas leadership would be reluctant to give up that revenue stream. The Israeli Prime Minister pledged to continue the fight against Hamas and remarks on Monday, saying, quote, we are expanding the fight in the coming days, and this will be a long battle, and it isn't close to finished, end quote. All right, when we come back, Iran is threatening payback against Israel after the death of a

senior IRGC officer in an alleged Israeli air strike. I'll be right back. Welcome back. Iran has lashed out at Israel over the death of a senior advisor to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, raising fears that the current Israel-Hamas conflict could spiral into a wider regional war. Brigadier General Razimusabi, who coordinated the military alliance between Iran and Syria was killed Monday in an alleged Israeli air strike in a Damascus suburb in Syria, according to reports by Iranian media. While representatives for the Israel Defense Forces declined a comment on the incident, Iranian officials have condemned Israel over the strike and vowed retribution.

Iran's president, Abraham Reisi, promised that Israel will certainly pay for this crime. He said Monday that, quote, without a doubt, this action is another sign of frustration helplessness and incapacity of the usurping Zionist regime in the region, end quote. Musavi reportedly worked closely in the region with Qasem Soleimani, the former head of the RGC's elite Quds Force, who was killed in a U.S. air strike in Baghdad in 2020. While Iranian officials have claimed Musavi was working as a diplomat from their embassy in Damascus, and that's a claim that even they can barely make with a straight face, he's believed to have been leading efforts to provide missiles and armed shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iranian proxy groups in

Syria. And when I say he was believed to have been leading efforts to provide missiles and arms shipments to Hezbollah and Lebanon and Iranian proxy groups in Syria, I mean, that's exactly what he was up to. Hezbollah has been harassing Israel with rocket attacks since the war in Gaza broke out, and Iranian proxies in Syria have been launching regular attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria. Yov Galant, the Israel defense minister, noted Tuesday that Israel is currently, quote, in a multi-front war and coming under attack from seven theaters,

pointing to Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Hezbollah, for their part, praised Musabi as their, quote, dear brother and condemned Israel over the strike, calling it a, quote, flagrant and shameless violation. And they did that with that. out any sense of irony. Fearing possible retaliatory attacks from Iran and their proxies, leaders in Israel have put their armed forces on high alert. All right. Turning our attention to Russia. The leading opposition leader to Vladimir Putin,

whose recent disappearance sparked fears about his safety, has been found in a remote Arctic prison. It's like the Putin regime misplaced him temporarily. Now, where did we put him? Seriously, has anyone seen him? Putin was. just walking around like, well, where was the last place you saw him? I could have sworn I left him right here. Lawyers for Alexi Navalny posted on X that they had visited with him on Monday, and he was, quote, doing well, because how could you not be doing well in the Russian prison somewhere in the Arctic? The news came after the jailed opposition leader went missing from Russia's penal system in early December. For 20 days, his lawyers could not locate him or get any information regarding

his possible transfer to another facility, alarming the international community. Navalny is now being held at the Polar Wolf Penal Colony, which is located above the Arctic Circle and considered to be one of the most brutal prisons in Russia. It's typically reserved for the country's most dangerous criminals due to its remote location and once served as a forced labor camp under the Soviet Gulag system. Kira Yarmish, a spokeswoman for Navalny, said she believes he was taken to this facility to further isolate him and make it harder for his lawyers and allies to access him, particularly as Putin prepares for his re-election in March. She said she sent more than 600 requests to prisons and other government agencies before she was able to locate him.

Navalny, who was already serving an 11.5 years prison sentence, was sentenced to an additional 19 years in prison in August for allegedly financing extremist activities and creating an extremist community. Internationally, these charges are widely seen as punishment by Moscow for his criticism of the Putin regime and as a way to stifle any future political threats to Putin's leadership. Eh, that's surprising. His representatives had been awaiting word

on Navalny's expected transfer to another penal colony in early December when they lost contact with him. Now, on Monday, Navalny also released his own statement through his lawyer, thanking his supporters for their outpouring of concern, if only struck a humorous and defiant tone in his message, telling supporters not to worry about him. He joked, I am your new father Frost, and spoke about those very beautiful fluffy shepherd dogs that the prison guards use at the Arctic Penal Colony. He added that he should get felt boots soon, and jested that he didn't expect anyone would find

him here until mid-January. He closed his note with a message for supporters, saying, quote, don't worry about me, I'm fine, I'm often glad I finally made it here. Navalny has long had a target on his back for his dissent against the Putin regime. In August of 2020, he nearly died after ingesting a Novichok nerve agent slipped into a cup of tea by FSB or Russian intelligence agents before a flight in Siberia. And of course, we're all on pins and needles to see whether Putin will manage to squeak out a victory in March and secure another term as Russia's favorite dictator. Remember, he's trying to beat Stalin as the country's longest serving despot. All right, coming up in the back of the brief,

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is under fire over a Christmas Eve Instagram post slamming Israel and comparing Jesus to Palestinians. I'll be right back. Exema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with ebbglis. A once-month treatment for moderate to severe eczema. After an initial four-month or longer dosing phase, about four and seven people taking Ebbglis achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks, and most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. Hebglis, LBKZ, a 250 milligram per two milliliter injection is a prescription medicine used to

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likened Mary Joseph and Jesus to Palestinian refugees. To be fair, her message was completely on-brand for the pandering progressive. She knows her base of supporters and knows exactly what they want to hear in order to keep her in office and building her personal wealth. While I apologize for subjecting our loyal listeners to AOC's latest anti-Semitic rantings, her statement really does deserve a bit of airtime in order to better understand the mindset on the hard left. AOC wrote, quote, in the story of Christmas, Christ was born in modern-day Palestine under the threat of a government engaged in a massacre of innocence.

He was part of a targeted population being indiscriminately killed, to protect an unjust leader's power. Mary and Joseph, displaced by violence and forced to flee, became refugees in Egypt with a newborn waiting to one day return home. AOC then drew parallels to the current Israel-Hamas conflict, saying thousands of years later, right-wing forces are violently occupying Bethlehem as similar stories unfold for today's Palestinians.

She added that, in modern times, Jesus and his family would be considered Jewish Palestinians. I mean, it was Judea, but whatever. AOC's not going to let facts get in the way of her rewritten Bible, the gospel, according to AOC. As you can imagine, Jewish and Christian Americans didn't take kindly to her somewhat unusual view of the Christmas story, with one Instagram user responding that AOC's, quote, Jew hate is really showing here. Now, as many pointed out, missing from AOC's predictable Christmas creed was any mention of the seven October attacks, or Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas, or the fact that Hamas has been in

control of Gaza for a couple decades and done nothing to improve the people's lives, and their leaders live in luxury in other countries, or the Hamas organization's use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, or that Hamas started this war that nobody wanted other than Hamas and the Iranian overlords. Yeah, none of that apparently was important to AOC. And that, my friend, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, 27 December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.