English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For January 02/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 02/22-24/:”When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 01-02/2025
Elias Bejjani/Video and Text: "Astrologers Have Lied, Even If They Speak the Truth/02 January 2025
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: Our Faithful Wishes for the New Year: Love, Peace, Faith, Fear of God, and the Last Day of Judgment/January 01, 2025
Elias Bejjani/Text & Video: Sheikh Abbas Al-Jawhari Abandoned His National Stances Mostly Out of Greed for Shiite Leadership After the Defeat of Hezbollah/December 31, 2024
Qassem: An Israeli attack on south is attack on state, int'l community
Israel says bombed Hezbollah members transferring arms in S. Lebanon
Israel blames 'weakening of discipline' in death of archaeologist who entered Lebanon with troops
Israel acknowledges it assassinated Arouri in Dahieh
Israel Attacks Hezb Vehicle and Arms Depot
New Year's Eve Gunfire Kills 6-Year-Old
SpotlightLebanon, a Nation Suffering from Its Leaders/David Sahyoun/This Is Beirut/January 01/2025
Lebanese Predictions for 2025: Uncertainty and Shy Hope/Marilyne Jallad & Paul Guillot/This Is Beirut/January 01/2025
The Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics, Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian: Lebanon Needs a Unifying and Visionary President
Patriarch Rahi: Beware of postponing the election of the president, otherwise the deputies will lose the confidence of the Lebanese and the international community
Bishop Aoudi at the Mass of the Circumcision of Christ and the New Year: We hope that the new president will be a sieve who will not be terrified by any evil or corruption

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 01-02/2025
What we know about the New Orleans attacker
What is the Islamic State, and what attacks has it inspired by offshoots and lone wolves?
A new year dawns on a Middle East torn by conflict and change
Israeli strikes kill 12 in Gaza as war grinds into the new year with no end in sight
Israel warns it will step up Gaza strikes if Hamas keeps up rocket fire
Gaza population down by 6 percent since start of war — Palestinian statistics bureau
Gaza babies die from winter cold say medics and families
Netanyahu Dashes Hopes for Gaza Ceasefire Deal
Israel says intercepted two projectiles fired from central Gaza
Israel's former defence chief Gallant quits parliament
Protesters in Syria demand justice for disappeared activists and accountability from all factions
New year hope reigns in a Damascus freed from Assad
Saudi Arabia launches air bridge to deliver urgent aid to Syria
Syrian civil war killed more than 528,500: monitor
Saudi Arabia executes 6 Iranians for drug trafficking
Iran to hold nuclear talks with 3 European powers January 13
Ocalan: PKK chief held in solitary on Turkish prison island

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on January 01-02/2025
Multiculturalism, Human Rights and the West/Nils A. Haug/Gatestone Institute./January 01/2025
How questions of sovereignty and security are fueling instability in the Sahel/Jonathan Lessware/Arab News/January 01/2024
How to bring the region closer to peace in 2025/Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/January 01, 2025
The case for optimism in 2025/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/January 01, 2025
2025… Between Expectations and Predictions/Emile Ameen/Asharq Al-Awsat/January 02/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 01-02/2025
Elias Bejjani/Video and Text: "Astrologers Have Lied, Even If They Speak the Truth"
/02 January 2025
Have those who practice astrology, prophecies, lies, and hypocrisy replaced Almighty God?
Have they truly become capable of reading the future and knowing the unseen?
There is no doubt that in Lebanon, almost all the owners of media facilities (TV stations, radio stations, YouTube channels, newspapers, and online websites) neither fear Almighty God nor the hour of His last reckoning. They brazenly promote infidelity, hoaxes, and lies through programs that epitomize spiritual decadence. These programs—whose stars are alleged astrologers claiming to know and predict the future—are mere swindlers and hypocrites. Some of them are even linked to regional and local intelligence groups that use misinformation to propagate various conspiracies.This heretical media status is deeply flawed, sad, disgusting, and frightening. Many Lebanese media institutions have sunk into a mire of faithlessness and immorality.
To those responsible for these outlets—who promote the lies and trivialities of heretics practicing magic, astrology, and false prophecies—we ask: Do you fear God?
Do you believe in the Holy Scriptures? Are you aware of the dire consequences awaiting those who engage in such satanic practices, condemned by Christian, Jewish, and Islamic teachings alike?
We also ask Lebanese religious authorities: Why do you not take a firm stand against every media outlet that promotes infidelity and Satanism through programs of predictions, prophecies, and claims of knowledge of the unseen? These programs blatantly defy all heavenly laws. Similarly, we question the inaction of MPs, ministers, and other state officials: Why have you not enacted laws to prevent these heresies, which are sinful according to all monotheistic religions?
For those who follow the heresies promoted by most Lebanese media during the New Year—whether in the homeland or the diaspora—this situation evokes memories of the sinful eras of Sodom, Gomorrah, Noah, and Nimrod's arrogance. Have astrologers, false prophets, and hypocrites replaced God Almighty, claiming to read the future and uncover the unseen? Do clerics, politicians, media professionals, and heretics not understand that only God knows the future? Even the prophets and messengers were not granted this grace. The holy books of monotheistic religions unequivocally condemn practices such as spirit preparation, sorcery, divination, astrology, and the reading of horoscopes. These are considered satanic acts, and believers are urged to reject and avoid anyone who engages in them. Such practices divert believers from God, leading them toward darkness and deception.
In Islam, astrology and all forms of fortune-telling are explicitly prohibited and forbidden (haram). As the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated in Sahih Muslim: “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about anything, his prayers will not be accepted for forty nights.” If merely consulting a fortune-teller results in such consequences, what fate awaits the fortune-tellers themselves?
Christianity and Judaism similarly denounce these practices. The Bible teaches that Satan often masquerades as good, using astrologers, magicians, and fortune-tellers to deceive people and lead them astray. Those who fall into these traps risk distancing themselves from God and embracing satanic deception.
Astrologers and fortune-tellers often become victims of their own delusions, unknowingly serving as tools of Satan. As humans created in God’s image, we are called to seek His will through prayer, faith, and adherence to His teachings, not through sorcery or astrology.
Anyone who believes in the false claims of astrologers and fortune-tellers commits a grave sin, as these acts defy the core tenets of all monotheistic religions. It is no wonder our country faces tribulations, hardships, and divine wrath. As our society mirrors the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, it should come as no surprise that we endure God’s righteous judgment.
In conclusion, all who practice astrology, divination, and similar acts stand in direct opposition to the teachings of heavenly religions. They defy God’s will, becoming tools of Satan and slaves to sin, infidelity, and ingratitude. Those who believe in or promote such practices are complicit in these acts and share in their guilt.
We end with a verse from Leviticus 20:27 (Old Testament): "A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads."

Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: Our Faithful Wishes for the New Year: Love, Peace, Faith, Fear of God, and the Last Day of Judgment
/January 01, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/81879/
How transformative and healing it would be if each and every one of us were fully ready to welcome the year 2025 with a clear conscience, a reconciled spirit, and a renewed commitment to love and understanding. Imagine entering the new year with a heart unburdened by the weight of past grievances, a mind freed from the chains of hostility, hatred, and jealousy, and a soul glowing with forgiveness and compassion.
Life, as fleeting as it is precious, unfolds in the blink of an eye. The gift of life that Almighty God has granted us is a treasure that He may choose to reclaim at any moment. These undeniable truths compel us to reflect deeply on how we live our days and how we engage with those around us. Let us, therefore, make a conscious decision to leave behind the pains, hardships, and disappointments of 2024, embracing the opportunity for a fresh start.
As we turn the page to 2025, let us commit to filling the blank slate of this new year with acts of kindness, gestures of goodwill, and moments of genuine connection. Let us strive to build bridges where walls once stood, to sow seeds of hope where despair had taken root, and to light the path of love where shadows of division lingered.
For our beloved Lebanon, a nation enduring the heavy yoke of occupation and oppression, let this new year ignite a collective yearning for peace and freedom. May it inspire all its people—the impoverished, the marginalized, and the oppressed—to find strength in unity, courage in faith, and resolve in their pursuit of justice and sovereignty. Let us pray that 2025 brings a renewed spirit of hope and the dawn of a brighter, liberated future for our homeland.
To every faithful and wise individual, the call is clear: Begin this new year with open hands, a forgiving heart, and unwavering faith. Extend love to those who may have wronged you, embrace the gift of reconciliation, and walk forward with self-confidence and hope.
Let us usher in 2025 with prayers for a year marked by peace, love, and the fear of God. May it be a time of renewal and blessings for all. From the depths of our hearts, we wish everyone a Happy New Year filled with forgiveness, faith, hope, and enduring love.
May Lebanon’s suffering come to an end, and may its people rise with strength and dignity to reclaim their freedom and future.
Elias Bejjani/Video: Our Faithful Wishes for the New Year: Love, Peace, Faith, Fear of God, and the Last Day of Judgment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKkvH5SrJac
Elias Bejjani/January 01, 2025

Elias Bejjani/Text & Video: Sheikh Abbas Al-Jawhari Abandoned His National Stances Mostly Out of Greed for Shiite Leadership After the Defeat of Hezbollah
/December 31, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/138546/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsiKVr4vrXc&t=274s
I was deeply surprised today by Sheikh Abbas Al-Jawhari’s speech, aired during his interview with "Al-Jadeed TV Station." For years, I viewed him as a national model to be followed, but his recent rhetoric—marked by a drastic shift in tone, vocabulary, and substance—was both shocking and profoundly disappointing. His speech reflected a complete departure from his previous national, sovereign, and coexistence-oriented stances, leaving me and many others puzzled by his sudden repudiation of his past alliances. This 180-degree turn—delivered with anger and laced with militarized, provocative, and blatantly sectarian undertones—is troubling to say the least.
Understanding this "self-coup" and its underlying motives leads one to conclude that it is a calculated political move, aimed at positioning himself as a leader within the Shiite community in the aftermath of Hezbollah’s defeat and the evident weakening of the Amal Movement. His shocking return to a sectarian discourse aligned with the Mullahs' agenda—and his newfound defense of Hezbollah's choices, including his support for Gaza war—raises serious questions. These are positions he had previously criticized and marketed against. For many sovereign Lebanese across societal, sectarian, and political lines, his dramatic volte-face is both bewildering and disheartening.
From a political perspective, Sheikh Al-Jawhari’s demands—such as trading Hezbollah’s weapons for Shiite representation within the state power structure—betray a personal, authoritarian agenda. His focus on Maronite seats and his emphasis on sectarian calculations rather than national unity highlight his intent to exploit the power vacuum left by Hezbollah’s collapse. This shift unmistakably reveals his ambition to replace Hezbollah as the leader of the Shiite community. Unfortunately, such aspirations come at the expense of his national and sovereign commitments.
Even more concerning was the tone of his rhetoric, which was doctrinal, provocative, and deeply divisive. In this regard, he outdid even figures like Mufti Qabalan, known for his arrogance, sectarian fervor, and rejection of Christian—particularly Maronite—partners in Lebanon. Sheikh Al-Jawhari’s new stance is short-sighted and selfish, prioritizing personal gain over the collective good. His provocative mobilization of Shiite community members around sectarianism is both unacceptable and counterproductive, as it entrenches them further into Iranian-Hezbollah’s destructive choices.
In summay, Sheikh Al-Jawhari’s rhetoric today is unrecognizable compared to his past positions. His shift appears driven by a desire for sectarian leadership within the Shiite community, yet this ambition is unlikely to materialize given the many competitors vying for this role. Personally, I have long admired Sheikh Al-Jawhari’s courage, patriotism, and dedication to Lebanese identity and sovereignty. His recent pivot, however, has left me disillusioned.
At a time when the Shiite community is in desperate need of leaders who reject Hezbollah, Amal, and subservience to the Iranian regime’s Wilayat al-Faqih, Sheikh Al-Jawhari’s departure from his former principles is a missed opportunity. I sincerely hope he will reconsider his trajectory and return to the values that once earned him admiration and respect. Lebanon and its sovereign path depend on leaders who rise above sectarianism and stand firm against external domination.

Qassem: An Israeli attack on south is attack on state, int'l community
Naharnet/January 01/2025
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has said that "the resistance will continue, has recovered and possesses enough faith that allows it to become stronger."
He however added that "there is now a chance for the Lebanese state to prove itself (against Israel's violations) through political action."Noting that any attack on south Lebanon is "an attack on the state and the international community," Qassem said "the Lebanese state is the side responsible for following up on the ceasefire with the agreement enforcement committee."Qassem also said that Hezbollah would work with its "partners" for the election of a new president in Lebanon.

Israel says bombed Hezbollah members transferring arms in S. Lebanon
Naharnet/January 01/2025
The Israeli army on Tuesday identified Hezbollah members transferring weapons from a weapons depot in southern Lebanon to a nearby vehicle, the Israeli army said on Wednesday. "The vehicle and the weapons depot were attacked from the air to remove the threat," Israeli army Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in an X post. The Israeli army "remains committed to the understandings reached between Israel and Lebanon and is deployed in the southern Lebanon area to remove any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens," Adraee added.

Israel blames 'weakening of discipline' in death of archaeologist who entered Lebanon with troops
Associated Press/January 01/2025
The Israeli military has blamed "operational burnout" and a "weakening of discipline and safety" in the death of a 70-year-old archaeologist who was killed in southern Lebanon along with another soldier while visiting a combat zone in November.
According to Israeli media reports, Zeev Erlich was not on active duty when he was shot, but was wearing a military uniform and had a weapon. The army said he was a reservist with the rank of major and identified him as a "fallen soldier" when it announced his death. Erlich was a well-known West Bank settler and researcher of Jewish history. Media reports at the time of his death said he entered Lebanon to explore an archaeological site. The family of the soldier who was killed with him has expressed anger over the circumstances of his death. The military launched an investigation after they were killed in a Hezbollah ambush. A separate probe is looking into who allowed Erlich to enter. The military said the entry of civilians who are not military contractors or journalists into combat zones is not widespread. Still, there have been multiple reports of Israeli civilians who support a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza or Lebanon entering those areas.

Israel acknowledges it assassinated Arouri in Dahieh
Associated Press/January 01/2025
Israel has acknowledged for the first time it was behind the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh Arouri in Beirut's southern suburbs in January 2024. Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas and a founder of the group’s military wing, was one of at least five top Hamas leaders assassinated in Lebanon over the past year, according to the year-end review released by Israel’s Shin Bet security service on Tuesday.

Israel Attacks Hezb Vehicle and Arms Depot
This Is Beirut/January 01/2025
The Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, began 2025 by announcing that it had targeted a vehicle and an arms depot belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, without specifying the location. “On Tuesday, the Israeli army spotted Hezbollah members transferring combat equipment from an arms depot in southern Lebanon to a vehicle nearby,” he said. In a tweet on his X account on Wednesday, Adraee revealed that the vehicle and depot were targeted by an aerial attack following surveillance, stating that the Israeli army “remains committed to the agreements between Israel and Lebanon and is deployed in southern Lebanon to neutralize any threat to Israel and its citizens.”

New Year's Eve Gunfire Kills 6-Year-Old
This Is Beirut/January 01/2025
Despite the security measures taken by the Ministry of the Interior on New Year's Eve, a 6-year-old girl, Sajida Shoman, lost her life after being hit by stray bullets due to celebratory gunfire, in the Wadi Khaled area of Akkar. Several solar panels and cars were also damaged. On Tuesday afternoon, caretaker Minister of the Interior Bassam Mawlawi had warned against celebratory gunfire, declaring it a crime liable to severe penalties. He had also called on citizens to avoid excessive speed, not to drink and drive, and to follow the instructions of Security Forces and Civil Defense agents. The combined forces had mobilized 327 vehicles and 4,200 members to carry out their mission and maintain order and security. On Tuesday night, Internal Security Forces officers patrolled the coastal roadway to slow down traffic and prevent accidents as they escorted locals returning home. Several checkpoints were also set up to test motorists’ blood alcohol level.

SpotlightLebanon, a Nation Suffering from Its Leaders
David Sahyoun/This Is Beirut/January 01/2025
An immature, dependent, transgressive and predatory political class has plunged Lebanon into a deep crisis. Prisoners of a psychopathological configuration, the leaders confuse their personal fate with that of the nation.
Amid the turmoil Lebanon is enduring, the psychological factors at play, which are crucial, are often overlooked. At the root of this profound crisis lies a political class responsible for the current decay, a class whose psychological dysfunctions border on true mental pathologies. Stuck at an infantile stage of development, the men and women in power perpetuate a cycle of subjugation and willful blindness that has upheaved the very soul of the country. Maturity is not determined by physical age. To attain it, one must successfully pass through the stages of psychosexual development, let go of Oedipal libidinal attachments, internalize the symbolic Law, adopt moral principles, cultivate an authentic self, achieve an autonomous and stable identity, and develop the ability to navigate the political realm with an awareness of the nation's interests, for which one must assume responsibility.
This is what the leaders of this country sorely lack.Trapped in an infantile position, their constant need for external guardianship mirrors the parent-child dependency dynamic, exposing a profound psychological regression. The mechanisms at work are many: a consistent rejection of responsibility, an inability to make independent decisions for the common good, and a continual need for external validation of a deceptive image. This infantile fixation is reflected in a constant avoidance of crucial deadlines for the country. The leaders, much like immature children, retreat into regressive behaviors, hoping that external figures of authority will support them in their own neglect. This infantile and irresponsible dynamic echoes throughout all levels of the state, paralyzing institutions and blocking any structural reforms.
But this pathological dependence is merely the visible aspect of a deeper affliction that is eating away at the Lebanese ruling class: unchecked narcissism. The leaders, regardless of their respective domains, present a carefully crafted, flattering image of themselves to conceal their true, perverse intentions. Behind this facade lies a starkly different reality, marked by shady maneuvers and deceitful conduct. This image split reflects a primitive defense mechanism, where the projected grandeur serves to hide a deep-seated narcissistic fragility. Childishly seeking validation from parental substitutes, they engage in contradictory allegiances, playing a double game with various regional and international sponsors. This dependence on foreign powers ultimately drives them to sacrifice national sovereignty for personal gain.
Their insatiable pursuit drives them to treat others as mere instruments to achieve their objectives, revealing a pronounced egocentrism that permeates all their actions. This relational exploitation is accompanied by a lack of empathy and an inability to address the needs of the population and the country. Hence, a profound disconnect arises between their projected image and the reality of their actions.
Trapped within their inflated egos, the leaders find themselves lost in a maze of contradictions, incompetence and inconsistencies. Their speeches, filled with promises and commitments, are nothing more than smokescreens designed to obscure their inability to act in the public's interest. This psychological discontinuity fuels an atmosphere of instability and distrust, eroding the very foundations of the state and undermining citizens' sense of security. For many, hope now lies solely outside Lebanon's borders.
Even more alarming is the pathological relationship these leaders have with the symbolic Law and state institutions. Like pre-Oedipal children governed by the pursuit of instinctual gratification, they place themselves above all restrictions, discarding the most basic principles of the rule of law. The general amnesty they granted themselves for crimes committed during the civil war is a striking example of this systemic transgression. In doing so, they embody an infantile sense of omnipotence, where the very concept of criminal accountability is rendered meaningless.
This psychopathological framework is defined by a primitive mode of functioning, where unbridled impulses take precedence and force replaces dialogue. Systematic violence and the elimination of others become tools for managing both public and private affairs, reflecting a deeply corrupted psychic structure. Their insatiable greed leaves their followers with only scraps.
This systemic transgression is closely linked to another pathology that is eroding the Lebanese political system: institutionalized predation. The leaders treat the state as a private business generating personal profits, transforming public institutions into sources of rents and patronage, looting the savings of thousands of Lebanese, and criminally neglecting the ammonium storage at the port, all while displaying a cynical disregard for the suffering of citizens. National resources are diverted, public contracts are rigged, thus plunging the country into an unprecedented economic, political and social crisis. As Lebanon sinks into runaway inflation and its national currency collapses, the political class continues its petty squabbles over the division of their control.
The perversion of power culminates in the political bargaining system that governs Lebanon. Each community leader participates in this grand market of privileges, seeking to claim their share of the national pie. Alliances are formed and dissolved according to personal interests, with no regard for the public good. This perverse dynamic reveals a psychic structure in which the very concept of the common good has vanished, replaced by a logic of widespread greed.
In this context of institutional decay, the incompetence of the leaders appears as an additional symptom of the pathology that is undermining the Lebanese political system. Rejecting any external aid to improve the functioning of services, they maintain a draconian rationing of electricity to benefit from the advantages provided by carcinogenic generators, ignore the accumulating waste in the streets, offering well-nourished meals to rats, and neglect the maintenance of infrastructure left to deteriorate. This negligence is not accidental; it is part of a broader plan of impoverishment and decay designed to place the country under the grip of a medieval dogmatism. This psychopathological configuration reveals a collective perverse structure that turns the state into a field of ruins, which they continue to fight over, like scavengers dividing the remains of a prey.
The thirst for power among Lebanese leaders has reached excessive proportions, at times bordering on megalomania. Each community leader sees themselves as a messianic figure, the only one able to lead the country toward a brighter future. This delusion of omnipotence is fueled by a vision of power as a divine mission, where the leader’s figure is imbued with an almost divine aura. Entrapped by their own narcissism, the leaders begin to merge their personal fate with that of the nation.
This institutionalized megalomania is reflected in the monopolization of political discourse, with each leader presenting themselves as the sole representative of their community. Differences in opinion are suppressed, dissenting voices are sidelined, and the cult of personality is elevated to the level of a state religion. The appropriation of public discourse reveals deep-seated narcissistic insecurity, where any form of pluralism is seen as an existential threat.
However, this thirst for power cannot be satisfied by mere symbolic domination. It demands total control over the mechanisms of the state, transforming institutions into tools of control and coercion. Security services, public administrations, the judiciary and the media – all pillars of society – are progressively overtaken by partisan factions, serving the personal interests of the leaders. This takeover is accompanied by latent violence, always ready to crush any signs of opposition, often accused of collaborating with the enemy. Like paranoid tyrants, the leaders see conspiracies everywhere and enemies at every turn. This persecutory worldview compels them to tighten their grip on society, stifling both individual and collective freedoms.
Faced with this pathological abuse of power, Lebanese society seems paralyzed, as though numbed by decades of civil or uncivil war and violence. Citizens, held hostage by narcissistic and perverse leaders, find it difficult to mobilize for a change in course. Fear, resignation, cynicism, extreme individualism and the fragility of their situation have gradually eroded the foundations of collective action, leaving the door open to the most disturbing excesses.
A leader's political maturity is reflected in their ability to move beyond the primary narcissism of infantile omnipotence. A mature leader embraces the complexity of the challenges they face, shows humility, and recognizes the limits of their abilities. They uphold the supremacy of the law, respect institutions and the rule of law, resisting the temptations of unchecked power and the immediate satisfaction of their impulses. Their maturity is demonstrated through their capacity to accept doubt and uncertainty, to align their words with their actions, and to remain open to others, listening to the needs of the people and committing wholeheartedly to the common good. Above all, they internalize the fundamental ethical principle of not doing unto others what they would not wish for themselves.

Lebanese Predictions for 2025: Uncertainty and Shy Hope
Marilyne Jallad & Paul Guillot/This Is Beirut/January 01/2025
As the new year draws near, we spoke with residents from several neighborhoods across Beirut. Most carry heavy hearts, voicing a profound sense of apprehension. Though they all speak of “hopes for peace” and a revival of Lebanon’s prosperity, few appear to truly believe in it. As we wander through the bustling streets of Basta al-Tahta, lined with small shops, it is easy to forget that this neighborhood paid a heavy price before the ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hezbollah on November 27. Yet, the harsh reality quickly reasserts itself.
Illegal Weapons: A Persistent Wound That Dims Hope
With graying hair and a weary expression, Ali firmly believes that Iran “has destroyed our country and the entire region.” For him, the only way forward is for Tehran “to be brought to its knees, with Khamenei at its helm,” he declares resolutely.
Mosbah, nostalgic for a bygone era, reflects, “This neighborhood is where I grew up. It was once a big and mixed village, and life was good. Today, it’s all gone,” he laments. As the third-generation owner of Farchoukh Juice, a well-known local juice shop, he strikes a slightly more hopeful note. “I want to believe in a better future, but pessimism dominates. Despite the ceasefire, as long as illegal weapons continue to circulate, I don’t have hope for anything,” he confesses.
Meanwhile, Anthony, a 23-year-old culinary influencer from Ain al-Remmaneh, remains hopeful. He dreams of a Lebanon “finally free, sovereign, and, above all, liberated from all its chains.”Only a Strong, Principled and Sovereign President Can Alter Lebanon's Future
As for the presidential election, scheduled for January 9 after more than two years of deadlock, Mosbah remains skeptical. “Even if it happens, it will change nothing,” he says, disillusioned, feeling as though he now lives “in a giant prison.”
On the other hand, Moustafa, also a resident of Basta al-Tahta, holds out hope for a strong president who would “stand at the top of the pyramid.” “We need a decisive leader who can unite all Lebanese,” he asserts with conviction. “The problem is not the Lebanese people. They love and help each other,” he adds, referring to the solidarity displayed during the war. The true obstacle, according to Moustafa, lies in the political parties that divide the people. For him, the priority is to elect a president “who is purely Lebanese and who will only defend the interests of his country.”Tony, the owner of the clothing store, Uneffected, located at the Ain al-Remmaneh-Chiyah junction, shares the same hope. His wish for 2025? “For business to pick up.” Unfortunately, he had little luck, opening his store just days before the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted over a year ago. “I'm just one street away from Chiyah, where we've endured very tough moments marked by airstrikes and destruction,” he recalls, especially since the war began in this area on September 23, 2024. Juliette, a 43-year-old mother of three, couldn’t hold back her tears when we met her at Sassine Square, in the heart of Achrafieh. She is exhausted from juggling three jobs to support her family. What she hopes for most is “good health” to keep going, and, above all, “a decent salary” to cover her growing bills for rent, electricity, and water, which have become exorbitantly high since the onset of Lebanon's economic crisis in 2019, amid the stark absence of the Lebanese State and subsidies.
Her solution to break free from this dire situation? “We need a president who is not part of this clique, someone who will understand the concerns of the people, the poor before the rich,” she declares. Does she have a potential presidential candidate who could meet her wishes? “I don't! And if such a person existed, they'd be killed before they could take office. That's Lebanon!”, she concludes, disillusioned by a history marred by political tragedies and assassinations.
Fearing War’s Return, Clinging to Hope for Peace
Moni has lived in Ain al-Remmaneh-Chiyah for thirty years. “We’ve lived through the entire war; we can't endure it anymore,” says the grandmother, her smile unwavering despite the haunting memories of bombings and destruction. Her wish for 2025? “Peace for all.” This hope is shared by Michele and Ivan, two physiotherapy students we met in the heart of Ashrafieh, and by Hiba, from Noueiri, whom we encountered while clearing out her late father’s electronics shop in Basta. At an age when hope should be a given, Jinane, a rock-inspired resident of Furn al-Chebbak, holds no illusions. “This truce is just a temporary pause; the war will resume,” she says, anxiety evident as she waits for her taxi.
Even Juliette, though she fears “the war will resume after New Year’s Eve, a war that doesn’t concern us directly,” remains steadfast, stating, “I stand with the Lebanese Army and my country, and I am nonpartisan.”
However, we close 2024 on a note of hope, thanks to Tony, an optimistic man in his forties. He emphasizes, “We must wish for the best in 2025, regardless of our political, regional, or sectarian affiliations. We’re entering a better phase – it can’t be worse than what we’ve already endured.”
“We hope this is the end, the last war, and that this ceasefire turns into real peace,” concludes Tony, smiling. A lasting peace, and a true rule of law – free, sovereign, independent, and prosperous. This is what we all hope to see realized in 2025.

The Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics, Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian: Lebanon Needs a Unifying and Visionary President
This Is Beirut/January 01/2025
The Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics, Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, called on Lebanese leaders to “assume their responsibilities and put the interests of the nation first.” In this context, he stressed the need for Lebanon to have a president who is “unifying, visionary, not affiliated with any particular group, and who can work with dedication.” “We need a leader who can draw a roadmap for the future, and we must support him so that he becomes a symbol of unity, openness and renaissance,” he added. “We need leaders who look ahead.”
In a message he addressed to the faithful and Church leaders on Wednesday, he noted that this year's January 1st coincides with the 58th World Day of Peace. In this context, he denounced “the wars that have devastated the region,” expressing the wish for “lasting peace, prosperity among nations and a new and blessed East.”

Patriarch Rahi: Beware of postponing the election of the president, otherwise the deputies will lose the confidence of the Lebanese and the international community
NNA /01 January/2025
The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Rahi, presided over the New Year's Mass in the Church of Our Lady in the Patriarchal edifice in Bkerke, after the Holy Gospel, Patriarch Rai delivered a homily entitled "Jesus was named" (Luke 2: 21) in which he said
"In 2025, the Church celebrates the Great Jubilee, an event that fills hearts with hope. It is the year of grace that comes from the heart of the Redeemer, and makes us listen to the desperate cry, the cry of threatened humanity. God never ceases to hear Him, and we are called to be the voice of various cases of exploitation and injustice; each of us must feel responsible in one way or another for the destruction of our common home, and I refer in particular to inequality of all kinds, inhuman treatment of displaced persons, environmental degradation, rejection of any dialogue, and massive financing of the arms industry. These are all factors that pose a real threat to the lives of all humanity. All of us, individually and collectively, are called to break the chains of injustice and proclaim God's justice. Some occasional philanthropy will not suffice, but cultural and structural changes are needed to achieve lasting change." He said: "On this day, the feast of the name of Bassoa, with which we begin the new year, and all our actions, to be directed to peace based on truth, justice, love, freedom and the development of the human person and society, we look forward to the ninth day of this month, when the parliament meets to elect a president of the republic. We accompany them in praying for the success of their consultations and for the election of the most capable and appropriate President for Lebanon and for the Lebanese today. But beware of postponing the election for one reason or another, if it happens, God forbid, the MPs will lose the confidence of all Lebanese and the international community. Beware of mortgaging Lebanon to a person or group. Lebanon belongs to all Lebanese, not one group over another. Therefore, the candidate who receives the votes required by Article 49 of the Constitution is the president of all Lebanon and all Lebanese, and the situation in Lebanon today requires his support from all." "Let us pray, brothers and sisters, for a lasting and just peace in our territory, and for the election of a president of the republic on the ninth of this month who will be at its level, and for its greatest good. We raise a hymn of glory and thanksgiving to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the one God, now and forever, amen. Christ was born! Hallelujah!"

Bishop Aoudi at the Mass of the Circumcision of Christ and the New Year: We hope that the new president will be a sieve who will not be terrified by any evil or corruption
NNA/01 January/2025
On the occasion of the commemoration of the circumcision of Jesus Christ, the commemoration of St. Basil the Great and the New Year, the Metropolitan of Beirut and its Greek Orthodox dependencies, Archbishop Elias Aoudi, presided over the service of the Holy Mass at St. George's Cathedral in Nejmeh Square. After reading the Holy Gospel, Bishop Odeh gave a sermon in which he said  "Beloved, we are on the threshold of a new year, we will pray shortly that it will be a year of goodness and well-being, and that God will consolidate the spirit of peace in the whole world and protect this city and other cities and villages from hunger, epidemic, earthquakes, and from the raids of strange tribes, civil wars and sudden deaths, we welcome the New Year with comfort accompanied by anxiety, comfort from the burdens and tragedies of the past year, and anxiety for the future, which we hope will, God willing, be bright. In this country, we have been given many opportunities for a new start and a better life, but the leaders of this country have refused to seize them, and the situation has brought us to the worst. A few days later, another long-awaited opportunity comes: the meeting of the nation's deputies to elect a president who we hope will be elected by Lebanese will, and Lebanese conviction in his person and competence, and that he will be presided over according to the heart of God, and that his heart will be on Lebanon, without narrow personal interests for him, nor commitments that hinder his honesty to his country, so that this wounded country will be transferred to safety, by establishing the principle of justice, subjecting everyone to the law, holding accountable every negligent person, whoever he is, restoring the prestige of the state, and restoring channels of communication with the inside and outside, restoring the distorted image that Painted by abusers to our beloved homeland. We hope that the new president will be a sieve through which no evil or corruption will pass, a man who stands courageously against every wrongdoer, like Saint Basil, a servant of the people and not a dominator over them, acting according to the dictates of his conscience, and believing that God who sees in secret is publicly rewarded. In order for the country to move towards the light, it is not enough to have a president, a cabinet and a parliament, but the most important role is for the people, who rely on their awareness and love for their land, and this starts from not throwing dirt in the streets, through love for the environment and nature, to respecting laws, holding officials accountable, and loving every citizen for his fellow citizen without discrimination on the basis of religion, sect and affiliation. God created us in His image and likeness, and what distinguishes a Lebanese from the other is his sincere sense of patriotism, his faith in his country, and his devotion to it. Once we reach this stage, we can be assured of the future of our beloved Lebanon."
"The past year has been full of changes, events, wars and assassinations, and Lebanon has been an arena for settling scores and publicizing positions," Odeh said. We hope that next year will be a year of rebirth for a new Lebanon, after carefully reading what happened last year and taking lessons. The first step is to move from Lebanon to Lebanon, the state governed by the constitution and the law, and to convince everyone that there is no refuge for them except the state, and that belonging to the sect comes after belonging to the homeland. The Lebanese should be proud of their belonging to Lebanon and aware of their responsibility towards their homeland. The state must be aware of its duties towards its citizens, ensure stability and safety, stimulate production, encourage initiatives, and rely on the arms and brains of the Lebanese instead of begging for aid. The Lebanese are creative and creative people, and they are able to advance their country, revive its economy and develop its regions whenever a comfortable atmosphere is secured. The state has only to regain its prestige, regain the confidence of the inside and outside, and leave its children to work and innovate." He concluded: "On this blessed day, let us renew our covenant with the Lord, circumcising our hearts, putting them in his hands, so that we may reach the holiness we desire, amen."

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 01-02/2025
What we know about the New Orleans attacker
BBC/January 1, 2025
Fifteen people were killed and at least 35 injured after a man drove into large crowds in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the early hours of New Year's Day, authorities have said. Here's what we know so far about what happened and the perpetrator.
How did the attack unfold?
At 03:15 local time on New Year's Day, a Ford pick-up truck rammed into crowds gather on Bourbon Street in the heart of New Orleans' French Quarter. CCTV footage shows a white, Ford F-150 Lightning vehicle driving onto the pavement to get around a police car before hitting pedestrians. Police described the act as "very intentional", adding that the attacker - identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar - was "hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did". "This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could", said New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick. Jabbar was also armed and fired on law enforcement, injuring two officers. He was then killed by police gunfire.
Whit Davis, from Shreveport, Louisiana, told the BBC that he was held in a bar with a large group in the aftermath of the attack while police secured the scene. When they left, they "were walking past dead and injured bodies all over the street", he said. Latest updates: Police identify New Orleans attack suspect
Who was Shamsud-Din Jabbar?
The FBI has named the assailant as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an Army veteran and US citizen from Texas. A flag associated with the Islamic State group was found in the vehicle he was driving and the FBI said it was investigating what affiliations Jabbar may have had with terrorist groups. The agency also said investigators did not believe that the suspect was solely responsible for the attack. Suspected improvised explosive devices were found in the area.
A long gun with a "suppressive device" on it - acting as a silencer - was also recovered. According to a now-removed LinkedIn profile, Jabbar had worked in various roles in the US Army, including in human resources and IT, before he was discharged. He studied at George State University from 2015 to 2017, graduating with a degree in Computer Information Systems. He also appears to have worked in real estate, holding a license that expired in 2021. He had a criminal record, relating to traffic offences and theft. The pick-up truck he was driving was electric and believed to have been rented in Texas via an app.
Who were the victims?
Police said 10 people were killed and at least 35 injured. None have been publicly named. The University of Georgia's president said one of its students was critically injured, while the Israeli government said two nationals were among those hurt. Police said it appeared that the victims were mainly locals from New Orleans, even though many tourists were visiting for New Year celebrations and the now-postponed Sugar Bowl, part of the American football college play-offs.
It was due to kick off later on Wednesday evening at the Caesar Superdome, which is not far from scene of the attack.
Where did this happen?
Bourbon Street is a well-known nightlife and tourist hotspot that is filled with restaurants, bars and clubs with live music.It is within New Orleans' French Quarter, a lively area that attracts tourists and locals, especially to celebrate New Year. It was established by the French in 1718, and the original grid of streets designed back then is at the heart of what draws visitors to the city. Every year, upwards of a million people flock to its famous Mardi Gras carnival and parade in the spring, famous for the strings of colourful beads worn by party-goers.

What is the Islamic State, and what attacks has it inspired by offshoots and lone wolves?
Ellen Knickmeyer And Eric Tucker/The Associated Press/January 01/2025
The FBI says it recovered the stark black banner of the Islamic State extremist group from the truck that an American man from Texas smashed into New Year's partygoers in New Orleans' French Quarter Wednesday, killing 15 people. The investigation is expected to look in part at any support or inspiration that driver Shamsud-Din Jabbar may have drawn from that violent Middle East-based group, or from any of at least 19 affiliated groups around the world. President Joe Biden said Wednesday evening that the FBI had told him that “mere hours before the attack, (Jabbar) posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired” by the Islamic State. Routed from its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq by a U.S. military-led coalition more than five years ago, the Islamic State has focused on seizing territory in the Middle East more than on staging massive al-Qaida-style attacks on the West. But in its home territory the Islamic State has welcomed any chance to behead Americans and other foreigners who come within its reach. And it has had success, although abated in recent years, in inspiring people around the world who are drawn to its ideology to carry out ghastly attacks on innocent civilians. Here's a look at the Islamic State, its current status, and some of the offshoot armed groups and so-called lone wolves that have killed under the Islamic State flag.
What is the Islamic State?
The Islamic State also is known as both IS and ISIS, or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. It began as a breakaway group from al-Qaida. Under leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, IS had seized stunning amounts of territory in Iraq and Syria by 2014. Within territory under its control, it killed and otherwise abused members of other faiths and targeted fellow Sunni Muslims who strayed from its harsh interpretation of Islam. By 2019, a U.S.-led military intervention had driven Islamic State from the last inch of its territory. Al-Baghdadi killed himself, and two children near him, that same year, detonating an explosive vest as U.S. forces closed in on him. Currently, the central Islamic State group is a scattered and much weakened organization working to regain fighting strength and territory in Syria and Iraq. Experts warn that the group is reconstituting itself there. And that ISIS flag? Typically, it's a stark black banner with white Arabic letters expressing a central tenet of the Islamic faith. Countless Muslims around the world see the coercive violence of the group as a perversion of their religion.
What’s the influence of the Islamic State today?
Some experts argue the Islamic State is powerful today partly as a brand, inspiring both militant groups and individuals in attacks that the group itself may have no real role in. The Islamic State's ruthless credo and military successes have helped spur affiliated groups in Africa, Asia and Europe. It's a greatly decentralized alliance. Many offshoots have carried out lethal attacks, such as a March 2024 attack blamed on an Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Islamic State that killed some 130 people at a Moscow theater.What’s the group’s track record for inspiring attacks in the United States? The New Orleans rampage reflects the deadliest Islamic State-inspired attack on U.S. soil in several years. Other attacks over the last decade include a 2014 shooting rampage by a husband-and-wife team who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who fatally shot 49 people, pledged his allegiance on a 911 call to al-Baghdadi and raged against the “filthy ways of the West.” Those attacks coincided with an influx of thousands of Westerners — some of them Americans — who traveled to Syria in hopes of joining the so-called caliphate.
In the aftermath of those killings, the threat from radicalized followers of the group had appeared to wane in the U.S. Defense Department strikes have taken out other Islamic State members and the FBI has had significant success in disrupting plots before they come to fruition. But over the last year, FBI officials have warned about a significantly elevated threat of international terrorism following Hamas’ rampage in Israel in October 2023 and the resulting Israeli strikes in Gaza. The SITE intelligence group reported IS supporters celebrating in online chat groups Wednesday. “If it’s a brother, he’s a legend. Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great,” it quoted one as saying.

A new year dawns on a Middle East torn by conflict and change
AP/January 01, 2025
DAMASCUS: In Damascus, the streets were buzzing with excitement Tuesday as Syrians welcomed in a new year that seemed to many to bring a promise of a brighter future after the unexpected fall of Bashar Assad’s government weeks earlier. While Syrians in the capital looked forward to a new beginning after the ousting of Assad, the mood was more somber along Beirut’s Mediterranean promenade, where residents shared cautious hopes for the new year, reflecting on a country still reeling from war and ongoing crises. War-weary Palestinians in Gaza who lost their homes and loved ones in 2024 saw little hope that 2025 would bring an end to their suffering. The last year was a dramatic one in the Middle East, bringing calamity to some and hope to others. Across the region, it felt foolish to many to attempt to predict what the next year might bring. In Damascus, Abir Homsi said she is optimistic about a future for her country that would include peace, security and freedom of expression and would bring Syrian communities previously divided by battle lines back together. “We will return to how we once were, when people loved each other, celebrated together whether it is Ramadan or Christmas or any other holiday — no restricted areas for anyone,” she said. But for many, the new year and new reality carried with it reminders of the painful years that came before.
Abdulrahman Al-Habib, from the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, had come to Damascus in hopes of finding relatives who disappeared after being arrested under Assad’s rule. He was at the capital’s Marjeh Square, where relatives of the missing have taken to posting photos of their loved ones in search of any clue to their whereabouts. “We hope that in the new year, our status will be better ... and peace will prevail in the whole Arab world,” he said.In Lebanon, a tenuous ceasefire brought a halt to fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group a little over a month ago. The country battered by years of economic collapse, political instability and a series of calamities since 2019, continues to grapple with uncertainty, but the truce has brought at least a temporary return to normal life.
Some families flocked to the Mzaar Ski Resort in the mountains northeast of Beirut on Tuesday to enjoy the day in the snow even though the resort had not officially opened. “What happened and what’s still happening in the region, especially in Lebanon recently, has been very painful,” said Youssef Haddad, who came to ski with his family. “We have great hope that everything will get better.”On Beirut’s seaside corniche, Mohammad Mohammad from the village of Marwahin in southern Lebanon was strolling with his three children. “I hope peace and love prevail next year, but it feels like more (challenges) await us,” he said. Mohammad was among the tens of thousands displaced during more than a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Now living in Jadra, a town that was also bombarded during the conflict, he awaits the end of a 60-day period, after which the Israeli army is required to withdraw under the conditions of a French and US-brokered ceasefire. “Our village was completely destroyed,” Mohammad said. His family would spend a quiet evening at home, he said. This year “was very hard on us. I hope 2025 is better than all the years that passed.”In Gaza, where the war between Hamas and Israel has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, brought massive destruction and displaced most of the enclave’s population, few saw cause for optimism in the new year.
“The year 2024 was one of the worst years for all Palestinian people. It was a year of hunger, displacement, suffering and poverty,” said Nour Abu Obaid, a displaced woman from northern Gaza. Obaid, whose 10-year-old child was killed in a strike in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Muwasi, said she didn’t expect anything good in 2025. “The world is dead,” she said. “We do not expect anything, we expect the worst.”The war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others. Ismail Salih, who lost his home and livelihood, expressed hopes for an end to the war in 2025 so that Gaza’s people can start rebuilding their lives. The year that passed “was all war and all destruction,” he said. “Our homes are gone, our trees are gone, our livelihood is lost.”In the coming year, Salih said he hopes that Palestinians can “live like the rest of the people of the world, in security, reassurance and peace.”

Israeli strikes kill 12 in Gaza as war grinds into the new year with no end in sight
Wafaa Shurafa And Samy Magdy/DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP)/ January 1, 2025
Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, officials said Wednesday, as the nearly 15-month war ground on into the new year with no end in sight.
One strike hit a home in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory, where Israel has been waging a major operation since early October. Gaza’s Health Ministry said seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen other people were wounded. Another strike overnight in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. The military said militants fired rockets at Israel from the Bureij area overnight and that its forces responded with a strike targeting a militant. The military also issued evacuation orders for the area that were posted online. A third strike early Wednesday in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to the nearby Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital, which received the bodies.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. About 100 hostages are still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says women and children make up more than half the fatalities but does not say how many of those killed were militants. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are living in tents on the coast as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) at night. At least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia, according to the Health Ministry. American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled. Hamas has demanded a lasting truce, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu has vowed to keep fighting until “total victory” over the militants.
Israel sees net departure of citizens for a second year
More than 82,000 Israelis moved abroad in 2024 and only 33,000 people immigrated to the country, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics said. Another 23,000 Israelis returned after long periods abroad. It was the second year in a row of net departures, a rare occurrence in the history of the country, which was founded by immigrants from Europe and actively encourages Jewish immigration. Many Israelis, looking for a break from the war, have moved abroad, leading to concern about whether it will drive a “brain drain” in sectors like medicine and technology. Last year, 15,000 fewer people immigrated to Israel than in 2023. The Bureau of Statistics changed its reporting methods in mid-2022 to better track the number of Israelis moving abroad. Military blames ‘weakening of discipline’ in death of archaeologist who entered Lebanon with troops. In a separate development, the Israeli military blamed “operational burnout” and a “weakening of discipline and safety” in the death of a 70-year-old archaeologist who was killed in southern Lebanon in November along with a soldier while visiting a combat zone. According to Israeli media reports, Zeev Erlich was not on active duty when he was shot, but was wearing a military uniform and had a weapon. The army said he was a reservist with the rank of major and identified him as a “fallen soldier” when it announced his death. Erlich was a well-known West Bank settler and researcher of Jewish history. Media reports at the time of his death said he entered Lebanon to explore an archaeological site. The family of the soldier who was killed with him has expressed anger over the circumstances of his death. The military launched an investigation after the two were killed in a Hezbollah ambush. A separate probe is looking into who allowed Erlich to enter. The military said the entry of civilians who are not military contractors or journalists into combat zones is not widespread. Still, there have been multiple reports of Israeli civilians who support a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza or Lebanon entering those areas.

Israel warns it will step up Gaza strikes if Hamas keeps up rocket fire
AFP/January 01, 2025
JERUSALEM: Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Wednesday that Israel will step up its strikes in Gaza if Hamas keeps up its rocket fire at Israel. “I want to send a clear message from here to the heads of the terrorists in Gaza: If Hamas does not soon allow the release of the Israeli hostages from Gaza... and continues firing at Israeli communities, it will face blows of an intensity not seen in Gaza for a long time,” Katz said in a statement after visiting the Israeli town of Netivot, which was recently targeted by rocket fire from nearby Gaza. At least 12 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in Gaza by airstrikes, officials in the territory said on Wednesday. More than 45,500 people have been killed during Israel's 15-month military campaign in Gaza.

Gaza population down by 6 percent since start of war — Palestinian statistics bureau
Reuters/January 01, 2025
JERUSALEM: The population of Gaza has fallen 6 percent since the war with Israel began nearly 15 months ago as about 100,000 Palestinians left the enclave while more than 55,000 are presumed dead, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). Around 45,500 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, have been killed since the war began but another 11,000 are missing, the bureau said, citing numbers from the Palestinian Health Ministry. As such, the population of Gaza has declined by about 160,000 during the course of the war to 2.1 million, with more than a million or 47 percent of the total children under the age of 18, the PCBS said. It added that Israel has “raged a brutal aggression against Gaza targeting all kinds of life there; humans, buildings and vital infrastructure... entire families were erased from the civil register. There are catastrophic human and material losses.”Israel’s foreign ministry said the PCBS data was “fabricated, inflated, and manipulated in order to vilify Israel.” Israel has faced accusations of genocide in Gaza because of the scale of death and destruction. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ highest legal body, ruled last January that Israel must prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians, while Pope Francis has suggested the global community should study whether Israel’s Gaza campaign constitutes genocide. Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of genocide, saying it abides by international law and has a right to defend itself after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 killed 1,200 Israelis and precipitated the current war. The PCBS said some 22 percent of Gaza’s population currently faces catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, according to the criteria of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global monitor. Included in that 22 percent are some 3,500 children at risk of death due to malnutrition and lack of food, the bureau said.

Gaza babies die from winter cold say medics and families
AFP/January 01, 2025
DEIR EL BALAH: Yahya Al-Batran clutched the tiny clothes of his dead newborn son Jumaa, just days after the baby died from the cold in their tent in war-torn Gaza. “We are watching our children die before our eyes,” said the 44-year-old. Their baby was one of the seven children who died from the cold within the span of a week, the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry said on Monday. “We fled the bombing from Beit Lahia, only for them to die from the cold here?” said the child’s mother Noura Al-Batran, referring to their hometown in northern Gaza. The 38-year-old is still recovering from giving birth prematurely to Jumaa and his surviving twin brother, Ali, who is being treated in an intensive care unit at a hospital in southern Gaza. Completely destitute and repeatedly displaced by the Israel aggression on Gaza, the Batran family live in a makeshift tent in Deir el-Balah made of worn-out blankets and fabric. Like hundreds of others now living in a date palm orchard, they have struggled to keep warm and dry amid heavy rains and temperatures that have dropped as low as eight degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit). “We don’t have enough blankets or suitable clothing. I saw my baby start to freeze, his skin turned blue and then he died,” she cried.
The twins were born prematurely and she said the doctor decided to take the babies out of the incubator despite the family not having access to heating. On a rain-soaked mat, the father hugged his older children tight with blankets and worn-out cloth in a corner of their tent.
He then placed a small pot of water on the stove to make tea, which he then mixed with dry bread to make a meagre lunch for his family with a little cheese and the thyme-based spice blend called zaatar. Like thousands of other families enduring dire conditions, they face shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, with the United Nations warning of an imminent collapse of the health care system. In southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis, Mahmoud Al-Fasih said he found his infant daughter, Seela, “frozen from the cold” in their small tent near Al-Mawasi beach, where they were displaced from Gaza City. He rushed her to the hospital in the area that Israel has designated a “humanitarian zone,” but she was already dead. Ahmad Al-Farra, a doctor and director of the emergency and children’s department at Nasser Hospital, told AFP that the three-week-old baby arrived at the hospital with “severe hypothermia, without vital signs, in cardiac arrest that led to her death.”Another 20-day-old baby, Aisha Al-Qassas, also died of cold in the area, according to her family. “In Gaza, everything leads to death,” said the baby’s uncle, Mohamed Al-Qassas. “Those who do not die under Israeli bombardments succumb to hunger or cold.”The Hamas government press office in Gaza warned on Monday of the impact of more harsh weather expected in the coming days, saying it posed a “real threat to two million displaced people,” the majority of whom live in tents. Farra warned that this would likely be accompanied by “the death of greater numbers of children, infants, and the elderly.” “Life in tents is dangerous due to the cold and the scarcity of energy and heating sources,” he said.

Netanyahu Dashes Hopes for Gaza Ceasefire Deal
Ramallah: Kifah Zboun//Asharq Al-Awsat/January 02/2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that fighting in Gaza would resume following any hostage deal with Hamas, according to a report on Monday on Channel 12 website.His statement reinforced fears that the PM has no intention of ending the war and leaving the Strip anytime soon. “If there is a deal—and I hope there will be—Israel will return to fighting afterward. There’s no reason to obscure or conceal this because resuming fighting is intended to complete the war’s objectives. This doesn’t obstruct a deal; it encourages one,” Channel 12 quoted the premier as saying. The PM’s recent remarks came while negotiations for the release of hostages faced difficulties due to two issues: A request for Hamas to hand over a list of the names of detainees, whether alive or dead. Meanwhile, the movement insists that a proposed deal include the terms for an end to the war.
Channel 12 said the remarks sparked fresh concerns among members of the hostage negotiating team, who believe that such comments have made it more difficult to secure a deal. They said Netanyahu’s statements reinforce Hamas' fears that the PM does not intend to reach the later stages of a ceasefire deal.
Mediators are actively seeking to reach an agreement before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in about 20 days. Channel 12 said Netanyahu's comments raised serious concerns that even in a partial agreement, the first stage of the envisioned three-phase deal, would not bear fruits. Netanyahu has long insisted to resume fighting after any deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The PM said neither Hamas nor the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority should govern the territory, and that Israel will keep “full security control.” Palestinians, Arabs and Americans fear that Israel intends to establish a military rule in the Gaza Strip. Israeli military and security service leaders oppose the idea and demand an immediate replacement for Hamas. On Tuesday, the Yedioth Ahronoth quoted senior Israeli army officials as saying that failure to plan for Gaza's future governance could lead to a relapse of conditions that existed before the October 7 attack. “It’s that simple,” one official said. Security officials emphasize that without decisive action on post-war governance, Hamas could rebuild its political power and regain control of Gaza. “In the absence of an alternative, Hamas will inevitably return to power. Decisions must be made now, before any hostage deals or ceasefire agreements,” officials said. This concern resonates within both the Israeli army and the Shin Bet. While Hamas’ military capabilities have been decimated, officials caution that the group’s political infrastructure remains intact.
A senior Israeli official said that according to Netanyahu, even if a deal is made, Israel would return to the fighting in Gaza until it achieves its declared goals, according to Yedioth Ahronoth. “The prime minister is in the opinion that there can be no plan for the day after the war until all of Hamas's capabilities are destroyed,” the official said, adding that there have been discussions in the appropriate forums on the matter.He said: “the policy of the prime minister in Gaza is that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority (PA) would govern Gaza, including having responsibility over distribution of humanitarian aid.”“The security agencies are considering alternatives and would continue to do so. Cutting Hamas off from aid distribution is meant to prevent the terror group from controlling the civilian population and to bring about the release of hostages,” the official said.
Amos Harel, a military analyst for the Haaretz newspaper, wrote that Netanyahu is unwilling to take the extra step to reach a deal, for a variety of political, personal and strategic reasons. He said Netanyahu needs the war to continue to justify his moves up to now, and in order to prevent the establishment of a state commission of inquiry over the failures that enabled the October 7 attack, and in order to continue, under the fog of war, with his judicial coup legislation.

Israel says intercepted two projectiles fired from central Gaza
AFP/January 01, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said two projectiles were fired from Gaza on Wednesday in the first minutes of the new year, one of which was intercepted while the other landed in an open area. Alert sirens sounded around midnight (2200 GMT) in the western Negev, the Israeli military said, and “two projectiles were identified crossing from the central Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.”“One projectile was successfully intercepted and the second projectile fell in an open area,” the army said on Telegram.The military said it has intercepted several rockets fired from northern Gaza in recent days. Since October, Israeli operations in Gaza have focused on the north, with officials saying their land and air offensive aims to prevent Hamas from regrouping. The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in 1,208 deaths — mostly civilians — according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 45,500 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.The UN considers those figures reliable.

Israel's former defence chief Gallant quits parliament
Reuters/January 1, 2025
Former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who had often taken an independent line against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government allies, said on Wednesday he was resigning from parliament. Gallant was fired from the government in November by Netanyahu, after months of disagreements over the conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza, but kept his seat as an elected member of the Knesset. "Just as it is on the battlefield, so it is in public service. There are moments in which one must stop, assess and choose a direction in order to achieve the goals," Gallant said in a televised statement. Gallant had often broken ranks with Netanyahu and his coalition allies of far-right and religious parties, including over exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from serving in the conscript military - a hot button issue. In March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant after he urged a halt to a highly contested government plan to cut the Supreme Court's powers. His dismissal triggered mass protests and Netanyahu backtracked. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Gallant and Netanyahu, along with a Hamas leader, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict, which Israel has contested.

Protesters in Syria demand justice for disappeared activists and accountability from all factions
Omar Albam And Sally Abou Aljoud/The Associated Press/January 1, 2025
Protesters in Syria held a sit-in Wednesday demanding justice for four activists who were forcibly disappeared in 2013 and whose fate remains one of the most haunting mysteries of the country's 13-year civil war.
On Dec. 9, 2013, gunmen stormed the Violation Documentation Center in Douma, northeast of Damascus, and took Razan Zaitouneh, her husband Wael Hamadeh, Samira Khalil and Nazem Hammadi. Outspoken and defiantly secular, Zaitouneh was one of Syria’s most well-known human rights activists. Perhaps most dangerously, she was impartial. She chanted in protests against then-President Bashar Assad but was also unflinching in documenting abuses by rebels fighting to oust him. There has been no sign of life nor proof of death since she and her colleagues were abducted. Since the ouster of Assad on Dec. 8, protests have erupted across Syria demanding information about thousands of people who were forcibly disappeared under his rule. The new leadership under the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which orchestrated the offensive to oust Assad, has maintained a neutral stance regarding accusations against various armed groups for forcibly disappearing activists. At the same time, HTS has aligned with activists in their efforts to uncover the truth and seek justice. “We are gathering here to remind the world of their case,” Yassin Haj Saleh, Khalil’s husband, said Wednesday, adding that the disappearance of activists represents “the deepest wounds” of Syria’s conflict. “This is the first opportunity that allows us to be in Douma, and in front of the place that they were kidnapped from, to speak up about the case, taking advantage of the political change that took place in the country.” Saleh said they had repeatedly appealed to various armed groups for cooperation in finding the four activists in the years before Assad's ouster but were met with silence. Strong clues had pointed to the Army of Islam, the most powerful rebel faction in Douma at the time, as the perpetrators. The group, made up of religious hard-liners who were pushing out other rebels and imposing strict Shariah rules, long denied involvement. An Army of Islam official, Hamza Bayraqdar, told The Associated Press in 2018 they brought Zaitouneh to Douma to protect her from the Assad government. The Army of Islam repeatedly blamed the Assad government, along with the Nusra Front — an al-Qaida-linked group originally founded by the current HTS leader — for his wife's disappearance, Saleh said.
Zaitouneh was a prominent human rights lawyer and founder of the Violation Documentation Center. She also helped organize networks of activists like the Local Coordination Committees, an umbrella network made up of activists who organized protests as part of the Syrian uprising. Her work earned her international recognition, including an International Woman of Courage award presented by U.S. first lady Michelle Obama in 2013. Several of those who spoke to the AP in 2018 said the Army of Islam saw Zaitouneh documenting abuses as a threat and resented her local administration plan as an encroachment on their power. Zaitouneh received a series of threats that friends and activists said traced back to the Army of Islam. The Army of Islam was forced to move north in 2018 after the Assad government retook Douma, leading to the group's weakening and disintegration. Hopes that Zaitouneh and her colleagues would emerge among released prisoners during that time were unmet. Today, the Army of Islam remains an armed faction backed by Turkey. It did not fight alongside the other Islamist factions that led the offensive against Assad and remains excluded from the HTS-led Syrian leadership. Recently, an Army of Islam delegation met HTS leader Ahmad Sharaa to explore integration into the new Syrian system, but no agreement has been reached.
Protesters on Wednesday held banners openly accusing the Army of Islam and reading “Freedom” in English and “Traitor who kidnaps a revolutionary” in Arabic, alongside posters of the four missing activists. Saleh described the plight of the disappeared as uniquely painful, saying, “Those who die are mourned, but the forcibly disappeared are forbidden from both living and being mourned.”Their bodies must be found, he said, adding: “For Syria to heal, truth and justice must prevail.”Wafa Moustafa, whose father was forcibly disappeared separately in 2013, also attended the protest. “Justice in Syria cannot be limited to those detained by the Assad regime,” she said. “For many years, other factions controlled parts of Syria and committed similar crimes of detention, torture and killing. If justice does not include all victims, it will remain incomplete and threaten Syria’s future.”
Syrian delegation arrives in Saudi Arabia
A Syrian delegation led by the foreign and defense ministers, along with the head of intelligence, arrived in Saudi Arabia on their first official foreign trip, Syrian state media reported, citing a foreign ministry official. Relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia have long been tense. Many Arab nations cut ties with Assad’s government after it relied on support from Iran and Russia to suppress uprisings. But the Arab League reinstated Syria in 2023, and regional leaders are increasingly open now to renewing diplomatic ties.

New year hope reigns in a Damascus freed from Assad
AFP/January 01, 2025
DAMASCUS: Umayyad Square in Damascus hummed to the throngs of people brandishing “revolution” flags as Syria saw in the new year with “hope” following 13 years of civil war. Gunshots rang out from Mount Qasioun overlooking the capital where hundreds of people gazed up at fireworks, an AFP reporter at the square saw. It was the first new year’s celebration without an Assad in power for more than 50 years after the fall of Bashar Assad in December. “Long live Syria, Assad has fallen,” shouted some children. Despite the revelry, soldiers patrolled the streets of Damascus, less than a month after Assad’s rapid demise. The green, white and black “revolution” flag with its three red stars flies all over the capital. Such a sight — the symbol of the Syrian people’s uprising against the Assad dynasty’s iron-fisted rule — was unthinkable a month ago. The revolutionary song “Lift your head, you are a free Syrian” by Syrian singer Assala Nasri rang out loud on Umayyad Square. “Every year, we aged suddenly by 10 years,” taxi driver Qassem Al-Qassem, 34, told AFP in reference to the tough living conditions in a country whose economy collapsed under Assad. “But with the fall of regime, all our fears have dissipated,” he added. “Now I have a lot of hope. But all we want now is peace.”More than half a million people died in the 13-year civil war as the country split into different regions controlled by various warring parties. Many families are still waiting for news of loved ones who disappeared under Assad’s rule, during which time tens of thousands of prisoners disappeared. “I hope that Syria in 2025 will be non-denominational, pluralist, for everyone, without exception,” said Havan Mohammad, a Kurdish student from the northeast studying pharmacy in the capital.

Saudi Arabia launches air bridge to deliver urgent aid to Syria
Rashid Hassan/Arab NewsJanuary 01, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday launched an air bridge to deliver essential aid to Syria, supporting efforts under the new leadership to rebuild the country after years of civil war. Two planes carrying relief supplies landed at Damascus International Airport, Saudi aid agency KSrelief told Arab News.
The planes, which left from King Khalid International Airport, carried food, shelter and medical supplies, along with a KSrelief team to help address the difficult conditions faced by the Syrian people, KSrelief said. Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor general of KSrelief, said: “The air bridge launched on Wednesday will be followed by a land bridge in the coming days to provide urgent relief to the Syrian people.”Al-Rabeeah said that the humanitarian initiative reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to supporting those in need worldwide, reaffirming the Kingdom’s dedication to assisting nations in crisis. He also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s consistent support since the Syrian crisis began in 2011 and its significant role in international humanitarian efforts. Al-Rabeeah said that, through KSrelief, Saudi Arabia has continuously provided aid to internally displaced Syrians, refugees in neighboring countries, and victims of the northern Syrian earthquake in February 2023. According to KSrelief, the Kingdom’s total aid to the Syrian people from 2011 to the end of 2024 exceeds $856 million. The first aircraft was received by Abdullah Al-Harees, charge d’affaires of the Saudi Embassy in Syria; Mohammed Hazem Bakleh, president of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent; and several media representatives. Al-Harees emphasized that this assistance is part of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing humanitarian efforts through KSrelief, aimed at alleviating the suffering caused by the crisis in Syria. Bakleh expressed deep gratitude to Saudi Arabia for its humanitarian aid, noting that the relief will be distributed to those in need in all Syrian territories, without discrimination.

Syrian civil war killed more than 528,500: monitor
Arab News/January 01, 2025
DAMASCUS: More than 528,500 people were killed in the Syrian civil war, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said on Wednesday. The overall toll includes thousands killed since 2011 that were only confirmed dead recently, with access to detention centers and mass graves easier following the rebel overthrow of Bashar Assad. The Britain-based monitory said 6,777 people, more than half of them civilians, were killed in 2024 in fighting in Syria. AFP was unable to independently verify these figures. Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011 after the government brutally repressed pro-democracy protests triggering a devastating conflict that pushed millions to flee abroad and drew in foreign powers. Last year, 3,598 civilians, including 240 women and 337 children were killed across Syria, according to the Observatory. In addition, 3,179 combatants were killed, the monitor said, including soldiers from “the old regime,” but also “Islamist armed groups” and jihadists. In 2023, the Observatory reported 4,360 people killed, including nearly 1,900 civilians. In December, Islamist-led rebels overthrew Assad, seizing power in a rapid offensive that ended more than 50 years of the family’s iron-fisted rule.
Since 2011, the monitor with a network of sources inside Syria has recorded more than 64,000 deaths in Assad’s prisons “due to torture, medical negligence or poor conditions” in the jails.

Saudi Arabia executes 6 Iranians for drug trafficking
Arab News/January 01, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has executed six Iranians sentenced for drug trafficking, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday. The Iranian nationals were executed in the Eastern Province after being convicted of smuggling hashish into the Kingdom. After being arrested by Saudi security authorities, the smugglers were referred to the competent court. A ruling was issued against them after their guilt was proven and they were sentenced to death. The ruling became final after it was appealed and then upheld by the Supreme Court, and a royal order was issued to enforce the punishment, the SPA said. The Ministry of Interior said that the government is protecting the security of citizens and residents from the scourge of drugs, and imposing the most severe penalties stipulated by the system on smugglers and dealers.

Iran to hold nuclear talks with 3 European powers January 13
Agence France Presse
Iran will hold nuclear talks with France, Britain, and Germany on January 13 in Switzerland, local media reported on Wednesday, quoting a foreign ministry official. "The new round of talks between Iran and three European countries will be held in Geneva on January 13," said Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, according to ISNA news agency. He added the talks were only "consultations, not negotiations." The three European countries had on December 17 accused Iran of growing its stockpile of high-enriched uranium to "unprecedented levels" without "any credible civilian justification."They have also raised the possibility of restoring sanctions against Iran to keep it from developing its nuclear program. Iran has in recent years increased its manufacturing of enriched uranium such that it is the only non-nuclear weapons state to possess uranium enriched to 60 percent, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog said. That level is well on the way to the 90 percent required for an atomic bomb.On November 29, Iran held a discreet meeting with the three European powers in Geneva which Gharibabadi at the time described as "candid."Iran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and has consistently denied any ambition of developing nuclear weapons capability. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, has long issued a religious decree, or fatwa, prohibiting atomic weapons. Late Monday, Iran's security chief Ali Akbar Ahmadian maintained that Iran has "not changed" its nuclear doctrine against pursuing atomic weapons. The January 13 talks will take place one week before Donald Trump's return to the White House. In 2015, Iran and world powers -- including France, Britain and Germany -- reached an agreement that saw the easing of international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. But the United States, during Trump's first term in office, unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and reimposed biting economic sanctions. Tehran adhered to the deal until Washington's withdrawal, and then began rolling back on its commitments.

Ocalan: PKK chief held in solitary on Turkish prison island
AFP/January 01, 2025
ISTANBUL: Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of Kurdish militant group the PKK, is hailed by many Kurds as an icon, but within wider Turkish society many see him as a terrorist who deserves to die. On Saturday, Ocalan, who has been held in solitary confinement in Turkiye since 1999, received his first political visit in nearly a decade amid signs of a tentative thaw in relations with the Turkish government. The move came two months after the leader of the far-right MHP, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, offered Ocalan an unprecedented olive branch if he would publicly renounce terror. In a message sent back with his visitors, two lawmakers from the pro-Kurd opposition DEM party, Ocalan — the man who embodies the decades-long Kurdish rebellion against the Turkish government — said he was “ready” to embrace efforts to end the conflict.
“I am ready to take the necessary positive steps and make the call,” said the 75-year-old former guerrilla, who also received his first family visit in four years on October 23. During that visit, Ocalan said he had the necessary clout to shift the Kurdish question “from an arena of conflict and violence to one of law and politics.”Ankara’s tentative bid to reopen dialogue nearly a decade after peace efforts collapsed comes amid a major regional adjustment following the ouster of Syria’s Bashar Assad. Ocalan founded the PKK — the Kurdistan Workers’ Party — in 1978. It spearheaded a brutal insurgency that has killed tens of thousands in its fight for independence and, more recently, broader autonomy in Turkiye’s mostly Kurdish southeast. A Marxist-inspired group, the PKK is considered a terror organization by Turkiye, the United States, the European Union and most of Turkiye’s Western allies. After years on the run, Ocalan was arrested on February 15, 1999 in Kenya following a Hollywood-style operation by Turkish security forces. He was sentenced to death, but escaped the gallows when Turkiye abolished capital punishment in 2004. He has since been held in an isolation cell on Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara.
For many Kurds, he is hero they call “Apo” (uncle). But Turks often call him “bebek katili” (baby killer) for his ruthless tactics, including the bombing of civilian targets. Tentative moves to resolve Turkiye’s “Kurdish problem” began in 2008. Several years later, Ocalan got involved in the first unofficial peace talks, approved when Erdogan was premier. Seen as the world’s largest stateless people, Kurds were left without a country when the Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I.
Although most live in Turkiye, where they make up around a fifth of the population, the Kurds are also spread across Syria, Iraq and Iran.
For hard-line nationalists who support the post-Ottoman idea of “Turkishness,” the Kurds simply do not exist. And not all Kurds back the ideas, let alone the methods, of the PKK. Led by Hakan Fidan, Erdogan’s spy chief turned foreign minister, the talks raised hopes of ending the insurgency in favor of an equitable solution for Kurdish rights within Turkiye’s borders. But they collapsed in July 2015, reigniting one of the deadliest chapters in the conflict. After a suicide attack on pro-Kurdish demonstrators attributed to Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in October 2015, the PKK accused Ankara of collaborating with IS and resumed its violence with a vengeance. Turkiye’s widescale use of combat drones has pushed most Kurdish fighters into Iraq and Syria, where Ankara has continued raids. The government has defended its de facto silencing of Ocalan by saying he failed to convince the PKK of the need for peace, raising doubts about how much sway he has over the group. Ocalan was born on April 4, 1948, one of six siblings in a mixed Turkish-Kurdish peasant family in Omerli village, in Turkiye’s southeast. His mother tongue is Turkish. He became a left-wing activist while studying politics at university in Ankara, and did his first stint in prison in 1972. He set up the PKK six years later, then spent years on the run, launching the movement’s armed struggle in 1984. Taking refuge in Syria, he led the fight from there, causing friction between Damascus and Ankara. Forced out in 1998 and with the net closing in, Ocalan raced from Russia to Italy to Greece in search of a haven, ending up at the Greek consulate in Kenya, where US agents got wind of his presence and tipped off ally Ankara. Lured into a vehicle and told he would be flown to the Netherlands, Ocalan was instead handed over to Turkish military commandos and flown home on a private plane to face trial.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on January 01-02/2025
Multiculturalism, Human Rights and the West
Nils A. Haug/Gatestone Institute./January 01/2025
The moral laws of each tradition -- that of the Torah and Sharia – when applied -- result in different outcomes. Most of the punishments specified in the Torah are no longer practiced. According to Sharia, however, punishments such as amputations or stoning to death for adultery, "especially women" – which can include pre-marital sex or having been raped -- as well as death for blasphemy or for choosing to leave the religion, are in force to this day. "If they [Muslims] had gotten rid of the punishment [often death] for apostasy, Islam would not exist today," the late Sunni religious leader, Yusuf al Qaradawi, speculated on Egyptian television. Nonie Darwish responded: "The most striking thing about his statement, however, was that it was not an apology; it was a logical, proud justification for preserving the death penalty as a punishment for apostasy."
Divinely sanctioned treatment by Muslims of non-Muslims still includes rape, slavery and death. "So, when you meet those who disbelieve [in battle], strike [their] necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them, then secure their bonds, and either [confer] favor afterwards or ransom [them] until the war lays down its burdens. That [is the command]. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them [Himself], but [He ordered armed struggle] to test some of you by means of others. And those who are killed in the cause of Allah - never will He waste their deeds." — Quran 47:4 (Sahih Translation).
As the visions of holy war and martyrdom are underpinned by Sharia, Islamic jihadists appear to believe that they are doctrinally permitted to sow terror, death and destruction among non-Muslims wherever they are. One unsurprising reason for the "wilful blindness" of the US and other major Western powers towards religious extremists is that politicians look for votes. [I]t is the tiny nation of Israel that has found itself largely alone in the desperate fight to preserve the West's Judeo-Christian ideals. It would be to the West's advantage if its other nations would join Israel in this noble task.
The laws of the Torah, which became known to the world as Moses' Ten Commandments, founded the West's moral and ethical precepts on which its laws and judicial concepts such as justice and mercy are based. This development is reflected in the United States' founding documents, as well as England's Magna Carta of 1215, among others. The laws of the Torah, which became known to the world as Moses' Ten Commandments, founded the West's moral and ethical precepts on which its laws and judicial concepts such as justice and mercy are based. This development is reflected in the United States' founding documents, as well as England's Magna Carta of 1215, among others.
The opening paragraph of America's 1776 Declaration of Independence, for instance, refers to "the laws of nature" and "nature's God." From this assertion, the imperative of a sound ethical, moral and religious foundation for America's values was established. According to America's founding fathers, the laws of Moses – those moral codes sometimes collectively referred to as the "natural law" – underpin the value-based Western order, or civilization as distinguished from barbarism. In terms of religion, people in the West generally value the underlying importance of these Judeo-Christian values to their community.
The emphasis on definitive ethical-moral parameters might disturb some the West. "Jewish people brought morality to the world thousands of years ago, and some people are still mad about it," remarked the CEO of US technology giant Oracle, Safra Catz.
Islamic values, in contrast, originate from the Quran and the Hadith -- the sayings and actions of Mohammed, written 200 years after his death. Both books contain the bases of Sharia ["The Path"] and Islamic law, which, in application, can have moral and ethical requirements antithetical to Western concepts of justice. Sharia tenets, which have different views from those in the West on human rights, justice, mercy and compassion, might appear alien to Judeo-Christian precepts. Sharia, in usage, often contravenes the basic values of the West's liberal democratic tradition.
The moral laws of each tradition -- that of the Torah and Sharia – when applied -- result in different outcomes. Most of the punishments specified in the Torah are no longer practiced. According to Sharia, however, punishments such as amputations or stoning to death for adultery, "especially women" – which can include pre-marital sex or having been raped -- as well as death for blasphemy or for choosing to leave the religion, are in force to this day. "If they [Muslims] had gotten rid of the punishment [often death] for apostasy, Islam would not exist today," the late Sunni religious leader, Yusuf al Qaradawi, speculated on Egyptian television.
Nonie Darwish responded:
"The most striking thing about his statement, however, was that it was not an apology; it was a logical, proud justification for preserving the death penalty as a punishment for apostasy." The outcome of ethical and religious difference can also be seen in the motivation of the two primary combatants of the Gaza war, started by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Human Rights Watch released a report in July 2024, in which it stated that Hamas and its allies had "committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity during the October 2023, assault on southern Israel," and concluded that Hamas had engaged in a "systematic" assault against civilians. Unsurprisingly, these findings were rejected outright by Hamas, whose spokesman, Gazi Hamad, justified the killing of civilians: "Israel has no right to exist in this region." In another broadcast, Hamad vowed that Hamas would repeat the October 7 attack, time and again, until Israel is eliminated, and that everything Hamas did was justified. In short, Israel must be eliminated, whatever the cost. Divinely sanctioned treatment by Muslims of non-Muslims still includes rape, slavery and death.
To many Muslims, those who practice a different faith and do not subscribe to Sharia are non-believers (infidels), deemed to be in breach of "The Path" and consequently subject to a penalty of death. This is also true for Jews and Christians who were given the opportunity to accept the gift of Islam but instead rejected it. If they refuse to convert, or to live as dhimmis -- tolerated lower-class residents in subjugation to Islam -- they may be regarded as eligible for death: "So, when you meet those who disbelieve [in battle], strike [their] necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them, then secure their bonds, and either [confer] favor afterwards or ransom [them] until the war lays down its burdens. That [is the command]. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them [Himself], but [He ordered armed struggle] to test some of you by means of others. And those who are killed in the cause of Allah - never will He waste their deeds."
– Quran 47:4 (Sahih Translation).
On January 4, 2024, Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansar, a spokesman for the jihadist Islamic State -- an offshoot of the transnational radical movement, Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is a branch -- called on devotees around the world to carry out mass slaughter. This, he said, would be vengeance for the people of Gaza: "Oh lions of Islam, hunt your prey — the Jews, Christians, and their allies — in the streets and alleyways of America, Europe, and the world. Break into their homes, kill them, and torment them in every way you can."
That is precisely what took place in Israel on October 7, 2023, without mercy of any kind. Validation for such horror can be found in the Quran's many verses prescribing fighting and death for those who decry the core Islamic declaration: "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet." Sura 9:5 reads, "Slay the infidels wherever you find them..."
The de facto leader of Al-Qaeda, Salem Al-Sharif, on July 16, 2024, wrote in his essay, "This Is Gaza: A War Of Existence, Not A War Of Borders," that Muslims should not take civilians as prisoners, as Hamas did on October 7. "Islam," he said, "tells us killing takes precedence over taking prisoners."
In other words, they should not bother to kidnap hostages but simply kill them. As the recently assassinated leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, put it: "Take down the border and rip out their hearts!"
The intent of jihadist state actors such as Iran, Syria and Iraq, and non-state actors Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Taliban, Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah, appears to be the imposition of Sharia law upon the world. "We shall export our revolution to the whole world. Until the cry, 'There is no god but Allah' resounds over the whole world, there will be struggle," declared the founder of modern-day Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini [1].
Such regimes and groups apparently seek to entrench Islamic law, often upon an unwilling populace and subjugate them to a life under constant threat of penalty. Meanwhile, Hamas's political elite in Qatar, Lebanon Turkey, and elsewhere, became exorbitantly wealthy, enjoying comforts unavailable to the general population.
The concept of universal human rights might seem strange to Islamists. Sourced from the tradition of Moses' Commandments, articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights form the basis for international humanitarian law, which in turn defines the parameters of just-wars and armed conflicts. The precepts of Islamist fundamentalism appear equally foreign to Westerners, who live by the humanitarian values and principles of the Western democratic tradition, as founded on the Torah. Based on the leniency seen in Europe, many Westerners seem to be having a hard time trying to imagine that other people might actually be living according to a different set of premises (such as here, here, here and here).
Establishing humanitarian values in society provides rights and obligations. This is why textual originalism in the interpretation of US Constitutional law should be of particular concern to jurists. Emphasis on the intent of the writers of the Constitution rather than the fluctuating views of a succession of lawyers is of prime importance.
Despite a diversity of moral and ethical convictions and fickle social popularism, there should not be a compromise on foundational truths. Repeatedly reinterpreting them or the US Constitution becomes like the children's game of "broken telephone": after a few migrations from what was whispered, the original sentence soon becomes unrecognizable: one is left with a "Pandora's Box" of competing ideologies all striving for prominence. To avoid relaxing established human rights through fashionable ideologies is the task of the US State Department's Commission on Unalienable Rights.
In 2020, and on behalf of the Commission, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared the Commission's purpose was to "Ground our discussion of human rights in America's founding principles" -- those derived from the Judeo-Christian moral and ethical order, rather than those which might vary according to the spirit of the times.
This would be a concerning maneuver, yet US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made exactly such proposals at the most recent meeting of the Commission: he concealed in his terminology, tenets of identity politics relating to race, gender, and the like. It seems politicians cannot restrain themselves from manipulating foundational dogma for their own purposes.
Refuting the traditional principles of human rights results in situations such as the September 11, 2001 massacres in the US, and October 7, 2023, in Israel. Free from all civilized constraints yet asserting religious convictions, Hamas revealed their motivation: jihad based on Sharia. Regarding themselves as independent of Western conventions of war and human rights, they had no hesitation in slaughtering as many civilians as they could.
As the visions of holy war and martyrdom are underpinned by Sharia, Islamic jihadists appear to believe that they are doctrinally permitted to sow terror, death and destruction among non-Muslims wherever they are. Ultimately, they seem to be aiming to displace the "The Great Satan" (the US) and Europe. To varying degrees now, all Western -- and even some Muslim nations, such as the captive citizens of Iran -- are being adversely impacted by jihadists seeking global domination.
While much of the West bemoans the increase in Islamist radicalization, they only pay lip-service to increased military budgets and to general preparedness, despite looming internal and external conflicts. This is particularly true of Europe which relies on the US to carry much of the burden for its military defense, through NATO.
One unsurprising reason for the "wilful blindness" of the US and other major Western powers towards religious extremists is that politicians look for votes.
Another reason might be that the West's foreign policies are based on an outlook which George Weigel refers to as "rationalist secularism": Western leaders find it difficult to regard religiously-powered radicalism with the weight it deserves. Weigel concludes: "it is precisely because it's religiously grounded that such radicalism is exceptionally dangerous."
Iran and its proxies -- Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, the Houthis -- and other Islamists are fully grounded in religious dogma, hence their glorification of martyrdom as anticipating lofty rewards in the life hereafter. The late Fr. Richard J. Neuhaus suggested that "we think it true to say that politics is, in largest part, an expression of culture, and at the heart of culture is religion."
Inevitably, the two major monotheistic religions of the world collide over issues of legitimacy (the biblical Creator or Allah), justice and other values (the Torah or Sharia), as well as transcendent truth (Judeo-Christianity or nihilist Islamism). On October 7, 2023, the confrontation between these two opposing worldviews was once again seen earnest -- with Israel as a crucible for testing the resolve of Western powers in safeguarding their traditional values, society and culture.
"If we fail," said Winston Churchill, in the British House of Commons during World War II, 1940, "then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age."
Although Churchill's statement applies to all Western nations at this time, it is the tiny nation of Israel that has found itself largely alone in the desperate fight to preserve the West's Judeo-Christian ideals. It would be to the West's advantage if its other nations would join Israel in this noble task.
Nils A. Haug is an author and columnist. A trial lawyer by profession, he is member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Retired from law, his particular field of interest is political theory intersecting with current events. He holds a Ph.D. in Theology (Apologetics). Dr. Haug is author of 'Politics, Law, and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and 'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.' His work has appeared in First Things Journal, The American Mind, Quadrant, Minding the Campus, Gatestone Institute, Anchoring Truths, Jewish Journal, and elsewhere.
[1] February 11, 1979 (according to Dilip Hiro in The Longest War, p.32) p.108 from Excerpts from Speeches and Messages of Imam Khomeini on the Unity of the Muslims.
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21268/multiculturalism-human-rights

How questions of sovereignty and security are fueling instability in the Sahel
Jonathan Lessware/Arab News/January 01/2024
LONDON: As a piece of geopolitical theater, the timing was hard to beat. Chad’s foreign minister announced the end of military cooperation with France just hours after his French counterpart left the country. That it took place on Nov. 28, as Chad celebrated its Republic Day—a key date in its move away from French colonial rule—only added to the symbolism.
On the same day, Senegal also suggested French troops should leave.
It was a seminal moment in post-colonial relations between France and the Sahel—the belt of nations south of the Sahara that stretches across Africa.
The departure of French troops from Chad and Senegal means France will no longer have a military presence in a region where it has long held sway.
While Chad’s decision to evict French troops was not driven by a military coup, it came amid increasing hostility toward the French across the region. (AFP/File)
The political dynamics of the Sahel have been rapidly shifting in recent years, and 2024 was no exception.
Chad’s decision to end its defense pact with France was one of the most significant events in a year that saw a continuation of the shift away from Western influence.
In the past three years, France has withdrawn troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, as a wave of coups brought military regimes hostile to French influence into power. These governments have looked elsewhere—to Russia, China, and Turkiye—for defense cooperation, dealing a major blow to Western hopes of maintaining a security presence in a region that has become a melting pot for extremist groups. The year began with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announcing they would leave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)—a regional bloc established to help maintain financial and political security.
There is widespread concern that the shrinking of this influential bloc of nations will lead to further instability. Indeed, the backdrop for the past year of turmoil has been an ever-deteriorating security situation across the Sahel, with a growing number of civilians maimed and killed amid extremist insurgencies.
Chad’s decision to end its defense cooperation with France came in stark contrast to the ambitious Sahel security policy it enacted more than 10 years earlier.
In 2012, northern Mali was overrun by militants allied to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. As they expanded south toward the capital, Mali appealed to its former colonizer for help. In early 2013, France deployed 1,700 troops as part of Operation Serval. The initial mission appeared to work as the militants fled northern towns. But the insurgency soon spread to neighboring countries.
In response, France expanded the operation in 2014 to include five states—Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. It deployed more than 5,000 soldiers and rebranded it Operation Barkhane. Meanwhile, the insurgency grew, with militant factions aligning into two main groups: the Al-Qaeda offshoot Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Sahel branch of Daesh. The failure to suppress the militants in Mali in the long term was one of the reasons for the 2020 coup that led to a deterioration in relations with France. In 2022, President Emmanuel Macron withdrew French troops from Mali as Russian mercenaries increased their presence. A similar pattern followed in Burkina Faso and Niger, where populations turned against the French presence, military coups ensued, and France had to withdraw its troops.
FASTFACTS
• Chad ended military cooperation with France in November 2024, marking a major shift in the Sahel’s geopolitical landscape.
• Post-colonial resentment and France’s neo-colonial policies fueled public opposition, forcing troop withdrawals from Sahel nations.
• With Western powers withdrawing, Russia expanded its role in the Sahel, providing military advisers and forming alliances. While Chad’s decision to evict French troops was not driven by a military coup, it came amid increasing hostility toward the French across the region. “After 66 years since the independence of the Republic of Chad, it is time for Chad to assert its full sovereignty and redefine its strategic partnerships according to national priorities,” Abderaman Koulamallah, Chad’s foreign minister, said. “This decision, taken after in-depth analysis, marks a historic turning point.”Many analysts feel this was a turning point of France’s own making, stemming from its neo-colonial policies that limited the sovereignty of Sahel nations. “Since independence, France has intervened in Chad and other former colonies, providing regime survival packages and interfering in domestic politics,” Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, told Arab News. There has been increasing hostility toward the region’s monetary system, which many view as a relic from the colonial era that allows France to maintain excessive control over their economies. The African Financial Community (CFA) franc monetary zone applies across 14 countries in West and Central Africa and is pegged to the euro. Critics say it strips those countries of an independent national monetary policy.
This has fed growing resentment of the French presence in the region.
“The continued French interference in domestic affairs has created substantial anti-French sentiment in its former colonies,” said Laessing.
“No ruler in Africa can be seen close to France as they would face a public backlash. This was one of the reasons why Chad decided to end the military partnership with France.”The deteriorating security situation has added to that resentment. An attack by the extremist group Boko Haram near the border with Nigeria in October killed at least 40 Chadian soldiers. Opposition parties said the French presence had failed to prevent the attack.
Reports preceding the French foreign minister’s visit in November suggested France was already planning a major troop reduction in African countries, including cutting numbers in Chad from 1,000 to 300. However, the full withdrawal from Chad means that the last operational French base in Africa will be in Djibouti on the Red Sea coast, which Macron visited on Dec. 20. For Chad, losing French military support is a significant concern for the multinational force battling Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin—an area that includes parts of Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria. “The withdrawal is good news for Boko Haram,” said Laessing. “I don’t think that the US and Britain will be able to contribute to the Lake Chad force without French logistical support.”
In 2019, French jets stopped a rebel column approaching the capital to topple then-President Idriss Deby. He was killed in 2021 in further clashes with militants and replaced by his son, Mahamat Deby Itno.
“Chad’s decision to expel French troops is a dangerous move for President Mahamat Deby because the main function of the French jets based in the Chadian capital is to protect the government against rebel attacks, which are frequent in this fragile country,” said Laessing. The two Mirage 2000-D fighter jets left Chad for France on Dec. 10. It was not just France that saw its position in the Sahel eroded in 2024. In March, Niger announced it would end military cooperation with the US.
By mid-September, the withdrawal of 1,100 American troops was complete, ending an extensive counter-terrorism operation run out of two air bases.
As the Americans left, the Russians moved in, with military advisers arriving from Moscow in May. In 2024, the growing alliance of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger represented a seismic shift in the region’s balance of power. As violence surged, a record 7,620 people were killed in the Sahel in the first six months of 2024—a 9 percent increase from 2023 and a staggering 190 percent rise from 2021.
Many fear the geopolitical changes in the region will make Sahel nations even more unstable. With little hope of political or military solutions, the conflicts are likely to persist, leaving vulnerable populations in greater peril in the year ahead.

How to bring the region closer to peace in 2025
Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/January 01, 2025
Even by the turbulent standards of the Middle East, 2024 was earth-shattering in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and the West Bank. In Gaza, tens of thousands were killed and millions made homeless. Impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity emboldened perpetrators to commit ever more gruesome atrocities. In Syria, Bashar Assad was forced to flee after a disastrous 24-year rule capped by a bloody 13-year civil war. In Lebanon, Israel decimated Hezbollah’s leadership and weakened its grip on power. Consistent with Israel’s indiscriminate battle doctrine, there was a huge civilian toll.
The most catastrophic event in 2024 was the killing fields of Gaza and this looks set to continue into 2025. More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed there since October 2023, mostly women and children. About 100,000 more have been injured, some maimed. Many others are missing or buried under the rubble of their destroyed homes. In October, the World Health Organization estimated that more than 6 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million had been either killed or injured. The UN estimates that nearly 70 percent of Gaza’s water and sanitation plants have been destroyed or damaged. That includes all five of the territory’s wastewater treatment facilities, plus desalination plants, sewage pumping stations, wells and reservoirs. Nearly all of Gaza’s inhabitants have been forcibly displaced, some multiple times. Having taken control of all entry points into the Gaza Strip, Israel has severely impeded the flow of aid. For example, out of the 91 attempts the UN made to deliver aid to the besieged north of Gaza between Oct. 6 and Nov. 25, 82 were denied and nine impeded. The conditions for survival are diminishing for the 65,000 to 75,000 people estimated to remain in the north. Starvation has already taken a toll in many parts of Gaza and famine is looming.
The most catastrophic event in 2024 was the killing fields of Gaza and this looks set to continue into 2025.
In addition to deliberately starving the Palestinians of Gaza and forcibly displacing them en masse, which are war crimes under the Geneva Conventions, Israel has engaged in other grave breaches of international humanitarian law, including indiscriminate bombing and the targeting of unarmed civilians, hospitals, schools, refugee camps and shelters. It is for these and other war crimes and crimes against humanity that the International Criminal Court in November issued warrants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The Israeli government, led by Netanyahu and populated by some of the basest ministers Israel and the region have ever had, engaged in this genocidal campaign because it was assured by the full support of the US. Although the Biden administration frequently voiced disagreement with some of Netanyahu’s extreme tactics, it continued to support him materially and shield him from UN censure.
President Joe Biden, the consummate politician who has spent more than 50 years in politics, failed to use his tremendous leverage to temper Israel’s unhinged behavior in Gaza, let alone bring a halt to the war. His administration also failed to persuade Israel to allow aid to flow to starving Palestinians.
It was argued that it would be difficult for Biden to discipline Israel during the US election campaign. But once the elections were over, the administration continued its lackadaisical approach of letting Israel off the hook every time the UN tried to improve the situation inside Gaza.
Many have argued that Biden still has enough time and power to do the right thing before he leaves office on Jan. 20. Jonah Blank, now with the RAND Corporation, served for 10 years as a Biden adviser. He wrote that there are three steps Biden could take during his final weeks in office that would “mitigate Palestinian suffering and preserve the possibility of a two-state solution — which would also be the best way to solidify Israel’s security in the long run.”First, he should recognize Palestinian statehood. Second, he should sponsor a resolution on a two-state solution at the UN Security Council. Third, he should enforce existing US legislation on arms transfers. These three actions are within Biden’s executive authority and could change the course of the crisis in the Middle East, “which is hurtling toward catastrophe,” as Blank made clear.
Such actions could salvage Biden’s legacy, which is now marred not only by the failure of his Middle East policy but also his contribution to the Democratic Party losing the presidential and congressional elections. This was one of the most pivotal moments of 2024.
According to US election experts, Biden’s initial insistence on running for reelection, against the better judgment of Democratic Party elders, led to that loss. After his disastrous performance in the presidential debate with Donald Trump, Biden was urged to relinquish his bid for a second term. He reluctantly agreed, but it was too late to salvage the Democratic Party’s election campaign.
The Democrats blamed him for their resounding defeat as the Republicans, led by Trump, trounced them everywhere to get what might be called — in the language of racing — a trifecta or even a superfecta. Republicans convincingly flipped the White House and the Senate and retained their majority in the House of Representatives. They already had a solid majority in the Supreme Court, thus rounding out the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. From Jan. 20, they will be in a position to change the face of the federal government for a long time.
For at least the next four years, America’s allies, partners and adversaries need to deal with this changed landscape in Washington. But for the next few weeks, Biden is in control and he can make history if he chooses to do so. A permanent ceasefire is needed in Gaza to start the process of rebuilding and reunifying the Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, instead of breakaway factions.
In addition to the Gaza war, there are other crises that the White House needs to address during the weeks leading up to Trump’s inauguration to make sure that there are no gaps in US regional policy on the changing of the guard at the White House and Congress. They include the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Fortunately, in each of these four crises, there is consensus on what needs to be done and UNSC resolutions to go by.
First and most urgent is the crisis in the West Bank, where the Israeli government and settlers have increased their attacks on Palestinians with the clear aim of driving them off their land. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and their homes and farms destroyed or burned down.
Clearly, the only way to defuse the West Bank crisis is through ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state. Already, about 150 countries have recognized Palestine as a state and there is a clear consensus on the parameters of this solution in UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
In September, Saudi Arabia, together with Norway, the Arab League and the EU, launched the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. The first meeting of the alliance was held in Riyadh on Oct. 30 and attended by 90 states and organizations, while the second meeting was held in Brussels on Nov. 28 and the third is planned for January in Oslo. The US took part in these meetings and expressed support for the alliance. It needs to do more to persuade Israel to join.
Second, in Lebanon, the agreement of a 60-day temporary ceasefire was a good start, but it needs to be solidified by the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1701 of 2006, which called for the withdrawal of all forces, save for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and the Lebanese security forces, from Lebanese territory south of the Litani River. Third, the surprise attack in late November by Turkiye-backed Syrian groups on Aleppo and the surrounding areas ended in Assad’s ouster and the installation of a new Islamist government in Damascus. In large part, the attack was motivated by the impasse in the UN and Arab League-mediated political process.In December 2015, the UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution 2254, which set forth a roadmap to resolve the crisis in Syria. Talks over its implementation stalled because the Assad regime stopped cooperating with UN Special Envoy Gere Pederson. Instead, the civil war raged, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands and leaving half of Syria’s population homeless. In May 2023, the Arab League reached an agreement in Amman with the Assad regime to resume the political process, but it later ignored the Arab League’s pleas to live up to that agreement.
The weakening of Assad’s close allies, Iran and Hezbollah, and preoccupation of Russia, Assad’s third ally, contributed to the decision by the militants to launch their successful blitz. In October, Assad’s forces again bombed the rebel-held Idlib province, probably hastening their decision to mount their counterattack. Things in Syria are now in flux, but the new rulers appear to be eager to reassure Syrians and the outside world that they intend to have an inclusive government focused on rebuilding Syria’s devastated economy. Fourth, in Yemen, the UN-led peace process has also stalled, as the Houthis have chosen to improve their political standing by disrupting international maritime trade and attacking ships. Here too, there is a clear UNSC resolution (No. 2216 of 2015, which was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter) that sets out the main parameters for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. To its credit, the Biden administration has been working on all these issues. But time is of the essence. It needs to take advantage of its remaining days in office to finish at least some of them, so as to hand over to the new administration a coherent response.
* Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the Gulf Cooperation Council assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation. The views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily represent the GCC.
X: @abuhamad1

The case for optimism in 2025
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/January 01, 2025
In the blink of an eye, we have completed the first quarter of the 21st century. It has been, to say the least, extremely eventful and challenging. At the dawn of 2025, the general mood is one of pessimism — and not without reason. But as we all know, there is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy in such talk of doom and gloom. This is equally true of optimism and history has demonstrated that, as per the Latin phrase “post tenebras lux” (after darkness comes light), humanity has repeatedly managed to find light in the darkest of times and reach new heights. Is the current generation not capable of rising above what divides us and collaborating to face the existential threats we are confronted by, just as past generations have done?
It would be almost too easy to claim that the unprecedented, simultaneous challenges humanity is now facing, in terms of their severity, magnitude and speed, are insurmountable. This is exacerbated by failed leaderships and by the centers of leadership and power becoming more opaque than ever, and not necessarily in the hands of those whom we traditionally perceive to be in charge of taking decisions that determine our lives. But at the same time, people across the world have shown their resilience, imagination and capacity for innovation in the face of adversity, not only merely surviving but even prospering.
The label “the year of elections” was attached to 2024, as billions of people voted across more than 80 countries, including some of the most influential and populous, yet not necessarily free or stable, polities. The impact of these elections will be felt in the coming years. In the US, the coming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump for a second term, which is the most notable and consequential result of last year’s many elections, is dividing opinions between high expectations and even deeper concerns.
However, as divisions and polarization within and between societies continue to increase, they inevitably induce dangers, while also introducing great opportunities that require us to create a different discourse, engagement and agency, since the ones we currently employ are not fit for purpose in navigating the stormy waters ahead of us.
The so-called old-fashioned types of conflict, including kinetic wars, are still prevalent and displaying their devastating effects in the prolonged wars in Ukraine and Gaza, among others. However, without discounting the appalling devastation they inflict and the desperate need to resolve such conflicts, there are other issues that threaten our very existence. By working to solve them in a more consensual manner, we could also lessen the scale and the severity of that kind of warfare. People across the world have shown their resilience, imagination and capacity for innovation in the face of adversity.
Climate change, artificial intelligence, which is now permeating almost every aspect of our lives, the social implications of technology in general and social media in particular, and the growing inequalities that are leading to increased polarization on issues such as migration and trade wars are just a few of our immediate and long-term challenges. These will determine our future, even our existence, and they demand that we closely cooperate if we are to meet them. History has taught us that there is nothing like a profound crisis to concentrate the mind. And, right now, humanity is facing multiple crises that could either change it beyond recognition and even fast-track it to destruction or result in 2025 becoming the year when all societies wake up to the realization that there is an alternative way forward that will not just pull us back from the abyss, but will also signal a new and a brighter dawn.
Consider, for instance, the two heavily armed conflicts that have been the center of attention for some time now. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have demonstrated their futility by their failure to achieve any political gains and instead have only caused immense suffering. In both cases, even the marked asymmetry in capabilities, elements of surprise, vulnerability to losses and international standing have not led to any decisive outcome. And the resort to the use of force, instead of settling differences diplomatically, has resulted in nothing but unimaginable suffering with no achievements to show for it.
Russia is more isolated than ever, its economy is in a shambles and its people pay the price, as they are oppressed at home and sent to die for no good reason. In the Middle East, Hamas might have scored a “success” on Oct. 7 by badly hurting its arch-enemy Israel, but what good has come out of that for the Palestinians? Only death and devastation. Israel, in its disproportionate response, has crushed much of Hamas’ military capabilities. But by killing thousands upon thousands of civilians, maiming many more, reducing the Gaza Strip to rubble and failing to reach a deal to bring the hostages back, it has also created severe cracks in its own society and its democracy that no military force is capable of fixing, while internationally its reputation is at its lowest ebb.
And yet, at the same time, scientists are, for instance, getting close to developing a cancer vaccine, an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and a solar-powered box that will extract hundreds of gallons of drinking water from the air every single day — all of which can improve our quality of life and our longevity. The threat of climate change also, more than ever, showed its devastating impact on communities in 2024. In December, European scientists confirmed that it would be the hottest year ever recorded, surpassing 2023, and also the first year that our planet’s average temperature rise compared to pre-industrial levels exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius, the critical threshold set out in the Paris Agreement.
However, this looming disaster also represents a great opportunity. According to some economic forecasts, uncontrolled climate change would wipe 6.5 percent off the world’s economic activity by 2050. On the other hand, there is the potential of the green economy creating $10.3 trillion in global gross domestic product in the next quarter of a century, which could only be regarded as a win if we grab this opportunity to fix our relationship with nature, induce a new green industrial revolution and reduce the current huge inequalities in wealth between rich and poor countries by making the latter equal partners in this human endeavor. Similarly, one of the greatest challenges of our time is to deal with the accelerated introduction of AI into every aspect of our lives. This could be a force for ending humanity as we know it or for its transformation into an improved global community that is peaceful and prosperous.
So, instead of entering 2025 with a sense of pessimism, as many are doing, we can — to give a twist to Mark Twain’s quip about his rumored death — declare that reports of the end of humanity as we know it have been grossly exaggerated. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reflect on the watershed moment we are at and for the world to come together and improve the human condition. It is a moment of together we stand or divided we fall. The new year could and should be one of global renewal and of standing together as one.
*Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg

2025… Between Expectations and Predictions
Emile Ameen/Asharq Al-Awsat/January 02/2025
As the new year begins, observers ponder the dynamics and changes influencing decision-makers around the globe to ascertain whether the world of tomorrow will be immersed in peace, or buried in wars?!
The first question is tied to global cooperation to enhance security, which has reached unprecedented lows. While conflicts have escalated, traditionally leading bodies, most notably the United Nations, have proven unable to achieve a broad global consensus or resolve them.
The two main determinants of the world that is to come attests to this state of affairs: the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, passing through Lebanon, the Syrian scene, and continuing on to Yemen, all of them affirm that the global security system has become too fragmented to maintain peace or negotiate for it. In three weeks, the world will witness the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump for a second nonconsecutive term, and the question is: will the president help heal the world's deep wounds or deepen them?
Trump seems to embody the duality of the US. While he promises to stop the Russian-Ukrainian war in his early days, we find imperial dreams, or to be more precise, his ambitions. The man is intent on buying the Danish island of Greenland, which he sees as an American national security need. Denmark rejects the idea, and he then gets the urge to take control of the Panama Canal. His term will likely witness some kind of military intervention in Mexico, and then we have the bigger and more dangerous issue, which had begun as a joke but could turn into a frightening reality: his vision of annexing Canada to the United States, turning it into the 51st state, as he put it. One regional issue intertwined with global circumstances is that of Iran. The question is: "Will 2025 be the year in which the Iranian government actually develops a nuclear bomb, if it has not already obtained it?"
On the one hand, Tehran seeks to avoid provocations in times of crisis, as it is doing now. And so, it might seek to negotiate with the United States, especially before European sanctions are resumed. Here, we find the Trumpian obstacle, as the man has been firm towards Iran, and is thus not expected to be open to negotiations that buy Tehran time. Here a question arises about the right of regional countries to develop similar nuclear capabilities, to achieve balanced nuclear deterrence, which indicates that a nuclear route is undoubtedly justified.
From the Middle East, we turn to the Far East. Russia is becoming more turbulent by the day. Russian intelligence leaks over the past few days, suggesting Western preparations for attacks inside Russia, does not bode well for an imminent breakthrough in the crisis. It thereby makes the threat of a nuclear catastrophe a real possibility, especially if Trump's good intentions fail to end the war with Ukraine. It is no secret that Russia today appears weaker domestically than it had been in February 2022. It is facing economic difficulties, but it has set clear limits and red lines; if crossed it could set the world on fire.
One cannot overlook China in discussions of the new year. Dealing with lower growth rates than we have been accustomed to over the past two decades, China is also seeking to focus on its military and on rising as an armed power through a huge upcoming nuclear arsenal. In the region around China, we find several points of tension that could make the new year one of all-out war, from Taiwan to the South China Sea, to Guam; there is also the expectation of a conflict with Australia, the Western proxy. Europe is ravaged by political chaos, as the French government coalition has collapsed, and the ruling German coalition has been brought down. A report by the European Bank ING, said "political chaos affects growth." Europe finds itself caught between the hammer of Putin and the anvil of Trump. The world is facing an American debt crisis that could devastate the global economy, and humanity is facing up against the dictatorship of artificial intelligence and the arrival of the digital monster... What else?