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A collection of suitcases still bearing flight tags, barcodes and Israeli security-screening markings from Ben Gurion Airport has mysteriously surfaced for sale at a flea market in Paphos, Cyprus, raising questions about how the luggage made its way from Israel to the market.

The unusual discovery was made by Liri Bork-Shavit, an Israeli who frequently travels between Israel and Cyprus. She spotted the apparently well-preserved suitcases at Paphos’ weekly flea market and immediately recalled piles of unclaimed luggage she had documented at Ben Gurion Airport several months earlier.

Bork-Shavit, who is known as a social activist, told Walla that the sight brought her back to photographs she took during July and August, when disruptions and heavy congestion plagued Ben Gurion Airport. At the time, she saw large quantities of luggage sitting without apparent owners both inside the airport and outside the terminal.

According to Bork-Shavit, the suitcases being offered for sale in Paphos still displayed tags and markings associated with Israeli security screening, making them stand out from the other merchandise.

“It doesn’t look like regular flea market inventory,” she said.

Bork-Shavit initially believed the luggage might have belonged to El Al, but she later determined that the markings primarily indicated that the bags had passed through security screening at Ben Gurion Airport rather than establishing that they had belonged to passengers on a particular airline.

Despite the photographs and the unusual circumstances surrounding the discovery, there is currently no official evidence establishing that the suitcases are among those that went missing at Ben Gurion Airport during the period of travel disruptions.

It also remains unclear who originally owned the bags or how luggage carrying Israeli airport markings ultimately ended up for sale at a flea market in Cyprus.

“Someone might still recognize their suitcase there,” Bork-Shavit told Walla, while stressing that she does not yet have a complete explanation for how the luggage reached Paphos.

A veteran prosecutor in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office has accused his superiors of directing him to investigate President Trump and his political allies without legitimate grounds, alleging that the state’s top law enforcement office was being used to pursue James’ political opponents.

Daniel Wiesenfeld, who previously worked as a Brooklyn prosecutor and is now assigned to James’ Investor Protection Bureau, made the explosive allegations in an email sent to thousands of employees in the attorney general’s office. According to the Times Union, Wiesenfeld said his supervisor ordered him “to find and pursue crimes” involving people and organizations connected to Trump. The email was subsequently deleted.

In the message, Wiesenfeld alleged that Investor Protection Bureau Chief Shamiso Maswoswe specifically told him to investigate “Trump himself, Truth Social, Hewlett Packard (DOJ approved merger)… without having a credible reason for targeting the organizations and individuals,” according to the report.

Federal regulators recently gave approval to Hewlett-Packard’s $14 billion merger with Juniper Networks.

Wiesenfeld argued that prosecutors should be equally concerned about political interference in law enforcement regardless of which side is accused of engaging in it.

“If you believe Trump is using the [Department of Justice] attorneys to prosecute his enemies and further his political interests, you should find it equally troubling that Tish [James] is doing exactly the same thing,” Wiesenfeld allegedly wrote in the message, which was reportedly distributed to approximately 2,000 employees before being removed.

Wiesenfeld went on to urge his fellow prosecutors to resist any effort to use their positions to go after individuals based on their political affiliations.

“I ask you that you not serve as Tish’s personal attorneys by targeting her political enemies,” he allegedly wrote. “Instead, I hope you choose to prosecute crimes and find the individuals accountable, rather than targeting individuals and then finding crimes.”

Wiesenfeld said prosecutors should instead devote their resources to problems including “rampant nonprofit homeless shelter fraud and antisemitic crimes in and around synagogues,” while accusing James of spending “significant public taxpayer dollars to target convenient public enemies,” according to the Times Union.

The allegations come against the backdrop of years of bitter political and legal conflict between Trump and James.

While campaigning for attorney general in 2018, James pledged to “prosecute the president for crimes committed in New York state” if voters put her in office. She subsequently launched legal action against Trump after becoming attorney general.

James’ office secured a judgment against Trump, his sons and his company in 2024 in a civil fraud case involving allegations that property values and Trump’s wealth had been overstated. An appeals court later upheld the finding against Trump while eliminating the massive financial penalty that had been imposed.

Trump has repeatedly pointed to James’ case against him as evidence that the attorney general has pursued him for political reasons.

Wiesenfeld, meanwhile, was placed on paid administrative leave following the controversy. A spokesperson for James described the situation to the Times Union as “a personnel matter.”

“The office of the attorney general is committed to upholding New York’s laws and protecting the rights and freedoms of all New Yorkers, regardless of political beliefs,” the statement said. “We strongly reject any assertion to the contrary.”

Republican officials in New York seized on Wiesenfeld’s accusations, arguing that the email supported their longstanding claims that James has politicized her office.

“Letitia James weaponized the attorney general’s office into a political hit squad and then tried to cover up her tracks,” state Republican Chairman Ed Cox told The Post on Sunday. “She is utterly unfit to serve.

“New Yorkers deserve an attorney general who prosecutes criminals, preserves public records and enforces the law without fear or favor,” Cox added.

The controversy also drew a response from the campaign of Republican attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy, whose spokesperson, Nicole Kiprilov, said Komatireddy would pursue a different set of priorities if elected.

“When Saritha is attorney general, she will instruct her attorneys to lock up repeat offenders, build residential treatment for the homeless, and root out fraud — not target people because of their politics,” Kiprilov said.

“It’s good to see that even the rank-and-file in the AG’s office agree that this is the right way forward. Let’s work together — across partisan lines — and create a safer, more affordable New York.”

Komatireddy previously served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, where she held several senior positions, including chief of International Narcotics and Money Laundering, deputy chief of Appeals and deputy chief of General Crimes.

She also previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he served on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Melissa DeRosa, a former top aide to ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also weighed in on the allegations Sunday, criticizing James in a post on X.

“@TishJames has been abusing her office for political gain for years.

“Don’t criticize Trump’s use of DOJ if you’re not going to call out hers -/ it’s wrong when either side does it.”

{Matzav.com}

Nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the health catastrophe linked to the toxic aftermath of the World Trade Center’s destruction continues to grow, with the number of certified 9/11-related cancer cases surging nearly 1,700% over the past decade and civilians now accounting for more cases than first responders.

Figures compiled by the World Trade Center Health Program show that cancer certifications among first responders, survivors, downtown Manhattan residents, workers and others exposed to conditions around Ground Zero have climbed from 3,204 in 2015 to 57,044 this year — an increase of approximately 1,680%.

“Sadly, we lose roughly two clients a day and see a new cancer certification every 50 minutes,” said lawyer Michael Barasch, whose firm represents thousands of people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program.

The latest numbers also mark a significant and sobering shift in the long-term impact of the attacks. For the first time, cancer cases among civilians who lived, worked or went to school in the vicinity of Ground Zero have exceeded those recorded among firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel who spent extended periods at the site.

Survivors now account for 28,913 cancer cases, compared with just 694 in 2015 — an increase of 4,066%. Responders account for another 28,131 cases.

Health officials are also seeing growing numbers of uncommon forms of cancer among both survivors and responders exposed to the toxic dust and debris unleashed when the Twin Towers collapsed.

Among those diagnoses are 82 cases of thymus cancer, which affects the thymus gland located behind the breastbone in the upper chest. Tumors of the thymus are extremely rare and make up less than 1% of cancer cases overall.

Another 591 people have been diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancers, rare tumors that can develop in areas including the pancreas, bowels, lungs and adrenal glands. Among 9/11 survivors, the number of neuroendocrine cancer cases rose 6% between March and June alone.

Male breast cancer has also emerged among those exposed to Ground Zero contaminants. There are currently 188 certified cases involving men, an unusually high figure for a disease that is rare among males.

Brain cancer has affected another 163 people in the 9/11 population. That figure increased by 14 cases, or 9%, during the most recent quarter.

Part of the continuing rise in cancer diagnoses is believed to be connected to the aging of those who were exposed following the attacks. Many Ground Zero survivors and responders are now in their late 50s, 60s and early 70s, when the likelihood of developing cancer generally increases.

But the statistics among World Trade Center Health Program members remain striking. CDC data through June show that 67% of the program’s 145,275 current members have been certified with at least one of 69 cancers associated with 9/11 toxic exposure. By comparison, the lifetime risk of developing cancer among Americans overall is approximately 40%, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The mounting death toll from illnesses associated with the aftermath of 9/11 has also far surpassed the number killed on the day of the attacks. At least 9,425 people have now died from post-9/11-related illnesses — more than three times the 2,977 victims killed on Sept. 11, 2001.

“9/11 did not end on 9/11. The cancer clock is ticking 24/7,” Barasch said.

Among those living with the consequences is Leslie Lane, now 76, who worked for Merrill Lynch in the World Financial Center across from the World Trade Center. She was inside her office when hijacked planes struck the towers.

As Lane made her way out of the area that morning, she remembered encountering the massive cloud of debris that engulfed lower Manhattan.

“You could taste the dust. You could taste the fuel, greasy gas,” she told The Post.

Two days after the attacks, Lane reported to another Merrill Lynch office at 222 Broadway to help arrange the relocation of the company’s lawyers. By November, she had returned to working downtown.

Nearly two decades later, during a routine medical examination in 2020, doctors discovered that Lane had thymus cancer.

“I was lucky. The cancer was caught early,” she said.

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering subsequently removed the tumor surgically, and Lane has remained free of a recurrence.

Lane believes the cancer resulted from the contaminants she breathed in following the destruction of the World Trade Center.

“Thymus cancer is a very rare form of cancer. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke,” she said.

She also recalled how the air continued to carry the unmistakable residue of the disaster long after officials assured people that conditions were safe.

“For months afterward, you could taste the fuel in the air in the back of your throat and mouth. They kept telling us the air was safe. I don’t think it was,” she said.

Electrician James Ryan, 65, also spent extensive time at Ground Zero following the attacks. His work included providing lighting at locations throughout the disaster site, including areas in and around the Pile, as well as rewiring portions of the World Trade Center PATH train facilities.

Years later, Ryan went for a routine medical checkup and doctors detected blood in his urine. An MRI followed, leading physicians to discover pancreatic cancer while it was still at an early stage.

Ryan underwent surgery in 2019 in which doctors removed part of his pancreas.

“I got very lucky,” Ryan said.

Despite the enormous number of people already being treated or monitored, Barasch said thousands more who were exposed to the toxic environment surrounding Ground Zero may still be outside the system.

He estimates that only about 15% of civilians exposed to 9/11-related toxins have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program.

Among the people represented by his law firm are individuals who were students at schools and colleges near the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks and who later developed serious illnesses at relatively young ages. Students at Stuyvesant High School, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Pace University and nearby elementary and middle schools were among those potentially exposed.

Barasch is urging anyone who was in the affected area and may have been exposed to enroll in the World Trade Center Health Program and undergo appropriate medical screening.

“Early detection is the difference between life and death,” Barasch said.

{Matzav.com}