Hamas Releases Another 4 Hostages, Syria’s Jihadi Rulers Implement Islamic Law

Israelis rejoice at emotional release of second group of hostages

Israelis Rejoice at Emotional Release of Second Group of Hostages

A loud cheer swept through the crowd gathered at a Tel Aviv plaza known as Hostage Square, as giant screens livestreamed the long-awaited release of four Israeli hostages on Saturday, the latest to be freed under a Gaza ceasefire deal.

Hundreds had arrived in the square in early morning in anticipation of the four women soldiers’ release. Many wore yellow T-shirts with the words “You are not alone” printed in Hebrew.

Many Israelis began to breathe a sigh of relief as the ceasefire and hostage release deal, which also sees Palestinian prisoners freed, got underway last Sunday after a 15-month ordeal.

Syria’s Jihadi Rulers Use Islamic Law to Rebuild Police Force

Syria’s Jihadi Rulers Use Islamic Law to Rebuild Police Force

The jihadi insurgents who overthrew Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in December are using Islamic sharia law to train new police recruits – a troubling development for minorities who doubt the new regime’s promises to protect religious freedom.

Five senior police officers in Damascus told Reuters on Thursday they were using sharia to “instill a sense of morality” in new recruits during their brief training period. The officers insisted they were not training the police to impose sharia on citizens.

“There are many Syrians who will find this concerning. Not just minorities — Christians, Alawites, Druze — but also quite a lot of Sunni Muslims in places like Damascus and Aleppo, where you have a fairly large secular, cosmopolitan population that’s not interested in religious law,” Century International think tank fellow Aron Lund told Reuters.