English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For November 29/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry
First Letter of Peter 04/01-11:”Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme. But they will have to give an account to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does. The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power for ever and ever.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 28-29/2024
Their concepts and standards of victories are both pitiful and heartbreaking/Elias Bejjani/November 28/2024
Hezbollah is a criminal, terrorist, corrupt, and sectarian organization—an enemy of Lebanon, humanity, and civilization/Elias Bejjani/November 26/2024
Video & Text: A Critique of the Flawed and Sinful Ceasefire Between Israel and the Terrorist Hezbollah/Elias Bejjani/November 27/ 2024
Video Link: An Interview with Dr. Charles Chartouni on “DNA” Platform Discussing Current National, Sovereign, and Constitutional Issues
Etienne Saqr (Abu Arz): Obstinacy and Deception
3,961 dead, 16,520 wounded in 13 months of conflict
Netanyahu threatens renewed war on Lebanon if ceasefire violated
Lebanon's parliament renews army chief's term in first session after ceasefire
Israel and Hezbollah trade accusations of ceasefire violations
Day 2 of Israel ceasefire with Hezbollah/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Face Book/November 28/2024
Lebanon says 2 hurt as Israeli troops fire on people returning south after truce with Hezbollah
Hochstein criticized in Israel as he says truce 'permanent', Lebanon occupation 'fantasy'
Le Drian attends parliament session before meeting Berri, Mikati
Army deploys in south Lebanon under ceasefire deal
Israeli airstrikes leave massive trail of destruction across Lebanon
Israel again warns against nighttime movement in south Litani area
Swiss decide against banning Hezbollah
Comparison of Hezbollah and Israeli Losses: Civilian and Military in the Two-Month War
Ben Gvir Urges Netanyahu to Continue Fighting in Lebanon and Occupy Gaza
Halevi: Ceasefire in Lebanon Will Be Enforced "With Fire" to Ensure Residents’ Return
Lebanon awaits the political consequences of peace/Nadim Shehadi/Arab News/November 28, 2024
One-third of Israelis were reportedly exposed to Hezbollah's attacks, which damaged 2,874 civilian structures with rockets and drones./Israel Declares Second Curfew in Southern Lebanon After Ceasefire
Lebanese Army Begins Clearing Roads and Explosives in the South, Bekaa, and Dahieh
Airstrikes North of Litani After Ceasefire in Lebanon… War Losses Reach $13 Billion
Royal Jordanian, Ethiopian Airlines to resume flights to Lebanon, Gulf carriers delay decisions

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 28-29/2024
More than 130 killed as Syrian rebels seize territory from army in Aleppo province
Syrian and Russian jets bomb rebel-held northwest Syria
Syrian rebels launch large-scale attack on government forces in Aleppo province
Syrian and Russian jets bomb rebel-held northwest Syria
Former British soldier who broke out of prison is convicted of spying for Iran
44,330 Gazans killed in more than 13 months of war
Israeli foreign minister looks to Washington to punish the ICC
Israel steps up bombing of central Gaza, strikes kill 21 people
Palestinian leader Abbas lays ground for succession
Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at New York Thanksgiving parade
Exclusive-Iran plans new uranium-enrichment expansion, IAEA report says
Georgia suspends talks on joining the EU for 4 years, accusing the bloc of blackmail
Pakistani police issues charges against Imran Khan and his wife for inciting violence

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on November 28-29/2024
Thought Police/Daniel Greenfield/Gatestone Institute/November 28, 2024
Obama Plays a Dead Man’s Hand in Lebanon, and Wins ...Rising up from his political grave, the ex-president cements a U.S. partnership with Iran in Lebanon while Israel meekly gives up its gains/Tony Badran/The Tablet/November 28/ 2024
Iraq’s water crisis and the need for global action/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/November 28, 2024
Will North Korean soft power return to the Middle East?/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/November 28, 2024
The ‘Reagan question’ is infallible ... even in Ireland/Ross Anderson/Arab News/November 28, 2024
The northern front cease-fire: Weighing the pros and cons/Amir Avivi/Ynetnews/November 28/2024

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 28-29/2024
Their concepts and standards of victories are both pitiful and heartbreaking
Elias Bejjani/November 28/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/11/137354/
What victory are they talking about? And what victory are they celebrating?
These individuals, according to all scientific and human standards, are afflicted with denial, delusions, and hallucinations. They are in desperate need of psychological and mental treatment, as well as intensive and long-term rehabilitation.

Hezbollah is a criminal, terrorist, corrupt, and sectarian organization—an enemy of Lebanon, humanity, and civilization
Elias Bejjani/November 26/2024
To save Lebanon from the catastrophes caused by the merchants of hypocrisy, deceit, and the fraudulent resistance narrative, Hezbollah must be brought to justice. This Iranian-backed jihadist group must be disarmed, stripped of its ability to operate politically, socially, religiously, and militarily on Lebanese soil, and firmly designated as a criminal and terrorist organization worldwide.

Elias Bejjani/Video & Text: A Critique of the Flawed and Sinful Ceasefire Between Israel and the Terrorist Hezbollah
Elias Bejjani/November 27/ 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/11/137307/
The ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Hezbollah prioritizes Israel's security while neglecting Lebanon's.
The ceasefire agreement brokered between Israel and the terrorist Hezbollah, under the auspices of the United States and other international actors, is not a minor lapse or a momentary oversight. It is a catastrophic and unforgivable failure that ignores the existential threat posed by this jihadist militia, which operates as a proxy for Iran's mullah regime. Hezbollah's mission is to dismantle Lebanon, transform it into a subservient Iranian satellite, and impose a sectarian, regressive order while simultaneously undermining regional peace and stability. Globally, it serves Tehran’s ambitions, conducting terrorist operations in pursuit of the mullahs’ dreams of hegemony and a revived Persian empire.
By ceasing its military campaign prematurely, Israel squandered a golden opportunity to eradicate this Iranian proxy. This failure is particularly glaring given the unprecedented regional and international support available to achieve such a decisive outcome. For decades, Hezbollah has devastated Lebanon, jeopardized its sovereignty, and threatened stability across the Middle East. Israel’s retreat before completing the mission will likely have dire consequences that extend far beyond Lebanon’s borders.
Since the Syrian occupation ended in 2005, Hezbollah has transformed Lebanon into an Iranian outpost—a warehouse for arms, a battlefield for Tehran’s wars, and a hub for global terrorism. It thrives on illicit activities, including arms smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering, and assassinations, all executed with impunity. Under Hezbollah’s dominion, Lebanon has become a failed state, its government, parliament, judiciary, and even religious authorities reduced to tools of its occupation.
For nearly two decades, Lebanon’s population has endured unimaginable suffering: economic collapse, political paralysis, judicial corruption, theft of bank deposits, and a reign of terror marked by assassinations and coercion. The Lebanese people are now hostages in their own country, their fate manipulated by Hezbollah’s whims and Tehran’s directives.
The current ceasefire does nothing to resolve these core issues. Instead, it delays the inevitable resurgence of violence. The only viable solution lies in decisive international action, including the invocation of Chapter VII of the UN Charter to declare Lebanon a failed and rogue state. The United Nations must assume temporary governance, enforce UN resolutions, The Armistice, Accord, 1559, 1680, and 1701, and take comprehensive measures to disarm and dismantle all militias—starting with Hezbollah. Restoring the Lebanese Army as the sole military authority and empowering the Lebanese people to rebuild their nation free from the grip of Iranian occupation are essential steps to reclaim sovereignty.
Hezbollah’s continued existence poses a direct threat not only to Lebanon’s future but also to Israel’s security and the stability of the entire region. Allowing this terrorist organization to survive in any capacity guarantees that Lebanon will remain an Iranian proxy, a battleground for Tehran’s ambitions, and a platform for global terrorism.
We warn the international community: Hezbollah and its Iranian masters cannot be trusted to honor any agreements. Hezbollah epitomizes evil—corrupt, sectarian, and fundamentally opposed to peace, humanity, and civilization. Turning a blind eye to its crimes under the guise of a ceasefire is a betrayal of Lebanon, Israel, and the Middle East at large.
In conclusion, half-measures are no longer an option. The international community must abandon the illusion of temporary solutions and confront the root of the problem. Only decisive action—disarming Hezbollah and restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty—can secure lasting peace and stability in the region. Anything less is a grave disservice to Lebanon, Israel, and the world.

Video Link: An Interview with Dr. Charles Chartouni on “DNA” Platform Discussing Current National, Sovereign, and Constitutional Issues
November 28/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/11/137372/
Key Points from Dr. Charles Chartouni’s Interview
(Summary and Editing by Elias Bejjani, with complete freedom)
Ceasefire Agreement
Analysis of its pros, cons, implementation potential, and the role of the Lebanese Army.
High likelihood that the ceasefire will be temporary, with a return to violence expected.
Hezbollah and the Ceasefire Agreement
Hezbollah’s commitment to the agreement is entirely dependent on Iran, with ambiguous positions.
A potential internal shift by Hezbollah could lead to chaos or even civil war.
The Shiite Community and Hezbollah
A clear distinction between the Shiite community and Hezbollah as an organization is still missing.
The Shiite community has yet to condemn the war waged by Hezbollah, which devastated the country.
Lebanese Losses
The war was a devastating loss for all Lebanese, with no winners.
Political Negotiations
Nabih Berri and Najib Mikati negotiated as de facto powers, not as legitimate representatives of Lebanon, due to their lack of constitutional authorization.
Role of the Lebanese Army
Lebanon is bound by the ceasefire agreement to grant the army full authority to confiscate Hezbollah’s weapons and prevent it from acting as a parallel army.
Failure to fulfill this commitment could prompt Israel to resume hostilities.
Internal Stances
The positions of Hezbollah-aligned de facto rulers remain ambiguous and manipulative.
The Lebanese opposition is fragmented, lacking a unified agenda, which undermines its effectiveness.
Judicial Manipulation
The judiciary still targeting sovereignists and opponents of Hezbollah’s Occupation & Hegemony
There is a need to take Legal actions against Hezbollah, Nabih Berri, Najib Mikati, security agencies, and officials who violated the constitution by dragging Lebanon into catastrophic ventures without legal justification.

Etienne Saqr (Abu Arz): Obstinacy and Deception
(Free translation from Arabic by Elias Bejjani, editor & Publisher of the LCCC website)
November 28, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/11/137385/
A statement issued by the Guardians of the Cedar Party - Lebanese Nationalist Movement
Hezbollah and its followers' insistence on clinging to a false narrative of victory is nothing more than a desperate attempt to delay facing the truth, evade admitting failure, and cover up the heavy price paid by the nation and its people.
Hezbollah who is facing unprecedented internal depletion and decline in popularity as a result of its wrong choices, empty slogans, and "Captagonic" delusions is destined to meet its inevitable end.
To address this plague called Hezbollah, we must take the following steps:
1. Strengthening the state and its legitimate institutions by empowering the Lebanese Army and security forces to be the sole authority responsible for carrying arms and maintaining security in the country.
2. Dismantling militias and gradually confiscating their illegal weapons through domestic and international pressure to bring these weapons under state authority.
3. Activating international resolutions, starting with Resolution 1559, and placing it under Chapter VII, as well as revitalizing the popular movement, national forces, and supporting political gatherings that present a unifying Lebanese national discourse far from sectarianism, and personal interests.
4. Finding economic and social solutions to alleviate the living suffering that burdens the Lebanese people and which Hezbollah exploits to consolidate its influence, and developing a clear strategy to rebuild the Lebanese economy and strengthen the middle class, which forms the strong foundation for social stability.
5. Activating mechanisms of legal accountability and holding accountable those who betrayed Lebanon and contributed to its destruction, while enshrining the principles of social and economic justice.
History confirms that any force that builds its existence on repression, terrorism, and deception, and distances itself from the interests of the people, is destined to fall... and Hezbollah is no exception.
Long Live Lebanon, Lebanon
Key Points of the Statement
Abu Arz is highly critical of Hezbollah, accusing it of false narratives, failure, and harming Lebanon.
Abu Arz calls for strengthening the Lebanese state and its institutions, particularly the army and security forces.
Abu Arz strongly advocates for the disarmament of militias and bringing all weapons under state control.
Abu Arz calls for international pressure to be exerted on Hezbollah to comply with international resolutions.
The statement emphasizes the need for economic and social reforms to alleviate the suffering of the Lebanese people.
Abu Arz calls for holding those accountable who have harmed Lebanon.

3,961 dead, 16,520 wounded in 13 months of conflict
Agence France Presse/November 28, 2024
Lebanon's health ministry said on Thursday that 3,961 people had been killed and 16,520 wounded in more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war. "The total number of dead and wounded since the start of the aggression until Tuesday reached 3,961 dead and 16,520 wounded," a ministry statement said, adding that the increased numbers were also due to "dead being removed from under the rubble".

Netanyahu threatens renewed war on Lebanon if ceasefire violated
Naharnet/November 28, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel's Channel 14 in an interview that he has instructed the army to prepare for a large-scale war in Lebanon should the ceasefire be violated. "I did not say that what's happening is an end to the war, but rather a ceasefire, which might be brief," Netanyahu added. He also said the threat of a Hezbollah land invasion into northern Israel "has been removed" and that he will seek to convince residents of this.

Lebanon's parliament renews army chief's term in first session after ceasefire
Associated Press/November 28, 2024
Lebanon's parliament Thursday renewed the term of army chief Joseph Aoun, who is seen as a potential presidential candidate in next year's vote.
The parliament has seldom met since Israel’s war with Hezbollah began 14 months ago, and has not convened to try to elect a president since June 2023, leaving the country in a political gridlock. Thursday’s session is the first since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday which has left the Lebanese military responsible for ensuring Hezbollah militants leave the country's south and its facilities dismantled. The army is expected to receive international aid to help deploy troops to deploy in the south to exert full state control there. Gen. Joseph Aoun is seen as a likely presidential candidate due to his close relationship with the international community and his hold on an institution that is seen as a rare point of unity in the country facing political and sectarian tensions. Lebanon has been without a president since Oct. 31, 2022. It is unclear whether the decision to renew Aoun's term will impact his chances as Lebanon's next president. Hezbollah and some of its key allies and their legislators have been skeptical of a Aoun presidency due to his close relationship with Washington. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who spearheaded negotiations with the United States to end the war, also called for parliament to convene on Jan. 9, 2025 to elect a president, the first attempt in almost 19 months. French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, tasked by French President Emmanuel Macron with helping Lebanon break its political deadlock, observed the session before meeting with Berri and later caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Berri, in an address Wednesday, urged political parties to pick a president that will bring Lebanon's rival groups together, in a bid to keep the war-torn and financially battered country from further deteriorating amid fears of internal political tensions between Hezbollah and its political opponents following the war. The militant group's opponents, who believe Hezbollah should be completely disarmed, are furious that it made the unilateral decision to go to war with Israel in solidarity with its ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel and Hezbollah trade accusations of ceasefire violations
Maya Gebeily/BEIRUT (Reuters)/November 28, 2024
Israel and Hezbollah traded accusations that their ceasefire had been breached on Thursday, a day after a truce went into effect halting more than a year of fighting in Lebanon. The Israeli military said the ceasefire, brokered by the United States and France, was violated after what it called suspects, some in vehicles, arrived at several areas in the southern zone. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah accused Israel of violating the deal. "The Israeli enemy is attacking those returning to the border villages," Fadlallah told reporters after a parliament session, adding, "there are violations today by Israel, even in this form".Israeli tank fire hit six areas within that border strip on Thursday morning, striking Markaba, Wazzani and Kfarchouba, Khiyam, Taybe and the agricultural plains around Marjayoun, state media and Lebanese security sources said. All of the areas lie within two kilometres (1.24 miles) of the Blue Line demarcating the border between Lebanon and Israel. One of the security sources said two people were wounded in Markaba. Lebanese families displaced from their homes near the southern border have tried to return to check on their properties. But Israeli troops remain stationed within Lebanese territory in towns along the border and Reuters reporters heard surveillance drones flying over parts of southern Lebanon. There was no immediate comment on the tank rounds from Iran-backed Hezbollah or Israel, who have fought in parallel with the Gaza war. The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group in years. But Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, in response to the deadly Hamas-led raid on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 3,823 people and injured 15,859 others since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry said on Tuesday. Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights, and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli authorities. Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon but neither side can launch offensive operations.
RETURNING HOME
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to Lebanese villages near the border. Lebanon's speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, the top interlocutor for Lebanon in negotiating the deal, had said on Wednesday that residents could return home. Netanyahu waged the offensive against Hezbollah saying Israelis in the north of the country should be able to return after being evacuated because of rocket fire from Lebanon. Some 60,000 people evacuated from homes in the north have still not been directed to return. Hezbollah has said its fighters "remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy" and that its forces will monitor Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon "with their hands on the trigger".The group has been weakened by casualties and the killing of its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders by Israel. Announcing the Lebanon accord on Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he would now renew his push for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and urged Israel and Hamas to seize the moment. Months of efforts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress, and negotiations are currently on hold.
Israeli military strikes killed at least 21 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said, as forces stepped up their bombardment of central areas and tanks pushed deeper into the north and south of the enclave.

Day 2 of Israel ceasefire with Hezbollah
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Face Book/November 28/2024
Israel struck Hezbollah arms and targets without Hezbollah responding. Israel struck shipments inside Syria (Assad has shown inability to control his territory).
Hezbollah cannot declare victory because some 100 Lebanese villages remain within no-man’s land under Israeli military lockdown.
Hezbollah cannot resume war because that’ll displace, again, 100s of thousands who returned home on Day 1.
Speaker Berri announced 30 days for Lebanese parliament to agree on consensus President. If not, President will be elected (and let the one with more votes win). Hezbollah might lose control over presidency, essential for its control of Lebanon stage and legally justifying its armament.
State of Lebanon has 58 remaining days to disarm everyone in Lebanon except for military and police agencies that were listed by name in ceasefire deal Lebanon signed on (resistance or Hezbollah were not listed, no option for them to maintain arms).
A U.S.-led enforcement commission will try to help Lebanon get to the finish line (full enforcement of 1701 in remaining 58 days). If not, the current very favorable situation for Israel becomes permanent status quo.
Gaza will likely follow with a similar world-led commission to lead it out of war.
Normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia will become a real opportunity before Biden leaves office. Trump will likely host the signing ceremony in White House.
Mideast foreign policy is currently being beautifully coordinated between outgoing Dem Biden administration and incoming Rep Trump adminis

Lebanon says 2 hurt as Israeli troops fire on people returning south after truce with Hezbollah
AP/November 28, 2024
BEIRUT: At least two people were wounded by Israeli fire in southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to state media. The Israeli military said it had fired at people trying to return to certain areas on the second day of a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
The agreement, brokered by the United States and France, includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah militants are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded by Israeli fire in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. It said Israel fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties. An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side. The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce. A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight. More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon. Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted. In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.

Hochstein criticized in Israel as he says truce 'permanent', Lebanon occupation 'fantasy'
Naharnet/November 28, 2024
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein has dubbed a ceasefire deal that would allow Israeli troops to remain in Lebanon as an occupying force "a fantasy."Hochstein was criticized in Israel by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Benett wanted the deal to allow Israeli troops to remain in Lebanon in order to create a buffer zone. "If you choose to have a dead zone or a demilitarized zone, then you are there as an occupier, and you are not there in agreement; which means that while you may have two, three, four or five kilometers inside Lebanon, there won’t be an agreement to stop [Hezbollah from] shooting at Israel from longer ranges," Hochstein told Israeli Channel 12 Wednesday. "Yes, there are fantasy deals that are utopia where you get a ceasefire agreement with a security zone, but those won’t ever happen," Hochstein said, explaining that Lebanon would never accept that Israel occupy its south. Netanyahu’s office for its part criticized Hochstein for comments made in an interview with CNBC, in which he said Lebanon's ceasefire was "permanent.""Contrary to what was attributed to Hochstein, fighting can restart at any moment, as we saw today," the premier’s spokesperson said, as Israeli troops fired warning shots at people trying to return to their border villages in south Lebanon. Three journalists were injured Wednesday by Israeli fire in Khiam, and at least two people were wounded Thursday in Markaba. Israel also claimed it had "arrested four Hezbollah operatives, including a local commander, who entered the prohibited area". The agreement, brokered by the United States and France, includes an initial two-month cease-fire in which Hezbollah militants are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers. Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce. Hochstein assured Lebanese media outlets Wednesday that Israeli forces will withdraw before the Lebanese army deploys, but warned that necessary measures would be taken if Hezbollah violated "again" U.N. Security Council resolution 1701. Resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 to end the last Israel-Hezbollah war never was fully carried out. Its goal was for the Lebanese military to be the exclusive armed presence in southern Lebanon alongside U.N. peacekeepers, and for Hezbollah and Israeli forces to withdraw from the area.
According to a copy of the ceasefire agreement provided by the Lebanese government, the Lebanese military would gradually deploy in the south and dismantle unauthorized military infrastructure and weapons production facilities. The United States and France, in addition to UNIFIL peacekeepers, will monitor violations and support the process.

Le Drian attends parliament session before meeting Berri, Mikati
Naharnet/November 28, 2024
France's special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian was in Lebanon Thursday, a day after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect. Before meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the former foreign minister attended part of a parliament session that extended the tenures of Army chief Joseph Aoun and other military chiefs for one year. Lawmakers had already extended Aoun's term last year, as he had been set to retire on January 10, 2024. A statement from speaker Berri's office said he and Le Drian on Thursday "discussed the general situation, political developments and the presidential issue". A French diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters that Le Drian came to Lebanon to "relaunch the issue of the presidency and the need for reforms". Le Drian also met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail. France had underlined Wednesday its role in brokering an agreement that ended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah alongside the U.S. "It is true that the United States have a privileged relationship with Israel. But with Lebanon, it’s France that has very old ties, very close ties," France’s foreign minister said. "It would not have been possible to envisage a ceasefire in Lebanon without France being involved on the front line."France will be involved in monitoring the ceasefire, with 700 French soldiers deployed as part of the 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, that has been patrolling the border area between Lebanon and Israel for nearly 50 years. The minister said France will also work to strengthen Lebanese troops that will deploy in the south of the country as part of the ceasefire, although he didn’t specify what that might include.

Army deploys in south Lebanon under ceasefire deal
Agence France Presse/November 28, 2024
Lebanon's military deployed troops and tanks across the country's south on Thursday as a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war largely held for a second day. The truce ended a war that began a day after Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, killing thousands in Lebanon and sparking mass displacements in both Lebanon and Israel. Israel shifted its focus from Gaza to Lebanon in September to secure its northern border from Hezbollah attacks, dealing the Iran-backed movement a series of staggering blows.Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers were to become the only armed presence in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah has long held sway. A Lebanese army source said its forces were "conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints" south of the Litani River without advancing into areas where Israeli forces were still present. In the border village of Qlaaya, residents threw rice and flowers to celebrate the arrival of Lebanese soldiers. "We only want the Lebanese army," chanted the residents of the Christian-majority village, as they clapped and cheered for the troops and waved the Lebanese red, white and green flag. Since the ceasefire took effect on Wednesday, tens of thousands of Lebanese who fled their homes have headed back to their towns and villages, only to find scenes of devastation. "Despite all the destruction and the sorrow, we are happy to be back," said Umm Mohammad Bzeih, a widow who fled with her four children from the southern village of Zibqin two months ago. "I feel as if our souls have returned," she said, visibly exhausted as she swept up the shattered glass and pieces of stones that carpeted the floor.
Crisis
While there was joy around Lebanon that the war has ended, it will take the country a long time to recover. Even prior to the conflict, it had been wracked for years by political and economic crisis, with World Bank data from earlier this year indicating poverty had tripled in a decade. On Thursday, there was a glimmer of hope as the official National News Agency reported parliament would meet to elect a president on January 9, following a two-year vacuum. Lebanon is deeply divided along political and sectarian lines, with Hezbollah long dominating the Shiite Muslim majority. Hezbollah, the only armed group that refused to surrender its weapons following the 1975-90 civil war, built its popularity by providing health and education services. It has maintained a formidable arsenal, supplied chiefly by Iran, which is widely regarded as more powerful than that of the Lebanese army.
While it did not take part in any direct talks for the ceasefire, which was brokered by the United States and France, it was represented by ally parliament speaker Nabih Berri. Hezbollah proclaimed on Wednesday that it had achieved "victory" in the war against Israel, after the truce took effect. "Victory from God almighty was the ally of the righteous cause," it said, adding its fighters would "remain in total readiness to deal with the Israeli enemy's ambitions and its attacks". But the war saw Israel deal Hezbollah a string of unprecedented blows, key among them the killing in September of its longtime leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Other losses suffered by the group include the death of a string of other top commanders, as well as the killing of the man touted to succeed Nasrallah, Hashem Safieddine. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP his group was cooperating on the army's deployment in the south. There is "full cooperation" with the Lebanese state in strengthening the army's deployment, he said, adding the group had "no visible weapons or bases" but "nobody can make residents leave their villages".
Phased withdrawal
In northern Israel, which has come under steady attack from Hezbollah for more than a year, there was hope tinged with skepticism over whether a truce can last. Nissim Ravivo, a 70-year-old in the coastal city of Nahariya, just 10 kilometers from the border with Lebanon, voiced disappointment. "It's a shame, we should have continued for at least another two months and finished the job," he said. "We still don't feel safe and we are not happy about it."Lebanon says at least 3,823 people have been killed in the country since October 2023, most of them in recent weeks. On the Israeli side, the hostilities with Hezbollah have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities there say. Under the ceasefire deal, Israeli forces will hold their positions but "a 60-day period will commence in which the Lebanese military and security forces will begin their deployment towards the south", a U.S. official told reporters on condition of anonymity. Then Israel will begin a phased withdrawal without a vacuum forming that Hezbollah or others could rush into, the official said. The Israeli and Lebanese militaries have both called on residents of frontline villages to avoid returning home immediately. "We control positions in the south of Lebanon, our planes continue to fly in Lebanese airspace," Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

Israeli airstrikes leave massive trail of destruction across Lebanon
Associated Press/November 28, 2024
For more than 60 days, Lebanese have watched stunned as Israeli strikes smashed into buildings, raising giant explosions and palls of smoke in the heart of the capital and other cities. Now, after a ceasefire was reached this week, Lebanese are returning to their homes and viewing the damage. In Beirut's southern suburbs, entire blocks in some areas are reduced to fields of shattered concrete where high-rise buildings once stood. In the southern city of Tyre, a towering bank of black and white smoke rose from the heart of downtown like a storm front and drifted over the Mediterranean Sea after missiles hit. In the southern village of Flawiyeh, a car was left flipped onto its hood amid a grove of trees from the force of a strike. Israel launched its intensified campaign of bombardment in Lebanon in late September, vowing to cripple Hezbollah and stop its barrages into northern Israel after months of more limited cross-border exchanges between the two sides. Those exchanges started when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas after its attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The Israeli strikes were heaviest in cities, towns and villages around southern Lebanon and in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has the strongest presence. But for the first time in years, central Beirut was also regularly shaken by explosions. More than 1.2 million Lebanese fled their homes during more than a year of fighting – as did tens of thousands of Israelis on their side of the border.

Israel again warns against nighttime movement in south Litani area
Agence France Presse/November 28, 2024
The Israeli military announced a new nighttime curfew in parts of south Lebanon Thursday, a day after a ceasefire with Hezbollahbegan. "It is strictly forbidden to move or travel south of the Litani River starting from 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) until 7:00 am tomorrow (Friday). Those south of the Litani River must remain where they are," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.

Swiss decide against banning Hezbollah
Agence France Presse/November 28, 2024
The Swiss government, which previously drafted a law explicitly banning Hamas activities and support for the Palestinian militants, decided this week against doing the same for the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Parliamentary security policy committees had called for a ban on Hezbollah, but in its response published Thursday, the federal government said the conditions had not been met. Switzerland's Federal Council said the group could not be banned as a threat to security under the country's intelligence act because the existing law required sanctions or a ban by the United Nations to be in place in order for such a move to be applied. It said it banned Hamas over the "unprecedented terrorist attacks" of October 7, 2023, in line with the practice of proscribing organizations on a case-by-case basis only "for extremely serious reasons"."Bans on organizations must continue to follow this political line," it said, judging that it was "not appropriate" to create a new law to ban Hezbollah. The lower house of parliament's security committee had said that "like Hamas, Hezbollah is a radical Islamic terrorist organization responsible for numerous acts of violence and human rights violations" which "represents a threat to the stability of the entire region". It demanded that the government "issue a comprehensive ban on Hezbollah". Parliament will consider the government's position during its December 2-20 session, and will also vote on the law to ban Hamas, Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS reported. The draft law provides for a five-year ban on Hamas. The Swiss government's decision came as a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war largely held for a second day Thursday. The truce ended a war that began a day after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel from Gaza, killing thousands in Lebanon and sparking mass displacements in both Lebanon and Israel. Israel shifted its focus from Gaza to Lebanon in September to secure its northern border from Hezbollah attacks, dealing the Iran-backed movement a series of staggering blows.

Comparison of Hezbollah and Israeli Losses: Civilian and Military in the Two-Month War
London – Al Arabiya.net/November 28, 2024
Israeli media outlets have published comparisons between the losses incurred by Hezbollah and Israel during the two-month-long war. Among them, The Jerusalem Post reported figures, some of which await updates from the Israeli army. While not comprehensive, the data provides insight into the military and civilian toll on both sides. According to the publication, Hezbollah suffered between 2,500 and 3,000 fighters killed, while Israeli fatalities included 75 soldiers. Despite these losses, Hezbollah reportedly retains tens of thousands of fighters, most of whom are regular forces, even with the deaths of most of its leaders. In terms of civilian casualties, the war claimed the lives of 700–1,200 Lebanese civilians due to airstrikes, artillery, and other attacks. In contrast, 45 Israeli civilians were killed by roughly 15,000 rockets and 2,500 drones launched by Hezbollah.
Estimates suggest that Hezbollah's missile stockpile decreased from 150,000 to over 30,000. However, this figure remains uncertain. Even with this reduction, the remaining arsenal is double that of Hamas before the current conflict.
Reports indicate Israel conducted approximately 14,000 air and artillery strikes, including 330 airstrikes on Beirut alone between September 20 and November 26. Displacement figures show over 60,000 Israelis and between 1.2 and 1.6 million Lebanese were displaced within two months. Hundreds of thousands of southern Lebanese residents were already displaced over the past year. One-third of Israelis were reportedly exposed to Hezbollah's attacks, which damaged 2,874 civilian structures with rockets and drones.
Israel Declares Second Curfew in Southern Lebanon After Ceasefire

Ben Gvir Urges Netanyahu to Continue Fighting in Lebanon and Occupy Gaza
Tel Aviv – Asharq Al-Awsat / November 28, 2024
Israel's National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to persist with military operations in Lebanon despite the ceasefire agreement that came into effect last Wednesday.
According to The Times of Israel, Ben Gvir argued that Hezbollah had "repeatedly violated" the ceasefire. Speaking about Israel’s ongoing war, he stated:
“We must not stop, especially here in the south. We have a historic opportunity to bring decades of peace. We have a historic opportunity to collapse Hamas, restore deterrence, reoccupy the Gaza Strip, and encourage the voluntary migration of Israel's enemies. This is what will bring peace to the south.”Ben Gvir’s comments follow those made by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who recently suggested that “it is possible to create a situation where the population of Gaza is reduced by half within two years” through encouraging migration. Two days ago, Ben Gvir criticized the ceasefire with Lebanon, labeling it a “historic mistake.” As reported by The Times of Israel, he described the ceasefire agreement as a return to the principle of “quiet for quiet,” asserting that this would ultimately lead Israel to “return to Lebanon.” Despite his opposition, the far-right minister did not hint at withdrawing from the government.

Halevi: Ceasefire in Lebanon Will Be Enforced "With Fire" to Ensure Residents’ Return
Tel Aviv – Asharq Al-Awsat / November 28, 2024
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has stated that the military will enforce the ceasefire with Hezbollah “with fire” to enable displaced northern residents to return to their homes, according to The Times of Israel. “This agreement is the result of months of fighting, especially the past three months, marked by significant achievements in Lebanon, intense operations, decisive actions, and the elimination of all Hezbollah leaders,” Halevi said. He added, “We are now transitioning to a new phase with the same determination. We will enforce this [agreement] with fire and with very significant force.” Halevi emphasized that “residents of the north are watching and want to see us determined to uphold the law so they can return. This is our duty to them and our duty to ourselves.”

Lebanon awaits the political consequences of peace
Nadim Shehadi/Arab News/November 28, 2024
In his book “The Economic Consequences of the Peace,” John Maynard Keynes warned that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War could lead to another war for the next generation. Similarly, the latest war in Lebanon is, to a large extent, a consequence of the imperfect resolution of the last one and ending it should not pave the way to the next. Life in wartime Lebanon consists of being glued to TV news and social media, with endless phone conversations trying to figure out when and how it will end and what will happen later. I am full of admiration for news anchors and the way they grill politicians. At the center of today’s debate is UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was agreed more than 18 years ago, in August 2006, as a short-term measure to stop the hostilities in Israel’s last war with Hezbollah.
The main issue was pointed out to me by a former European diplomat with 20-plus years of experience in the region. He warned against the manner in which 1701 was being renegotiated and the problems of its implementation. In 2006, it was the Lebanese government that conducted the negotiations and it has to be brought back into the process. This needs to avoid being turned into a West Bank and Gaza situation.
What did not happen and should be emphasized is already included in Paragraph 8 of UNSC Resolution 1701, which called for a permanent, long-term solution based on the Taif Agreement. The 2006 war ended with a cessation of hostilities under certain conditions, which included the withdrawal of Hezbollah’s combatants and its arms from a zone up to the Litani river, with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon in charge of its application. The fact that we are here again today is an indication of its failure. Going back to it may be a case of making the same mistake twice, but with the grave addition that this time the state is absent from the equation. By making Hezbollah the interlocutor, the repercussions could be far worse than last time. Going back to 1701 may be a case of making the same mistake twice, but with the grave addition that this time the state is absent
The Taif Agreement that ended the civil war in 1990 called for the dissolution of all militias and armed groups. Hezbollah was excluded at the time on the basis that it was a resistance force and not a militia. A formula should be reached internally to allow it to comply with the agreement.
There is a chain of agreements and resolutions. Applying Taif would also fulfill the requirements of a sequence of UN resolutions on Lebanon: UNSC Resolution 1559 of 2004 basically called for the application of Taif; Resolution 1680 of May 17, 2006, called for the application of 1559; and 1701 of August that same year called for the application of both 1559 and 1680. They all point to the armistice agreement of 1949, which delineated the Israeli-Lebanese borders and which was broken by Lebanon in 1969 when it gave the Palestine Liberation Organization the right to attack Israel from southern Lebanon. At the time, this was done to maintain the peace internally, but instead it sowed the seeds of external conflict.
In fact, the chain goes back further, as the main points of the May 17, 1983, agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government, following the Israeli invasion of 1982, were incorporated into the Taif Agreement. Again, this points to the armistice agreement of 1949, the withdrawal of all foreign troops and the armed groups that at that time were Palestinian. The recently published memoirs of Dr. Elie Salem, Lebanon’s foreign minister at the time, recounted that story. After the agreement was accepted by the majority of Lebanon’s MPs and politicians, Israel introduced additional interpretations and conditions that sabotaged the agreement and allowed Syria to veto its application.
The principal task now is to navigate both internal and external conflicts at the same time to stabilize the border with Israel and prevent the situation resulting in a civil war. There is a risk of internal conflict after Israel’s withdrawal due to indications that Hezbollah is trying to blame its failure on the rest of the Lebanese, whom it accuses of collaborating with Israel or of supporting its attack. The aftermath of the cessation of hostilities should be managed to prevent an internal conflict. The principal task now is to navigate both internal and external conflicts to stabilize the border and prevent a civil war
The danger lies in the “security arrangements” also mentioned in Paragraph 8 of Resolution 1701, in which UNIFIL was charged with ensuring that no buildup of arms was allowed between the Litani river and the Israel-Lebanon border. But UNIFIL was given only observer powers and it is unlikely to be given the powers of enforcement, like the UN and NATO presence in Kosovo, as this would require another UN Security Council resolution. Also, without a “permanent” solution, UNIFIL is no longer interim and is not sustainable.
Going back to the analogy with Palestine, the Palestinian Authority and Israel cooperate and coordinate according to the Oslo Accords and, since 2007, they have agreed to focus on security coordination above all due to the alleged widespread threat from Hamas. This is where the PA was accused of having an agreement so that Israel could protect it from Hamas in the West Bank. The PA was discredited because when it acts it looks like it is doing Israel’s job, while when it does not act then Israel intervenes and the PA looks like it is collaborating against its own people. Could this happen to Lebanon too?
The implementation of Resolution 1701 could pit the Lebanese army against Hezbollah, which it is not equipped for. Unlike other armies in the region, the Lebanese army cannot fight internal battles to suppress one party or another. At best, its doctrine is that of separating the parties and acting as a mediator. It will be accused of doing that for Israel, acting as a buffer to protect it. If it does intervene to stop Hezbollah rearming, it will be accused of acting on behalf of Israel, almost like the PA. Hamas controlled Gaza in the same way as Hezbollah controlled southern Lebanon. We still do not know the full terms of this week’s agreement, but if it is setting up the Lebanese army to fail, with a temporary ceasefire as a test, then the next war could involve more than just Hezbollah. Ultimately, the solution should be an internal one in Lebanon, rebuilding the state that was paralyzed and incapacitated as a consequence of ignoring the long-term clause of 1701 since the last war.
**Nadim Shehadi is an economist and political adviser. X: @Confusezeus

One-third of Israelis were reportedly exposed to Hezbollah's attacks, which damaged 2,874 civilian structures with rockets and drones.
Israel Declares Second Curfew in Southern Lebanon After Ceasefire
Tel Aviv – Asharq Al-Awsat / November 28, 2024
The Israeli army announced a second nightly curfew in southern Lebanon today (Thursday), following the fragile ceasefire agreement with Iran-backed Hezbollah. A spokesperson stated that access to border areas south of the Litani River would be restricted from 5:00 PM (15:00 GMT) today until 7:00 AM Friday, as reported by the German Press Agency. The spokesperson addressed Lebanese citizens: “For your safety, you must comply with these instructions.” Under the ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah must withdraw beyond the Litani River, approximately 30 kilometers north of the Israeli border. Israeli forces are expected to gradually withdraw from Lebanon within 60 days, though the army stated it would continue operations against Hezbollah members violating the agreement in the region.

Lebanese Army Begins Clearing Roads and Explosives in the South, Bekaa, and Dahieh
Beirut – Asharq Al-Awsat / November 28, 2024
The Lebanese army announced today (Thursday) that its units have begun missions in the south, Bekaa, and southern Beirut suburbs (Dahieh).
In a post on its X account, the Army Command stated: “In parallel with enhancing the army’s deployment in the southern Litani sector following the ceasefire agreement's implementation, military units have started carrying out their missions, including temporary checkpoints, road clearance, and the disposal of unexploded ordnance.”The statement added that these tasks aim to support displaced people's return to their villages and towns while ensuring their security and safety.
Israel Accelerates "Freedom of Movement" Policy

Airstrikes North of Litani After Ceasefire in Lebanon… War Losses Reach $13 Billion
Beirut – Asharq Al-Awsat / November 28, 2024
Israel has swiftly exercised its “freedom of movement” under the ceasefire agreement by conducting airstrikes north of the Litani River, outside the scope of UN Resolution 1701. This move tested the fragile ceasefire as Israeli forces confronted Lebanese attempting to reach border villages near Israeli military positions. According to Axios, an Israeli official revealed that Israel informed the United States in advance about the airstrikes targeting Hezbollah, indicating the existence of a secret clause in the agreement allowing Israeli operations in Lebanon if threats are detected. The Lebanese army reported multiple Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, including tank shelling of six locations within the border zone. The two-month war inflicted significant damage, with 60,000 housing units nearly destroyed and total destruction costs estimated at $6 billion. Economic losses reached approximately $7 billion, bringing total war costs to $13 billion, compared to $9 billion in the 2006 conflict ($3 billion in destruction and $6 billion in economic losses).

Royal Jordanian, Ethiopian Airlines to resume flights to Lebanon, Gulf carriers delay decisions
Arab News/November 28, 2024
LONDON: Royal Jordanian, and Ethiopian Airlines have announced the resumption of flights to Beirut following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that took effect on Wednesday. However, most Gulf and European airlines are delaying any immediate return to Lebanese airspace as they monitor the stability of the truce. Jordan’s flag carrier, Royal Jordanian, will restart flights to Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Sunday after halting operations in late August amid escalating hostilities. CEO Samer Majali confirmed on Thursday that services would resume following the ceasefire. Ethiopian Airlines has also reopened bookings for flights to Beirut, with services scheduled to resume on Dec. 10. But despite these developments, most international airlines remain cautious. Fadi Al-Hassan, director of Beirut Airport, told LBCI that Arab and foreign carriers were expected to gradually resume operations in the coming weeks, especially as the holiday season approaches.However, Jean Abboud, president of the Association of Travel and Tourist Agents in Lebanon, predicted a slower return. Abboud said in a statement that he expects “the return of some companies within a few days, which do not exceed seven to eight companies out of about 60 companies,” adding that many carriers were eyeing early 2025 to resume operations.
Airline updates
Emirates: Flights to and from Beirut remain canceled until Dec. 31.
Etihad Airways, Saudia, Air Arabia, Oman Air, Qatar Airways: Suspensions extend until early January 2025.
Lufthansa Group (including Eurowings): Flights to Beirut suspended until Feb. 28, 2025.
Air France-KLM: Services to Beirut suspended until Jan. 5, 2025, and Tel Aviv until Dec. 31, 2024.
Aegean Air: Flights to Beirut from Athens, London, and Milan are suspended until April 1, 2025.
At present, Middle East Airlines remains the sole carrier operating flights to and from Beirut, having maintained operations despite intense Israeli airstrikes near the airport.
The airline serves all major Gulf and European hubs, but flights are fully booked in the coming days as Lebanese expatriates rush to return home following the ceasefire announcement. The upcoming Christmas season has also driven a surge in demand, offering a glimmer of hope for a country reeling from widespread destruction and an escalating economic crisis. With the conflict having severely impacted Lebanon’s tourism sector, the holiday season could provide a much-needed lifeline for the struggling economy.
The resumption of additional services is expected to depend on whether the ceasefire holds and the overall security situation stabilizes.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 28-29/2024
More than 130 killed as Syrian rebels seize territory from army in Aleppo province
France 24/November 28, 2024
Syrian rebels on Wednesday launched a massive offensive against the Syrian regime in Aleppo province, making the first territorial gains since a ceasefire came into force in 2020, army and rebel sources said. More than 130 have been killed in the fighting, according to a Syrian war monitor. A Syria war monitor on Thursday said clashes between the army and jihadists killed more than 130 combatants in the worst fighting in the country's northwest in years, as the government also reported fierce battles. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions launched a surprise attack on the Syrian army in the northern province of Aleppo on Wednesday. The toll "in battles ongoing for the past 24 hours has risen to 132, including 65 fighters from HTS", 18 from allied factions "and 49 members of regime forces", said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria. Some of the clashes, in an area straddling Idlib and Aleppo provinces, are less than 10 kilometres (six miles) southwest of the outskirts of Aleppo city. HTS, led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch, controls swathes of much of the northwest Idlib area and slivers of neighbouring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces. An AFP correspondent reported heavy, uninterrupted clashes east of the city of Idlib since Wednesday morning, including air strikes.

Syrian and Russian jets bomb rebel-held northwest Syria
Reuters/November 28, 2024
AMMAN/ANKARA: Russian and Syrian warplanes bombed rebel-held northwest Syria near the border with Turkiye on Thursday to push back an insurgent offensive that captured territory for the first time in years, Syrian army and rebel sources said. Rebels led by militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham launched an incursion on Wednesday into a dozen towns and villages in the northwestern province of Aleppo, which is controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces. The attack was the biggest since March 2020 when Russia, which backs Assad, and Turkiye, which supports the rebels, agreed to a ceasefire that ended years of fighting that uprooted millions of Syrians opposed to Assad’s rule. In its first statement since the surprise campaign, the Syrian army said it had inflicted heavy losses on what it described as terrorists who had attacked on a wide front. The army said it was cooperating with Russia and unnamed “friendly forces” to regain ground and restore the situation. Rebels advanced almost 10 km (6 miles) from the outskirts of Aleppo city and a few kilometers away from Nubl and Zahra, two Shiite towns where Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah has a strong militia presence, an army source said. They attacked Al-Nayrab airport east of Aleppo, where pro-Iranian militias have outposts.Russian jets pounded newly captured areas and hit populated towns in the last opposition-held enclave, according to two army sources.The opposition-run rescue service known as the White Helmets said at least 16 civilians were killed in the rebel-held town of Atareb when a Russian jet bombed a residential area. The main Aleppo-Damascus highway was closed as a result of the fighting, residents and witnesses said. Rebels say the campaign responded to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces on areas in southern Idlib province, in Syria’s far northwest, and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army, which they said was building up troops near front lines with rebels.

Syrian rebels launch large-scale attack on government forces in Aleppo province
Beirut/The Associated Press/November 28, 2024
Syrian armed groups have launched a large-scale attack on areas controlled by government forces, setting off fierce clashes for a second day and seizing territory in Western Aleppo, government and opposition factions said Thursday. Syria’s armed forces said Thursday the offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which controls much of northwest Syria and is a violation of a de-escalation agreement. It said the attacks are ongoing and have targeted a number of villages and military bases. “Our forces are confronting the terrorist organizations with different power and in collaboration with friendly forces to ensure the situation returns to how it was," the army statement said. Opposition factions launched the offensive early Wednesday and claimed in a series of statements on social media that they have wrestled control of over 15 villages from government forces, capturing a military base and hardware, and taking a number of soldiers hostage. The Associated Press could not independently verify those claims. The opposition fighters said their offensive will allow the return of thousands of displaced people who were forced to flee government bombardment in recent weeks.
The offensive follows weeks of simmering violence in the area, where activists said government and allied Russian forces have stepped up their bombardment of parts of the last remaining stronghold of the opposition. It also comes as Iran-linked groups, who had backed Syrian government forces since 2015, have been preoccupied with their own battle at home. Israel and Hezbollah, the lead group in the Iran-backed alliance, have been locked in a war that escalated since September. A cease-fire was announced Wednesday, the day the Syrian opposition factions announced their offensive. Israel has also escalated its attacks against Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria during the last 70 days. Formerly known as the Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaida, HTS later changed its name several times and distanced itself from al-Qaida. Russia, along with Iran, backed Syrian government forces soon after the anti-government protests in 2011 turned into a war. Turkey has backed an array of opposition forces and established military presence in parts of northwestern Syria. Meanwhile, the United States has supported Syrian Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants largely in the east of the country. Turkey said Thursday it was closely monitoring the offensive launched by the opposition groups in northern Syria. Unnamed defense ministry officials quoted in the state-run Anadolu Agency said Thursday the Turkish military had taken “all kinds of measures” to protect its troops in Syria.

Syrian and Russian jets bomb rebel-held northwest Syria
Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Ece Toksabay/Reuters/November 28, 2024
AMMAN/ANKARA (Reuters) -Russian and Syrian war planes bombed rebel-held northwest Syria near the border with Turkey on Thursday to push back an insurgent offensive that captured territory for the first time in years, Syrian army and rebel sources said. Rebels led by Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on Wednesday began an incursion into a dozen towns and villages in northwest Aleppo province, which is controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces. The attack was the biggest since March 2020 when Russia, which backs Assad, and Turkey, which supports the rebels, agreed to a ceasefire that ended years of fighting that uprooted millions of Syrians opposed to Assad's rule. In its first statement since the surprise campaign, the Syrian army said it had inflicted heavy losses on what it described as terrorists who had attacked on a wide front.
The army said it was cooperating with Russia and unnamed "friendly forces" to regain ground and restore the situation to what it was. Rebels advanced almost 10 km (6 miles) from the outskirts of Aleppo city and a few kilometres away from Nubl and Zahra, two Shi'ite towns where Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah has a strong militia presence, an army source said. They attacked al-Nayrab airport east of Aleppo, where pro-Iranian militias have outposts. Rebels say the campaign was in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces on areas in southern Idlib, and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army, which they said was building up troops near front lines with rebels. Meanwhile Iranian state media said that Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Kioumars Pourhashemi, a senior Iranian military adviser in Syria, was killed in Aleppo by rebels. Iran has sent thousands of fighters to Syria during the Syrian war. While these have included members of the Guards, officially serving as advisers, the bulk have been Shi'ite militiamen from all over the region. Turkish security sources said on Thursday the rebels initially launched a limited operation after attacks by Syrian government forces, and expanded the operation after government forces abandoned their positions. The Turkish sources said the rebels' movements remained within the boundaries of a de-escalation zone in Idlib, which was agreed in 2019 by Russia, Iran and Turkey with the aim of reducing hostilities between the rebels and government forces. A Turkish defence ministry source said Turkey was following developments in northern Syria closely, and had taken precautions to ensure the security of Turkish troops there. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and Turkey, has long been targeted by Syrian government and Russian forces. It competes with more mainstream rebel groups backed by Turkey that also control swathes of territory along the Turkish border. The rebels say over 80 people, mostly civilians, have been killed this year in drone strikes on rebel-held villages.
Damascus says it is waging a war against al Qaeda-inspired militants and denies targeting civilians indiscriminately.

Former British soldier who broke out of prison is convicted of spying for Iran
Brian Melley/The Associated Press/November 28, 2024
LONDON (AP) — A former British soldier whose audacious escape from a London prison spurred a dayslong search was convicted on Thursday of spying for Iran. Daniel Khalife, 23, was found guilty by a jury in Woolwich Crown Court on violations of Britain's Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act by collecting information useful to an enemy — Iran. He was cleared of a charge of planting fake bombs in his military barracks. Prosecutors said Khalife played a “cynical game” by claiming he wanted to be a spy after he had delivered a large amount of restricted and classified material to the Iranian intelligence service, including the names of special forces officers. Khalife testified that he had been in touch with people in the Iranian government but that it was all part of a ploy to ultimately work as a double agent for Britain, a scheme he developed from watching the TV show “Homeland.”“I wanted to utilize my background to further our national security,” he told jurors. Defense lawyer Gul Nawaz Hussein said Khalife’s aspirations to be a James Bond figure were naïve, stupid and bordered on slapstick. He said his client was more “Scooby Doo” than “007.”Despite what seemed like amateurish bumbling, Cmdr. Dominic Murphy, head of counter terrorism at the Metropolitan Police, said Khalife presented a danger. “He’s the ultimate Walter Mitty character who was having a significant impact in the real world,” Murphy said, referring to the fictional character in a James Thurber short story about a meek proofreader who daydreams of daring escapades. “We know very well the threat that Iranians pose to the U.K.'s national security” Murphy said, noting that 20 plots, including assassination plans, had been disrupted by U.K. authorities. Khalife’s court case had not received much attention until he escaped from a London prison in September 2023 and went on the run for three days. Khalife was working in the kitchen in Wandsworth Prison, in south London, when he strapped himself to the bottom of a delivery truck and got a lift to freedom. He was ultimately nabbed on a canal path after a massive search. The escape from the Victorian-era prison exposed much broader weaknesses with the nation’s aging and overcrowded correctional system. An inquiry is currently underway into how Khalife was able to escape and whether others helped. During his trial, Khalife pleaded guilty to the escape, but continued to contest the spying charges. Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said Khalife faces “a long custodial sentence” when he is sentenced after the New Year. Khalife joined the Army at 16 and was assigned to the Royal Corps of Signals, a communications unit that is deployed with battlefield troops, as well as special forces and intelligence squads.
He was told he could not join the intelligence service because his mother is from Iran. At 17, he reached out to a man connected with Iranian intelligence and began passing along information, prosecutors said. He was given NATO secret security clearance when he took part in a joint exercise at Fort Cavazos in Texas in early 2021. British security officials were not aware of Khalife’s contacts with the Iranians until he contacted MI6, the U.K.’s foreign intelligence service, to offer to work as a double agent. He reached out to MI6 anonymously, saying he had earned the trust of his Iranian handlers and that they had rewarded him by leaving $2,000 cash ($1,578 pounds) in a dog poo bag in a north London park. Khalife said most of the material he provided to his Iranian handlers was information he made up or data available online and didn’t expose military secrets. But prosecutors said some of the army documents were genuine and they used evidence from Khalife's mobile phones, notes he wrote to himself and surveillance footage to show he gathered and shared classified information. They also found he traveled to Turkey to meet a contact. “He surreptitiously sought out and obtained copies of secret and sensitive information which he knew were protected and passed these on to individuals he believed to be acting on behalf of the Iranian state,” said Bethan David of the Crown Prosecution Service. “The sharing of the information could have exposed military personnel to serious harm, or a risk to life, and prejudiced the safety and security of the United Kingdom."

44,330 Gazans killed in more than 13 months of war
AFP/Reuters/November 28, 2024
GAZA CITY: The Health Ministry in Gaza said on Thursday that at least 44,330 people have been killed in more than 13 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants. The toll includes 48 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 104,933 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Medics said Israeli military strikes killed at least 17 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday as forces stepped up bombardments on central areas and pushed tanks deeper in the north and south of the enclave.
Six people were killed in two separate airstrikes on a house and near the hospital of Kamal Adwan in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, while four others were killed when an Israeli strike hit a motorcycle in Khan Younis in the south. In Nuseirat, one of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps, Israeli planes carried out several airstrikes, destroying a multi-floor building and hitting roads outside mosques. At least seven people were killed in some of those strikes, health officials said. Medics said at least two people, a woman and a child, were killed in tank shelling that hit western areas of Nuseirat, while an air strike killed five others in a house nearby. In Rafah, near the border with Egypt, tanks pushed deeper into the northern-west area of the city, residents said. Months of attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress, and negotiations are now on hold.

Israeli foreign minister looks to Washington to punish the ICC
Reuters/November 28, 2024
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday he believed the United States would punish the International Criminal Court for having issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister.
Israel has said it will appeal the ICC decision to move against Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. But during a visit to the Czech Republic, Saar said other countries were also dismayed by the decision, including the United States. "I tend to believe that in Washington, legislation is going to take place very shortly against the ICC and whoever cooperates with it," Saar told a joint press conference with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky. Saar added that Israel would finish the 14-month-old war in Gaza when it "achieves its objectives" of returning hostages being held by Hamas and ensuring the Islamist group no longer controls the Palestinian enclave. Saar said Israel did not intend to control civilian life in Gaza, adding that peace was "inevitable", but couldn't be based on "illusions."(Reporting by Emily Rose and Jason Hovet; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

Israel steps up bombing of central Gaza, strikes kill 21 people
Nidal al-Mughrabi and Hussam al-Masri/CAIRO (Reuters)/November 28, 2024
-Israeli military strikes killed at least 21 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said, as forces stepped up their bombardment of central areas and tanks pushed deeper into the north and south of the enclave. The escalation came a day after Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah began a ceasefire in Lebanon, halting more than a year of hostilities and raising hopes among many Palestinians in Gaza for a similar deal with Hamas, which rules the enclave. Israel's military campaign - with the avowed intent of eradicating Hamas militants after the group's deadly raid on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 - has laid waste to the enclave of 2.3 million people. "I hope a ceasefire will happen like it did in Lebanon... I just want to take my children to see my land, my house, to see what they did to us, I want to live in safety," said Amal Abu Hmeid, a displaced woman in Gaza. "God willing we will have a truce," she said, sitting in the courtyard of a school sheltering displaced families in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The courtyard was filled with dirt and water streamed in from where people did their laundry. Clothes were airing outside classrooms as children played nearby. "(Life) was beautiful (before the war)... Now there is nothing beautiful, it's all gone. Our houses are gone, our brothers are gone, and no one is left. Now we hardly get... one meal a day. We can’t even get bread," Abu Hmeid told Reuters. Announcing the Lebanon accord on Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he would now renew his push for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, urging Israel and Hamas to seize the moment. Months of efforts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress, and negotiations are now on hold. The ceasefire in the parallel conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, took effect before dawn on Wednesday, bringing a halt to hostilities that had escalated sharply in recent months and overshadowed the conflict in Gaza.
GAZA DEATHS
Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 44,200 people and displaced nearly all the enclave's population at least once, Gaza officials say. Vast swathes of the territory are in ruins. The Hamas-led militants who attacked southern Israeli communities 13 months ago killed around 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages, Israel has said. On Thursday, six people were killed in two separate airstrikes on a house and near the hospital of Kamal Adwan in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, while four others were killed when an Israeli strike hit a motorcycle in Khan Younis in the south, medics said.
In Nuseirat, one of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, Israeli planes carried out several airstrikes, destroying a multi-storey building and hitting roads outside mosques. At least 11 people were killed in those strikes, according to health officials at Al-Awda Hospital in the camp. They said in a statement that dozens of families were trapped in their homes after some tanks advanced from the northern area of the camp and that ambulance vehicles were unable to reach them because of continued tank fire. Contacted by Reuters, the Israeli military said its forces were continuing to "strike terror targets as part of the operational activity in the Gaza Strip". In Rafah, near the border with Egypt, tanks pushed deeper into the northwest area of the city, residents said.

Palestinian leader Abbas lays ground for succession
AFP/November 28, 2024
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday announced who would replace him in an interim period when the post becomes vacant, effectively removing the Islamist movement Hamas from any involvement in a future transition.Abbas, 89, still rules despite his term as head of the Palestinian Authority ending in 2009, and has resisted pressure to appoint a successor or a vice president. Under current Palestinian law, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) takes over the Palestinian Authority in the event of a power vacuum. But the PLC, where Hamas had a majority, no longer exists since Abbas officially dissolved it in 2018 after more than a decade of tensions between his secular party, Fatah, and Hamas, which ousted the Palestinian Authority from power in the Gaza Strip in 2007. In a decree, Abbas said the Palestinian National Council chairman, Rawhi Fattuh, would be his temporary replacement should the position should become vacant. “If the position of the president of the national authority becomes vacant in the absence of the legislative council, the Palestinian National Council president shall assume the duties... temporarily,” it said. The decree added that following the transition period, elections must be held within 90 days. This deadline can be extended in the event of a “force majeure,” it said. The PNC is the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which has over 700 members from the Palestinian territories and abroad. Hamas, which does not belong to the PLO, has no representation on the council. The PNC deputies are not elected, but appointed. The decree refers to the “delicate stage in the history of the homeland and the Palestinian cause” as war rages in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, after the latter’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel in October last year. There are also persistent divisions between Hamas and Fatah. The decree comes on the same day that a ceasefire entered into force in Lebanon after an agreement between Israel and Hamas’s ally, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.The Palestinian Authority appears weaker than ever, unable to pay its civil servants and threatened by Israeli far-right ministers’ calls to annex all or part of the occupied West Bank, an ambition increasingly less hidden by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at New York Thanksgiving parade
Reuters/Thu, November 28, 2024
New York police arrested a group of pro-Palestinian protesters who briefly interrupted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday by attempting to block the parade route just ahead of the Ronald McDonald float. The 98th annual parade, televised nationwide, is part of the tradition of America's Thanksgiving holiday, a spectacle of giant balloons of cartoon characters, marching bands and popular music acts performing live. Thousands line the streets of Manhattan to watch. "The demonstrators were taken into custody without incident," the New York Police Department said in a statement. The number of detainees was unknown and charges were pending, the NYPD said. A line of about 20 protesters sat in the street under a steady rain while others behind them held up a banner saying "Don't celebrate genocide" and "Arms embargo now!" as the smiling Ronald McDonald floated overhead, Reuters pictures showed. Police at the scene at first advised the demonstrators to leave without intervening, according to a Reuters witness. Then a team of bicycle-mounted officers arrived, clashing with the protesters and carting them away. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who was sworn in on Monday, told NBC Television ahead of the parade that police were not expecting protesters but were ready for them. "We've got lots of resources out there. We have resources you can see and resources you can't see. We have our canines, we have our drones. We have the full complement of security out there for the parade," Tisch said. The demonstrators were protesting Israel's prosecution of the war in Gaza, which was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023 when Palestinian fighters from Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on the Hamas-governed enclave of Gaza has since killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while displacing most of the population of 2.3 million, causing hunger and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

Exclusive-Iran plans new uranium-enrichment expansion, IAEA report says
Francois Murphy/VIENNA (Reuters)/November 28, 2024
-Iran has informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog that it plans to install more than 6,000 extra uranium-enriching centrifuges at its enrichment plants and bring more of those already in place online, a confidential report by the watchdog said on Thursday. The International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Reuters details what Iran meant when it said it would add thousands of centrifuges in response to a resolution against it that the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors passed last week at the request of Britain, France, Germany and the United States. More enrichment capacity means Iran can enrich uranium more quickly, potentially increasing the nuclear proliferation risk. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons but Western powers say there is no civil explanation for enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% that is weapons grade, which no other country has done without producing a nuclear bomb. The only enrichment level specified for new centrifuges was 5% purity, far from the 60% Iran is already producing. The lower purity, particularly at its Fordow site, could be seen as a conciliatory move by Iran as it seeks common ground with European powers before the return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, though enrichment levels can be changed easily later. Iran already has well over 10,000 centrifuges operating at two underground plants at Natanz and Fordow and an above-ground pilot plant at Natanz. The report outlined plans to install 32 more cascades, or clusters, of more than 160 machines each and a massive cascade of up to 1,152 advanced IR-6 machines. At the same time, the number of cascades Iran plans to install vastly outnumbers those that are already installed and that Iran said it would now bring online by feeding them with uranium feedstock, which the IAEA verified it had yet to do. "The Agency has determined and shared with Iran the changes required to the intensity of its inspection activities at FFEP (Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant) following the commissioning of the cascades," the report said, referring to Iran's plan to bring eight recently installed IR-6 cascades there online. Fordow is particularly closely watched because it is dug into a mountain and Iran is currently enriching to up to 60% there. The only other plant where it is doing that is the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz.
REBUFFED
Just before last week's quarterly meeting of the IAEA board, Iran offered to cap its stock of uranium enriched to up to 60%, but diplomats said it was conditional on the board not passing a resolution against Iran. Although the IAEA verified Iran was slowing enrichment at that highest level and called it "a concrete step in the right direction", the board passed the resolution regardless, repeating a call on Iran to improve cooperation with the IAEA. Thursday's report said Iran had finished installing the last two cascades of IR-2m centrifuges in a batch of 18 at its vast underground Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz, and that it planned to bring all 18 online, though the IAEA verified on Nov. 26 that no uranium had been fed into them. Iran also told the agency it intended to install 18 extra cascades of IR-4 centrifuges at that Natanz plant, each with 166 machines, the report said. At the above-ground pilot plant at Natanz, Iran informed the IAEA it planned to take various steps that suggested it would increase the number of full, rather than small or intermediate, cascades there, which could produce more enriched uranium. It also said it planned to install one cascade of up to 1,152 IR-6 centrifuges at that pilot plant, which could be the biggest cascade by far in Iran yet.

Georgia suspends talks on joining the EU for 4 years, accusing the bloc of blackmail
Sophiko Megrelidze/TBILISI, Georgia (AP)/November 28, 2024
— Georgia is suspending talks on its bid to join the European Union for four years, its prime minister said Thursday, in view of what he described as “blackmail and manipulation” from some of the bloc's politicians. His announcement outraged the opposition and triggered a new wave of protests.
The move by Irakli Kobakhidze came hours after he was reappointed to the job by members of the governing Georgian Dream party after its disputed victory in last month’s parliamentary election that has sparked massive demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of parliament. The Oct. 26 election was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. The opposition said the vote was rigged under the influence of Russia seeking to keep Georgia in its orbit, and declared a boycott of parliament. European election observers said the balloting took place in a divisive atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence. The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meets the bloc's recommendations but put its accession on hold and cut financial support earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms. Kobakhidze said Thursday that while the country will pursue its bid to join the EU, “it will not put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028.”“Additionally, we are rejecting any budgetary grants from the European Union until the end of 2028,” he added. Thousands of protesters poured into the streets following Kobakhidze's announcement, rallying outside the parliament building in Tbilisi and staging demonstrations in other cities. Earlier in the day, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemned last month’s Georgian parliamentary vote as neither free nor fair, representing yet another manifestation of the continued democratic backsliding “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible.”EU lawmakers urged a rerun of the parliamentary vote within a year under thorough international supervision and by an independent election administration. They also called on the EU to impose sanctions and limit formal contacts with the Georgian government. The Georgian prime minister fired back, denouncing what he described as a “cascade of insults” from the EU politicians and declaring that “the ill-wishers of our country have turned the European Parliament into a blunt weapon of blackmail against Georgia, which is a great disgrace for the European Union.” “We will continue on our path toward the European Union; however, we will not allow anyone to keep us in a constant state of blackmail and manipulation, which is utterly disrespectful to our country and society,” Kobakhidze said. “We must clearly show certain European politicians and bureaucrats, who are completely devoid of European values, that they must speak to Georgia with dignity, not through blackmail and insults.”
Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
Speaking in parliament earlier on Thursday, Kobakhidze described last month’s parliamentary vote as “also a referendum between immoral propaganda and traditional values, and our society chose traditional values.”The EU suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June, after parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government. President Salome Zourabichvili, whose six-year term expires next month, has rejected the official results and refused to recognize the parliament’s legitimacy. Zourabichvili, whose post is mostly ceremonial, met with EU ambassadors and opposition leaders after Kobakhidze's announcement.
In an address to the nation, Zourabichvili denounced what she described as a “coup” aimed at taking the country away from Europe and toward Russia. The president accused the governing party of waging a “war on our future, the future of our society, and the future of our country." "Because on this path, there is no Georgian statehood, no independence, and no future — except in Russia,” she said. Zourabichvili was elected by popular vote, but Georgia has approved constitutional changes that abolished the direct election of the president and replaced it with a vote by a 300-seat electoral college consisting of members of parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures. On Wednesday, the ruling party nominated Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former national team and Premier League player, for the presidential post. He is all but certain to win the Dec. 14 vote by the electoral college controlled by the ruling party.

Pakistani police issues charges against Imran Khan and his wife for inciting violence
Munir Ahmed/The Associated Press/November 28, 2024
Pakistani police have levelled multiple charges against imprisoned former premier Imran Khan, his wife and others for inciting people to violence, officials said Thursday, following days of protests and clashes in which at least six people were killed and scores more were injured. Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi led thousands of people from the country's northwest to march on the capital Islamabad to demand the release of Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023. Khan already has more than 150 cases against him but supporters say they are politically motivated.Bibi, a spiritual healer, fled when police launched a midnight raid Tuesday to disperse thousands of demonstrators. She was out of prison on bail in a graft case when she led the protest from northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Authorities said police arrested nearly 1,000 demonstrators since Sunday in and around Islamabad. At least six people, including four security personnel, were killed when a vehicle rammed into them, according to Islamabad police which has blamed Khan supporters for the deaths. Police issued charges against Khan, Bibi and others in Islamabad and the city of Rawalpindi under Pakistan's anti-terrorism laws. Authorities accuse them of inciting people to attack security forces and disrupting the peace. Khan faces more than 150 cases against him but his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI, says it will continue to push for his release. On Thursday, Planning and Development Minster Ahsan Iqbal and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told international media that Khan supporters "wanted to take over the capital” and that some of them were carrying weapons. These were seized when the midnight raid was under way, they said. Iqbal said security forces used tear gas and batons to disperse crowds. He dismissed the PTI's claim that some Khan supporters died from police firing live bullets. He added that it was not a peaceful rally because the protesters used guns. It's the latest turmoil to rock the country since Khan's ouster in 2022. Pakistan’s Stock Exchange lost more than $1.7 billion on Tuesday due to the political tension, but it recovered from on Thursday by surpassing 100,000 points for the first time. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the rebound was a sign of an improving economy.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on November 28-29/2024
Thought Police
Daniel Greenfield/Gatestone Institute/November 28, 2024
Criticizing the friendliness of the police with Pakistani "Jew haters" had become a "possible criminal offence," while Islamists hating Jews was not.
According to the Essex police, "we police without fear or favour". In truth, they appear to hardly police anything except speech.
The authorities are not cracking down on hate speech or on incitement to violence, but on politically incorrect speech and on journalists and elected officials whom the Left opposes.... The force admitted that being offensive is not actually a crime.
The UK has become a totalitarian state where free speech, not Islamic terror, is seen as the greatest threat.
Supporting Islamic terrorism is not a crime in the UK. Speaking out against it, falling victim to it or standing up against it is.
The UK has become a totalitarian state where free speech, not Islamic terror, is seen as the greatest threat. Supporting Islamic terrorism is not a crime in the UK. Speaking out against it, falling victim to it or standing up against it is. (Images' source: iStock)
On a Sunday morning, the Essex police showed up at the home of Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson to interrogate her, because she had tweeted a photo of Manchester police officers posing with representatives of the Islamist Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, some of whose leading members were recently charged with terrorism offenses.
Pearson's crime, for which Essex police formed a "gold group" normally used for dealing with major crimes, was tweeting "look at this lot smiling with the Jew haters" about the ugly photo. The Essex police claimed that "a complaint of a possible criminal offence was made" of "potentially inciting racial hatred online". Criticizing the friendliness of the police with Pakistani "Jew haters" had become a "possible criminal offence," while Islamists hating Jews was not. According to the Essex police, "we police without fear or favour". In truth, they appear to hardly police anything except speech. The Essex police have stopped answering calls about drug-dealing and a column in the daily Sun noted that, "in the last year, Essex police have solved just 1 in 8 robberies and violent assaults, a mere 1 out of every 10 sexual assaults and 1 in 15 burglaries."
Earlier this month, Sussex police arrested, Rupert Nathan, a 63-year-old Jewish man in front of his 12-year-old daughter for referring to Gabriel Kanter-Webber, a leftist activist claiming to be a "rabbi" who signed a letter demanding an end to Israel's campaign against Hamas, as a "kapo."
Nathan, who was locked up by Sussex police for denouncing the anti-Israel activist on a private Facebook group, stated that "My daughter was in tears – completely inconsolable. Still now she has this deep fear that the police are going to take me away and put me in jail."Ian Christopher Austin, Baron Austin of Dudley, was told by West Midlands police that he had been investigated for a tweet describing Hamas as "a death cult of Islamist murderers and rapists". Apparently, the authorities considered the "Islamist" part to be offensive. These are only a few of the more prominent recent examples of a police crackdown on even the mildest forms of criticism of Islamic terrorism, and appeasement by the police and public figures.
These arrests and investigations come after Islamic terrorist supporters have rampaged around the streets of London, Manchester and other cities, waving the flags of illegal foreign terrorist organizations, including that of Hamas, with no consequences. Instead, an infamous viral video from last year showed London police officers arresting a man for saying that he did not want to see "Palestinian" flags all over the city.
British police officers have been filmed refusing to take action against terrorist supporters advocating violence, calling for the murder of Jews and expressing support for terror groups. The authorities are not cracking down on hate speech or on incitement to violence, but on politically incorrect speech and on journalists and elected officials whom the Left opposes. Over the summer, the Starmer government issued a message on social media, warning: "Think before you post." It launched a ruthless suppression campaign, raiding homes, arresting and imprisoning people opposed to mass migration after a Muslim terrorist murdered 3 girls. "Think before you post!" the Crown Prosecution Service threatened. "Remind those close to you to share responsibly or face the consequences."
Bernadette Spofforth, a 55-year-old British woman, was dragged out of her home, arrested and held for 36 hours for posting that the murderer was a Muslim terrorist. The charge she was held under was "posting inaccurate information". The actual inaccurate information was coming from the government, which had lied about the terrorist's religion and arrested those who spoke out. The government's reign of terror against critics of Islam and mass migration has dovetailed with a reign of terror by Islamists and their political allies, who have held major cities hostage.
While the situation has worsened with the rise of the Starmer regime and Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood, who has her own history of ugly anti-Israel activism, it has become routine for police officers to pay such threatening house calls to people from all walks of life. Even as crime rose 10% over the last year, thought-crimes are being pursued with added vigor. Beyond intimidating opponents of Islamic terrorism, the police have also taken to threatening and intimidating women who are opposed to their privacy being violated by transgender men. Julie Bindel, a feminist author critical of transgender identity politics, had the police show up during a family meal after a transgender man in the Netherlands reported one of her tweets. Maya Forstater, whose case for women's rights and against transgenderism became a cause célèbre when it was embraced by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, was investigated for 15 months over a tweet about a transgender doctor. In a Kafkaesque twist, the authorities initially refused to tell her what she was being investigated for, only that it involved a transgender person. Forstater was warned that she could be arrested if she did not cooperate.
Former MP Tom Hunt described being reported to the Suffolk police for writing diplomatically of the need to "confront the possibility that a disproportionate number of crimes are committed by individuals from certain communities".
Many of these investigations are legally baseless and carried out in defiance of the actual law. Back in 2021, the Merseyside police had put up billboards warning that "being offensive is an offence". An infamous picture of one of those featured masked police officers threateningly posing. The force admitted that being offensive is not actually a crime.
And yet investigations of people for offending Islamists, leftists and radical activists continue. The purpose of these investigations is simply intimidation. Like the "being offensive is an offence" billboards and "think before you post", the purpose is to silence those who speak out.
The UK has become a totalitarian state where free speech, not Islamic terror, is seen as the greatest threat. The rise of Islamic terror has been matched by police terror aimed at critics.
After Muslim terrorists attacked the Charlie Hebdo satire magazine over its Mohammed cartoons, anti-terror units in the UK visited newsstands to collect the names of those who had bought copies. Rather than collecting the lists of names of Muslim terrorists, the authorities were collecting lists of names of those who might be guilty of offending them. And that is true now.
British police forces have failed to act against Muslim mobs attacking Jews, but they have taken action against Jews who have been in the vicinity of those mobs. A London police officer warned a Jewish man near a Muslim pro-terror rally that he was "quite openly Jewish" and since "this is a pro-Palestinian march", he might be guilty of causing a "breach of the peace."
London Police Commissioner Mark Rowley defended the actions of the police.
Supporting Islamic terrorism is not a crime in the UK. Speaking out against it, falling victim to it or standing up against it is.
Daniel Greenfield is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.
Reprinted by kind permission of the author and Front Page Magazine.
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Obama Plays a Dead Man’s Hand in Lebanon, and Wins ...Rising up from his political grave, the ex-president cements a U.S. partnership with Iran in Lebanon while Israel meekly gives up its gains
Tony Badran/The Tablet/November 28/ 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/11/137379/
Barely three weeks ago, Barack Obama’s legacy was in tatters. His party was roundly defeated in the election, after he personally engineered the defenestration of his doddering former vice president from the Oval Office. Instead of greeting the sight of Obama emerging from the shadows with relief, Americans reacted with horror. His handpicked candidate was trounced, while the Party he directed lost both houses of Congress. The Iran deal, which he once saw as his ticket to Mount Rushmore, would be consigned to the dustbin of history by self-proclaimed master dealmaker Donald Trump.
And yet, two months before the end of his lengthy shadow presidency, and faced with the final undoing of his signature legacy project in the Middle East, Obama went all in—and won big. By forcing Israel to accept a deal with Hezbollah that will formalize America’s role as the terror group’s protector, Obama will have locked in a key piece of his decade-old policy of leveraging American power to secure both Iran’s continuing regional influence and its direct control over Israel’s borders.
After nearly two months of operating in Lebanon, the Israeli cabinet agreed on Tuesday to the cease-fire deal brokered by President Joe Biden’s special envoy, Amos Hochstein. The details of the deal are, for the most part, as irrelevant as they are meaningless. In essence, they represent a return to the Oct. 6, 2023, status quo ante. Namely, that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will again deploy in south Lebanon, and again pretend to “implement UNSCR 1701”—the meaningless 2006 U.N. resolution which supposedly prevents Hezbollah’s rearmament and the reconstruction of its infrastructure south of the Litani River. To prop up this threadbare charade, the U.S. will now up its annual taxpayer subsidization of Hezbollah’s base—reportedly by at least another $400 million—to account for the enlargement of the LAF with new, U.S.-subsidized recruits. With these additions, U.S. taxpayer funding for Hezbollahland will now sit at around a $1 billion a year.
Netanyahu made his deposit of a ‘cease-fire’ in Obama’s account, locking in the disastrous precedent of having the U.S. adjudicate between Israel and Hezbollah, and buttressing its role as patron and protector of the Hezbollah territory.
The relevant parts of the agreement have to do with the formalization of the U.S. role in Lebanon—a process that began with Hochstein’s maritime deal in 2022—as an arbiter between Israel and Hezbollah, increasing America’s direct management of the Lebanese special province and of Israel’s defense policy. The vehicle for this role that the deal introduces is the creation of a so-called monitoring committee headed by the U.S., which will be represented presumably by a CENTCOM officer.
In other words, the U.S. is now responsible for handling Israel’s complaints about the myriad violations of 1701 that will doubtlessly be forthcoming as Hezbollah’s forces and supporters stream back into their villages on Israel’s northern border. And since the U.S. underwrites the LAF, in which it has been heavily invested for two decades, the Americans will be inclined to cover for the LAF’s collusion with Hezbollah—in the process becoming directly complicit for the aid that the LAF will give to its symbiotic terrorist partner. The lawyerly language that Team Obama planted in the side letter they gave Israel, as well as the text of the agreement itself, make it plain that the U.S. will now restrict Israeli actions, certainly in the parts of the country north of the Litani. As a senior administration official told its Israeli stenographer Barak Ravid, “There are restrictions on the military activity that Israel can carry out. It is impossible to sign a ceasefire agreement if Israel can shoot afterwards whatever it wants in Lebanon and whenever it wants.”
Instead, as Hochstein told Al Jazeera, “The United States will send diplomats and military personnel to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, whose mission will be to work with the Lebanese Armed Forces and Lebanese authorities.” And if Israel has a complaint, it will need to notify the U.S., and share intelligence with it in the context of the monitoring committee, so that the CENTCOM officer can then relay those concerns to the LAF, which has long operated in partnership with Hezbollah’s forces, and whose political sponsors in Beirut are dominated by the Iranian-run militia.
In other words, the agreement affirms that Israel is a province that lacks full sovereignty, especially when it comes to its defense policy in territory where Washington has decided to partner with Iran and establish a joint protectorate dedicated to Israel’s destruction.
But none of this explains how and why Netanyahu decided to play what appeared to be a strong hand in order to achieve such a dubious-seeming result. For an entire year, the Israeli prime minister managed to outmaneuver a hostile administration determined to destroy him and to end Israel’s operation in Gaza (it had openly intervened to block an early strike on Hezbollah back in October of last year). Netanyahu patiently built his stack, and then started taking huge pots when he called the administration’s bluff, pushed into Rafah and broke Hamas’ back. In a stunning series of operations, the IDF then killed all of Hamas’ leaders, including Yahya Sinwar.
Contrary to the advice of his General Staff, Netanyahu then turned north and within weeks, he had decapitated Hezbollah’s entire command. The entire world watched in awe as each crushing blow followed the last. Exploding beepers! Nasrallah killed inside his bunker. What would come next?
Even as the kangaroo court at the ICC pronounced him to be a genocidal war criminal, Netanyahu’s winning streak only got longer. Barack Obama and the Democrats received a surprise shellacking, ensuring Donald Trump’s triumphant return to the White House. The Iranians lost a key part of their nuclear complex, and were so shaken—with their trusty shield in Lebanon now dashed to pieces—that they didn’t have the means or the nerve to respond. Netanyahu was holding a full house with aces; a surefire winner. And then he folded.
Of these, the family of arguments that go something like, “well, Israel was running out of meaningful targets, making the returns increasingly smaller,” and “now it can turn its attention fully to Iran,” are the most patently offensive to reason. Israel could have simply run the clock down. And while it actually did not need a “deal” in Lebanon—there being no sovereign entity to make a “deal” with aside from Hezbollah, which was clearly losing its military engagements with the IDF—if it were determined to indulge in one then it should’ve waited for the new administration, so that whatever arrangement ensued would not reinforce a hostile framework, but rather help tear it down.
On the face of it, this is a clear-cut case of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But then came a flurry of other Israeli statements on background suggesting that Israel was coerced. An Israeli official told the Times of Israel that “Israel had no choice but to accept a cease-fire, out of fear that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration could punish Israel with a United Nations Security Council resolution in its final weeks.” Reports from Israel were that, in his address to the cabinet, Netanyahu drove home precisely this justification for accepting the deal. By accepting a less-than-ideal agreement, Netanyahu reportedly said, Israel was avoiding a greater risk: a Biden administration-sponsored Security Council resolution that could lead to international sanctions against Israel.
It remains unclear what the resolution in question might have been. A resolution calling for a cease-fire, by itself, is irrelevant and could safely be ignored. For it to mean something, such a resolution would have had to have real-world, long-term material repercussions that would be tricky to reverse.
Sen. Ted Cruz, in a critical statement on the cease-fire agreement, mentioned the Biden administration “threatening to facilitate a further, broader, binding international arms embargo through the United Nations.” There is speculation that this resolution was being prepared by the French, doubtless in direct coordination with the administration, which would have, in a replay of Obama’s December 2016 gambit with UNSCR 2334, allowed the passage of the resolution through abstention, after quarterbacking the entire play. The French may have already given a preview of this scheme when they called for an arms embargo on Israel in October.
Would Team Obama do this on their way out? Of course they would. They played pretty much the same hand on their way out the door the last time. Was such a resolution really in the works to be passed in the next 60 days? Maybe. Would Joe Biden, who prides himself on being a defender of Israel, really have stripped Israel naked on his way out the door, in order to make the guy who pushed him out the window happy? Possibly. But it hardly seems like a slam dunk.
Perhaps more will become clearer in the coming days. In any case, whether Team Obama bluffed Bibi with a pair of eights, or whether they showed their stronger hand at this point is moot. Obama won in Lebanon.
Some will argue that the deal inherently is nonsensical and based on paradoxical gibberish or fake things like the LAF and UNIFIL, and is therefore meaningless and bound to collapse, while Israel will be free to do what it wants—with U.S. backing—the moment Trump takes office. Again, maybe. But what this ostensible real-world logic misses is that while the deal may be a way of tap dancing until the danger passes, it also has lasting, real-world consequences. Never mind that it will bring tens of thousands of Hezbollah fighters and their families along with convenient human shields back to Israel’s border, where they can rebuild their tunnel networks and weapons depots with hundreds of millions of dollars in international funding. And that the Israelis will be pressured against breaking the cease-fire in order to stop them and instead will be encouraged to file a complaint.
Even more significantly, it locks in Obama’s conceptualization of the U.S. position in Lebanon, aspects of which—such as increased U.S. investment in the LAF, and the added prominence of the billion-dollar U.S. Embassy which will host even more American personnel whose job is to constrain Israel—have support within the Republican Party, and therefore are likely to be consolidated under the Trump administration.
It is hard to imagine that at some point—following a cross-border raid by Hezbollah, or an Israeli retaliatory attack that kills LAF personnel or so-called Western advisers—President Donald Trump won’t review the facts he is given, and ask which idiot thought it was a good idea for the United States to be spending $1 billion a year to protect an Iranian terror army. No doubt, someone in his administration will answer “the Israelis.” It would be better for Israel and America alike if that answer was actually wrong.
**Tony Badran is Tablet’s news editor and Levant analyst.

Iraq’s water crisis and the need for global action
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/November 28, 2024
Iraq is facing a water crisis of staggering proportions. Extreme temperatures, prolonged droughts and inadequate water management have pushed the country into a state of emergency. A report published this month by the Norwegian Refugee Council highlights how Iraq’s agricultural decline is being compounded by “extreme temperatures and long, dry spells,” forcing one in two families to cultivate less land or use less water in 2024 compared to previous years. The report sheds light on how these challenges affect income, harvest yields and people’s ability to recover from decades of instability.
Iraq’s reliance on outdated irrigation techniques has most likely exacerbated the crisis. As many as 70 percent of farmers still depend on inefficient flood irrigation, despite severe water shortages.
Years of conflict have also left Iraq’s water infrastructure in a state of disrepair, rendering it incapable of addressing current or future challenges. The reduction in agricultural inputs has led to dire economic and social consequences. In addition, farming communities have witnessed a steady decline in wheat, vegetable and fruit harvests for the second consecutive year. This trend is not only eroding household incomes but also increasing the vulnerability of millions to hunger and poverty. Without urgent intervention, Iraq faces a spiraling crisis that threatens to destabilize rural communities and deepen socioeconomic inequalities.Iraq’s aging water infrastructure requires urgent and comprehensive improvement to address its inefficiencies
Addressing Iraq’s water crisis requires a comprehensive strategy that integrates modernization, investment and resilience-building efforts, including transitioning to efficient irrigation techniques such as drip and sprinkler systems. This would significantly reduce water wastage. Promoting drought-resistant crops is another vital step to ensure that agriculture can adapt to the changing climatic conditions.
Iraq’s aging water infrastructure, encompassing reservoirs, irrigation canals and distribution networks, requires urgent and comprehensive improvement to address its inefficiencies and vulnerabilities. Decades of neglect and conflict have left these critical systems in disrepair, leading to significant water losses that exacerbate the challenges posed by climate change. Modernizing this infrastructure by investing in advanced storage facilities can play a pivotal role in water management. These facilities could help capture and conserve water during the wet season, ensuring a reliable supply during prolonged periods of drought.
Equally important is equipping farmers with the necessary knowledge and skills to adopt sustainable water usage practices. Training programs on modern farming techniques, efficient irrigation systems and crop diversification could significantly reduce water wastage in agriculture, which is the sector that uses the largest volume of water in Iraq. To encourage the widespread adoption of these measures, government-led initiatives offering financial incentives such as subsidies or tax breaks for water conservation practices could be highly effective.
At the same time, the establishment of strong regulatory frameworks is essential for equitable water distribution and efficient resource management across Iraq. Without clear regulations and oversight, disputes over water access and mismanagement are likely to persist, further straining an already fragile system. Such frameworks should include mechanisms to monitor and control water usage, enforce sustainable practices and ensure fair distribution among urban, rural and agricultural sectors.
It is important to point out that Iraq’s water crisis is not an isolated problem but a global challenge requiring international support. Global powers and international organizations have a moral and practical responsibility to assist Iraq in overcoming this crisis. World powers and wealthier nations, particularly those responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions, must share the responsibility of funding transformational projects in Iraq.
Global powers and international organizations have a moral and practical responsibility to assist Iraq. Sue Clarke, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s country director for Iraq, emphasized: “The world’s largest polluters, which also happen to be among the richest, must share the collective responsibility of investing in climate-resilient transformational projects in countries like Iraq.”Organizations like the UN and the World Bank can offer technical assistance to modernize Iraq’s irrigation systems and water infrastructure. The international community must recognize the disproportionate burden placed on countries like Iraq, which are bearing the brunt of climate change despite contributing minimally to global emissions. This recognition should translate into tangible support for Iraq’s adaptation efforts.
If immediate steps are not taken, the consequences for Iraq and the broader region could be catastrophic. First of all, continued agricultural decline will lead to widespread food insecurity, forcing millions into poverty and hunger. Vulnerable groups, including displaced populations, will suffer the most. As water resources dry up and livelihoods collapse, migration pressures will intensify, straining Iraq’s urban centers and neighboring countries.
In addition, competition over water resources could escalate tensions within Iraq and with neighboring countries, potentially leading to broader regional conflicts. Furthermore, Iraq’s struggles could disrupt global food supply chains, exacerbating food price inflation and economic instability worldwide. And the prolonged neglect of water management will accelerate desertification, further reducing Iraq’s arable land and biodiversity.
In conclusion, Iraq’s water crisis is a stark reminder of the interconnected nature of climate challenges. While Iraq must take decisive steps to modernize its water systems and adopt sustainable practices, the international community has an equally important role to play. World powers and wealthier nations must invest in climate resilience projects, mediate regional disputes and advocate for climate justice to support Iraq in overcoming this crisis. The stakes are too high to ignore. Failure to act will not only devastate Iraq but also have far-reaching consequences for the region and the world.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Will North Korean soft power return to the Middle East?
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/November 28, 2024
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was not unusual to see headlines praising North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Il Sung in Lebanese newspapers. Indeed, Levantine media at the time even named him “the leader loved by 100 million.” It was obviously mainly left-leaning or socialist media outlets that would publish articles praising the achievements of the North Korean leader, while always focusing on the theme of resistance.
North Korea had positioned itself as a pillar of the nonaligned movement. It was a supporter of the Palestine Liberation Organization and other causes. Pyongyang viewed these groups as allies in the international struggle against imperialism. It developed a real soft power strategy during the broader Cold War era, exporting its revolutionary ideology. The recurrent themes were anticolonialism, anti-imperialism and support for socialist movements across the Middle East. This was very clear in Lebanon, which was the epicenter of the Palestinian struggle at the time.
One also needs to remember that North Korea did not only push its ideological messages, it also provided military training, arms and financial aid to Palestinian militants. Moreover, during the Lebanese Civil War, Pyongyang extended military support and expertise to communist and leftist factions. The Lebanese Communist Party was one of the beneficiaries of this support. It is worth noting that this group is now completely pro-Hezbollah.
This period was also different for North Korea. I will not delve into the Korean wars, but Pyongyang was able to balance between Russia and China and, in a way, gain its voice. This balance empowered its capacity to send its ideological message to the Middle East.
The recurrent themes were anticolonialism, anti-imperialism and support for socialist movements across the Middle East. Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, this was no longer the case. North Korea became increasingly dependent on Beijing. A quick look at North Korea’s imports highlights this. It has maintained a certain degree of freedom, but this is much more limited than during the Cold War. Moreover, its political influence and focus on the Middle East also faded away.
In the 1980s, North Korea’s outreach to the region was mostly in the form of covert dealings, rather than its earlier very clear anti-imperialist messaging within the Middle East.
It is also worth noting that Pyongyang had some arrangements with Muammar Qaddafi. This was consistent with its goal of seeking partners to circumvent international sanctions and to support its struggling economy. In the same way, it also keeps good relations with Syria and, to this day, it has strong ties with Algeria, which continues to celebrate Kim’s historic 1975 visit.
Is North Korea now about to engage ideologically in the Middle East once again? Last month’s news of North Korean soldiers assisting Russia in its war against Ukraine could be a sign of change. The mutual visits and expanding bonds of friendship between President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un are potentially changing the equation relating to Pyongyang’s reliance on China. With growing exchanges and resources from Moscow, North Korea will probably be able to rebalance or mitigate the influence of Beijing. It is also clear that China is uneasy with the latest development as it makes it more difficult to maintain its neutral stance in the war in Ukraine. This could prove to be a new opportunity for North Korea to reestablish its messaging and outreach in the region. Despite these tensions, there is a more unified front between China and Russia than there was in the 1970s. This is partly because the Nixon Doctrine is now void. The former US president’s opening to China successfully divided the two communist countries. Today, China, Russia and North Korea have a dynamic relationship, but are looking to the West in the same way. Hence, at a time of high volatility in the Levant, this could prove to be a new opportunity for North Korea to reestablish its messaging and outreach in the region to end its isolation. Exactly like it did in the 1970s. If we review the ideological positioning of North Korea at the time, the main message that resonated was its solidarity with oppressed people. This also implies a messaging push on the theme of anti-imperialism, as well as another theme that is recurrent and important for North Korea: self-reliance and the base of what is known as the Juche ideology. In the 1960s, this was pushed through books and publications based on the translations of Kim Il Sung’s works. This literature was disseminated via leftist groups in Lebanon and the broader Middle East. Today, TikTok and Instagram will probably do the job. Moreover, these themes resonate strongly with the Middle East’s bourgeois youth, even more than those living or studying abroad. We also now live in a time when people reject great power competition. Hence, with conflicts in the region echoing the 1970s, are we about to witness a renewed communication policy from North Korea? Stranger things have happened.
**Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

The ‘Reagan question’ is infallible ... even in Ireland
Ross Anderson/Arab News/November 28, 2024
It was in October 1980, while debating against the incumbent Jimmy Carter during the US presidential election campaign, that Republican challenger Ronald Reagan posed what was simultaneously the simplest but also the most profound question ever asked of voters by a candidate. “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” he inquired. The old charmer had nailed it. Carter, who had been staging something of a comeback, duly tanked and Reagan won in a landslide — a margin of nearly 10 percentage points in the popular vote and an Electoral College victory of 489 to 49. There is a whole industry devoted to the question of why people vote how they do: psephology, data analysis, opinion polling, demographics. It is all hugely entertaining (I am an addict, cannot get enough of it), but no one should labor under the delusion that it is anything other than entertainment.
Even strategist James Carville’s famous sign on the wall of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign office — “The economy, stupid” — was an overcomplication. The general state of a country’s “economy” is a complex resolution of statistics involving employment, productivity, import/export, output of goods and services, investment and company profits, best left to professionals. It often bears no relation to whether voters feel financially comfortable: ask Kamala Harris. When laypeople speak of “the economy,” what they mean is “my economy” — in other words, the Reagan question.
When laypeople speak of ‘the economy,’ what they mean is ‘my economy’ — in other words, the Reagan question. Never has this been better illustrated than this year, when there have been or will be elections in more than 100 countries, with about 4 billion people, or roughly half the world’s population, eligible to vote. The results so far, particularly in developed Western countries — the US, the UK, France, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands — have not been good news for incumbents, and Reagan could tell you why: everyone is broke. There are two principal reasons for that. First, the COVID pandemic required governments worldwide to pump billions of dollars into their economies to keep them afloat while business and commercial productivity went through the floor. That has to be paid for, which in most Western countries means increased personal and corporate taxation. Second, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent domestic and commercial energy costs soaring, particularly in Western Europe, and these bills have to be paid too. As a result, the answer to the Reagan question is very much in the negative.
However, despite all the above, could it be that we are about to witness an exception? Voters in the Republic of Ireland go to the polls on Friday in the first parliamentary election since 2020. The main issues in the campaign (surprise, surprise) have been the cost of living, the affordability of housing and economic stability. Unaccountably, however, it appears that the incumbent coalition government may survive, and comfortably so.
Ireland has always been a special case. I once lived and worked in Dublin and was puzzled that the policies of the two main political parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, seemed indistinguishable. I asked a colleague to explain how people decided which way to vote. “Ah, well now,” he replied, “it depends which side your grandpa was on in the civil war.”
Like all good gags, this contained a kernel of truth. The Irish Civil War was fought between June 1922 and May 1923 between, in a uniquely Irish way, two groups of nationalists who wanted essentially the same thing — a republic independent of the UK. One group supported the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended a two-year war for independence and established the Irish Free State, separate from Britain but still part of the British Empire. The other group viewed the treaty as a betrayal of the 1916 Easter Rebellion and of those who fought in the war and believed it would never deliver genuine independence.
The pro-treaty group won and, from them, Fine Gael emerged as a political party. Fianna Fail was formed from the anti-treaty republicans. Both are parties of the center-right and, 100 years later, outsiders may have difficulty in telling them apart.
For this reason, the “rival” parties have had little difficulty in forming an effective coalition government for the past four years, their leaders taking it in turns to be taoiseach, or prime minister (I know, don’t even try to pronounce it unless you’re Irish: the deputy prime minister, or tanaiste, is another tongue twister). What is surprising is that on Friday voters seem likely to reward the coalition with a mandate to continue in office.
The Irish government finds itself in the unique position among Western democracies of having more money than it knows what to do with. How has this come about? The short answer is, the Reagan question. The longer answer is that, owing to a peculiarly Irish combination of circumstances, the government in Dublin finds itself in the unique position among Western democracies of having more money than it knows what to do with.
The roots go back to 1980, when the Irish government of the time had a wizard wheeze: it encouraged companies to set up regional HQs in Ireland, in return for the promise of zero corporation tax. The first to take advantage was Apple, which established a base for its non-US operations in the beautiful city of Cork. It was a win-win-win. Apple’s non-US profits in 2022-2023 amounted to just south of $70 billion, all funneled through Cork and on which it paid little to no tax; Ireland’s exchequer relinquished only revenue that it would not have had anyway without Apple; and the tech campus in Cork created about 6,000 skilled and rewarding jobs for Ireland’s extremely well-educated young graduates. Inevitably, however, there were gripes elsewhere. The European Commission in Brussels began a series of investigations, in which it accused Ireland of “leprechaun economics” and described it as the world’s largest tax haven. Predictably, the whole dispute ended up in court. The mills of the European Court of Justice grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly fine. In September, the court finally ordered Apple to pay about $15 billion in back tax, whether it wanted to or not: and it ordered the Irish government to trouser the cash, whether it wanted it or not.This colossal windfall amounts to more than $3,000 for every man, woman and child in the country and ministers have wasted no time in hurling it in the general direction of voters. In the annual budget presented to parliament in October, the government increased the minimum wage, augmented a whole raft of welfare payments, including doubling child benefit in the month before Christmas, and gave away €250 ($264) in energy credits to every household. Wherever he is, Reagan must be chuckling.
*Ross Anderson is associate editor of Arab News.

The northern front cease-fire: Weighing the pros and cons
Amir Avivi/Ynetnews/November 28/2024
Analysis: Israel must create conditions that permanently prevent Hezbollah from regaining the capacity to threaten our communities and citizens
The Israeli public often tends to form strong opinions on issues without fully understanding the details, and the anticipated cease-fire in the north is no exception. The public discourse is filled with voices expressing harsh criticism and even anger toward the proposed 60-day cease-fire along the northern border.
In fact, residents of northern Israel are expected to stage demonstrations against the emerging agreement. Many feel a sense of déjà vu, recalling the events of 2006, and fear that Hezbollah will soon reestablish its presence along our border. There is a widespread sentiment that we are missing a historic opportunity to permanently resolve the persistent threat posed by the Shiite forces at the northern border.
Their concerns are valid and demand a thoughtful, comprehensive response — not hasty decisions made before gaining a clear understanding of the situation on the ground, the specifics of the agreement, and the implications and opportunities the new circumstances may present.
First, we must explore the difference between Gaza and Lebanon. In Gaza, Israel's political and military echelons assigned the war a clear objective: eliminating Hamas as a governmental and military force. That objective requires conquering territory in the Gaza Strip, as is in fact being done.
In the north, however, it is unrealistic to expect the IDF to completely dismantle Hezbollah without taking and holding territory—territory that would encompass all of Lebanon.
Consequently, a different objective has been set for the northern front: enabling Israelis living near the border to return safely to their homes.
It is clear to any observer of the conflict that Israel has dealt significant blows to Hezbollah and retains the capacity to further pressure the organization that has entrenched itself in Lebanon. At this juncture, several key options are available:
The first option involves mobilizing Lebanese elements, in coordination with the international community, to disband Hezbollah as a military organization. This effort would align with the objectives of UN Resolution 1559 or, at the very least, lead to the dismantling of Hezbollah’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
Regardless of the approach taken, Israel’s freedom of action must be safeguarded to ensure Hezbollah cannot regain its strength in the future. This is a fundamental condition for any agreement. Our security must remain firmly under our control.
In any scenario where Lebanon is unable to prevent a Hezbollah resurgence, the response must be decisive IDF action to thwart any attempt to rebuild the organization’s strength. Hezbollah must be unable to recover, even beyond the Litani River.
Two alternative strategies could involve Lebanese elements in dismantling Hezbollah: the carrot and the stick. Personally, I favor the stick — an approach in which the Lebanese state's infrastructure is targeted first, sending a clear message that Israel does not differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah.
Lebanon should face a significant penalty, one that would compel other factions to actively work toward Hezbollah’s dissolution in order to avoid the heavy price Israel would impose on them.
Contrary to many opinions, including my own, the Israeli government chose the carrot approach. The message sent to all Lebanese factions is that the war is aimed solely at Hezbollah, not at them. Israel is offering dialogue to collaborate on dismantling Hezbollah and is committed to weakening the group to the point where other forces can take action. Whether the carrot strategy will prove effective remains to be seen — only time will tell. Stick to the chosen strategy
Another advantage of this strategy is that it gradually builds broader international legitimacy for Israeli military action. Since adopting the carrot approach, Israel has maintained a dialogue with various Lebanese factions. Therefore, any abrupt shift in strategy, particularly initiating attacks on infrastructure, would undermine our efforts and yield little benefit.
The chosen strategy must be upheld to ensure consistency, demonstrating steadfastness in its execution.
Israel’s approach to managing developments envisions any cease-fire as temporary, pending Trump’s return to the White House. Rather than signaling permanence, it will offer flexibility for future decision-making. At this stage, the onus will be on Lebanon and the international community to demonstrate their commitment by dismantling Hezbollah’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon within 60 days.
This process will be crucial in creating the conditions for the safe return of our northern residents to their homes, while also delivering a severe humiliation to Hezbollah. Such humiliation is not only important for our sense of pride, but more importantly, because the culture in our region views the ability to publicly flaunt a victory as a sign of strength and credible deterrence.
Another key consideration is the successful conclusion of the IDF's ground operation and the subsequent redeployment of forces to the Gaza theater. It is crucial to remember that hostages are still being held there, and the mission to dismantle Hamas remains unfinished. Strategically, stabilizing one front makes sense in order to prepare for a broader offensive that will decisively end the fighting in the second front once and for all.
In this context, it is important to recognize that the primary focus of the attack must shift to the Iranian front, with efforts directed at convincing the Trump administration to take military action against the Ayatollahs' regime.
This necessity arises from the critical need to dismantle the Iranian nuclear program and eliminate the Iranian threat entirely—an existential danger that demands the overthrow of the Shiite axis. Consequently, the defeat of Hezbollah is inextricably linked to Tehran.
In conclusion, we must uphold the principle that makes our sacrifices meaningful: maintaining control over our own security. It is imperative to create conditions that permanently prevent Hezbollah from regaining the capacity to threaten our communities and citizens.
*Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi is the founder of Israel’s Defense and Security Forum (IDSF).
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