Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 25-26/2024
ELias Bejjani/Text and video: Did Netanyahu, in his speech before the Congress, pave the way for a strike on the Iranian nuclear weapon by announcing the development of a new weapon and that Iran’s nuclear weapon is a threat to the USA?Elias Bejjani/July 25/2024
Israeli air force chief promises 'surprises' in any war with Hezbollah
Israeli army says prepared for Lebanon ground maneuver
Hezbollah fighter killed in Rab Tlatine drone strike
Unrelenting Military Operations in Southern Lebanon
France Seeking Saudi Assistance to Reinforce Sunni Community
Border negotiations: Lebanon’s coordinated efforts for long-term border stability
Envoys tell Lebanon major negotiations progress expected in August
Paris 'fully committed' to reaching Lebanon-Israel deescalation
Report: Jumblat doesn't support vain proposals, prefers Berri's initiative
Rushdie attacker indicted on terrorism charges 'in the name of Hezbollah'
Hodhod Episode 3: Messages and Reactions
General Joseph Aoun: The Army Is Lebanon’s Cornerstone
LF's Geagea: Berri's new tripartite formula turns presidential elections into 'mere formality'
Sustainable Solution, Fate of Hezbollah’s Arsenal, Key to South Settlement
Presidential Inflammation
Is Trump Better for Muslims?
IDF trains for escalation in the north as Hezbollah publishes a new drone video
Israeli Air Force chief says military is 'all in' in case of war with Iran
MEMRI/Lebanese Politicians, Media Figures: We Want Peace With Israel
No clarity on Gaza, Hezbollah, Iran, and the Saudis - analysis

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 25-26/2024
Netanyahu, Biden meet for tense Gaza ceasefire talks
Halt Gaza war now, Trump tells Netanyahu
Kamala Harris’s absence from Netanyahu’s Congressional address: A bad start
Netanyahu to Congress: War on Israel Is a War on the United States
‘Hamas is coming': Protesters pull down US flag, vandalize DC landmarks
Israeli forces advance in southern Gaza, tanks in Rafah
Gaza ceasefire deal in 'closing stages', US official says
Doha cease-fire talks delayed after Netanyahu's fiery speech
Israel alleges Iran-backed terror plot targets athletes at Olympics
Bodies of 5 hostages returned to Israel
FBI Is Not Fully Convinced Trump Was Struck by a Bullet
Trump Claims Harris—Whose Husband Is Jewish—Is ‘Totally Against the Jewish People’
4 key takeaways from Biden’s speech on his decision to ‘pass the torch to a new generation’
Jordanian House of Representatives dissolved by royal decree ahead of elections
Iran condemns US for welcoming Israeli PM Netanyahu
Putin meets Assad amid calls to defuse Turkiye-Syria tensions

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on July 25-26/2024
America held hostage/Rewarding thugs is not an adequate policy response/Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/July 25/ 2024
Why Hamas Deserves Argentina’s Terrorism Designation/Toby Dershowitz, Will Erens, Emanuele Ottolenghi/Insight/July 25/2024
FAQ: Understanding Saudi Arabia’s Uranium Enrichment Request/Andrea Stricker & Anthony Ruggiero/FDD/July 25/2024
The Real Reason Hamas Carried Out Its October 7 Massacre/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/July 25, 2024
Violence Continues to Plague Israeli Arab Communities/David May & Noy Barel/The Algemeiner/July 25/ 2024
What does the public have to say about Netanyahu's speech to Congress?/Gadi Zaig/Jerusalem Post/July 25/2024
In Netanyahu’s triumphal moment, the heartbreak and disdain of the outside world creeps in/Ron Kampeas/JTA/Jerusalem Post/July 25/2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 25-26/2024
ELias Bejjani/Text and video: Did Netanyahu, in his speech before the Congress, pave the way for a strike on the Iranian nuclear weapon by announcing the development of a new weapon and that Iran’s nuclear weapon is a threat to the USA?
Elias Bejjani/July 25/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/07/132464/
In his speech before the US Congress on July 24, 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a powerful message about the threat posed by Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. Netanyahu asserted that the Islamic Republic’s acquisition of such weapons is not only an existential threat to Israel and the Middle East but also a serious and existential danger to the United States and every city within it. Netanyahu emphasized that the US and Israel must confront this danger together, stressing that their fates are intertwined in facing this threat. He stated, “We either win together or we are defeated together.” This existential linkage between the two nations reflects the deepening strategic cooperation between them, which Netanyahu underscored by announcing the development of a new joint weapon between Israel and the US. In his speech, Netanyahu announced that Israel and the US have developed a new and highly significant weapon, without providing specific details. This announcement could be interpreted as an indication of bolstering military capabilities to counter Iranian threats. With rising tensions between Iran and the West, especially given Iran’s continued pursuit of its nuclear program, this announcement may be seen as a prelude to a potential Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons is not only a threat to Israel but also to peace and stability in the Middle East. The Iranian mullahs carry an expansionist ideology, utilizing terrorism and their regional proxies to achieve their strategic goals. A nuclear weapon in the hands of a regime seeking to dominate regional countries through its expansionist, occupational, and religious ideological project could significantly enhance its ability to impose its hegemony and threaten regional and international security.
Given the current election situation in the United States and the presidential race, making decisive decisions becomes more complicated. This reality might drive Israel, which views Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat, to take unilateral actions if it feels that international support is insufficient or that time is not on its side. Considering Netanyahu’s speech and the repeated warnings about the danger of Iran’s nuclear program, the possibility of Israel carrying out a preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities remains on the table. Such a strike, if it occurs, would have significant repercussions for the region and would test international alliances and the global community’s ability to handle its aftermath.
Conclusion
Israeli Prime Minister’s speech before the US Congress reflects the deep concern over the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran and underscores the urgent need for close US-Israeli cooperation to face this danger. Given the current developments, the question of whether Israel will take unilateral steps to strike Iranian nuclear facilities remains a matter of international interest and anticipation.

Israeli air force chief promises 'surprises' in any war with Hezbollah
Naharnet/July 25, 2024
The Commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, met yesterday with heads of authorities at the Ramat David air base with the participation of other commanders from the Air Force and the Northern Command, the Israeli army said on Thursday. "We are ready for war. The responsibility of the Air Force to implement all operational plans is full. And there will be a crushing punch as deadly as possible against an enemy we know and there will be surprises," the Israeli commander said. “Who was the target of the (recent aerial) attack against the Houthis (in Yemen)? It was aimed at the entire Middle East, both (Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan) Nasrallah and Iran,” Tomer Bar said. “Throughout the war we have maintained and still maintain a capability that if a war breaks out in the north and with Iran we can handle it. Nine months and we are 'all in', not resting for a moment, understanding the righteousness of the way,” Bar added, stressing that the Israeli air force is “ready.”

Israeli army says prepared for Lebanon ground maneuver
Naharnet/July 25, 2024
The Israeli state media said Thursday that the Israeli army is prepared for a ground maneuver in Lebanon. The army has informed the government that it has finalized preparations for a maneuver that would be preceded by powerful airstrikes, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told the U.S. Congress on Wednesday that Israel prefers diplomacy but will do "whatever it must" to secure its northern border, where its forces are engaged in near-daily clashes with Lebanon's Hezbollah. "Let me be clear: Israel will do whatever it must do to restore security to our northern border and return our people safely to their homes," Netanyahu said, referring to those displaced by the fighting.

Hezbollah fighter killed in Rab Tlatine drone strike
Naharnet/July 25, 2024
Hezbollah said Thursday it has targeted overnight surveillance equipment in Berkat Risha and the Hanita post in northern Israel with artillery shells. The group said it has fired anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli warplanes in south Lebanon, forcing them to retreat beyond the border. Later on Thursday, Hezbollah targeted buildings used by Israeli soldiers in Manara and Shtula, in response to Israeli attacks on civilians in south Lebanon. Israeli drones meanwhile raided Rab Tlatine in south Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah fighter. Earlier on Thursday, a drone raided the outskirts of Kfarshouba while artillery also shelled the town. Also on Thursday, the Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Mays al-Jabal with phosphorus bombs. Since early October, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 450 people, mostly Hezbollah members, but also around 90 civilians and noncombatants. On the Israeli side, 21 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed.

Unrelenting Military Operations in Southern Lebanon
This Is Beirut/July 25, 2024
Military operations on both sides of the border have been unrelenting since Wednesday and continued into Thursday morning. Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of Kfarchouba, resulting in a fire outbreak. The Civil Defense, who were working on extinguishing the fire, were forced to withdraw after the Israeli artillery continued shelling the area. The Israeli army also targeted the outskirts of the town of Qabriha with 155mm artillery. Yarin was also hit Thursday morning by Israeli shelling. Thursday morning, Israel declared having intercepted two drones launched from Lebanon, one of which was off the coast of Nahariya. During the night, Israeli warplanes raided Chihine, while artillery shelled Rmeish and Beit Liv. Additionally, warplanes breached the sound barrier above south Lebanon while dropping thermal balloons. Afterwards, the Israeli army declared “targeting Hezbollah military buildings in Khiam.”In this context, Israeli army spokesperson, Avichai Adraee, revealed on his “X” account that “Israeli forces raided Hezbollah targets in Odaisseh, Mays al-Jabal and Chihine, in addition to buildings in Khiam.”For their part, Hezbollah announced that they had “targeted spy equipment in Birket Risha with appropriate weaponry,” claiming to have destroyed the site.The pro-Iranian group also announced that their air defense units fired anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli warplanes and forced them to retreat beyond southern borders.

France Seeking Saudi Assistance to Reinforce Sunni Community
This Is Beirut/July 25, 2024
France is seeking the help of Saudi Arabia to close the ranks of the Sunni community and reinforce their political standing, regarded as necessary to facilitate the election of a president of the republic. Following the departure of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri from political life in 2022 and the suspension of political action by his Future party, the Sunni community has remained without a meaningful leadership. France is keen to have an established Sunni authority, believing that it is not possible to elect a president in the absence of the Sunni political component. The current Sunni representatives have been unable to establish themselves as a strong Sunni reference, as Hariri did. The community remains fragmented without leadership. A French official believes that “the situation must be resolved within the Sunni community before a president is elected.”According to informed sources the recent visit of French envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to Riyadh, was aimed at urging Saudi Arabia to take the initiative to help unite Sunni ranks. In a related information, French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly decided, when international conditions are ripe, to elect a president for Lebanon and seek the help of an eminent and successful French businessman of Lebanese origin to lead the country, with a government consisting of a small team of independent Lebanese figures, some of whom work abroad. Its mission would be to develop a rescue plan, start implementing the required reforms and boost the private sector.

Border negotiations: Lebanon’s coordinated efforts for long-term border stability
LBCI/July 25, 2024
As Lebanon was engaged in maritime border negotiations in July 2022, Hezbollah launched drones toward the Karish field, declaring its support for the state's ongoing talks. Three months later, on October 31, 2022, a maritime border agreement was reached. Hezbollah believes that its military actions at that time supported the state in securing the deal. Currently, Hezbollah considers its military activities, including the deployment of reconnaissance drones over sensitive areas in Israel, as a means to bolster the state in addressing contentious points along the land border and halting Israeli violations, thus ensuring long-term stability. According to information obtained by LBCI, Lebanon, guided by American ideas and the French paper, and in consultation with Hezbollah, is drafting border and military arrangements in southern Litani. A Lebanese government source told LBCI that they are on the path to reaching an agreement, though the details remain unspecified. The announcement of any steps depends on a ceasefire in Gaza and its extension to southern Lebanon, along with understanding Israeli demands and their alignment with American positions. Simultaneously, the Lebanese Army is preparing to enhance its presence in the area where UN Resolution 1701 is implemented.  In addition to ongoing communication with the US Army, meetings are being held between a Lebanese Army committee and committees from the French and Italian armies at the army headquarters. These discussions aim to prioritize the Lebanese Army's needs for reinforcing its deployment, including the cost of enlisting 6,000 soldiers for deployment south of the Litani. This initiative, alongside providing additional equipment and weapons to the existing two brigades and regiment in southern Litani, is estimated to cost around one billion dollars.
Sources indicate that the practical outcomes of these meetings and their results will not materialize until a ceasefire in Gaza is achieved.

Envoys tell Lebanon major negotiations progress expected in August
Naharnet/July 25, 2024
Diplomatic and security envoys have told Lebanese officials that a breakthrough in the Israel-Hamas negotiations is expected in August, highly informed sources said. “The envoys said a political solution is necessary to contain escalation (between Israel and Hezbollah) and prevent the descent of the current confrontations into a major war,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Thursday.

Paris 'fully committed' to reaching Lebanon-Israel deescalation
Naharnet/July 25, 2024
France is “fully committed to reaching a de-escalation” between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, its permanent representative to the U.N. said. “France is extremely concerned by the deterioration of the situation along the Blue Line and remains fully committed to reaching a de-escalation, and promoting a diplomatic solution to avoid a full-fledged war,” the representative Nicolas de Rivière said ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting. “Consequences of such a perspective would be unbearable and catastrophic for the two countries and the region,” De Rivière warned. “It is necessary that all parties restraint themselves and fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians,” he added. He noted that the framework set up by the Security Council is clear : “all parties must fully respect and implement Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).”“France is in contact with both parties to find the conditions to implement this resolution and come back to a cessation of hostilities,” the representative said. Moreover, De Rivière stressed Paris’ “full support” to UNIFIL’s work. He added: “All parties are responsible to ensure that UNIFIL personnel are safe and secure. Its freedom of movement needs to be fully respected and unimpeded. We will work towards the renewal of its mandates in the days to come, based on the balance set up by Resolution 1701.”

Report: Jumblat doesn't support vain proposals, prefers Berri's initiative
Naharnet/July 25, 2024
Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat considers Speaker Nabih Berri's presidential initiative as "an emergency exit" from the presidential deadlock, close sources to the Druze leader said. The sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Thursday, that Jumblat does not support unproductive presidential proposals that lack impetus. Crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, as tensions boil on the border with Israel since October 7. As neither of the two main blocs -- Hezbollah and its opponents -- has the majority required to elect a president, Berri has called for a ten-day-long dialogue. The Lebanese Forces refuse a dialogue chaired by Berri. Opposition lawmakers started their own initiative, announcing two suggestions to facilitate the election of a president. They suggested consultations in parliament not chaired by Berri. Amal sources told al-Joumhouria that Berri's initiative is ongoing and would pave the way for a solution. "A president has never been elected and will never been elected without consensus," they said.

Rushdie attacker indicted on terrorism charges 'in the name of Hezbollah'
Associated Press/July 25, 2024
A man who severely injured author Salman Rushdie in a frenzied knife attack in western New York was motivated by a Hezbollah leader's endorsement of a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death, prosecutors said Wednesday in announcing new terrorism charges. The three-count indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo offered for the first time a potential motive for the 2022 attack on "The Satanic Verses" author. Hadi Matar, a U.S. citizen from New Jersey, was attempting to carry out a fatwa, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly said. According to the prosecutor, Matar believed the call for Rushdie's death, first issued in 1989, was backed by Lebanon's Hezbollah and endorsed in a 2006 speech by the group's secretary-general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. "We allege that in attempting to murder Salman Rushdie in New York in 2022, Hadi Matar committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization aligned with the Iranian regime," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release. "The Justice Department will prosecute those who perpetrate violence in the name of terrorist groups and undermine the basic freedoms enshrined in our Constitution."Matar, who faces separate state charges of attempted murder and assault, pleaded not guilty to the new federal charges of terrorism transcending national boundaries, providing material support to terrorists and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization. "The investigation was lengthy, for the last two years, and I'm sure involved a number of different agencies, a number of different countries and a number of individuals," Matar's attorney, Nathaniel Barone, said after the arraignment. He said the federal case will be far more complex than the state charges, which focus largely on the assault on Rushdie while he was onstage and about to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in August 2022.
"Federally, you're looking at more of conspiracies," the lawyer said. Matar, he said, "plans on proceeding with a vigorous defense and maintain his innocence." Matar, 26, has been held without bail since the attack, during which he stabbed Rushdie more than a dozen times before a stunned audience of about 1,500 people. Knife wounds blinded Rushdie in one eye. The event moderator, Henry Reese, was also wounded before bystanders subdued the assailant. "This defendant put time and effort into traveling to the western district of New York with the intent of taking the life of another," U.S. Attorney Trini Ross said. "Only because of the brave efforts of those who were present that day, the defendant was prevented from completing his murderous intention." Rushdie detailed the attack and his long and painful recovery in a memoir published in April. The federal charges come after Matar earlier this month rejected an offer by state prosecutors to recommend a shorter prison sentence if he agreed to plead guilty to both state and the anticipated federal charges. Instead, both cases will now proceed to trial separately. Jury selection in the state case is set for Oct. 15. A detention hearing in the federal case is scheduled for Aug. 7.
The author spent years in hiding after the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa in 1989 calling for Rushdie's death over his novel "The Satanic Verses." Khomeini considered the book blasphemous. Rushdie reemerged into the public in the late 1990s. Matar was born in the U.S. but holds dual citizenship in Lebanon, where his parents were born. He lived in Fairview, New Jersey, prior to the attack. His mother has said that her son became withdrawn and moody after he visited his father in Lebanon in 2018. The attack raised questions about whether Rushdie had gotten proper security protection, given that he is still the subject of death threats. A state police trooper and county sheriff's deputy had been assigned to the lecture. In 1991, a Japanese translator of "The Satanic Verses" was stabbed to death. An Italian translator survived a knife attack the same year. In 1993, the book's Norwegian publisher was shot three times but survived. The investigation into Rushdie's stabbing focused partly on whether Matar had been acting alone or in concert with militant or religious groups.

Hodhod Episode 3: Messages and Reactions
Ici Beyrouth/This Is Beirut/July 25/2024
Hezbollah latest release, an 8-minute video captured by its drone Hodhod on Wednesday, showcases reconnaissance operations over the Israeli “Ramat David” airbase, situated 50 kilometers from the Lebanese-Israeli border. This base, the largest in northern Israel, is home to a range of Israeli Air Force assets from monitoring and reconnaissance to attack capabilities. This footage follows previous releases by Hezbollah including a 9-minute video in June and a 10-minute video on July 9, showing detailed aerial reconnaissance of areas in northern Israel and the Golan Heights. The Iranian- made drone, is named Hodhod 3 after the hoopoe bird, which became Israel’s emblem in 2008.
What the Video Shows:
The 8-minute footage, recorded on Tuesday, coincided strategically with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Washington. It offers a birds-eye view of the Ramat David base in northern Israel, which Hezbollah describes as the only airbase in northern Israel with various air specialties, including fighter jets, combat helicopters, transport and rescue helicopters, maritime reconnaissance helicopters, and offensive electronic warfare systems. The footage also documents the airbase command headquarters, Iron Dome platforms, communications dome, garage, maintenance departments, officer accommodations, and other facilities. Additionally, it features a picture of the base commander, Colonel Asaf Eshd, who assumed his duties in July 2022. Hezbollah considers Ramat David one of the most important airbases in Israel and promised to distribute detailed information about its importance later.
The Message:
The Hezb later stated that “the message we wanted to convey with today’s captured scenes is that the resistance does not fear the Israelis, underscoring their ability to strike any target. The pro-Iranian group emphasized that it “continues to gather information needed in confronting Israeli terrorism.”
By releasing the footage, Hezbollah wishes to demonstrate its technological and intelligence capabilities, highlighting its ability to access deep into the Israeli base and convert data into a target bank.
Israel’s Response:
Israeli media commented on Hezbollah’s recent video, noting the Israeli army’s failure to intercept the drones, which reveal “important and sensitive information known only to a few.” However, the Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated that the video was captured by a surveillance drone and that the airbase activity was not harmed. He emphasized that the Israeli army, including the Air Force, continues to operate against Hezbollah’s air unit to protect Israel’s skies. Israeli media speculated on the broader implications of Hezbollah’s actions, portraying the footage as a direct challenge to Israel’s national security and a demonstration of Hezb’s sophisticated intelligence-gathering operations. The revelation of specific details about the base’s operational structure and the commander’s identity has sparked debate on Israel’s preparedness against such threats. Israeli newspaper “Israel Hayom” noted Hezbollah’s ongoing psychological warfare, presenting a threat against the Israeli Air Force.

General Joseph Aoun: The Army Is Lebanon’s Cornerstone
This Is Beirut/July 25, 2024
Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, accompanied by several senior officers, major unit commanders and independent regiments, observed a live-fire combat drill in the Aqoura region. The drill was conducted by cadets from the Military Academy’s lieutenant qualification course. The exercise simulated an attack on and the elimination of a terrorist group that had seized several sensitive positions in the area. It involved the use of light, medium and heavy weapons along with support systems including helicopters, aircraft, tanks, artillery and rocket launchers. Following the drill, General Aoun praised the cadets for their professionalism and enthusiasm. Addressing them, he stated that “the Military Academy is the foundation from which you will launch your military careers as officers. You will assume critical roles within the units and add significant value to the army. Remember, success is achieved through diligence and perseverance, and an officer’s success is largely determined by their initiative.”He continued, “The institution is entrusted to you, so protect it to safeguard Lebanon. The army is Lebanon’s cornerstone, and you are the cornerstone of the army. I see confidence and determination in your eyes. You are the pride of both the institution and the nation.”

LF's Geagea: Berri's new tripartite formula turns presidential elections into 'mere formality'
LBCI/July 25, 2024
The head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, stated that by proposing a new tripartite formula for presidential elections — "Consult, then agree, then elect" — Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri is effectively nullifying the elections and reducing it to a "mere formality" following consultation and agreement. In a statement, Geagea explained that this logic constitutes a total violation of the constitution, which, in all its articles concerning presidential elections, mandates elections and nothing else. He said: "Berri's new formula turns Parliament into a 'Loya Jirga' (grand council) instead of a 'lively' council where things are done according to the constitution, as they are in parliaments around the world." He added: "We have not and will not spare any effort for any consultation that leads to the election of a President."He considered that neither consultation has led to a result, nor agreement due to systematic obstruction. He urged that presidential elections be conducted as stipulated by the constitution, without tying their completion to a supposed consensus, which essentially means getting everyone's approval of Hezbollah's candidate.

Sustainable Solution, Fate of Hezbollah’s Arsenal, Key to South Settlement
Bassam Abou Zeid/This Is Beirut/July 25/2025
In the escalating conflict with Israel, Hezbollah is gearing up on two fronts. Recently, the Shiite group carried out a reconnaissance operation of the Israeli Air Force base at Ramat David in northern Israel. The move signaled Hezbollah’s readiness to broaden the conflict and target additional sensitive locations within Israel if escalation continues. In parallel, the Iran-backed group is active on the political and diplomatic level to outline Lebanon’s stance in future negotiations on a long-term ceasefire in southern Lebanon, in line with UN Resolution 1701.
Such talks are expected to begin after the Gaza conflict is settled and discussions about the enclave’s future status are underway. While the Lebanese state is definitely not involved at all in Hezbollah’s military preparations, discussions on a long-term solution will be led by the Lebanese political leadership with Hezbollah’s political input. According to some sources, the Lebanese Army is fully prepared to address the concerns along the Blue Line. Many issues have been informally agreed upon with the Israeli side, with six out of seven points settled during meetings in Naqoura overseen by UNIFIL. Solutions for the remaining seven points, including B1 and northern Ghajar, have already been submitted and may be quickly resolved through further discussions. Furthermore, the Lebanese Army is prepared to address Israeli violations on land, sea and air, aiming for a complete cessation of these breaches. While Israel can monitor large areas of Lebanon with surveillance systems deployed at its military bases along the border—systems that Lebanon cannot ask to be removed as they are within Israeli territory—Lebanon can deploy similar technology to oversee its own borders and parts of Israeli territory.
At this point, the challenge lies in Israel’s insistence on linking the cessation of violations to guarantees concerning Hezbollah’s movements and armament. Neither the Lebanese Army nor the political leadership can provide these guarantees, as the issue is directly tied to Hezbollah’s military presence in the border region and its planned role in the near future. This represents a major hurdle, as failure to address it could escalate tensions and lead to renewed attempts to establish a new status quo.
Another point of contention involves the Shebaa Farms and Kfarchouba Hills. While the Americans and Israelis are adamant about not addressing this matter, Hezbollah, backed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, is determined to secure a resolution regarding the disputed territory. The Israelis recognize that failing to resolve this situation will give Hezbollah a pretext to keep its weapons south of the Litani River and to launch new conflicts whenever Iran’s interests dictate. Diplomatic sources suggest that keeping that issue unsettled provides Hezbollah with key political leverage, which it will use as a pretext to maintain its armed presence in the southern border region.

Presidential Inflammation
Nicolas Sbeih/This Is Beirut/July 25/2025
It all starts with this fundamental question: what conditions would make the presence of a President economically favorable? Then, what type of President? Under specific circumstances, could it be more convenient to keep this position vacant?
Two years after the power vacuum, the turmoil surrounding the presidential election is ongoing. It started with Nabih Berri’s peculiar proposal: seven days of dialogue, followed by a continuous series of electoral sessions.
Absurd and bizarre because what could on earth be discussed for seven whole days? Especially given that the initiator of this dialogue has demonstrated an attention span of no more than 15 minutes per topic during parliamentary sessions, before bluntly silencing dissenters and then delivering a simple “Approved” with the gavel, leaving everyone in the dark about who approved what. Which, by the way, is not such a big deal since most likely the passed bill will not even be implemented.
Since then, other parliamentary groups have been proposing softer alternatives to the initial plan: two days of dialogue followed by an open session; three hours of dialogue followed by a snack break with Bonjus and cookies, followed by diligent sessions, and so on.
But we rarely hear about the requirements and “economic programs” tied to this election: what would be the ideal personality profile to bring economic benefits, considering our crisis is purely economic, if not by root cause, then definitely by its obvious effects? So, let’s deal with this tangled web with a series of scenarios:
First scenario: A president aligned with Hezbollah. There are plenty to choose from, along with others who, eagerly eyeing the opportunity, might join in by not only promising “not to stab Hezbollah in the back,” but to also stroke its ego for a full six years. Economically, we can expect the following outcomes: tighter control by the moumanaa (Axis of “Resistance”) over the administration, coupled with persistent corruption; reduced oversight of the informal economy, which will be further capitalized by the same stakeholders; increased investor wariness; intensified scrutiny from international financial institutions; and further deteriorating relations with Gulf countries… In other words, sheer economic nirvana. Second scenario: A president more aligned with the opposition camp. This could potentially restore confidence among Arab nations and the international community. The expatriate community could be more inclined to invest its money and expertise in what it might view as a promising opportunity for renewal. The sky seems to be clearing up.
Third scenario: An economic president. Even though presidential powers are limited, this type of president might at least, for a change, understand what his advisors are talking about. He would have a comprehensive grasp of the causes, effects, and solutions to the crisis. He could make a difference, provided that a coalition of lawmakers supports him in shaping and enacting necessary legislation. In any case, he would be a credible interlocutor for the international community.
Fourth scenario: A bland, uninspiring president. In other words, just a beating pulse that would be the result of a hasty compromise. We’d likely continue to see the same empty rhetoric and mediocrity, only worse. A mediocre leader would not tolerate having more qualified team members or a prime minister who overshadows him. We might end up with a team of incompetents just to ensure everyone remains at the same ground zero. In short, the political mediocrity we’ve come to expect, just taken to a new level…
Fifth scenario: An extension of the presidential vacuum. Given the current trend, we can expect the following: further mandatory adjustments for businesses and individuals; a persistent – albeit moderate – emigration; an economy that operates outside any rational framework, yet somehow manages to keep going; a somewhat more active banking sector; and a (very) partial handling of old deposits. It’s not exactly euphoria but more like a form of chaotic survival.
Economically speaking, this scenario might rank after the second and third options but before the first and fourth. This is merely to address those who argue that any president is better than the vacuum. Let’s recall that this same argument was used during Michel Aoun’s unanimous election, and we’ve experienced the misfortunes that followed this so-called “non-vacuum.” As a side note, one hidden advantage of the current vacuum (for lack of a good president) is that economic key players still cling to the hope that better days will eventually loom. However, with a second-rate leader in power, that hope will likely be put on hold for six long years.

Is Trump Better for Muslims?
Salam Zaatari /This Is Beirut/July 25/2025
The turn of events in the presidential elections took an unexpected twist when President Biden suspiciously suspended his campaign over social media and not in a televised speech and endorsed Kamala Harris. This move raised eyebrows, particularly because the Obamas did not endorse Harris, whereas the Clintons did, fueling speculation about internal party pressures. Was Biden coerced into this decision? The lack of support from the influential Obamas contrasted starkly with Clinton’s backing, hinting at potential rifts within the Democratic Party. As the election race heats up, questions about Biden’s motivations and the party’s unity persist. Amidst this political turmoil, the key question remains: will these developments bolster or hinder Trump’s chances of securing another term?
While many perceive the Democratic Party as more inclusive and supportive of minority groups, including Muslims, there are arguments to be made about why President Trump could be seen as a better option for Muslims than Kamala Harris and the Democrats. This perspective hinges on several key points: economic opportunities, foreign policy, and religious freedom.
President Trump’s tenure was marked by several statements and policies that were perceived as offensive toward Muslims, sparking significant controversy and criticism. Notably, his 2015 call for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” following terrorist attacks drew widespread condemnation for promoting religious discrimination. Trump also suggested that “Islam hates us” during a 2016 interview, reinforcing negative stereotypes about Muslims. His administration’s travel ban, often dubbed the “Muslim ban,” targeted several predominantly Muslim countries, further fueling accusations of Islamophobia. These actions and statements were criticized by human rights organizations and sparked protests, as many viewed them as unjust and discriminatory against Muslim communities, but some Muslims considered his statements as Trump doing “the necessary” to satisfy his base.
One of the strongest arguments in favor of Trump’s presidency for Muslims is his economic policies. President Trump focused on deregulation and tax cuts, aiming to create a more favorable business environment. Many Muslim Americans are entrepreneurs and small business owners who benefited from the lower taxes and reduced regulatory burdens introduced during Trump’s tenure. By fostering a pro-business climate, Trump’s administration helped create job opportunities and economic growth that potentially benefited Muslim communities across the country.
In contrast, the economic policies proposed by Kamala Harris and the Democrats often emphasize higher taxes and increased regulation. While these measures aim to address income inequality and provide social safety nets, they could also burden small business owners, including many within the Muslim community. For Muslims looking to thrive economically, Trump’s approach to economic policy might be seen as more advantageous. Foreign policy is another area where some argue that President Trump’s actions were more favorable to Muslims than those of the Democrats. Trump’s administration brokered several historic peace deals in the Middle East, known as the Abraham Accords. These agreements normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. While controversial, these accords were seen by some as steps toward greater stability and cooperation in the region. Additionally, Trump’s decision to reduce the United States military presence in conflict zones like Syria and Afghanistan was viewed by some Muslims as a positive move. Plus, Trump’s policy towards Iran was characterized by a “maximum pressure” campaign, which included withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and imposing stringent economic sanctions. This approach aimed to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions and regional influence, and lots of Arab Muslims in that region want an end to Iran’s Proxies.
On the other hand, Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party have often supported policies that involve maintaining or increasing military presence in certain regions, these policies can sometimes result in extended conflicts, negatively impacting Muslim populations in those areas.
Religious freedom is another crucial area where some argue President Trump’s policies were more favorable for Muslims. During his tenure, Trump signed executive orders aimed at protecting religious liberties. These orders sought to prevent government interference in religious practices and ensure that individuals and organizations could freely practice their faith.
Additionally, Trump’s appointment of conservative judges to the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court, was seen by some as a move to protect religious freedoms. Conservative judges are often more inclined to rule in favor of religious rights, which is an important consideration for Muslims who value the ability to practice their faith without government intrusion. In contrast, the Democratic Party, including Kamala Harris, emphasizes a strong separation of church and state. While this approach aims to ensure that government policies are inclusive and secular, it can sometimes be perceived as less supportive of religious communities. For Muslims who prioritize their religious values and practices, Trump’s policies might seem more accommodating and protective of their rights. While the perspective that President Trump is better for Muslims than Kamala Harris and the Democrats is certainly open to debate, it is grounded in specific policy considerations regarding economic opportunities, foreign policy, and religious freedom.

IDF trains for escalation in the north as Hezbollah publishes a new drone video
Seth J. Frantzman/FDD's Long War Journal/July 25, 2024
Listen to analysis
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/op_eds/2024/07/24/idf-trains-for-escalation-in-the-north-as-hezbollah-publishes-a-new-drone-video/
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue training units for a possible escalation with Hezbollah in Israel’s north. After nine months of war in Gaza, Hezbollah maintains daily attacks on northern Israel and has increased the attacks’ range over the last several months. The Iranian-backed group also increasingly relies on drones for attacks and surveillance missions. On July 24, Hezbollah published new footage claiming to have been taken from drones flying over Israel’s Ramat David Airbase.
Israel’s 228th Reserve Brigade conducted a brigade-sized exercise in northern Israel that began on July 21. “The troops practiced combat scenarios in Lebanon, including movement in thicketed terrain, advancing along mountainous routes, the activation of fire, evacuating wounded soldiers under fire, and logistical and communications support from headquarters,” the IDF said.The 228th Brigade has twice deployed to northern Israel since October to face off against Hezbollah threats. Israel’s defenses in the north are entrusted to a variety of reservist and regular army units. Many of them have gone through similar brigade-sized training exercises in the last nine months to prepare for battlefield scenarios.
IDF Brigadier General Shay Kalper, the commander of the 91st Division responsible for defending the northern Israeli border with Lebanon, gave a short speech at the conclusion of the training. He said the division was “ready, willing, and determined” to defeat Hezbollah. He also said the training was part of the IDF’s goal to bring security back to residents of the north. More than 50,000 Israelis remain evacuated from border communities, and Israeli officials have said that the displaced children from the north, who number around 15,000, will begin the fall 2024 school year in hotels and other settings to which they have evacuated. The commander of the 228th Brigade, Colonel Yaniv Malka, thanked the reservists for their continued service. Many reservists have been called up for more than 100 days out of the last nine months, and some have been called up for a month or two, sent home, and called up again. This unprecedented use of reservists by Israel is due to the length and scope of the war, including its numerous fronts. Hezbollah continued to attack northern Israel with drones and rockets, in addition to publishing the new footage claiming to be drone video of Ramat David Airbase, an important IDF facility. The footage appears to have been taken at different times in the afternoon and evening and spliced together. Hezbollah pinpoints various parts of the airbase and shows helicopters on a tarmac. This is the third time the group has published significant drone footage like this since the war began. Footage released in early July showed bases in Israel’s Golan Heights, though the presence of snow on the Golan indicates the video was taken earlier in the year. In June, the Iranian-backed group also published footage showing an Israeli naval facility in Haifa and other sites along the Mediterranean coast. The IDF responded to Hezbollah’s publication of the new video by noting that the drone had filmed, but the “activity of the base was not harmed.” The IDF also stated that the Israeli Air Force “uses all means to protect the skies of the State of Israel and will continue to do so.”
On July 23, Hezbollah launched numerous rockets at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. In addition, “a number of projectile launches from Lebanon were identified crossing into Israeli territory and falling in the area of Har Dov, a number of hits were identified in the area. IDF artillery is striking the sources of fire,” the IDF said. Israel retaliated for the attacks and intercepted two Hezbollah drones overnight between July 23 and July 24.

Israeli Air Force chief says military is 'all in' in case of war with Iran
John Bacon, USA TODAY/July 25, 2024
The first-ever Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's port city of Hodeida last week targeted more than Houthi rebels who control the city, the commander of the Israeli Air Force said Thursday. The attack, which killed six people and wounding 83 others, came one day after the Iran-backed Houthis' stunning drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed one person. Major General Tomer Bar, commander of the Israeli Air Force, said his nation's retaliation was a warning shot for the Houthis, for militant Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon and for Iran. "If a war breaks out in the north (Lebanon) and with Iran we can handle it," Bar said. "Nine months and we are 'all in.' Not resting for a moment, realizing the righteousness of the path."

MEMRI/Lebanese Politicians, Media Figures: We Want Peace With Israel
Samy Al-Gemayel, Head Of The Kataeb Party, Calls For Peace
Nadim Koteich lamented the peace agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel on May 17, 1983,
Mazen Aboud/The Price Of Peace, However High, Is Much Lower Than The Price Of War
George Al-Hashem/Peace Too Is A Weapon"
Eli Khoury: What’s Stopping Us From Making Peace With Israel?
MEMRI/July 25, 2024
https://www.memri.org/reports/lebanese-politicians-media-figures-we-want-peace-israel
In the last few months, Lebanese politicians, journalists and other public figures have increasingly voiced opposition to Hizbullah's military offensive against Israel, which has been ongoing since October 8, 2023, and warning about the high price Lebanon and its people are paying for it.[1] More recently, following threats to declare total war on Israel, some Lebanese figures said that a peace agreement with Israel could benefit Lebanon and the entire region, and called to favor political solutions over war, which only causes the Lebanese to lose their sons.
It should be noted that this is not the first time Lebanese figures have called for diplomatic arrangements and peace with Israel.[2]
This report presents some of the recent statements urging to consider the option of peace with Israel.
Samy Al-Gemayel, Head Of The Kataeb Party, Calls For Peace
In a May 29, 2024 interview, Kataeb Party head Samy Al-Gemayel urged "peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and the entire region, including Lebanon." He stressed that this aspiration is nothing to be ashamed of and hoped that the Lebanese would stop paying the price of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Shi'ite Lebanese Journalist: A Peace Agreement Between Lebanon and Israel Is The Only Logical Solution
In a May 22, 2024 article, Shi'ite Lebanese journalist Nadim Koteich, director of the Emirati Sky News channel, who is known as an opponent of Hizbullah, lamented the peace agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel on May 17, 1983, which lasted only ten months due to Syria's objection to it.[3] Koteich argued that, had the agreement been maintained, Lebanon's fate would have been completely different today: it would have benefitted from cooperation with Israel in many domains, and from American aid and foreign investments. But instead, Lebanon paid and is still paying a steep price that is evident in every domain, he said.[4]
Koteich wrote: "The nonsense and the shouts of the politicians have turned the peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel, signed in May 1983, into a kind of taboo [subject]. The important attempt to make peace and normalize the relations between the two countries – in the midst of the Lebanese civil war and the upheavals that characterized the geopolitics of the region [at the time], including the Khomeini revolution, the peace [agreement] between Egypt and Israel and Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 – lasted less than ten months.
"From that point onward, every genuine discussion of peace between Israel and Lebanon was preempted. The direct cause of this was the prolonged Syrian presence in Lebanon and [Syria's] control of the political culture and discourse in the country, a role that was later inherited by the Hizbullah militia. The Taif Agreement, which ended the Lebanese civil war, was distorted by means of interpretations that strengthened the resistance, perpetuated the Lebanese hostility towards Israel and turned [this hostility] into an ideology completely divorced from Lebanon's direct and practical interests regarding [Israel's] occupation [of South Lebanon] and regarding [Lebanon's] resources, security and so on.
"The [1983] peace agreement explicitly stated that the governments of the two countries respect [each other's] sovereignty and territorial integrity and each undertakes to prevent hostile activity that crosses the border [to the territory of the other]. Israel agreed to withdraw its forces from Lebanon in stages within 12 weeks, providing that the Syrian forces and the PLO withdrew from the country [as well]. In addition, the agreement called for establishing a security zone in South Lebanon under the security control of the Lebanese armed forces. There were also general clauses about economic and social cooperation and the possibility of diplomatic relations [between the two countries]. Not a single one of these clauses contravenes Lebanon's interests!...
"The truth is that the May 17 agreement did not collapse because it failed to meet Lebanon's interests, but rather because of Syria's intense objection, its eagerness to maintain its influence in Lebanon and its skillful exploitation of the disagreements among the Lebanese and the generational struggles within the [various] sects… The agreement was also thwarted so it would not prevent Iran's systematic onslaught on Lebanon's Shi'ites, whose leaders were in favor of peace, whereas the Khomeinist regime tried to turn the Shi'ites into a springboard for exporting the [Iranian] revolution.
"[And] this may be the [greatest] irony today: Lebanon – which, according to the estimate of the World Bank is facing the gravest economic crisis of the last 150 years, and is on the brink of total war with Israel after Hizbullah decided to help Hamas in its current war in Gaza – is indirectly negotiating with Israel through Hizbullah's ally, [Parliament] Speaker Nabih Beri, and through the Americans about an agreement that is very similar to the provisions of the May 17 [1983 agreement], at least in terms of the buffer zones, the delineation of the border and the terms for a ceasefire.
"It's true that today there is no talk about diplomatic normalization or about ending the state of hostility [between the two countries], but, in its spirit and many of its clauses, the Lebanon-Israel peace agreement remains the only reasonable horizon for the relations between the two countries.
"The May 17 agreement was an enormous missed opportunity that could have steered the [Lebanese] state towards a completely different fate. Had the agreement lasted, nothing could have prevented [Lebanon] from tightening the economic cooperation with Israel via joint projects in the domains of infrastructure, trade and tourism, [producing] growth and job opportunities. Moreover, Lebanon could have enjoyed permanent and systematic support from the U.S., as a guarantor [of the agreement], enabling it to receive aid and large foreign investments.
"But since this opportunity was missed, Lebanon continued to pay a steep price, [manifest in] political disintegration, economic collapse, ongoing conflict and deadly entanglement in regional conflicts. Peace between Lebanon and Israel, with strong international guarantees, is vital to [achieving] permanent peace and stability. Only this will allow Lebanon to regain its abilities and guarantee its citizens a better future. Sooner or later, the entire region will move towards peace, but meanwhile Lebanon will continue to pay a terrible price until it joins [the peace] it could have attained at a far lower cost."[5]
Lebanese Columnist: The Price Of Peace, However High, Is Much Lower Than The Price Of War
In a June 25, 2024 article titled "Victory at an Exorbitant Price" in the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar, columnist Mazen Aboud wrote: "Winston Churchill [said] that 'those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war.' But what is the meaning of victory? Defeating the enemies? Taking over their territory, destroying their economy, society and infrastructure, replacing their regime or breaking the spirit of their resistance? How is [victory] measured?... The Gaza war proves that the price of peace, no matter how high, is lower than the price and war and its consequences. There is a kind of exorbitantly-priced victory that the Greeks called a non-victory, and that is the situation we are facing [today].
[Former U.S. president] Jimmy Carter said in his speech accepting the Nobel prize for peace in 2002: 'War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other's children.' The Greeks believed that an 'exorbitantly-priced victory' is no victory at all. [The war in] Gaza costs Israel USD41 million a day (according to a 2024 [article by Matthias] Dietrich).[6] The Bank of Israel estimates that, by 2025, the war may cost [Israel] USD53 billion, due to increased defense spending and the drop in tax revenue.[vii]According to Reuters, the infrastructure damages in Gaza were estimated at USD18.5 billion by January 31, [2024], which is 97% of the combined GDP of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022.[8] And this is without considering the 37,000 Palestinian fatalities and tens of thousands of wounded. According to the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, the damages in Lebanon exceeded USD1.5 billion by February [2024],[9] and we must wait until the end of the tourism season to estimate the real cost…
"According to [U.S. envoy Amos] Hochstein, Israel is threatening to launch a total war on Lebanon immediately after it finishes [fighting] in Rafah. These threats evoked counter-threats from Hizbullah to turn the war into a regional one…
"I believe in the power of peace that tries to preempt war and restrain it. I believe that the world is not hell, but a slice of Paradise. We did not choose to be born only to die, and neither did the children of Gaza. We did not choose our religion, our land or our nationality. Killing is not the way to defend Allah and it is not an [acceptable] language for human interaction. Victory is actually defeat if it leads to the loss of a just and lasting peace. Let's try to find an alternative plan… Let's all sing along with John Lenon: 'You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one.'"[10]
Lebanese Columnist: Political Solutions Take Precedence To War; When Will We Stop Burying Our Dead?
In a June 14, 2024 article titled "Peace Too Is A Weapon" in the Lebanese daily Al-Jumhouriya, columnist George Al-Hashem wrote: "…If Israel's strategy of survival is based on war, peace can be a weapon in the confrontation with it… The goal of the military battles – eliminating Isael – is difficult to attain as long as the close relations between Israel and the U.S. persist. This does not mean we underestimate the importance of [military] resistance, but we must urgently seize the political and diplomatic opportunities in order to stop the massacre of innocent people…
"Since every war, no matter how long, necessarily ends with a peace agreement, regardless of who won and who lost, and given that diplomatic solutions are generally found [only] after military wars, why shouldn't we find them before the war, which always comes at the expense of people's lives?...
"Given that the barbaric massacres in Palestine have been widely condemned by the civilized peoples in the countries and universities of the world, and given that Palestine was accepted as a full UN member in a nearly unanimous vote [in the General Assembly]– why shouldn’t the diplomatic and political arenas gain benefit from this unprecedented international support for the Palestinian cause and for the establishment of a Palestinian state, which Israel opposes, so that [Palestine] will not remain an imaginary state moving between war and peace and between life and death?
"In peacetime sons bury their fathers, and in wartime fathers bury their sons. Can anyone tell us when these funerals will end in this era?"[11]
Lebanese Media Figure Eli Khoury: What’s Stopping Us From Making Peace With Israel?
Similarly, Lebanese media figure Eli Khoury asked in a June 4, 2024 television interview what was stopping Lebanon from making peace with Israel.
****************************
[1] See MEMRI reports: Special Dispatch No. 11385 - Lebanese Social Media Users Slam Hizbullah, Iran: They Are Forcing Us Into War With Israel; Lebanon Is In Ruins, Facing Existential Threat; We Don't Want To Be Another Gaza – June 7, 2024; Special Dispatch No. 11142 - Lebanese Journalist: Hizbullah Is Dragging Lebanon Into A War With Israel And Endangering The Lives Of The Lebanese With The Government's Cooperation – February 22, 2024; Special Dispatch No. 11053 - Hizbullah Facing Criticism In Lebanon For Firing Rockets From South Lebanon Villages, Thus Endangering Their Residents And Forcing Them To Leave – January 2, 2024; Special Dispatch No. 11014 - Lebanese Shi'ites: War With Israel Will Destroy Lebanon, Serve Iran – December 13, 2023;
Special Dispatch No. 10969 - Lebanese Journalists: Hizbullah Is Dragging Lebanon Into A Devastating War With Israel – November 21, 2023; Special Dispatch No. 10891 - Criticism In Lebanon: The Government Has No Authority; Iran And Hizbullah Decide On Matters Of War And Peace – October 20, 2023; Special Dispatch No. 10852 – Lebanese Politicians To Hizbullah: Don't Involve Lebanon In A War Against Israel – October 11, 2023.
[2] See MEMRI publications: Clip No. 10294, Lebanese Politician Camille Chamoun: The Lebanese Government Are A Bunch Of Idiots For Not Recognizing Israel; Hizbullah Is Leading The Shi'ites In Lebanon Like Sheep, May 15, 2023; Clip No. 9429, Claudine Aoun-Roukoz, Daughter And Advisor To Lebanese President: I Support Peace With Israel Once Border, Water Disputes Are Resolved; Hizbullah Deals With Politics And Must Not Keep Its Weapons, March 8, 2022; Special Dispatch No. 9623, Lebanese Journalist: Peace With Israel Will Benefit Lebanon's Economy, November 2, 2021; Clip No. 9136, Lebanese Author Jean-Marie Kassab: I Demand Peace With Israel; Israel Can Keep The Shebaa Farms, Nobody Lives There Anyway; We Should Declare War On Iran, October 12, 2021; Special Dispatch No. 8962, Lebanese Journalists: Lebanon Must Advance Towards Peace With Israel, October 12, 2020; Clip No. 8345, Lebanese Journalist Rami Naim: Peace With Israel Is Coming No Matter What; Normalization Started When Speaker Berri Announced Border Negotiations, October 2, 2020; Clip No. 8271 - Former Lebanese Minister Sejaan Azzi: Israel No Longer Presents An Imminent Threat To Lebanon; Israel Wants Peace With Lebanon; We Cannot Live In Constant War – September 3, 2020; Clip no. 8393, Lebanese President's Daughter And Advisor Claudine Aoun Roukoz: I Do Not Object Peace With Israel Once Our Disputes Are Resolved; Did France And Germany Remain Enemies After WWII?, October 25, 2020; Clip No. Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Possible Peace with Israel: "It Depends"; Cites Border Disputes, August 15, 2020.
[3] The reference is to a U.S.-brokered security agreement signed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments, whose purpose was to declare an end to the state of war between the countries that had been officially ongoing since the 1948 war between Israel and the Arabs. Another goal was to regulate the relations between the two countries, based on a mutual commitment to respect each other's borders, with Israel pledging to withdraw from Lebanese territory and Lebanon pledging to prevent terrorism against Israel from its territory. The agreement collapsed already in February 1984 due to the disintegration of the Lebanese army, Syria's refusal to pull its forces from Lebanon and the Arab states' refusal to recognize Israel as a sovereign country.
[4] It should be noted that Koteich has written in favor of peace with Isael in the past. In October 2021 he wrote that peace with Israel would be an economic asset for Lebanon. See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 9623, Lebanese Journalist: Peace With Israel Will Benefit Lebanon's Economy, November 2, 2021. In September 2020 he published a similar article, titled "When Will There Be Peace between Israel and Lebanon?," in which he called on Lebanon to join the momentum of peace in the region and stated that peace with Israel is a Lebanese interest but that Hizbullah is preventing it from happening. See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8962, Lebanese Journalists: Lebanon Must Advance Towards Peace With Israel, October 12, 2020.
[5] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 22, 2024.
[6] Iiss.org, February 16, 2024.
[7] Iiss.org, February 16, 2024.
[8] Reuters.com, April 2, 2024.
[9] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 7, 2024.
[10] Al-Nahar (Lebanon), June 25, 2024.
[11] Al-Jumhouriya (Lebanon), June 14, 2024.

No clarity on Gaza, Hezbollah, Iran, and the Saudis - analysis
Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/July 25/2024
While he called for a noble-sounding Abraham Alliance, presumably including the Saudis, he ignored even any hint of concessions toward the Palestinians or any reference to a long-term solution. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a rousing performance about the importance of US-Israel relations in his speech to the US Congress, and managed to compliment both current US President Joe Biden and former US president Donald Trump, but missed an opportunity to move forward on any major policy goal of Israel, given how vague he remained. Regarding achievement of a hostage deal in Gaza, he did not prepare Israelis for some of the hard concessions the country may need to make to seal the deal. Strangely, he said that negotiations were happening at the moment he was speaking, only shortly after his office delayed Mossad Director David Barnea’s return to the bargaining table.
Netanyahu also did not break any new ground on the “Day After” in Gaza, officially recommending that the UAE and Egypt, along with some version of the Palestinian Authority, replace Hamas. Rather, he retained the vague phrase of ‘Palestinians who are not seeking Israel’s destruction,’ avoiding endorsement of the PA, though virtually all Israeli defense officials say that the PA is the only group with the power to even potentially replace Hamas. In fact, the most concrete statement he made, that Israel demanded to have overarching security in Gaza for the indefinite future – depending on how it is interpreted – could turn off all other countries who might consider helping to take Gaza off Israel’s hands. This would push Jerusalem into having to pay for all of Gaza’s civil needs for an indefinite period.Netanyahu asked for US support against Hezbollah, but did not propose what he might accept, short of a permanent promise from Hezbollah to stay out of southern Lebanon in order to avoid a much larger war with the Lebanese terror group. For a leader known as a visionary for seeing the severity of the danger of Iran’s nuclear program long before many others did globally, he made no suggestions about actions in the near future to slow Iran’s constant march toward not just one nuclear weapon, but a potential nuclear arsenal. What is Outbrain
Abraham Alliance
And while he called for a noble-sounding Abraham Alliance, presumably including the Saudis, he ignored even any hint of concessions toward the Palestinians or any reference to a long-term path to a two-state solution, which would be the minimum that Riyadh would accept for undertaking a historic normalization. Of course, it is possible that Netanyahu is waiting to make concessions for a hostage deal, to bring about a ceasefire with Hezbollah, and refocus on achieving normalization with the Saudis, after he meets with Biden and Trump and returns to Israel. It is also possible that the Mossad is planning operations to slow Tehran’s path to a nuclear arsenal. But we heard nothing during this historic speech that gave us much of an idea of where Netanyahu is going in the coming days or weeks.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 25-26/2024
Netanyahu, Biden meet for tense Gaza ceasefire talks
AFP/July 25, 2024
WASHINGTON DC: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he was ready to work with Joe Biden for the rest of his presidency, as the two leaders met for the first time at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire. “I want to thank you for the 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said after they shook hands in the historic setting of the Oval Office. “And I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead.” Biden stunned the world Sunday when he announced that he was bowing out of the US presidential election, with Vice President Kamala Harris now set to be the Democratic Party’s candidate. Netanyahu will also meet Harris separately at the White House, in a reflection of the new political reality that will see Biden as a lame duck president for his remaining six months in office. The Harris meeting comes amid speculation that if she wins in November it could herald a tougher approach on Israel’s war in Gaza. Relations between Biden and Netanyahu are tense over Israel’s conduct in the war sparked by Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, but the US president has continued strong military and political support. They have met just three times during his presidency, once in September last year in New York, and then when Biden traveled to Israel after the attacks and hugged Netanyahu on the airport tarmac at Tel Aviv. The meetings come after Netanyahu vowed “total victory” against Hamas in a fiery speech Wednesday to the US Congress. Biden and Netanyahu will later meet the families of US hostages held in Gaza. The White House was surrounded by metal barriers and a heavy police presence, after rowdy protests broke out near the Capitol following Netanyahu’s speech. Harris on Thursday condemned the “despicable” and “unpatriotic” burning of an American flag by protesters, after attempts by Donald Trump’s Republicans to paint Democrats as pro-Hamas. In a primetime speech explaining his decision on Sunday to bow out of the US presidential election, Biden made clear that resolving the conflict would remain a top priority. “I’m going to keep working to end the war on Gaza, bring home all the hostages to bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war,” the US president said.
A senior US administration official said Wednesday that negotiations on a Gaza deal were in the “closing stages” and that Biden would try to close some “final gaps” with Netanyahu. Harris has previously been more outspoken about Israel’s conduct of the war, prompting speculation she will shift her policy as presidential nominee. The US official said there was “no daylight between the president and vice president,” who will meet Netanyahu at 4:30 p.m. (2030 GMT). Netanyahu will meet Republican contender Donald Trump on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
The ex-president on Thursday morning urged Israel to quickly “finish up” its war in Gaza, warning its global image was being tarnished. Biden has offered Israel steadfast support since October 7. But the US president has been increasingly critical of Israel over the Palestinian death toll in its offensive in Gaza, and criticized restrictions on the amount of aid getting through to the territory, much of which has been reduced to rubble. The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 111 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 39 who the military says are dead. More than 39,100 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry of Hamas-run Gaza, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths. According to the Israeli military 327 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza military campaign since the start of the ground offensive on October 27.

Halt Gaza war now, Trump tells Netanyahu
ARAB NEWS/July 25, 2024
JEDDAH: Israeli forces killed at least 30 more Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks in Washington with the US president and vice president. In Florida on Friday Netanyahu will meet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who used a TV interview on Thursday to urge the Israeli leader to halt the war. “You have to end this fast. It can’t continue to go on like this. It’s too long. It’s too much,” Trump said. Netanyahu took part in separate meetings at the White House with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the overwhelming favorite to be the Democratic nominee in November’s presidential election. Biden has offered Netanyahu almost unlimited financial and military support in his war on Gaza, but the president has also been increasingly critical of Israel over the Palestinian death toll, and denounced restrictions on the amount of aid getting through to the enclave, much of which has been reduced to rubble. In Gaza on Thursday at least 30 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes and shelling as Israeli forces pushed deeper into towns on the eastern side of Khan Younis and tanks advanced in central Rafah. Fighting has centred on the eastern towns of Bani Suaila, Al-Zanna and Al-Karara. Strikes there killed 14 Palestinians, several were wounded by tank and aerial shelling, and an airstrike east of Khan Younis killed four people. Israeli bombardment intensified in several areas in Rafah near the Egypt border as tanks operated north, west and in the town center. Deir Al-Balah, where tanks have not yet invaded, is currently crowded with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from other areas of the enclave.

Kamala Harris’s absence from Netanyahu’s Congressional address: A bad start
Jerusalem Post editorial/July 25/2024
Vice President Kamala Harris’s decision to skip Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress for a convention raised questions about her stance on Israel amidst growing political tensions.
Custom dictates that when foreign leaders address a joint session of Congress, the Speaker of the House and the vice president sit behind them on the rostrum. That was the case when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress in 1996, and then-vice president Al Gore sat in one of the chairs behind him. It was also true in 2011 when then-vice president Joe Biden took that chair. Biden did not attend Netanyahu’s speech in 2015, a clear sign of the White House’s displeasure that this speech had been arranged despite their opposition. On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris was not in that seat during Netanyahu’s address. She should have been.
'Outragous and inexcusable'
That she wasn’t, that Harris decided instead to attend the annual convention of a sorority being held in Indiana, is a bad look and a problematic first signal on Israel in her position as presumptive presidential nominee. As House Speaker Mike Johnson put it, “It’s outrageous to me and inexcusable that Kamala Harris is boycotting this joint session.” Johnson, a Republican, was the lawmaker who invited Netanyahu, in part to accentuate the differences between Republicans and Democrats on Israel in an election year. He knew many Democrats would boycott the speech. Yet, the Democratic leadership signed off on the invitation, and as such, Harris should have shown up. This would have been an opportunity to turn the tables on Johnson and demonstrate that there is no difference between the two parties when it comes to fundamental support for the Jewish state. Harris must know that everything she says and does now will be carefully scrutinized. Although her office said that she was absent from Netanyahu’s speech because of a simple scheduling conflict, her absence comes within the context of the broader boycott of the speech by Democratic lawmakers.  Had Harris wanted to, she could have rearranged her schedule. That she didn’t, sends the signal that she was looking for an excuse – as many other lawmakers did – to not listen to Netanyahu. And why would she take such a step? To pander to the progressives of her party upset with the administration’s overall strong support for Israel during the current war. She needs to be savvy enough politically, however, to realize that as she is pandering to one flank of her party, she risks alienating pro-Israel voters on the other side.
Prefers a one-on-one
Some, in Harris’ defense, will say that she is scheduled to meet Netanyahu for a private meeting during the prime minister’s current trip, which should dispel any suggestions that she harbors him any enmity. That meeting, however, is a private one in which the two leaders will learn where each other stands on various issues. The speech in Congress symbolized the strong bonds between the two countries. Her absence – along with the absence of other lawmakers – sent a signal that there are cracks in those bonds, signals that Israel’s enemies will detect and seek to exploit. Another argument in her defense is that GOP vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance also missed the speech, citing a previous election campaign commitment. While true, there is a difference. Vance has made his position crystal clear regarding the war in Gaza, Hamas’s responsibility for the humanitarian disaster there, and the need for Israel to be allowed to defeat Hamas convincingly. Harris has not. On the contrary, since the beginning of the war, she has – as even Israel’s ambassador to the US Michael Herzog pointed out this week – made some problematic comments regarding Israel. Herzog said that overall, however, her record on Israel is positive. Those “problematic” comments – including accusations that Gazans were starving because of Israel and that anti-Israel protesters on campus were “showing exactly what the human emotion should be” – raise questions for the pro-Israel community about where her heart is: with Israel or the anti-Israel elements within the progressive wing of her party. By attending Netanyahu’s speech in the vice president’s role as president of the senate, Harris would have sent one message. By not attending, she sent another. It’s a bad start.

Netanyahu to Congress: War on Israel Is a War on the United States
FDD/July 25, 2024 | Flash Brief
Listen to analysis
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/07/24/netanyahu-to-congress-war-on-israel-is-a-war-on-the-united-states/
Latest Developments
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel’s war in Gaza and against Iranian proxies was not a clash of civilizations but a “clash between barbarism and civilization,” during a July 24 speech to a joint session of Congress. Netanyahu — who tied the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in addressing Congress for the fourth time — also emphasized the strong U.S.-Israel alliance against those who aim to destroy both nations. “For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together,” he said in his nearly hourlong address. In contrast to his address to a joint session of Congress in 2015, when he vehemently opposed the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran, Netanyahu thanked President Joe Biden for half a century of support for the Jewish state, for his “heartfelt support of Israel” in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack, and for “rightly” calling Hamas “sheer evil.”
Netanyahu stressed that threats to Israel’s security are also threats to America’s security and that collaborations between the two countries, including in co-developing cutting-edge military technology, also make the United States safer. Netanyahu said, “Our enemies are your enemies. Our fight is your fight. And our victory is your victory.” He called on the United States to “dramatically” expedite military aid to give Israel “the tools fast” to “finish the job faster.”
Expert Analysis
“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech underscored how deeply rooted the U.S.-Israel alliance is in shared liberal values and a mutual interest in countering common adversaries like Iran. Disagreements between our two countries are inevitable and have arisen under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Yet today is a timely reminder of why this vital alliance matters and why leaders in Congress should refuse to use it as a wedge to divide us.” — Nick Stewart, Senior Director of Government Relations at FDD Action
“The speech was aimed less at driving a policy agenda and more at defending the legitimacy and justness of the State of Israel on the world’s greatest stage. Netanyahu focused on the fundamentals that drive the U.S.-Israel relationship — shared values and threats — rather than trying to score points in any specific policy disagreement with the White House. The speech was heavy on big-picture messaging and light on specifics by design, so as to preserve the pathway to a ceasefire and hostage deal.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor
Netanyahu’s Vision for Gaza and New Alliance
Netanyahu said that the goals of the Allies after defeating Germany and Japan in World War II — demilitarization and deradicalization — could likewise be implemented in Gaza. “A new generation of Palestinians must no longer be taught to hate Jews, but rather, to live in peace with us,” he said, adding that demilitarization and deradicalization will lead to security, prosperity, and peace for Gaza. For the broader Middle East, Netanyahu spoke of forging an alliance of countries that are at peace with Israel, as well as those willing to make peace but have yet to do so, dubbing it the “Abraham Alliance” in honor of the Biblical patriarch revered by Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike.
Some Democrats Boycott Speech
During his speech, Netanyahu mocked protestors outside the U.S. Capitol. “When the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting, and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots,” he said.
Approximately 70 Democratic senators and representatives, along with one Republican representative, boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee following Biden’s decision to bow out of the race, declined to preside over the address, attending a campaign event in Indiana instead. Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Harris on July 25 following his meeting with Biden earlier in the day. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s nominee for president, is also expected to meet with Netanyahu on July 26 at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Once allies, Trump berated Netanyahu after the latter became one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Biden on his election win in 2020 as Trump disputed the election results. During his address, Netanyahu thanked Trump for recognizing the Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem as sovereign Israeli territory, moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and brokering the Abraham Accords. He also condemned the assassination attempt on the former president earlier this month. Netanyahu made no mention of Harris during his speech.

‘Hamas is coming': Protesters pull down US flag, vandalize DC landmarks
Michael Starr/Jerusalem Post/July 25/2024
“Hamas is coming,” was scrawled in red across the face of the the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station, alongside slogans, such as “free Gaza” and “all Zionists are bastards.”Anti-Israel activists vandalized Washington DC landmarks in protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address before congress on Wednesday, defacing them with pro-Hamas slogans and pulling down the Stars and Stripes and replacing them with Palestinian flags. “Hamas is coming,” was scrawled in red across the face of the the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station, according to photographs published by protest group Palestinian Assembly for Liberation-Awda. The graffiti was accented with the inverted red triangle favored in Hamas videos to denote the targeting of enemies. The foundation was covered in smaller triangles and slogans, such as “free Gaza” and “all Zionists are bastards.”The Liberty Bell replica Freedom Bell, American Legion, which stands across from the fountain, was completely covered In graffiti and red inverted triangles, according to Congressman Ryan Zinke. In a video posted to X, Zinke highlighted graffiti on the bell that said “abolish the USA.” The American flags that flew at Union Station were pulled down from their poles and replaced with Palestinian flags, according to video posted on Instagram by Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM). Timcast News documented that the US flags were set on fire. Congressman Dan Crenshaw said on X that later that night he and other members of the house with the aid of the Capitol Police raised new American Flags in their stead As the Palestinian flags were raised, PYM footage shows that an effigy of Netanyahu was set on fire. Next to the burning effigy a flag emblazoned with the face of Hamas Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obaida was waved, and nearby a sign proclaiming “Bibi [Netanyahu] must hang.” Terrorist paraphernalia was worn by some members of the demonstration. One woman wore a Hamas headband over a keffiyeh. Fox News photographed a woman with a Hamas flag wearing a “Umm Obeida” headband in reference to the terrorist spokesman. On the shoulder of her camouflage jacket was the logo of the Al-Qassam brigade, and a pin with Abu Obaida’s face was pinned to its lapel. Timcast News documented a protester marching through Washington with Hezbollah flag.  “Netanyahu you will pay, resistance is the only way,” chanted some demonstrators. “There is only one solution, intifada revolution.”The protesters had surrounded and attempted to prevent entry of Netanyahu’s motorcade to the Capitol. “Protesters are on every street and police are scrambling to respond,” claimed protest organizers on a Telegram channel. Police had to move protesters who had linked their hands with lock-on devices shaped like flowers. Washington DC Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said in a Wednesday statement that her force had arrested five people for blocking the flow of traffic “near the intersection of 4th Street, Southwest, and Independence Avenue, Southwest.”Protests took a violent turn at several points in the day. A group or protesters pushed against a line of Capitol Police, demanding “let us through,” according to a People’s Forum NYC video. Soon after, the demonstrators were doused with pepper spray.
Arrested on assault charges
“The crowd failed to obey our order to move back from our police line,” the Capitol Police said on X. “We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line.”Smith said that two protesters were arrested and charged for assualting an MPD officer at Columbus Circle. Two more were arrested for crossing police lines after the assault. “While many people chose to peacefully exercise their first amendment rights in our city, some choose to disobey the law,” said Smith.

Israeli forces advance in southern Gaza, tanks in Rafah
REUTERS/July 25, 2024
CAIRO: Israeli forces advanced deeper into some towns on the eastern side of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US lawmakers he was actively engaged in bringing hostages home. Fighting in recent days has centered around the eastern towns of Bani Suaila, Al-Zanna, and Al-Karara, where the army said on Wednesday it had found the bodies of five Israelis who were killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and held in Gaza since. Hamas militants took more than 250 hostages in the early morning raid into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel retaliated by vowing to eradicate Hamas in Gaza in a nine-month war that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say. Several were wounded in the eastern towns during Israeli tank and aerial shelling, while an airstrike east of Khan Younis killed four people, Palestinian health officials said. Israeli bombardment intensified in several areas in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, as tanks operated north, west and in the town center, residents and medics said. Several Palestinians were also wounded in Israeli fire earlier on Thursday. The Israeli military said forces operating in Khan Younis killed dozens of militants and dismantled around 50 military infrastructures, while it continued activities in Rafah, killing two militants. In a speech to the US Congress, Netanyahu said his government was actively involved in seeking the release of remaining hostages and was confident they would succeed.
DISAPPOINTING SPEECH
Hamas described the comments by Netanyahu as “pure lies” accusing him of thwarting efforts to end the war. Netanyahu’s comments also disappointed many displaced Palestinians who had hoped for a clearer signal of an imminent end to the fighting, which has laid the overcrowded enclave to waste and created a humanitarian crisis. “It was depressing, he didn’t even mention ceasefire at all, not even once,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a resident of Gaza City, now displaced in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. “People awaited some surprise, a ceasefire announcement by Netanyahu as a gift to (US President Joe) Biden, but they slept with much disappointment, as Netanyahu said he was determined to pursue war,” Burai said via a chat app. Deir Al-Balah, where tanks haven’t yet invaded, is currently overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, displaced from other areas of the enclave, home to 2.3 million people. “Netanyahu spoke in a play, he spoke to clowns,” said Burai. Diplomatic efforts by Arab mediators, backed by the United States, to conclude a ceasefire deal, seemed to be on hold, as Israel was expected to send a delegation for more talks next week. In northern Gaza, an Israeli air strike on a house in the Sheikh Radwan suburb killed four people, medics said, while seven Palestinians arrived at a hospital in central Gaza who had been detained by Israeli forces and released in an area close to the border.

Gaza ceasefire deal in 'closing stages', US official says
Agence France Presse/July 25, 2024
Negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are in their "closing stages," a U.S. official said, ahead of talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden will try to close some "final gaps" in his talks with Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday but key elements including the fate of the hostages remain in Hamas's court, the senior administration official said. "We believe it's in the closing stages and a deal is closeable," the U.S. official said Wednesday on condition of anonymity in a call previewing Netanyahu's visit. There would be a "lot of activity in the coming week" towards reaching a long-sought deal, said the official, adding that an agreement was "not only possible, it's essential and necessary." The U.S. official played down a fiery speech to Congress by Netanyahu on Wednesday in which he pledged "total victory," saying that the talks with Biden would be more focused on the mechanics of a deal. A possible truce now hinges on a handful of issues about how a deal would come into effect, with Hamas having eased its demand for a full Israeli pull-out, the official said. "I don't expect the meeting (with Netanyahu) to be a yes or no, it's a kind of like 'how do we close these final gaps?' And there are some things we need from the Israeli side, no question," the official said. "But there's also some key things that are only in the hands of Hamas because the hostages are in the hands of Hamas."A Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 114 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 42 who the military says are dead. More than 39,100 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war broke out, according to data provided by the health ministry of Hamas-run Gaza.

Doha cease-fire talks delayed after Netanyahu's fiery speech
Associated Press/July 25, 2024
Officials from Egypt, Israel, the United States and Qatar were expected to meet Thursday in Doha with the aim of resuming talks for a proposed three-phase cease-fire to end the war between Israel and Hamas and free the remaining hostages. But an Israeli official said Israel’s negotiating team was delayed and would likely be dispatched next week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress in Washington on Wednesday as thousands of protesters gathered near the U.S. Capitol to denounce the war. Hamas slammed the speech Thursday and accused Netanyahu of obstructing efforts to end the war and return the hostages. Netanyahu has signaled that a cease-fire deal could be taking shape after nine months of war, but during his fiery speech to Congress, he vowed to press forward with Israel’s war until he achieves “total victory.” Palestinians displaced by the Israeli military’s latest order to leave parts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis say they are sleeping in the streets. The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 39,100 Palestinians have been killed in the war.

Israel alleges Iran-backed terror plot targets athletes at Olympics
John Bacon, USA TODAY/July 25, 2024
Israeli authorities have warned French officials of an alleged plot to attack Israeli athletes at the Olympic games opening Friday in Paris amid claims that a cease-fire in Israel's war in Gaza could be near. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz sent a letter to French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné claiming an Iranian-backed plot. Details were not released. It was not clear whether the warning was related to the detention this week of two people accused of plotting terror attacks. The suspects are from the Bordeaux area of southwest France. “There are those who seek to undermine the celebratory nature of this joyous event,” Katz wrote in a letter translated by the Times of Israel. “We currently have assessments regarding the potential threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies and other terrorist organizations who aim to carry out attacks against members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists during the Olympics.”
Paris plans to deploy about 35,000 police officers each day for the Olympics, and a peak of 45,000 for the opening ceremony. An additional 10,000 soldiers are taking part in security operations in the Paris region.
Police deploy pepper spray: Netanyahu protesters converge on Capitol
Developing:
∎ Negotiations on a cease-fire-for-hostages deal in the Gaza conflict appear to be in their closing stages, a senior official told reporters Wednesday. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss remaining gaps on Thursday, the official said during a call previewing the meeting.
∎ Former President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News on Thursday, criticized those who protested Netanyahy's speech Wednesday to the U.S. Congress. Trump called for a one-year jail sentence for those who burned a U.S. flag. The Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is a form of protected free speech.

Bodies of 5 hostages returned to Israel
John Bacon, USA TODAY/July 25, 2024
The bodies of five Israelis killed by terrorists Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants swept into Israeli border communities were recovered by troops in southern Gaza and brought back to Israel on Wednesday, officials said. The bodies of Ravid Katz, 51, Oren Goldin, 33, Maya Goren, 56, Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, and Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20, had been dragged back into Gaza by militants fleeing after the bloodbath. All were all previously declared dead by the Israel Defense Forces, though their bodies continued to be held in Gaza .
The remains were located in a tunnel in Khan Younis, authorities said.

FBI Is Not Fully Convinced Trump Was Struck by a Bullet
Zachary Folk/The Daily Beast/July 24, 2024
FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed during a marathon testimony on Wednesday that investigators still do not know if former President Donald Trump was grazed by a bullet or a piece of shrapnel during his attempted assassination. Twice during the hours-long session, Wray told lawmakers that the FBI was still working to determine what exactly struck the former president on his right ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. “My understanding is that either it [a bullet] or some shrapnel is what grazed his ear,” Wray told Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA). Later during the hearing, Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) asked Wray if investigators knew where all eight bullets fired by Thomas Crooks ended up after the shooting. “There is some question about whether or not it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear, so it is conceivable, as I sit here right now, I don’t know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else,” Wray testified. Jordan did not follow up with any questions about the shrapnel.
Trump Says He ‘Took a Bullet for Democracy’ at Michigan Campaign Speech
Speaking at the Republican National Convention just days after the assassination attempt, Trump said the bullet “came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.” “I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear,” the former president described the scene. Trump’s former White House physician, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), later told a conservative talk show that he examined the wound in the days immediately after the shooting. “It [the bullet] was far enough away from his head that there was no concussive effect from the bullet, and it just took the top of his ear off.”As the investigation into the assassination attempt continues, Wray offered the committee some new insights—including the revelation that Crooks tried to research how far away the shooter was from former President John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated in 1963.
Trump responded with a post on Truth Social while the hearing was still taking place, calling for Wray to resign—but not for anything he said about the assassination attempt. Instead, Trump lambasted the FBI director for claiming that he found his interactions with President Biden “uneventful and unremarkable.”

Trump Claims Harris—Whose Husband Is Jewish—Is ‘Totally Against the Jewish People’
Dan Ladden-Hall/The Daily Beast./July 25, 2024
Donald Trump baselessly claimed Kamala Harris is “totally against the Jewish people”—apparently either forgetting or ignoring the fact her husband is Jewish. Speaking at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday night, the Republican nominee slammed his likely presidential election rival for skipping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress earlier in the day. But Trump seemed completely oblivious to the existence of second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a vice president in American history, when making his unfounded claim about Harris being against the Jewish people.
Second Gentleman’s Ex-Wife Defends ‘Co-Parent’ Kamala
“Now what she’s doing is she’s running away from Israel,” Trump said at his rally. “She refuses to go to—Bibi Netanyahu is in Washington. She refuses to be there.” Harris’ office said she was unable to attend the joint session on Capitol Hill because of a previously scheduled trip to Indianapolis but planned to meet with Netanayhu on Thursday, according to The Hill. “Even if you’re against Israel or you’re against the Jewish people, show up and listen to the concept,” Trump continued. “But she’s totally against the Jewish people.”The former president then reiterated his criticism of Jews who vote for Harris’ party. “It amazes me how Jewish people will vote for the Democrats when they’re being treated so disrespectfully and badly,” he said. “It amazes me. It’s shocking. I don’t, I don’t get it. I don’t get it.”

4 key takeaways from Biden’s speech on his decision to ‘pass the torch to a new generation’
David Knowles/Yahoo News/July 25, 2024
In a speech delivered from the Oval Office on Wednesday night, President Biden said his decision to exit the 2024 presidential race was motivated by a desire to protect the country from the consequences of a Trump victory in November.
"I revere this office, but I love my country more,” Biden said. “It has been the honor of my life to serve as your president, but in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, there’s things more important than any title.”
Here are the key takeaways from Biden’s first speech since dropping out of the 2024 campaign and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.
Biden doesn’t mention Trump by name
While Biden did not mention Donald Trump by name, it was clear from his remarks that he viewed the prospect of his rival’s victory in November as inviting disaster for the nation. “I made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history, where the decisions we make now determine the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come,” Biden said. “America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward. Between hope and hate. Between unity and division. We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty and decency, respect, freedom and democracy.”Likewise, Biden refrained from mentioning his own vice president, who is now the clear frontrunner to take on Trump. “I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our nation,” Biden said.
Not resigning
With many Republicans calling on Biden to resign as president in light of his decision not to seek a second term, the president made clear that he does not intend to do so.
“Over the next six months I will be focused on doing my job as president," Biden said. "That means I will continue to lower costs for hard-working families and grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights — from the right to vote to the right to choose.”
Biden also pledged to “keep calling out hate and extremism,” to continue working on his “cancer moonshot,” on Supreme Court reforms, to continue to support Ukraine in its war with Russia and to seek an end to the fighting in Gaza.
Stumbled over some words
As he read his speech from a teleprompter, Biden, 81, occasionally stumbled over his words. “In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies — as, but as fellow Americans — can we do that?” he said at one point. His delivery was at times halting and unsteady. Following Biden's much-criticized debate performance on June 27, Democrats who questioned whether he was still up to running for a second term in office mounted a pressure campaign that eventually led him to drop out of the race. “You know, we’ve come so far since my inauguration,” Biden said. “On that day, I told that as I stood in the winter, I stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities. Peril and possibilities. We’re in the grip of the — we were in the grip of the worst pandemic in the century.”
Biden’s legacy
Biden’s speech also conveyed a concern for how he would be remembered.
“I ran for president four years ago because I believed, and still do, that the soul of America was at stake, the very nature of who we are was at stake, and that’s still the case,” he said. But the president also listed what he saw as some of his most important accomplishments, including signing toxic burn pit legislation to help U.S. soldiers, passing the “first major gun safety law in 30 years,” overseeing a drop in the violent crime rate, nominating the first Black woman to the Supreme Court and helping to pass the country’s “most significant climate law.”“I’ve given my heart and my soul to our nation, like so many others, I’ve been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people,” Biden said. “I hope you have some idea of how grateful I am, to all of you.”

Jordanian House of Representatives dissolved by royal decree ahead of elections
ARAB NEWS/July 25, 2024
LONDON: Jordan’s House of Representatives was dissolved on Thursday by royal decree, the Royal Hashemite Court has announced. King Abdullah ordered elections to be held for the House of Representatives on April 24 and visited the Independent Election Commission to check on preparations to administer and oversee the electoral process on the same day. The IEC has set Sept. 10 as the date for the parliamentary elections.

Iran condemns US for welcoming Israeli PM Netanyahu
AFP/July 25, 2024
TEHRAN: Iran on Thursday denounced the US government and Congress for welcoming the Israeli prime minister amid the deadly war in Gaza that is raging into its 10th month. “Palestinian children are slaughtered every day by the Tel Aviv butcher, and in the face of all these crimes, the American government and Congress are welcoming this executioner with applause,” said Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani in a post on X. “The criminal prime minister of a fake regime is embraced by his supporters after nine months of genocide and infanticide,” he added, referring to Benjamin Netanyahu, who addressed the US congress on Wednesday. The remarks came after Netanyahu called for an alliance against what he described as an Iranian “axis of terror,” claiming Tehran is behind almost all sectarian killing in the Middle East. “America and Israel today can forge a security alliance in the Middle East to counter the growing Iranian threat,” he told US lawmakers. The months-long Gaza war was triggered when Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 111 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 39 who the military says are dead. More than 39,100 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to the health ministry of Hamas-run Gaza.
Iran had hailed the October 7 attack but said it was not involved in it.

Putin meets Assad amid calls to defuse Turkiye-Syria tensions
AFP/July 25, 2024
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin held talks with Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad in Moscow amid calls for Russian mediation to cool tensions between Turkiye and Syria. Wednesday’s talks between the pair — the first since since March 2023 — come after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan flagged the potential of a three-way meeting to discuss normalizing ties between Ankara and Damascus. Putin highlighted his concerns over the situation in the Middle East, which he said was “tending to escalate,” in opening remarks between the pair which were aired on state television Thursday.
Moscow is Syria’s most important ally, having effectively saved Assad’s government through its military intervention in 2015 during a civil war. “I am very interested in your opinion on how the situation in the region as a whole is developing. Unfortunately, it is tending to escalate, we see this. This concerns Syria directly,” Putin said. Assad said his visit to Moscow was a “very important” opportunity to discuss “events that are taking place today in the world as a whole and in the Eurasian region,” according to a translation into Russian. Neither mentioned Turkiye or the conflict in Syria in the televised remarks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to say whether a possible meeting between Putin, Erdogan and Assad was discussed in private talks. “The situation in the region was discussed in a broad context,” he told Russian state media on Thursday.
Turkiye-Syria tensions
Turkiye originally aimed to topple Assad’s regime when the Syrian conflict erupted with the violent suppression of peaceful protesters in 2011. Turkiye then backed rebels calling for Assad to be removed and Erdogan has also branded the Syrian leader a “murderer.”As Damascus regained territory, however, Erdogan reversed course and has lately prioritized the prevention of what in 2019 he called a “terror corridor” opening up in northern Syria. Since 2022, top Syrian and Turkish officials have met for Russia-mediated talks. Erdogan has long said he could reconsider ties with Assad as his government is working to ensure safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees. “Now we have come to such a point that as soon as Bashar Assad takes a step toward improving relations with Turkiye, we will show him the same approach,” Erdogan said at a regional summit in Kazakhstan earlier this month.
In a complex multi-sided conflict, Turkiye has launched a string of offensives in Syria since 2016 targeting Kurdish militias, Daesh group jihadists and forces loyal to Assad. Pro-Turkish forces in Syria now control two vast strips of territory along the border. Moscow has complicated, but generally pragmatic and warm relations with NATO member Turkiye, with Putin and Erdogan speaking regularly. Analysts have said any rapprochement between Turkiye and Syria is likely to be gradual due to the complex set of thorny issues between the two sides.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on July 25-26/2024
America held hostage/Rewarding thugs is not an adequate policy response
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/July 25/ 2024
To no one’s surprise, Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen and accredited foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Russia, was sentenced last Friday to 16 years in a high-security penal colony on charges of espionage.
Mr. Gershkovich, 32, was “wrongfully convicted in a hurried, secret trial that the U.S. government has condemned as a sham,” the Journal reported.
Since his arrest in March of last year, Russian authorities have produced not a shred of evidence against him. What comes next is “hostage diplomacy,” an Orwellian term, an admission of American weakness, an acknowledgement that the U.S. has no intention of punishing anyone for imprisoning an innocent American, nor any plan to deter those will do so in the future. Look, I understand that anyone whose loved one is unjustly imprisoned wants that loved one freed – at whatever price.
But rewarding hostage-taking today incentivizes hostage-taking tomorrow. America’s leaders should at least be wrestling with this conundrum.
In 2015, President Obama established the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. The envoy’s “one overriding goal,” then-Secretary of State John Kerry proclaimed, was to use “diplomacy to secure the safe return of Americans held hostage overseas.”That may work in some cases, but what’s the chance that American diplomats can talk Russian strongman Vladimir Putin or Iranian dictator Ali Khamenei into releasing their hostages?A former CIA agent told me last week about another approach – one the U.S. is unlikely to choose.
In 1986, there were credible reports that four Soviet diplomats had been kidnapped by Hezbollah in Lebanon. In response, the KGB killed a relative of a senior Hezbollah leader, and then sent body parts of the deceased relative to that leader, along with a note warning that other relatives would suffer the same fate if the diplomats were not released. They were – promptly.
“This is the way the Soviets operate,” an unnamed “observer” told the Jerusalem Post at the time. “And this is the language Hezbollah understands.’”
Because we Americans don’t use KGB methods and because diplomatic persuasion falls short, the U.S. often ends up rewarding hostage-takers.
In 2009, President Obama paid $1.5 million to Iran’s rulers to gain the release of three American hostages kidnapped along the Iran-Iraqi border.
In 2022, President Biden secured the release from Russia of basketball star Brittney Griner (who had admitted entering the country with cannabis oil) in exchange for the release of Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death” who had been serving a 25-year prison sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to people who planned to kill Americans.
In September of last year, President Biden unfroze at least $6 billion of Iranian assets in exchange for the release of five American hostages.
I could cite additional examples.
The result is that despotic rulers can say to thugs: “There’s an individual abroad I need you to eliminate. Should you get caught, the jails in Western countries aren’t like those in Russia or Iran. Before long, we’ll arrest an American, convict him on some charge, real or invented, and then swap him for you. The Americans will boast that their diplomacy brought another American home. Candy from a baby!”
Which suggests how the Gershkovich case may play out.
Speaking with Tucker Carlson in February, Mr. Putin mentioned a “patriot” who had “eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals.”
That was almost certainly a reference to Vadim Krasikov, a Russian national linked to the FSB, the Russian security service, now serving a life sentence in Germany for murdering – with a silenced Glock 26 in a Berlin park in broad daylight in 2019 – exiled Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.
If this is indeed what Mr. Putin wants, “hostage diplomacy” will require American diplomats to convince German leaders to release Mr. Krasikov in exchange for which Mr. Putin will free Mr. Gershkovich.
But that scenario, as Ulrich Lechte of the Free Democratic Party told the BBC in March, will send “the political signal that Russia can commit further murders on our territory, which will then be released and thus remain unpunished.”
What’s the alternative, if not for Mr. Gershkovich and other Americans held in Russia – e.g., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan – but for others who will be wrongfully detained in the future?
My colleague, Richard Goldberg, a former National Security Council official, makes a persuasive case that hostage-taking “is not a form of enhanced diplomacy; it is gray-zone warfare” requiring “aggressive retaliation with room to escalate within a gray-zone battlespace.”
That would include onerous economic sanctions on everyone involved in hostage-taking, along with “cyberattacks, information operations and other clandestine initiatives” designed to demonstrate that “the cost of seizing an American outweighs any potential benefit.”
I’ll put another idea on the table: A little skillful diplomacy could result in a kind of NATO Article 5 on hostage-taking: an agreement among America’s allies that, any time one of their citizens is “wrongfully detained,” they will all expel the ambassadors of the criminal regime, recall their own ambassadors, and coordinate sanctions tough enough to seriously damage the economy of the offending regime.
The bottom line: For America to be safe and for Americans to be safe, it’s not sufficient that we and our allies be stronger than our enemies. The imbalance – militarily and economically – needs to be overwhelming.
Would that be Donald Trump’s highest priority should he get a second term?
I have no idea, but I will say this: “Make America great again” will be a meaningless phrase so long as despots such as Mr. Putin and Mr. Khamenei are playing Americans for fools – time and time again.
*Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a columnist for the Washington Times.

Why Hamas Deserves Argentina’s Terrorism Designation
Toby Dershowitz, Will Erens, Emanuele Ottolenghi/Insight/July 25/2024
Listen to analysis
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/07/24/why-hamas-deserves-argentinas-terrorism-designation/
At 7:56 AM on October 7, 2023, Ronit Sultan, the daughter of Argentine immigrants, texted her daughter-in-law to “take care of yourself” as rockets from Gaza flew overhead. Ten minutes later, Ronit texted a friend that Hamas terrorists were “trying to get in” to her house in Kibbutz Holit, one of the kibbutzim along the Israeli border with Gaza. The kibbutzim in the area were known for residents’ efforts to build peaceful relations with their Palestinian neighbors, including helping Gazans get medical attention and addressing other needs. A mother of two and longtime childhood educator, Ronit was killed alongside her husband.
“Please send help,” Ofelia Roitman, an Argentine grandmother of nine from Kibbutz Nir Oz, texted her family that morning, “the Palestinians are here.” Only later was her family notified that she had been taken hostage.
In Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, Silvia Mirensky, a retired widow from Argentina, fled to her saferoom as terrorists entered the kibbutz. Hours later, while on the phone with her son, they set her house ablaze. “I am burning; I am choking,” she told her son. Silvia was found dead the next day.
The youngest Israeli abducted on October 7 was nine-month-old Kfir Bibas, a dual Israeli-Argentine citizen. Kfir is the grandson of Yossi Silberman, an Argentine immigrant who was murdered on October 7. Almost 300 days later, Kfir and his family are among the nine Argentines believed to remain in captivity in Gaza.
Across southern Israel on October 7, Hamas murdered some 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 240 women, children, and men. Among those killed were nine Argentine nationals, while 21 Argentines were later confirmed to have been taken hostage by the estimated 3,000 terrorists who infiltrated Israel by land, air, and sea on that black Shabbat.
On July 12, Argentina’s President Javier Milei added Hamas to the country’s terrorism list. The designation comes 30 years after Iran-backed terrorists used a truck laden with over 600 pounds of ammonium nitrate to bomb the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 and injuring hundreds.
Listing Hamas as a terrorist organization is the latest development in Argentina’s three-decade struggle with terror sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Two years prior to the AMIA attack, another Iranian proxy bombed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 civilians. This past April, Argentina’s highest criminal court found Iran had organized, financed, and planned both attacks, which it proclaimed constitute “crimes against humanity.” Following the ruling, Milei declared “the era of impunity is over” for Iran’s terror.
But for many who survived the AMIA bombing, the scars from thirty years of suffering were reopened on October 7. Eitan and Yair Horn, two brothers taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, are the sons of Itzik Horn, a journalist who moved to Israel from Argentina after surviving the 1994 AMIA bombing. Abi Korin was killed while defending his kibbutz from Hamas terrorists. Korin’s father, Moshe, is a former AMIA culture secretary.
Hezbollah, the group responsible for carrying out the AMIA bombing, receives an estimated $700 million annually from Tehran, while Hamas reportedly receives $100 million annually in financial and military support.
Hamas killed four other Argentines during its genocidal onslaught on October 7. Rody Skarisevski, a father of three, was driving to pick up his youngest daughter from Beersheba when he was shot and killed in his car. His son Yhonatan, a reserve soldier, later discovered his body. Matías and Einav Burstein, an Argentine couple from northern Israel, were killed while fleeing the Nova Music Festival. Shoshana Karsenty, who fled Argentina for Israel as an orphan, was 85 when terrorists murdered her in her home in Kibbutz Be’eri. And Haim Livne, 87, who moved to Israel from Argentina in 1956, was a staple of Kibbutz Nahal Oz for 40 years until he too was killed in his home.
Last November, 10 Argentines were freed in a hostage deal. The terrorists released Sharon Cunio and her daughters, along with Karina Engel, her two sons Mika and Yuval, Clara Marman, Gabriela and Mia Leimberg, and Ofelia Roitman. In February, Clara’s husband Fernando and Gabriela’s partner Louis Har, were rescued by the IDF.
Among the nine Argentines still held in Gaza are the Bibas family — parents Yarden and Shiri and their two children, Ariel and Kfir. On the morning of October 7, as Hamas terrorists invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz, Yarden and Shiri attempted to keep their young children quiet. Shiri was a “mother not just for her children,” according to her cousin. “In Nir Oz, all the children ran to her when they saw her.” As she was taken hostage, Shiri was seen clutching her two sons, while Yarden was seen surrounded by terrorists, separated from his family. While in captivity, Yarden was reportedly told by Hamas that his family had been killed by IDF airstrikes.
The remaining five hostages believed to still be held captive are brothers David and Ariel Cunio, the Horn brothers, and Lior Rudaeff. David, along with his wife Sharon and their twin daughters Yulia and Emma, were celebrating the holiday weekend with family at their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. On October 7, they hid in their saferoom until Hamas terrorists lit their house on fire. Faced with suffocating smoke inside the saferoom and terrorists outside, the family attempted to flee but were abducted and brought to Gaza. Rudaeff, a medic from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was confirmed to have died while in captivity in May.
Following Milei’s designation of Hamas, media coverage widely reported the decision as something done merely to support Israel. Designating Hamas does support Israel, but more importantly, it serves as an essential component in seeking justice for Argentina’s victims of October 7. With so many Argentines killed and kidnapped by the Iran-backed terrorist organization, it is abundantly clear that Argentina not only has the legal justification to list the group but a responsibility to do so as well.
Argentina’s designation should be a model to emulate for other countries whose citizens were brazenly murdered by Hamas but that have not yet blacklisted the terror group.
*Toby Dershowitz is managing director at FDD Action, where Will Erens is a congressional relations intern. FDD Action is a non-partisan 501(c)(4) organization established to advocate for effective policies to promote U.S. national security and defend free nations. Follow Dershowitz on Twitter/X @tobydersh.
*Emanuele Ottolenghi is a senior fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on X: @eottolenghi.

FAQ: Understanding Saudi Arabia’s Uranium Enrichment Request
Andrea Stricker & Anthony Ruggiero/FDD/July 25/2024
Listen to analysis
https://www.fdd.org/in_the_news/2024/07/23/faq-understanding-saudi-arabias-uranium-enrichment-request/
Q: What type of nuclear cooperation agreement is Saudi Arabia requesting from the United States?
Bloomberg reported on June 14 that National Security Council officials have briefed members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the contours of a U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement. While the administration apparently provided few details during that briefing — citing ongoing, sensitive negotiations — some information has leaked over the past year via media reports.
One version of the agreement would reportedly permit Riyadh to receive a U.S.-operated uranium enrichment plant stationed on Saudi territory. Earlier press reports noted that the United States would retain control of the technology and facility, and Saudi Arabia has requested the construction of the plant on either long-term U.S.-leased land or on one of several U.S. military bases.
Another proposed version would entail an agreement by Washington and Riyadh to revisit in 10 years the matter of whether Saudi Arabia could have uranium enrichment technology on its soil. During that time, there would be a moratorium on enrichment and reprocessing in Saudi Arabia, followed by a bilateral review mechanism to decide whether Washington should provide Riyadh with an enrichment plant or other related assistance.
Q: What else are the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel negotiating?
The United States and Saudi Arabia have also been continuing discussions on a bilateral defense pact. A U.S.-Saudi defense treaty would require a two-thirds majority vote in the U.S. Senate, which would be challenging to attain in any scenario and especially if it lacks Israel’s support. The two countries could also opt for a defense pact that falls short of a treaty but could be finalized via executive action.
The United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are attempting to reach a trilateral “mega deal” but face issues that are reportedly difficult for the Israeli government to surmount. The Wall Street Journal reported on June 9 that Riyadh is conditioning its participation in such a deal on an end to the war in Gaza and “irreversible and irrevocable steps within several years toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Q: Why do the United States and like-minded partners seek to limit the spread of uranium enrichment capabilities?
The export of uranium enrichment, as well as plutonium reprocessing, technologies, and equipment, is tightly restricted by the 14-15 states that have the ability to produce fuel that can be used for both nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. The technologies have inherent commercial nuclear energy applications and proliferation potential with regard to nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), for example, is a broad collaborative effort among many of those possessor countries, boasting 48 member states that work to restrict the transfer of sensitive nuclear technologies. NSG members also include the five nuclear-weapon states (NWS) that are officially recognized as possessing nuclear weapons by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Despite past efforts among some to proliferate enrichment and reprocessing capabilities, the five have adhered over the past few decades to strict technology controls.
Q: What is longstanding U.S. policy regarding sharing uranium enrichment technology with foreign countries?
For several decades, the United States has declined requests from allies and partners to share uranium enrichment technology or use U.S.-origin nuclear fuel and equipment to enrich uranium or reprocess plutonium. Thus, today, only 14 or 15 countries possess such uranium enrichment technology. Washington has deemed it more important to maintain a strong precedent against proliferating this technology and to improve international supply controls.
Q: What is the key proliferation concern about providing uranium enrichment to Saudi Arabia?
As recently as September 2023, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia stated his intention to acquire nuclear arms if Iran does so. Therefore, providing Saudi Arabia with the ability to enrich uranium could be a way for Riyadh to match Tehran’s uranium enrichment and nuclear-threshold capabilities. As a result, the Biden administration cannot credibly present a potential U.S.-Saudi enrichment program as intended solely for peaceful purposes.
To the international community, a uranium enrichment deal would implicitly mean Washington acquiesced to a nascent Saudi nuclear weapons program. Housing an enrichment facility on a U.S. military base, moreover, would further militarize the plant and undermine arguments that it is for a civilian purpose. Even opening a door to enrichment via U.S. approval in several years would erode the precedent against other regional actors, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, and Egypt, seeking uranium enrichment. Should they seek and acquire unfettered enrichment, multiple states in the region could end up on the threshold of nuclear weapons.
Q: Why does Saudi Arabia want nuclear energy if it possesses one of the world’s largest oil reserves?
Saudi Arabia seeks parity with Iran’s existing nuclear capabilities. In January 2023, Riyadh said it intends to develop the full nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, and nuclear fuel fabrication. It also says it seeks to diversify energy exports and develop commercial nuclear power to produce and export electricity to the Middle East as well as continental Europe.
Q: Can rolling back Iran’s enrichment program negate the Saudis’ desire to obtain enrichment?
Possibly. In an unprecedented shift in policy, after long opposing Iranian enrichment, the United States tacitly accepted Tehran’s enrichment program under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, passed in July 2015 to endorse the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPOA also reversed successive UN Security Council resolutions passed from 2006 to 2010 demanding that Tehran halt enrichment. Moreover, starting this year, the JCPOA’s restrictions on the growth of Iran’s enrichment program start to lift. It should not be surprising that Saudi Arabia (and other countries) would seek similar enrichment capacities.
Washington can reverse these precedents by working to roll back Iran’s enrichment efforts and reimpose prior UN sanctions against Tehran, including the prohibition against uranium enrichment. This would be a start toward mitigating the Saudis’ drive to match Tehran and convince the kingdom that the United States is serious about reversing Iran’s nuclear proliferation efforts.
Put differently, stemming regional proliferation will not be achieved by granting enrichment or reprocessing to additional Middle Eastern states, which risks endowing them with the capability to make nuclear weapons on short order.
Q: Besides the United States, what other countries might become involved in Riyadh’s quest for nuclear energy?
Saudi Arabia is seeking foreign contractors to build its first nuclear power reactors. South Korea’s Korea Electric Power Corporation, possibly with the American company Westinghouse in an advisory or support role, has expressed interest in the contract. Westinghouse could also become a late contender to build the reactors as the prime contractor. Other potential suppliers are France’s Framatome, Russia’s Rosatom Corporation, and China’s National Nuclear Corporation.
Q: Would Saudi Arabia obtain enrichment from China instead of the United States?
While possible, it is unlikely that China would provide Saudi Arabia with a uranium enrichment capability. Beijing is attempting to emerge as a commercial nuclear fuel supplier and could be averse to creating another competitor. In addition, Riyadh is likely aware of — and sees the downsides to — the fact that a close defense relationship with China would almost certainly entail an expectation on the part of Beijing that Saudi Arabia would become a subservient or vassal-type state that would primarily serve to provide a steady supply of oil to China.
Riyadh most prizes a U.S. defense guarantee against Iran as well as the continued flow of billions of dollars in U.S. military equipment, defense collaboration, and intelligence. Case in point: Saudi officials told The Wall Street Journal that they were using the possibility, however remote, of choosing Chinese nuclear supply as leverage to obtain more advantageous terms from Washington in negotiations.
Q: Does Saudi Arabia need uranium enrichment to achieve its nuclear energy goals?
No. Riyadh does not require enrichment to achieve its goal of becoming a nuclear electricity-producing powerhouse. President Biden could agree to significant U.S. nuclear assistance with the rest of the uranium fuel cycle while rejecting the Saudi enrichment request. The United States could offer its nuclear safety, security, and technical expertise while assisting Riyadh’s uranium mining and milling endeavors.
Instead of enriching uranium at home, Saudi Arabia could ship the material to France, the European Urenco consortium, or the United States for reliable and affordable nuclear fuel fabrication. Washington might also offer an assured reactor fuel supply, should the kingdom require it.
Q: What is U.S. law governing American nuclear cooperation and technology-sharing with foreign countries?
The Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954, Section 123, requires that the United States enter into a nuclear cooperation agreement prior to sharing major civil nuclear materials or technology with a foreign country. Section 123 provides nine nonproliferation criteria that must be included in the agreements. The State Department, the lead U.S. agency that negotiates 123 agreements, notes that the “criteria require 123 agreements to legally obligate our partners to observe specific standards in a multitude of areas including peaceful uses; International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards (technical measures through which the IAEA seeks to verify that nuclear material is not diverted from peaceful uses); physical security of nuclear materials; and prohibitions on enriching, reprocessing, and transfer of specific material and equipment without our consent.”
The National Nuclear Security Administration reported that as of July 9, 2024, the United States had 24 Section 123 agreements covering 48 countries, the IAEA, and Taiwan.
Q: Is congressional approval required to reach a 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia?
No, and Congress has a high bar to stop an agreement. The president must submit a draft 123 agreement to Congress for review along with a nuclear proliferation assessment. The agreement becomes effective after two time periods totaling 90 days of continuous session unless Congress adopts a joint resolution of disapproval. (The law requires the president first to submit the text of the proposed agreement and unclassified nonproliferation assessment and consult with Congress for not less than 30 days of continuous session. Then, the president must submit the agreement to Congress along with a classified nonproliferation assessment and statement of approval and determination that the agreement does not harm U.S. national security interests, after which Congress has another 60 days of continuous session to consider the agreement.)
Since the current Congress lacks a remaining 90 days of session, members would need to return from recess specifically to address a proposed U.S.-Saudi nuclear agreement. Thus, unless Congress proactively blocks or conditions a 123 agreement, it could be adopted by the administration before the end of Biden’s term. The short timeframe to conclude an agreement means it may fall within the next administration’s purview.
Q: What can Congress do to block or condition a 123 agreement?
Congress could pass a law that a 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia requires Riyadh to forgo enrichment and reprocessing and to sign an enhanced nuclear inspection agreement with the IAEA called the Additional Protocol (AP). However, President Biden could veto the measure.
Other avenues are possible, such as a May 2024 proposal by Rep. Brad Sherman for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 to amend rules governing the transfer of U.S. nuclear technology. Specifically, Congress could block nuclear transfers if the administration cannot certify that Riyadh is not seeking enrichment or reprocessing and that the kingdom has not signed an AP. However, the next NDAA may not take effect until December or later, and the amendment could ultimately be cut.
Q: What is a ‘gold standard’ 123 agreement?
In 2009, the UAE concluded a 123 agreement with the United States that created a “gold standard” of nonproliferation: Both sides went beyond the requirements of the AEA when Abu Dhabi agreed to forgo enrichment and reprocessing of any nuclear material (whether or not the United States is the source).
Since 2009, successive U.S. presidential administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have stated that a 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia should match the gold standard. Riyadh has thus far rejected Washington’s request. Washington’s unwillingness to stop Iran’s uranium enrichment program while limiting the options of allies and partners has not gone unnoticed in the region.
Q: What will happen to the gold standard if the United States acquiesces to Saudi Arabia’s demands?
U.S. acceptance of Riyadh’s request would potentially open a Pandora’s box of demands from U.S. allies and partners — such as Turkey and South Korea — that Washington revise nuclear cooperation agreements to specifically consent to enrichment or reprocessing or offer similar facilities on their territories. Egypt and Jordan may request similar capabilities in future nuclear cooperation agreements. Moreover, the UAE’s 123 agreement provides Abu Dhabi with the right to “consult” with the United States “regarding the possibility of amending” the terms of its nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States should another Middle Eastern country receive less restrictive terms.
Q: Could the United States negotiate guardrails to ensure that Saudi Arabia cannot seize a uranium enrichment plant to make fuel for nuclear weapons?
Any guardrails are vulnerable to defeat. Press reports have suggested that Washington and Riyadh have discussed several different guardrails, including remotely shutting down a future plant or providing some mechanism to destroy the centrifuges or the entire plant in the event of a takeover. But these provisions do not address the crucial problem: Once the technology is in Saudi Arabia, and if its engineers and experts gain experience operating the plant, Riyadh could use those lessons to build an entirely separate plant. Moreover, even if Saudi officials are not allowed inside the plant, it would be vulnerable to espionage.
It is also instructive that Saudi Arabia has pointed to the example of Aramco, which was a joint U.S.-Saudi oil venture that Riyadh eventually nationalized. Its takeover provides a stark reminder that any safeguards put in place for a “nuclear Aramco” can be discarded.
It is also worth noting that the United States had inspection rights at Taiwan’s nuclear facilities in the 1970s and 1980s, but this did not prevent Taipei from pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program. In the Saudi case, Washington might not have enough leverage, as it did with Taiwan, to shut down such a program.
Q: If the United States agrees to provide significant nuclear assistance to Saudi Arabia without uranium enrichment, can the IAEA ensure that the program remains peaceful?
The Saudis recently rescinded an outdated safeguards agreement with the IAEA, known as the Small Quantities Protocol. This rescindment enables suspended provisions of Riyadh’s comprehensive safeguards agreement to come into effect, thereby providing greater IAEA inspection rights at sites where Saudi Arabia will produce nuclear material. The rescindment also requires Riyadh to provide more information about its nuclear activities, including its planned nuclear expansion. Yet the Saudis still have not committed to signing a strong AP inspection agreement with the IAEA to allow the agency both to inspect nuclear-related sites where nuclear material is not present and to prevent Saudi diversion of assets or activities relevant to an atomic weapons program.

The Real Reason Hamas Carried Out Its October 7 Massacre
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/July 25, 2024
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20813/hamas-october-7-reason
The Hamas document [which purports to explain why it massacred 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023] lists a number of reasons, all of which can be easily refuted, as to why the terrorist group launched its attack on Israel.
This claim is totally untrue: there are absolutely no Israeli "plans" to split the Al-Aqsa Mosque into a Jewish and Muslim area or to convert it into a Jewish site.
The purported "plans" exist only in the imagination of Hamas and other Palestinians. It is simply part of a Palestinian campaign of defamation against Israel to try to justify the murder of Jews.
According to the "status quo," formulated by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1967, Jews would not be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount but would be able to visit the site.
While Israel has respected the status quo, Muslims have consistently violated it in an apparent attempt to deepen their hold on the holy site.
It is also important to note that Hamas and many Palestinians consider all Jews "settlers," regardless of whether they live in Tel Aviv, or in a settlement in the West Bank, or in New York.
Hamas further claims that it launched its attack because of "thousands of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails who are experiencing deprivation of their basic rights."
Most of the "detainees" Hamas is referring to are convicted terrorists who were imprisoned for murdering or attempting to murder people (usually Jews). For many years, these terrorist prisoners have enjoyed comfortable conditions, especially when it comes to entertainment and leisure. A variety of exercise equipment – including ping-pong tables, stationary bicycles and pull-up bars (in addition to chess) – is available. Each prison cell is equipped with a television, and the prisoners have access to at least 10 channels. Palestinian prisoners, in addition, are entitled to family visits and unlimited access to lawyers.
In contrast, both the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip have been accused by human rights organizations of "systematically torturing critics" in detention. A report published by Human Rights Watch in 2022 said: "PA and Hamas security forces routinely taunt and threaten detainees, use solitary confinement and beatings, including whipping their feet, and force detainees into painful stress positions for prolonged periods, including hoisting their arms behind their backs with cables or rope, to punish and intimidate critics and opponents and elicit confessions..."
As of October 7, 2023, an estimated 18,000 - 18,500 residents of the Gaza Strip held work permits issued by the Israeli authorities to enable them to work in Israel, where their pay is five times higher than in Gaza. As noted last month: "Many of those workers to whom Israel opened its doors were apparently working in Israel by day, and by night returning to Gaza and providing Hamas with highly detailed maps and drawings of every house in Israel's border communities, and reports about everyone in them, including the pet dogs."
Israel can only conclude that "no good deed goes unpunished."
Hamas also claims it launched its attack on Israel because of the "seven million Palestinians living in extreme conditions in refugee camps who wish to return to their lands." If the "refugees" are living in extreme conditions, it is because their leaders have failed to permit the building of new homes for them or to improve their living conditions. There is no reason why "refugee camps" continue to exist under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, under Hamas in the Gaza Strip or anyplace else.
The same abuse applies to the Arab countries hosting Palestinian "refugees": Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. What have these countries done to incorporate their Palestinian brethren? Nothing. There is no reason why a Palestinian living in an Arab country should be treated as a "refugee" or a second-class citizen.
Hamas, in its document, is actually stating that it sent its men to murder, rape and kidnap Jews because Israel refused to open its borders to millions of Palestinian "refugees" who are told to murder Jews and destroy the only Jewish state.
Finally, Hamas argues that it launched its attack because of the international community and world powers seeking to "prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state." This claim, of course, is completely false. In fact, most of the international community, including the United States, the EU, Russia and China, have long been pushing hard for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
If anyone is to blame for the failure of the "two-state solution," it is Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. The leaders of the PA were presented with multiple opportunities to create a state of their own, but each time declined Israel's offer of peace without so much as a counteroffer.
[I]is laughable to hear Hamas lament the failure of the "two-state solution." This is an organization whose charter openly calls for waging Jihad (holy war) to obliterate Israel... "Resistance and jihad for the liberation of Palestine will remain a legitimate right, a duty and an honour for all the sons and daughters of our people and our Ummah." – Article 23, of the "new, improved" Hamas Charter of 2017.
Hamas's attempt to defend its crimes against Israelis should be seen as part of its attempts to mislead and fool the international community.
The October 7 massacre was orchestrated by Hamas with the sole intent of slaughtering as many Jews as possible as part of its Jihad to destroy Israel. Period.
A Hamas document, full of false claims and fabrications, seeks to justify the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists and thousands of "ordinary" Palestinians who invaded Israeli communities near the border of the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
Earlier this year, the Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist group Hamas published a document titled "Our Narrative - Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" purporting to explain why it carried out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel during which thousands of Israelis were murdered, raped, tortured, burned alive, and kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
The document, full of false claims and fabrications, seeks to justify the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists and thousands of "ordinary" Palestinians who invaded Israeli communities near the border of the Gaza Strip that day.
The Hamas document lists a number of reasons, all of which can be easily refuted, as to why the terrorist group launched its attack on Israel.
Hamas claims it launched the attack in response to the "Israeli Judaization plans to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, its temporal and spatial division attempts, as well as the intensification of the Israeli settlers' incursions into the holy mosque."
This claim is totally untrue: there are absolutely no Israeli "plans" to split the Al-Aqsa Mosque into a Jewish and Muslim area or to convert it into a Jewish site.
The purported "plans" exist only in the imagination of Hamas and other Palestinians. It is simply part of a Palestinian campaign of defamation against Israel to try to justify the murder of Jews.
Since 1967, Israel has been committed to preserving the "status quo" at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by allowing the Islamic Waqf to manage the holy site, also known as the Temple Mount, sacred to both Muslims and Jews.
According to the "status quo," formulated by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1967, Jews would not be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount but would be able to visit the site.
While Israel has respected the status quo, the Muslims have consistently violated it in an apparent attempt to deepen their hold on the holy site.
Muslims have inaugurated four new mosques on the Temple Mount since 1967: the Dome of the Rock; the El-Marwani Mosque, located underground in Solomon's Stables; the "Ancient Al-Aqsa" Mosque, established in 1988 under the upper mosque; and the Gate of Mercy (Golden Gate) prayer area, set up and turned into a mosque in 2019.
It is equally false for Hamas to claim that "Israeli settlers' incursions into the holy mosques" are the reason behind the October 7 massacre. This claim relates to Jews visiting outdoor areas of the Temple Mount in peace and in conformity with the "status quo." Such tours have never been prohibited; they have been conducted regularly since 1967. The tours are not "incursions": they are coordinated with the Israeli Police and the authorities of the Islamic Waqf.
It is also important to note that the Jewish visitors do not enter any mosque, but only tour the grounds, outdoors, outside of the mosques.
It is also important to note that Hamas and many Palestinians consider all Jews "settlers," regardless of whether they live in Tel Aviv, or in a settlement in the West Bank, or in New York.
Hamas claims in its recent document that it launched its attack because Israel is "practically taking steps towards annexing the entire West Bank and Jerusalem." In 2020, however, the Israeli government, to facilitate the Abraham Accords normalization agreement between Israel, the US, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, suspended plans to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish communities in the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in fact, for agreeing to suspend the plans to apply Israeli law over the Jewish communities in the West Bank, faced scathing criticism from his political rivals.
In the end, it was the Israeli government that shelved the "annexation" plans in favor of normalization with the UAE and Bahrain. This agreement took place four years before the October 7 atrocities. Needless to say, on the eve of the Hamas-led attack, there was no talk in Israel about "annexation."
Hamas further claims that it launched its attack because of "thousands of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails who are experiencing deprivation of their basic rights."
Most of the "detainees" Hamas is referring to are convicted terrorists who were imprisoned for murdering or attempting to murder people (usually Jews). For many years, these terrorist prisoners have enjoyed comfortable conditions, especially when it comes to entertainment and leisure. A variety of exercise equipment – including ping-pong tables, stationary bicycles and pull-up bars (in addition to chess) – is available. Each prison cell is equipped with a television, and the prisoners have access to at least 10 channels. Palestinian prisoners, in addition, are entitled to family visits and unlimited access to lawyers.
In contrast, both the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip have been accused by human rights organizations of "systematically torturing critics" in detention. A report published by Human Rights Watch in 2022 said:
"PA and Hamas security forces routinely taunt and threaten detainees, use solitary confinement and beatings, including whipping their feet, and force detainees into painful stress positions for prolonged periods, including hoisting their arms behind their backs with cables or rope, to punish and intimidate critics and opponents and elicit confessions..."
The Hamas document claims that the October 7 attack came in response to "the unjust air, sea, and land blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip." In 2007, Hamas staged a coup and violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority. To prevent smuggling and the infiltration of terrorists, Israel and Egypt tightened their border crossings with Gaza and placed restrictions on shipping. Israel and Egypt did not impose a "blockade" on the Gaza Strip for no reason.
After Israel, asking for nothing in return, gave complete control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority in 2005 and Hamas seized control of it, Hamas proceeded to bombard with thousands of rockets, mortars and other terrorist attacks.
In recent years, Israel, despite the ongoing terrorist attacks by Hamas and other terror groups, took a series of steps to ease restrictions on the Gaza Strip. These measures included issuing permits for working in Israel to thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. As of October 7, 2023, an estimated 18,000 - 18,500 residents of the Gaza Strip held work permits issued by the Israeli authorities to enable them to work in Israel, where their pay is five times higher than in Gaza. As noted last month:
"Many of those workers to whom Israel opened its doors were apparently working in Israel by day, and by night returning to Gaza and providing Hamas with highly detailed maps and drawings of every house in Israel's border communities, and reports about everyone in them, including the pet dogs."
Israel can only conclude that "no good deed goes unpunished."
Hamas also claims it launched its attack on Israel because of the "seven million Palestinians living in extreme conditions in refugee camps who wish to return to their lands." If the "refugees" are living in extreme conditions, it is because their leaders have failed to permit the building of new homes for them or to improve their living conditions. There is no reason why "refugee camps" continue to exist under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, under Hamas in the Gaza Strip or anyplace else. No one prevented these two parties from facilitating the building of new homes for the "refugees."
Sadly, both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have always had an interest in keeping their people living in "refugee camps" to intensify their "victimhood" and make them "better beggars" for the CNN television crews. That way Israel can be blamed, not the Arab leaders. Palestinian officials also seem still to be hoping that one day they will be able to flood Israel with millions of Palestinians as part of a plan to eliminate Israel and turn the Jews into a minority in their own country.
The same abuse applies to the Arab countries hosting Palestinian "refugees": Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. What have these countries done to integrate their Palestinian brethren since 1948? Nothing. There is no reason why Palestinians living in an Arab country should be treated as "refugees" or a second-class citizens for nearly 80 years.
Here is what Human Rights Watch had to say about the conditions of Palestinian "refugees" in Lebanon:
"In Lebanon, many Palestinians are preoccupied with basic survival, overwhelmed by poor physical conditions in the refugee camps, pervasive poverty, high unemployment and underemployment, and inadequate medical services. Successive Lebanese governments have consistently opposed the permanent resettlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and state policies reflect this stance, denying virtually all social and economic rights. In addition, the state has prohibited the expansion of existing refugee camps, which contributes to overcrowding and illegal and unsafe building of additional stories on existing structures.
"One of the most frequently heard complaints from Palestinians in Lebanon concerns restrictions on the right to work. Palestinians, like other foreigners, must obtain annual work permits from the labor ministry in order to be employed legally. Possession of a work permit affords foreign workers protection under Lebanon's labor law with respect to workers rights and benefits. However, these permits are extremely difficult for Palestinians to obtain: permits are issued annually to Palestinians by the hundreds while for other foreign workers in Lebanon they are issued by the thousands. (Hundreds of thousands of Syrian workers in Lebanon, in contrast, require no work permits.) The difficulty in obtaining work permits forces many Palestinians into the underground economy and leaves others open to exploitation by private employers. For example, a Palestinian teacher with fourteen years' experience and a university degree from Egypt told Human Rights Watch that Palestinians can obtain teaching jobs in private schools in Lebanon without a work permit, but they earn salaries significantly lower than their Lebanese counterparts and have no job security or worker benefits. The situation of women workers is particularly difficult. Palestinian women who work in the garment industry in Beirut and Sidon, for example, are paid below the minimum wage and earn half the salary of Lebanese citizens. Because the Palestinians do not have work permits, they do not receive the benefits provided to Lebanese employees, including medical insurance.
"In addition, various legal barriers prohibit Palestinians from practicing in Lebanon as doctors, pharmacists, engineers, lawyers or journalists. Laws, decrees, and regulations of professional associations specify that members must hold Lebanese nationality for at least ten years or that there must be reciprocity of treatment for Lebanese professionals in the country of citizenship of the foreign professional applying to practice in Lebanon. For example, the journalists' syndicate restricts membership to those who have been Lebanese citizens for at least ten years, as does the bar association. Medical, pharmacy, and engineering associations in Lebanon all have regulations that require reciprocal treatment as conditions for membership, which by definition excludes Palestinians who are stateless. These rules open the door for exploitation of some Palestinian professionals, such as engineers..."
Hamas, in its document, is actually stating that it sent its men to murder, rape and kidnap Jews because Israel refused to open its borders to millions of Palestinian "refugees" who are told to murder Jews and destroy the only Jewish state.
Finally, Hamas argues that it launched its attack because of the international community and world powers seeking to "prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state." This claim, of course, is completely false. In fact, most of the international community, including the United States, the EU, Russia and China, have long been pushing hard for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
If anyone is to blame for the failure of the "two-state solution," it is Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. The leaders of the PA were presented with multiple opportunities to create a state of their own, but each time declined Israel's offer of peace without so much as a counteroffer.
Instead of working to establish a state for their people, Palestinian leaders Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas were more concerned with maintaining their positions of authority and benefiting themselves and their cohorts.
Hamas, for its part, has opposed the "two-state solution" because it seeks to establish an Islamist terror state in place of Israel.
For this reason, it is laughable to hear Hamas lament the failure of the "two-state solution." This is an organization whose charter openly calls for waging Jihad (holy war) to obliterate Israel. This is an organization that has ceaselessly voiced opposition to the "two-state solution" or any peace process with Israel. Hamas has repeatedly vowed to pursue Jihad, an armed struggle, against Israel:
"Resistance and jihad for the liberation of Palestine will remain a legitimate right, a duty and an honour for all the sons and daughters of our people and our Ummah." – Article 23, of the "new, improved" Hamas Charter of 2017.
Hamas's attempt to defend its crimes against Israelis should be seen as part of its attempts to mislead and fool the international community. Hamas wants the world to believe that its attack was an act of self-defense against Israel. It wants everyone to believe that Israel is responsible for the attack because of its purported "plans" against a mosque in Jerusalem.
The October 7 massacre was orchestrated by Hamas with the sole intent of slaughtering as many Jews as possible as part of its Jihad to destroy Israel. Period.
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. The work of Bassam Tawil is made possible through the generous donation of a couple of donors who wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Violence Continues to Plague Israeli Arab Communities
David May & Noy Barel/The Algemeiner/July 25/ 2024
Medics found Khaled Ahmed Hussein’s black pickup truck wrapped around a tree in Deir Hanna in northern Israel; the front windows were shattered. Assailants shot and killed Hussein, the cousin of the town council chief, last week.
Hussein was the 124th Arab citizen of Israel to be murdered since the start of the year, putting 2024 on pace to be the bloodiest year on record for the country’s Arab communities. Hussein’s murder illustrates the checkered progress of a minority that comprises around 20 percent of Israel’s population.
Prior to Hamas’ October 7 massacre, Israeli Arabs were enduring a wave of internal violence. 2023 was by far the deadliest year for Israeli Arab communities, eclipsing the previous year’s record number of killings. The situation had gotten so bad that community leaders, normally reluctant to involve the state in internal matters, asked Israeli intelligence services to help.
Most of the killings have resulted from gang violence or intimidation. This violence is filling the vacuum left by Israel’s crackdown on Jewish crime families in the early 2000s. Even politicians and their families have increasingly become targets, possibly to intimidate them into giving criminals free rein. In a separate incident on the day of Hussein’s murder, an Israeli court indicted two cousins for murdering a security guard for Taybeh’s mayor back in April.
An inability to repay loansharking debts has led to many of these murders. In some cases, Israeli Arabs borrow from within their community out of distrust or disdain for the formal Israeli banking system. But Israeli banks can also be reluctant to meet the borrowing needs of Israeli Arabs, who often lack the collateral needed to secure loans. Relatedly, Israeli Arab communities tend to suffer from state neglect, inferior education, and high poverty rates. But internal factors, such as the breakdown of family structures and high indebtedness, have also led to this problem.
Hamas’ deadly October 7 rampage through southern Israel overshadowed the internal Arab violence. The terrorist group did not discriminate between Arabs and Jews. To Hamas, both were Israeli and therefore marked for death.
That dark day also witnessed rays of hope and humanity, as Israeli Arabs risked their lives to rescue their Jewish compatriots. For example, Hamas murdered medic Awad Darawshe as he treated wounded Israelis. Many Israeli Arabs are serving in the Israeli army, and some have even paid the ultimate price to defend the state.
An Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) poll published in November 2023 found that 70 percent of Israeli Arabs felt connected to the state, up from 48 percent before the war. And internal violence plummeted in the final two months of 2023.
But perhaps that was a blip. Some Israeli Arabs might have temporarily felt a sense of unity and loyalty. An increased police presence and Israeli security forces’ elevated alertness might have convinced crime families to lay low. But now the murders have resumed, and a March IDI poll found that Israeli Arab affiliation with the state reverted to its pre-war levels.
Progress for the Arab sector in Israel has been on a whiplash trajectory for years. In March 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used Arab high voter turnout as a political bogeyman. But in December, his government allocated billions of dollars to the Arab sector, ameliorating the “poverty and underdevelopment” that have contributed to the “acute crisis of violence and crime,” according to a leading non-profit focused on Israeli Arabs.
During Israel’s clash with Hamas in May 2021, some Arabs in mixed cities launched attacks on their Jewish neighbors. Weeks later, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid shattered the taboo on including Arabs in the governing coalition. The new approach bore fruit in October, when the Bennett-Lapid coalition allocated even more money to the Arab sector and launched a five-year plan to curb violence and crime in Israeli Arab communities.
However, at a time of heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Benjamin Netanyahu tried to make the coalition’s inclusion of an Arab party a political liability. This, coupled with destabilizing moves by the Arab party, contributed to the government’s downfall. Netanyahu’s new government froze — but ultimately released — $50 million from the Bennett-Lapid plan. In a more symbolic development, on July 7, the Netanyahu government approved the establishment of Israel’s first museum of Arab culture.
But some Israeli Arab extremists have played a part in stunting their integration into Israeli society. In October, the Arab owner of a bike shop in Taybeh donated bikes to nearby Jewish kids affected by the Hamas attacks. A few days later, Israeli Arab extremists looted and torched his shop. And since October 7, such extremists have carried out numerous attacks on their Jewish countrymen, creating further distrust and tension among their respective communities.Progress in Israeli Arab integration has often been two steps forward and one step back, and sometimes even one step forward and two steps back. With the post-October 7 moment of unity now in the rearview mirror, the state must work hard to gain the trust of its Arab citizens. But Israeli Arabs must also diligently secure their integration; integration is a two-way street. This is the only way Arabs and Jews can live securely in their shared country.
*David May is a research manager and senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Noy Barel is a research intern. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. Follow David on X @DavidSamuelMay. Follow FDD on X @FDD.

What does the public have to say about Netanyahu's speech to Congress?
Gadi Zaig/Jerusalem Post/July 25/2024
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-811777
It is estimated that more than 80 Democratic politicians in Congress will not come to watch the speech.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress received many reactions from the US, Israel, Gaza, and many areas across the world.
Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Wednesday that Netanyahu's speech shows he does not want to conclude a ceasefire deal.
"Netanyahu's speech was full of lies, and it will not succeed in covering up for the failure and defeat in the face of the resistance to cover up for the crimes of the war of genocide his army is committing against the people of Gaza," Abu Zuhri said. Protests and criticism from Israel
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged Netanyahu to open his speech in Congress with the words: "45 minutes of speech and applause won't erase the one sad fact: the words 'Deal Now!' were absent from the Prime Minister's address. There was also no mention of the 120 hostages who, once again tonight, will not return home." The forum said in a statement that they hoped to hear the Prime Minister utter the two crucial words.
A recent survey from last week saw that support for a ceasefire-hostage release deal jumped to nearly 72%. 120 hostages still remain in Gaza. Hundreds of protesters and families of hostages are demonstrating at the US Embassy, as well as Hostages' Square, where demonstrators lead a march from there to Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv before Netanyahu's speech Leader of the opposition MK Yair Lapid said in a video statement, "We heard Netanyahu talk about October 7 as if he has no idea who the prime minister was and who was responsible for the disaster."
"He [Netanyahu] had the chance to announce that he accepted the hostage deal and return the hostages before they all die in the tunnels. He did not do this. It was best for everyone if he would have stayed home and treated the hostages in Gaza and the evacuees from the North," Lapid added.
Democrats chairman Yair Golan wrote on X, "Hostage deal!"
Positive reactions to Netanyahu
Israeli President Isaac Herzog "welcomed Prime Minister Netanyahu's important speech before the joint session of US Congress. The immediate and urgent return of the hostages must be at the heart of the world agenda, as must the global threat from the Iranian evil and terrorist empire - and it’s important to reiterate this before the elected leaders of our greatest and most important ally." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, "The Jewish and Israeli hearts of all of us are moved and filled with pride by the high status of the Prime Minister who represents us with sharp and clear words and by the warm welcome that reflects a deep and wonderful partnership between the State of Israel and the United States of America."
Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz said, "The moving and important speech of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the enormous sympathy of the members of Congress are the evidence of the strength of the alliance between the US and Israel. Am Yisrael Chai." The Israeli American Council made note that Israel is the "only country in the world whose leaders have addressed joint meetings of the United States Congress 10 times" with Netanyahu's fourth time addressing Congress exceeding Britain's Winston Churchill's three speeches.
The nonprofit organization said that the relations between the two countries "was forged by the Judeo-Christian values on which they were built, strengthened through a deep spiritual resonance between each nation’s sense of purpose.
"America has no better friend than Israel, and Israel has no better friend than America."
*Reuters contributed to this report.

In Netanyahu’s triumphal moment, the heartbreak and disdain of the outside world creeps in
Ron Kampeas/JTA/Jerusalem Post/July 25/2024
The speech itself broke little ground: It was long on crowd-pleasing rhetoric but offered few new plans or positions.
The joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, at times, felt like Benjamin Netanyahu’s happy place: The Israeli prime minister got more than 40 standing ovations for an hourlong speech extolling the necessity of the US-Israel alliance.
But the world outside the US Capitol on Wednesday was unforgiving, and it padded silently into his speech. It infringed on his moment when family members of the hostages held in Gaza were arrested in the chamber’s gallery for protesting him. It showed in the absence of close to 70 lawmakers, out of 535, from the chamber. Inside the chamber, he got a cold shoulder and lacerating criticism from members of Congress who once would have fawned over him.
Netanyahu delivered his fourth speech to a joint meeting of Congress, a history-making record for any world leader. He reveled in the applause; he is under pressure at home, where vast majorities favor a deal that would release hostages in exchange for a ceasefire. The Biden administration, which wholeheartedly backed Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, has soured on Netanyahu, saying he shifts the goalposts on the proposed ceasefire deal, and that his government has obstructed the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
It was only on Tuesday, after he got to Washington, that Netanyahu was able to secure meetings with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, who will face each other in the presidential election in November. Even Trump, whom Netanyahu lavishly praised in the speech, seemed ready to troll him. The former president posted on social media a friendly exchange with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president whom Netanyahu has worked to marginalize. The speech itself broke little ground: It was long on crowd-pleasing rhetoric but offered few new plans or positions. The Biden administration has long been seeking a “day after” scenario following the war, and Netanyahu spoke only in the vaguest of terms about a grand NATO-like alliance between Israel and Arab countries with American backing. Families of the hostages, dozens of whom were in Washington for the speech, had said they would consider the visit a failure if he did not announce a deal to free the captives. He did not even mention a deal directly. Netanyahu’s vow to “destroy Hamas’ military capabilities” got one of 44 standing ovations. But the parents of two young hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin and Omer Neutra, sat and stared at Netanyahu, hands still, faces frozen.
At other points in the speech at least two hostage family members who had been invited to attend stood up wearing yellow T-shirts saying “Seal the Deal Now.” They were handcuffed and escorted out of the gallery. Netanyahu occasionally looked up at the gallery at his wife, Sara, and a hostage Israeli soldiers recently rescued, Noa Argamani, about whom he spoke at length. Behind Argamani was Netanyahu’s special guest, billionaire Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter in 2022 and has long courted accusations of antisemitism.
Who's missing?
J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East lobby, counted 68 Democrats and one Republican who boycotted the speech, more than the 58 Democrats who were absent when Netanyahu last appeared at a joint meeting in 2015. At that time, he was directly rebuking President Barack Obama, whereas on Wednesday every mention of Biden was made in praise.
(He did chide Biden, without naming him, for slow-walking the delivery of weapons to Israel, a claim he’s made before and that the administration has disputed.)
Among the boycotters were party leaders and Jewish lawmakers who would, 10 years ago, never have dared to skip a speech by an Israeli leader. Among them were former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has a longstanding close relationship with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee; Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee; and Jewish lawmakers Reps. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Sara Jacobs of California, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon and Becca Balint of Vermont, as well as Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Brian Schatz of Hawaii.
Pelosi later called the speech “by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.”There was a coldness even among those present. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Jewish Democrat and Senate majority leader, barely acknowledged Netanyahu when they passed each other. Earlier this year, he said the Israeli prime minister had “lost his way” and called for early Israeli elections. He stood when Johnson introduced Netanyahu but stared ahead and did not applaud.
New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, the longest-serving Jewish congressman in this Congress, called Netanyahu the worst Jewish leader in more than two millennia this week. Before the speech on Wednesday, he sat in the chamber reading a biography of the prime minister, “The Netanyahu Years,” written by one of Netanyahu’s most excoriating Israeli critics, Ben Caspit.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the Palestinian-American Michigan Democrat, sat silently throughout the speech. When she wasn’t examining her phone, she held up a small sign: One side said “war criminal,” the other side said “guilty of genocide.” Clerks asked her to stop; she did, for a while, and then resumed.
Jewish Democrats who have been among the strongest and most consistent supporters of Israel were turned off by the speech. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida said she was left wanting to know more about Netanyahu’s plans to end the war, return the hostages and prepare for the day after. She suggested that she was unsettled by the speech’s attacks on American university protests, as well as Netanyahu’s lavish praise for Trump.
“Unfortunately, I left his speech still seeking more details on what his plan is to deliver on those goals, and thought it was unnecessary for him to inject comment on US domestic politics,” she said.
Many of the lawmakers who were absent attended a meeting earlier in the day convened by Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, one of the most influential Democrats in Congress, where they heard from families of hostages who were unhappy with Netanyahu and his perceived reluctance to take a deal.
Biden invited hostage families to join part of his meeting with Netanyahu on Thursday. The families came away from a meeting on Monday where they felt he barely acknowledged their demands. “I would say number one, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been talking about complete victory for most of the last 291 days,” Jon Polin, Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s father, said Tuesday evening at a meeting with reporters. “I still don’t know what the definition is of complete victory. I know the definition of total failure and that is not bringing home hostages.”The streets between the Watergate hotel, where Netanyahu was staying, and the Capitol were packed with protesters chanting “genocide,” managing at times to breach barriers as Netanyahu’s motorcade sped under the cloud-streaked sky.
Netanyahu’s day started at the stately Washington Hebrew Congregation, at a memorial for Joe Lieberman, the Jewish American statesman who died in March. The memorial had been planned before Republican Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana invited Netanyahu to speak but was then shifted to a more secure venue and a more accommodating time of day.
Lieberman was known as a man who straddled ideologies — for years a Democrat and then an independent who campaigned in 2008 for his friend, the Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain.
The memorial was a bipartisan reunion of sorts of people who once shared a vision of a robust American foreign policy, and of working when possible across the aisle.
Jack Lew, the current ambassador to Israel, was present, as were Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine. Lew sat next to John Bolton, a hawkish foreign policy official who served in the Trump and George W. Bush administrations.
“He was an American patriot and a proud Jew who steadfastly stood with Israel and the Jewish people, especially during trying times,” Netanyahu said. “And it’s precisely during these trying times that I miss him even more.”
Al Gore, the sitting vice president in 2000 who chose Lieberman as his running mate, described Lieberman’s commitment to tikkun olam, the Jewish precept to repair the world. “Here in America, we continue to grapple with the vitriol and fear that have threatened to drive us apart,” Gore said. “Around the world, democracy is under threat. Humanity itself faces an existential crisis of our own making. People continue to use the sky as an open source. These parallel crises begs the question, can the world be repaired? Can we muster the courage to reject the rancor that threatens to divide us?”
Netanyahu then delivered his brief remarks and exited. His motorcade sped past the protesters. Later, in his speech, as they railed at him outside, he quipped that they had “officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”
Inside the Capitol, the line was met with roaring applause.