From the most recent WaPo article:

"Interviews with draft-age Ukrainians suggest that many are less than eager to fight for a military and national government that is viewed as rife with corruption and incompetence."

Bienvenue dans la France laïque (secular)!

Receiving an award against antisemitism, French President Macron attended the first Hanukkah candle lighting at the Élysée Palace last night.

BBC's Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell described footage of stripped Palestinian detainees in Gaza as 'shocking'.

Images released show that Israeli forces have stripped dozens of civilian Palestinian men of their clothes before detaining them and taking them to an undisclosed location.

Saudi Arabia shelved plans for Mohammed bin Salman to visit London in the past few days, according to UK officials, shortly before the crown prince hosted Vladimir Putin in Riyadh, FT reports.

UK and Saudi officials have been in discussions about a visit by the crown prince this year for months, said officials from both countries. UK officials said they had been working towards December 3 as a possible arrival date.

The provisional plan was delayed last week, the UK officials said.

Putin met the crown prince in Riyadh on Wednesday December 6 after visiting the UAE, the Russian president’s first trip to the region since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukrainian Bradley IFV firing with its 25mm shells on Russian positions.

She was known for saying “I am older than Israel.”

Palestinian woman Hadia Nassar was killed after being targeted by an Israeli occupation army sniper.

She was born in 1944 and lived through the Nakba of 1948.

Funeral of IDF soldier Meir Eisenkot, son of the former IDF chief and current war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot.

Gadi Eisenkot is the originator of the so-called Dahiya doctrine, which endorses the use of "disproportionate force" and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in areas where attacks against Israel originate from.

Netenyahu in 2021:

When the ICC investigates Israel for fake war crimes, this is pure anti-Semitism.

Turkish President Erdogan on France sending armored vehicles to Armenia:

France should know that it is not doing Armenia a favor, on the contrary, it is doing it a disservice. Previously, France gave many supports to Armenia. What result did they get? Nothing.

What's the point of sending armored carriers? The tanks, artillery and rifles previously sent to Armenia have fallen into the hands of Azerbaijan. Not that they will get any results, they are only deceiving Armenia.

Armenian leadership should take lessons from what they have experienced in the recent past.

It is in Armenia's interest not to fall into the trap of countries that mislead Armenia. Peaceful relations with Azerbaijan are the best option for Armenia.

Those who put weapons in Armenia's hands will leave Armenia alone in a short time.

Hungary's Orban:

European Union is not ready and cannot accept Ukraine for a number of reasons, including because it is one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

I do not intend to contribute to the EU’s “bad decision” on Ukraine.

Putin confirms he will be running for another term as Russia's president in 2024 elections.

Turns out that instead of distributing food to children in Gaza, the United Nations (UN) distributes toys that look like food.

Israeli Apache combat helicopter fire killed an IDF soldier in Gaza, Yedioth Ahronoth reports.

IDF Apache helicopter attacked a house where IDF soldiers were operating.

Swedish 155mm artillery system Archer is now being used in battles in Ukraine.

Four men in Washington shape America’s policy in the Middle East. Three are obvious: President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

The fourth is less well-known, despite his huge sway over the other three ― and despite his determination to keep championing policies that many see as fueling bloodshed in Gaza and beyond.

His name is Brett McGurk. He’s the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, and he’s one of the most powerful people in U.S. national security.

McGurk crafts the options that Biden considers on issues from negotiations with Israel to weapon sales for Saudi Arabia. He controls whether global affairs experts within the government ― including more experienced staff at the Pentagon and the State Department ― can have any impact, and he decides which outside voices have access to White House decision-making conversations.

A former official said there’s a joke in some national security circles:

“If a nuclear bomb was dropped on D.C., two forms of life would survive: cockroaches and Brett McGurk.”

A former Obama administration official described McGurk as placing “less emphasis on the human rights side of things, except where it serves as useful leverage for his preferred strategic outcomes.”

McGurk frequently discourages colleagues from raising rights concerns with other governments, often saying it will make them more likely to draw away from the U.S. and toward China.

For all his influence, McGurk is ultimately not the chief decision-maker over Middle East policies that are drawing public disdain and risking U.S. interests.

“He is giving the president what he wants,” the former Obama administration official said. “Biden owns these decisions.”

Source: HuffPost

IDF footage from Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.

The chairman of Turkish Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahçeli, voiced three conditions for approving Sweden's NATO membership:

1️⃣ The State of Palestine must be recognized.
2️⃣ Israel must pay compensation.
3️⃣ The path to Netanyahu's trial must be paved.

Donald Tusk, who is expected to become the next PM of Poland, says the Hungarian government has openly "switched to Russian positions".

Putin’s presidential Il-96-300PU aircraft and Russian Su-35 fighter jets were escorted by F-4s of the Iranian Air Force over Iranian airspace & Mirage-2000s of the UAE Air Force over the Persian Gulf region.