Bitte Hammargren @bitteham.bsky.social

Not so active on X anymore. You may find me on BlueSky.

[Bitte Hammargren @bitteham.bsky.social @bitteham]

Partiledare och politiker som vill ha ett offentligt samtal utan hat och hot borde kanske lämna X. NYT:s stjärnreporter Maggie Haberman: ”Sociala medier kan fortfarande vara en plats för nyheter men /…/ är mest giftiga. Plattformarna är konstruerade för att du ska bli arg."

[David Issacharoff @davidiss]

Magyar confirms that Netanyahu was lying when saying he was invited to Budapest. Today the incoming PM said per @business that Hungary under him will "have a legal obligation to enforce the ICC rulings and I'm sure [Netanyahu] knows this"
https://t.co/JaTL84qvDg

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

The victory of the opposition in Hungary yesterday, like the Polish election in 2023, is a victory for democracy, not just in Europe but around the world. Most of all, it’s a testament to the resilience and determination of the Hungarian people – and a reminder to all of us to keep striving for fairness, equality and the rule of law.

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

Like all of our previous interventions in the Middle East, we are worse off after the war (not that this is over) than we were before.

Wars in the Middle East are a series of lose-lose scenarios for us, the sooner we learn that, the better off we’ll be.

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

To ensure the ceasefire is successful we must first ensure that we restrain the Israelis.

[Ihab Hassan @IhabHassane]

BREAKING: Israeli settlers have now stormed the Christian village of Taybeh after seizing the village quarry and announcing their takeover.

They are now carrying out daily incursions into the village to intimidate residents.

Received this image from residents of the car used to enter the village today. Two additional vehicles were also spotted at the village entrance, blocking it.

The Christian village of Taybeh has been under attack by Israeli settlers for over a year, with their assaults intensifying—now they have already seized a quarry in the village.
https://t.co/tOCw1yfZE0

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

The blame game has started.
President Trump should get out of this Iran war asap.

[Christiane Amanpour @amanpour]

“If the regime survives, they will go after their most dangerous enemies: that’s the Iranian people,” says Hamidreza Mohammadi, brother of Nobel laureate @nargesfnd. “Because the attacks might stop, but the Iranian people [will] not stop… They don’t want this regime to remain.”

[Ali Vaez @AliVaez]

Uber hawkish IRGC general Zolghadr has replaced relatively pragmatic Larijani, killed by Israel last week, as the new National Security Advisor.

Well done, guys!

[John Simpson @JohnSimpsonNews]

I don’t get it. If Hezbollah had flats in this block (unlikely in central Beirut but not impossible) why did the Israelis give everyone inside an hour to get out — including those they wanted to kill? And if there weren’t any Hezbollah people there, why destroy a building with dozens of civilians in it?

[AFP News Agency @AFP]

US intelligence concluded that Iran was not rebuilding nuclear enrichment capacities destroyed last year by the United States and Israel, contradicting a key justification by President Donald Trump for his ongoing war.
https://t.co/spZEv7HRoK

[Sam Heller | سام هيلر @AbuJamajem]

Washington Post's @John_Hudson reports U.S. Embassy Jerusalem cable: in private, Israeli officials admit assumptions about Iranian regime resilience – what Israeli leaders reportedly told American counterparts to convince them to join war – were incorrect: https://t.co/Gc2vuboypv

[Ihab Hassan @IhabHassane]

A heartfelt plea to churches and Christian leaders around the world from your fellow Palestinian Christians:

Palestinian Christians are facing an imminent threat of disappearing from the Holy Land, the birthplace of Christianity and home to the oldest Christian community on earth.

Amid relentless attacks by Israeli settlers, land theft, displacement, and the impact of Israeli occupation policies, hundreds of Palestinian Christian families are now considering leaving the Holy Land--pushing our communities toward disappearance.

You still have time to act. With hope and faith, we ask you to raise your voices, stand with us, and help ensure that the Palestinian Christian presence in the Holy Land does not fade away in silence.
https://t.co/tOCw1yfZE0

[Bilal R. Kaafarani @BilalRKaafarani]

I have been deliberately silent on social media for a while. I use all my social media platforms to promote education & make dreams come true for young minds. I rarely post anything about family or politics.
This morning, Israel demolished the building I have an apartment in. It took 22 years of my work here & 20 years of my wife’s work to own this apartment. This madness has to stop.

[Joshua Landis @joshua_landis]

Britain’s national security adviser argues that the final talks between the US and Iran should have prevented the rush to war because Iran agreed to permanently halt nuclear enrichment & dilute its already enriched uranium.

UK officials were impressed that Iran was prepared for the deal to be permanent and, unlike the 2015 nuclear agreement, would not have cut-off dates, or sunset clauses ending the restrictions on its programme.

Iran also agreed to down-blend the 400kg stockpile of highly enriched uranium under the supervision of the IAEA inside Iran. It agreed no stockpiles of highly enriched uranium would be built up in the future...

https://t.co/xYJt2DOyQS

[Christiane Amanpour @amanpour]

A source familiar with private plans & discussions tells me Ali Larijani was, for the US & Israel, the most favored transitional candidate as of Sept 2025, but became a target early Feb 2026.

The source said Larijani became a target when he:
-Pushed for crackdown on protesters;
-Took front seat in lashing out at US/Israel;
-⁠Assumed key role in strategizing the IRGC kinetic actions, in particular against GCC states.

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.

I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.

It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC.

May God bless America.

[Carl Bildt @carlbildt]

Jens Stoltenberg is refreshingly clear on the fact that the 🇺🇸🇮🇱 war is against international law. And says that NATO should stay out of any involvement in it.

[Maha Yahya @mahamyahya]

#Israel announces the official beginning of its ground invasion of #Lebanon - seeks now to depopulate the entire area south of the Litani river- or 10% of #Lebanese territory & home to some 300,000 - 400,000 people spread over more than 150 villages and towns.

[Shaiel Ben-Ephraim @academic_la]

The large scale Israeli invasion of Lebanon has begun. , This invasion is significantly larger in terms of manpower and organization than the 2006 Lebanon War. It is the largest since 1982. Here is what we know so far:

1) Divisions 162 and 98 are expected to join the fighting, on top of divisions 36, 91, and 146 already operating across the border. Five divisions means this is a serious war.
2) The IDF is expected to advance through three main corridors: the Western Sector (Ras al-Naqoura), the Middle Sector (Aita ech Chaab), and the Eastern Sector (Khiyam).
3) The army's stated objective is to prevent Hezbollah from being able to fire anti-tank missiles and rockets into Israeli territory. It appears more likely the goal is to permanently secure the area south of the Litani or even the Zahrani rivers.
4) The IDF has expanded evacuation orders to Lebanese residents south of the Zahrani River, roughly 40 km from the Israeli border. About 13% of Lebanon's territory is now under IDF evacuation orders.
5) There is an element of coercive diplomacy involved. Israeli officials have indicated that Israel and Lebanon may hold direct talks in the coming days. The Lebanese state has expressed a willingness to negotiate to end the war, even as Hezbollah continues its strikes.
6) Israel is applying the Daheyia Doctrine, which uses overwhelming, disproportionate force against civilian infrastructure in areas controlled by Hezbollah to deter future attacks. However, they plan to use this increasingly against Lebanese infrastructure to coerce Lebanon into a deal.

There is no clear exit strategy for this war. While in theory Israel is trying to coerce Lebanon into disarming Hezbollah, it is unlikely that can happen. Last time Israel sent this many troops in, they remained trapped there for 25 years.

[Joshua Landis @joshua_landis]

Diplomacy for ending the war has begun.