English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 08/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 07/01-13:”After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near. So his brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’(For not even his brothers believed in him.). Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.’After saying this, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were in secret. The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, ‘Where is he?’ And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds. While some were saying, ‘He is a good man’, others were saying, ‘No, he is deceiving the crowd.’Yet no one would speak openly about him for fear of the Jews.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 07-08/2025
Ghassan Salamé and Tarek Mitri — Mummified Relics in the Government of the Hateful, Reactionary Nasserist Nawaf Salam/Elias Bejjani/April 07/2025
Text & Video/From Blindness to Belief: The Healing Miracle of Bartimaeus/Elias Bejjani /April 06/2026
Link to a Video Commentary by Journalist Ali Hamadeh reading in the outcome of Morgan Ortagus's visit
Israeli army chief assesses situation on Lebanese border
Aoun and Berri discuss outcome of Ortagus' visit to Lebanon
Aoun says Lebanon committed to reforms, disarming Hezbollah
Report: Lebanon vows to disarm Hezbollah, US to give army helicopters
Report: Ortagus shows flexibility but doesn't reassure on Israeli attacks
Normalization with Israel 'unthinkable' and Ortagus did not mention it, Berri says
US Embassy Statement: Ortagus Calls for Disarmament of Hezbollah and Reforms During Visit to Lebanon
Ortagus says 'Hezbollah and all militias' must be disarmed 'as soon as possible'
Lebanon says two killed in Israeli strike on south
Israeli strikes kill one person in Taybeh, wound another in Beit Leef
Beirut’s political landscape shifts as municipal elections near: What’s at stake?
Lebanon faces 'tough choices' ahead of IMF talks as the US envoy wraps up visit: What’s next for the country?
ATFL presses Lebanon on reforms and Hezbollah disarmament in Beirut talks — the details
Salam Meets with ATFL, Reaffirms State Authority and Dedication to Reforms
‘As soon as possible,’ says senior US envoy on timeline for disarming Hezbollah
When Nasser, Arafat (And The Lebanese) Destroyed Lebanon/Amb. Alberto M. Fernandez/MEMRI/April 07/2025
The Christian Rule Saves Lebanon (Part 2 of 3)/Elie Aoun/April 07/2025
Political Fraud and the Bungled Peace/Charles Chartouni/This is Beirut/April 07/2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 07-08/2025
Trump announces direct Iran nuclear talks during meeting with Netanyahu
Trump-Netanyahu summit sparks speculation on Iran, Gaza, and regional strategy
Netanyahu says Israel working on fresh Gaza hostage deal
Exclusive-Iran-backed militias in Iraq ready to disarm to avert Trump wrath
King Abdullah of Jordan discusses Gaza during summit with Egyptian, French presidents in Cairo
Emmanuel Macron calls for 'immediate ceasefire' in Gaza during visit to Egypt
Israeli soldiers describe clearance of 'kill zone' on Gaza's edge
Multiple UN agencies call for urgent renewal of ceasefire in Gaza as death toll mounts
Israel controls 50% of Gaza after razing land to expand its buffer zone
At least 32 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza
Israeli forces seen building positions in Gaza as they take more ground
Israeli soldiers reveal systematic destruction of Palestinian property to create Gaza buffer zone
Syria appoints finance expert as new central bank governor
Zelenskiy confirms for first time that Ukrainian troops active in Russia's Belgorod region

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on April 07-08/2025
Qatar's Muslim 'Scholars' Call For Death And Destruction/Dr. Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April 07, 2025
Syria’s new strongman isn’t living up to his promises for reform/Ahmad Sharawi/The Hill/April 07/2025
Why Europe should appreciate Trump/Salman Al-Ansari//Arab News/April 07, 2025
The politics behind Netanyahu’s Shin Bet scandal/Dr. Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/April 07, 2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 07-08/2025
Ghassan Salamé and Tarek Mitri — Mummified Relics in the Government of the Hateful, Reactionary Nasserist Nawaf Salam
Elias Bejjani/April 07/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/04/142042/
Lebanon’s sovereign interest demands the complete removal of Ghassan Salamé, Tarek Mitri, and Nawaf Salam from all national and political affairs. Their own words and actions expose them as mummified relics of a long-extinct, delusional, and defeatist Nasserist era.
Alongside them, every minister, official, and media figure steeped in the destructive culture and hollow slogans of the so-called “resistance” and “defiance” industry must also be dismissed. This failed rhetoric has brought only devastation upon Lebanon.
Lebanon and its people have had enough of the charlatans, scribes, Pharisees, Trojan agents, and delusional ideologues who parade as patriots while dragging the nation deeper into ruin.

Text & Video/From Blindness to Belief: The Healing Miracle of Bartimaeus
Elias Bejjani /April 06/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/04/73575/
"I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind." - John 9:39
On this sixth Sunday of Lent, our Maronite Catholic Church prayerfully remembers Jesus' powerful healing of Bartimaeus, the blind son of Timaeus. This transformative event in Jericho, near the Pool of Siloam, is recorded in the Gospels of Mark (10:46-52), John (9:1-41), and Matthew (20:29-34).
For Maronites in Lebanon and across the globe, Jesus is the sacred light that guides believers along God's paths of righteousness. Without His illuminating presence, the darkness of evil inevitably encroaches upon our hearts, souls, and minds, leaving us vulnerable to temptation.
"While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." - John 9:5
While some in our communities possess perfect physical sight, they may suffer from a deeper spiritual blindness – a lack of faith, hope, and a life lived in the shadows due to separation from God and His Gospel. In contrast, true blindness is not merely a physical ailment, but a condition of the heart: hardened, the conscience: numbed, and the spirit: defiled by sin.
John's Gospel provides crucial insight into Bartimaeus' life after his miraculous healing. The scriptures reveal that he and his parents faced intimidation, fear, threats, and terror for his newfound sight and faith. Yet, he stood firm, refusing to deny the truth of his experience.
He recounted the miracle with unwavering accuracy, bravely witnessing to the power of Jesus and proclaiming his strong conviction that the one who healed him was the Son of God. His faith became his strength, banishing fear and granting him courage. The Holy Spirit Himself interceded through him.
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." - Romans 8:26
Our modern world often celebrates atheism and secularism, sometimes even persecuting those who hold faith in God. We see echoes of the crowd who initially scorned Bartimaeus, hypocritically trying to keep him from Jesus, only to change their tune when Jesus Himself called for him.
Even today, Christian believers in many nations endure severe persecution from oppressive regimes, extremist groups, and leaders who reject the truth. Yet, thanks be to God, countless humble believers like Bartimaeus remain steadfast in their faith, undeterred by any obstacle.
Lord, shine Your light into our minds and hearts, opening our eyes to Your loving and merciful nature. Help us to follow Bartimaeus' example of unwavering faith. Grant us the strength to overcome the sins that lead us away from Your light, and deliver us from all evil temptations.

Link to a Video Commentary by Journalist Ali Hamadeh reading in the outcome of Morgan Ortagus's visit
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/04/142036/
*A Scathing Response to the Slanderer Ghassan Salameh and All Those of His Cowardly and Miserable Caliber
*In this powerful commentary, journalist Ali Hamadeh delivers a blistering response to Ghassan Salameh and others like him—figures defined by cowardice and moral bankruptcy.
*The commentary tackles the significance of the Lebanese state's unprecedented move to request the Higher Defense Council to formulate concrete plans to disarm Hezbollah, a long-overdue step toward reclaiming national sovereignty.
*Hamadeh sheds light on the futility of engaging in any dialogue with the Iranian terrorist militia, which has repeatedly mocked such initiatives in the past—once responding to a national dialogue proposal with the infamous insult: “Soak it and drink its water.”
*The commentary also highlights a clear message from the United States: there will be no reconstruction and no meaningful aid for Lebanon until the issue of illegal weapons is resolved and those who possess them are isolated.
April 07/2025
Note: The text title is a free-format expression by Elias Bejjani.

Israeli army chief assesses situation on Lebanese border
Naharnet/April 07, 2025
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir conducted an assessment of the situation on the border with Lebanon on Sunday “in preparation for the (Jewish) holidays,” the Israeli army said.
He was accompanied by the chief of the Northern Command, the commander of the 91st Division and other commanders. During the tour, Zamir “reviewed the operational plans for the next phases, both defensively and offensively,” the Israeli army said. “We will continue the battle to strengthen defensive efforts and demonstrate initiative and offensive spirit. We must strengthen reserve soldiers at all levels,” Zamir said. The Israeli army chief also made instructions that the Israeli army “does not allow (Israeli) citizens to tour beyond the international border, but only within the territory of the State of Israel and in places where tours had been organized in the past based on the security situation.”

Aoun and Berri discuss outcome of Ortagus' visit to Lebanon
Naharnet/April 07, 2025
President Joseph Aoun met Monday at the presidential palace with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. A Presidency statement said Aoun and Berri discussed “the general situations, especially the developments in the South, in addition to the outcome of Deputy U.S. Special Envoy to Middle East Morgan Ortagus’ visit to Lebanon.” Israel has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon since the November 27 ceasefire that largely halted more than a year of hostilities, with raids this week in south Lebanon and even on Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold. The truce accord was based on a U.N. Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups. A Lebanese official said Saturday that Ortagus discussed "intensifying and speeding up" the Lebanese Army's work in "dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure, leading to restricting weapons to state hands, without setting a timetable."

Aoun says Lebanon committed to reforms, disarming Hezbollah
Naharnet/April 07, 2025
President Joseph Aoun vowed Monday that Lebanon is committed to reforms and to Hezbollah’s disarmament, revealing that efforts to devise a "national security strategy" will begin "soon." "Lebanon needs time and space to resolve these matters calmly," Aoun said, adding that disarming Hezbollah would happen through dialogue and communication. "Hezbollah after all is a Lebanese component and the Israeli occupation of the five hills (in south Lebanon) would not help Lebanon but only complicate the situation further."Aoun said a national security strategy would be written soon and a national defense strategy would emerge from it, stressing that the Lebanese are united. "Sometimes we have different opinions, and that's normal and it's the essence of democracy. We have to discuss and debate. But in the end, our goal is one."

Report: Lebanon vows to disarm Hezbollah, US to give army helicopters
Naharnet/April 07, 2025
Lebanon’s top leaders Joseph Aoun, Nabih Berri and Nawaf Salam pledged to U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus that arms would be limited to the state’s hands and withdrawn from Hezbollah as an obligatory gateway for the state to extend its authority across its territory, presidential sources said. “They told her that the exclusivity of arms has become indisputable, undebatable and settled and that only the timing remains for removing illegal weapons,” the sources told Saudi Arabia’s Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. “This is what the state has taken upon itself through its communication with Hezbollah to reach a program aimed at absorbing the weapons,” the sources added. “The state’s preparations to devise a defense strategy does not mean that the removal of illegal arms will remain indefinitely pending,” the sources said. The sources also revealed that “there is constant communication between the leaderships of the army and Hezbollah, with its agenda topped by preparing for the phase of the gradual absorption of Hezbollah’s arms on the basis of commitment to the implementation of 1701 as stipulated by the Taif Agreement, which enjoys support for Hezbollah in the vein of its backing of the resolution related to extending the state’s authority across its territory.”“The two leaderships tackled the need to control the situation in the area north of the Litani River to strip Israel of the excuse of rocket launches that was behind the expansion of its airstrikes to include Beirut’s southern suburbs,” the sources added. Ortagus meanwhile reassured Lebanese leaders that Washington will continue to support the Lebanese Army, revealing that the U.S. will provide the army with military helicopters once Congress approves the move, the sources said.

Report: Ortagus shows flexibility but doesn't reassure on Israeli attacks
Naharnet/April 07, 2025
Lebanon’s top officials Joseph Aoun, Nabih Berri and Nawaf Salam said Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Morgan Ortagus “showed flexibility regarding some Lebanese demands that she was told of” during her weekend visit to Lebanon, Al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday. “But no one heard from her a clear and reassuring answer as to halting the Israeli attacks and curbing their expansion, and she did not give a commitment that Israel would withdraw from the occupied areas, reiterating that the failure to hand over weapons would mean that Lebanon is not committed to the ceasefire,” the daily added.

Normalization with Israel 'unthinkable' and Ortagus did not mention it, Berri says

Naharnet/April 07, 2025
Parliament Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri has told Deputy U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus that her past stances were not "encouraging" but said his meeting Saturday with her was "positive", al-Joumhouria newspaper said Monday.
In her last visit to war-hit Lebanon on February, Ortagus voiced from Baabda pro-Israel statements. "We are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah," Ortagus said, adding that the United States has set a "red line" that Hezbollah should not be a member of Lebanon's next government. Berri, who helped broker the ceasefire with Israel criticized continued Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and the Beirut suburbs, accusing Israel of violating the truce and U.N. Resolution 1701, as he met Ortagus Saturday. He also criticized the Israeli occupation of five strategic hills in south Lebanon and the release of the Lebanese detained in Israeli prisons. Al-Joumhouria's sources quoted Berri as saying that Ortagus did not threaten Lebanon and did not call for normalizing ties with Israel. "The Israelis themselves have not raised the issue, so why are some of us rushing into normalization?" Berri was quoted as saying. "Normalizing ties with Israel is unacceptable and unthinkable."Ortagus also met in Lebanon with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. She emphasized the need for the Lebanese Army to assert control over all Lebanese territory, not just south of the Litani River. In a statement on X, Aoun described his meeting with Ortagus as "constructive."

US Embassy Statement: Ortagus Calls for Disarmament of Hezbollah and Reforms During Visit to Lebanon

This is Beirut/April 07, 2025
The US Embassy in Beirut issued a statement on Monday announcing that Morgan Ortagus, Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East, expressed her enthusiasm for returning to Lebanon to meet with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Speaker Nabih Berri and Minister of Foreign Affairs Youssef Rajji. The statement highlighted that throughout her meetings, Ortagus expressed satisfaction with the frank discussions focused on Lebanon’s path toward a new chapter. She underscored the importance of swiftly disarming Hezbollah, enacting comprehensive reforms to tackle corruption and establishing an open, transparent government that would rebuild trust and faith among all Lebanese citizens in their country’s future.

Ortagus says 'Hezbollah and all militias' must be disarmed 'as soon as possible'

Agence France Presse/April 07, 2025
Visiting U.S. deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus has addressed the issue of Hezbollah's disarmament in her talks with Lebanese officials over the weekend. In an interview with Lebanese television channel LBCI broadcast on Sunday, Ortagus said Washington continued to press Lebanon's government "to fully fulfill the cessation of hostilities, and that includes disarming Hezbollah and all militias," adding it should happen "as soon as possible.""The sooner that the LAF (Lebanese army) is able to meet these goals and to disarm all militias in the state, the sooner the Lebanese people can be free... from foreign influence, free from terrorism," she said.Hezbollah was the only Lebanese armed group that refused to surrender its weapons following a 1975-1990 civil war, arguing that its arms were necessary to fight against occupying Israeli troops in south Lebanon. The group has been severely weakened by the latest conflict with Israel however. Ortagus said she has had "fantastic meetings" in Lebanon. President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam -- whose appointments this year ended a more than two-year leadership vacuum -- also called their discussions with her on Saturday positive. They said the talks addressed events in the south as well as economic reforms.
- Reforms -
A Lebanese official, speaking anonymously as they were not authorized to brief the media, said Saturday that Ortagus discussed "intensifying and speeding up" the Lebanese Army's work in "dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure, leading to restricting weapons to state hands, without setting a timetable."The official added that Ortagus had "implied" that the reconstruction of war-ravaged areas "requires first achieving reforms and the expansion of state authority."International creditors have long demanded reforms to unlock bailout funds that could help ease Lebanon's five-year economic crisis, which has been widely blamed on mismanagement and corruption. Lebanon's finance ministry said Ortagus met Sunday with Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, Economy Minister Amer Bisat and new central bank governor Karim Souaid. Discussions included "reforms initiated by the government... and the economic reform program," a ministry statement said. It added that the bank chief and the two ministers would attend International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington later this month. Ali Fayyad, a member of Lebanon's parliament for Hezbollah, condemned what he called "flagrant interference in reforms and financial, monetary and administrative matters.""We don't want reforms tailored to foreign wills and their politics seeking to dominate the country." Ortagus, during the LBCI interview, said: "If they make the choice to work together and partner with the U.S. government to disarm Hezbollah, to fulfill the cessation of hostilities, to end endemic corruption in this country, we're going to be a wonderful partner and friend."

Lebanon says two killed in Israeli strike on south

AFP/April 07, 2025
Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on Monday in Lebanon's south killed two people, hours after the Israeli military said it killed a Hezbollah leader in an earlier strike. "Two Syrians were killed on a motorcycle, and one citizen was injured in an enemy strike on the Dardara road" in Lebanon's southern Marjayoun district, the official National News Agency said.

Israeli strikes kill one person in Taybeh, wound another in Beit Leef

Agence France Presse/April 07, 2025
An Israeli strike Monday on southern Lebanon killed one person, according to the health ministry, with Israel's military saying it had "eliminated" a Hezbollah commander. Israel has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon since the November 27 ceasefire that largely halted more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah including two months of all-out war. The Lebanese health ministry said in a statement that an "Israeli enemy" strike on Monday on the town of Taybeh, near the border, "led to the death of one citizen." The Israeli military said its forces "eliminated... Hezbollah's artillery commander in the Taybeh area," alleging that during the war, he had "directed and carried out numerous projectile attacks toward the Upper Galilee area" in northern Israel. Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said the strike hit "in front of a motorcycle repair shop" in the town, in south Lebanon's Marjayoun district. An Israeli drone later targeted a car in the southern town of Beit Leef wounding its driver, the agency added.

Beirut’s political landscape shifts as municipal elections near: What’s at stake?
LBCI/April 07, 2025
During the height of the so-called "Political Harirism," former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri's phrase "We stopped counting" played a key role in solidifying the power-sharing agreement within Beirut’s Municipal Council, a 24-member body formed through broad consensus-based alliances. Beirut has nearly 505,000 voters, including around 247,000 Sunnis (about half of the total), 170,000 Christians, and approximately 81,000 Shiites. Therefore, the Sunni vote holds the "electoral key," although voter turnout did not exceed 20% in the last municipal elections in 2016. Today, with new Sunni figures emerging in Beirut and the absence of Saad Hariri from the political scene, coupled with the appointment of a Beirut-based prime minister, a new political dynamic is forming. The equation has shifted, and there are concerns that the lack of a single Sunni leadership could lead to the dissolution—or even the elimination—of Christian representation. Meanwhile, the new Sunni forces in Beirut do not seem eager to institutionalize the power-sharing arrangement in the law, though they assert their commitment to the principle. This is evident through the proposal by MPs Mark Daou and Waddah Sadek for a closed list and MP Nabil Badr’s efforts to secure the widest possible alliance with Islamic forces to safeguard the power-sharing system. At this point, the alliance map remains unclear. While the capital's municipal elections are likely to be the most significant political battle, there are growing concerns from mayors of villages in the southern border region about holding elections amid the fragile security situation. These concerns were raised to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. The mayors have requested more time to prepare logistically for the elections, while the Shiite villages, in line with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's statement, are determined to hold the elections, even if it means proceeding "on the ground."Less than a month before the municipal elections, which have been absent for nine years, it is becoming increasingly clear that the political aspect is overshadowing family-based politics. The battle is now one of political power, shaped by shifting balances.

Lebanon faces 'tough choices' ahead of IMF talks as the US envoy wraps up visit: What’s next for the country?

LBCI/April 07, 2025
As U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus concludes her visit to Lebanon, questions arise over the country's next steps. Time is not on Lebanon’s side, with just a few days remaining before the first major deadline before the international community: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Washington on April 21. What needs to be done, and what can still be achieved? The negotiating delegation must bring three key banking, financial, and administrative steps to the table. The first is the amendment to the banking secrecy law, which reduces banking secrecy with retroactive effect for the last 10 years. The draft decree was referred to Parliament after being approved by the Cabinet in March. Second, the government has stated that appointments to the Council for Development and Reconstruction will be confirmed in an upcoming Cabinet session. The third and most difficult step is the banking reform and regulation bill. This law will determine which banks can continue and increase their capital and which will be liquidated. The IMF has agreed to defer the discussion on losses and the return of deposits to depositors until after April 21, as the issue needs more time for discussion and determination. The Cabinet will review this bill on Tuesday. However, according to sources, "the path is not easy," with several ministers raising concerns. For example, how can they determine which banks are viable without knowing the extent of the losses? Why not wait to determine the losses before passing the law? Why does the law grant powers to the Banking Control Commission, which is part of the banking sector, instead of an independent body? Even after the laws are referred from the Cabinet to Parliament, the key question remains: What will happen after these laws are approved if the country falls back into the same scenario of blame-shifting between the government and Parliament, which derailed the initial agreement with the IMF in 2022? According to government sources, Morgan Ortagus told officials that the international community does not intervene in such details and will evaluate the performance of the state as a whole. Thus, the international community will base its stance on Lebanon's positive intent and cooperation in fulfilling the required tasks.

ATFL presses Lebanon on reforms and Hezbollah disarmament in Beirut talks — the details

LBCI/April 07, 2025
A message from Washington to Lebanon, presented by the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL) and led by Edward Gabriel, was delivered to President Joseph Aoun, highlighting the urgency of disarming Hezbollah and swiftly implementing essential reforms for Lebanon to secure international support. For President Aoun, the priority is to reduce tensions in the south, particularly because Israel’s presence in five positions further complicates the situation. He urged the U.S. to pressure Israel to withdraw from these areas. President Aoun also committed to pursuing reforms, disarming groups, and ensuring Lebanon’s full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. He said, “Regarding the northern part of the Litani River, we have already dismantled six camps that were under the control of Palestinian groups.”Regarding his approach to disarming Hezbollah, President Aoun emphasized the importance of dialogue, saying, “We will soon begin working on drafting a national security strategy, which will form the basis for a national defense strategy.”The ATFL delegation also met with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who reaffirmed his government’s determination to continue efforts to place all weapons under state control and extend the government’s authority over all Lebanese territory. Salam also revealed that the government is preparing a draft law to ensure judicial independence.Edward Gabriel, for his part, emphasized that both President Aoun and Prime Minister Salam acknowledged the need to take concrete steps to reinforce the ceasefire, including enabling the Lebanese Armed Forces—supported by the United States—to carry out their missions alongside launching negotiations on border demarcation. He also noted that discussions emphasized the importance of aligning economic progress with maintaining the ceasefire.

Salam Meets with ATFL, Reaffirms State Authority and Dedication to Reforms

This is Beirut/April 07, 2025
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reiterated the government’s commitment to implementing its reform agenda, focusing on consolidating state authority and restricting weapons to state control. Salam’s comments came during a meeting on Monday with a delegation from the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), headed by Ambassador Edward Gabriel and attended by US Ambassador Lisa Johnson. The Prime Minister highlighted key steps already taken, including the introduction of financial reforms through a bill aimed at lifting banking secrecy, the banking sector reform project and the establishment of a new mechanism for administrative appointments. “This mechanism has already led to the opening of nominations for the head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction,” he said. He also emphasized the urgency of Parliament moving forward with the passage of reform laws as soon as they are presented by the government. Additionally, Salam revealed that his administration is working on a draft law to ensure the independence of the judiciary. Salam reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to its obligations and stressed that the government is “focused on strengthening state sovereignty and fully implementing Resolution 1701,” in line with the Taif Accord. He praised the Lebanese Army for its crucial role in the south, noting that it is advancing in the right direction. Ambassador Gabriel, commenting on the meeting, expressed satisfaction with the discussions and described the meeting as “very good.”He noted the encouraging remarks from Salam regarding Lebanon’s economic program, stressed the importance of prompt execution and urged Parliament to fast-track its review. Gabriel also emphasized the importance of Lebanon showing the international community that it is making substantial progress in its reform efforts.
He further discussed the importance of “fully enforcing the ceasefire agreement,” recognizing the shared commitment of both Prime Minister Salam and President Aoun to stabilize the ceasefire, enhance the Lebanese Armed Forces with US assistance and initiate border demarcation talks. Gabriel concluded by underlining that economic reforms and the ceasefire must move forward together.

‘As soon as possible,’ says senior US envoy on timeline for disarming Hezbollah
Arab News/April 07, 2025
LONDON: Hezbollah and all militias in Lebanon must be disarmed “as soon as possible,” US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus has told the Lebanese broadcaster LBCI. Ortagus, who was speaking to LBCI’s Toni Mrad in an interview aired on Sunday, emphasized President Donald Trump’s firm position that only by disarming militant groups could the Lebanese people be “free from foreign influence, free from terrorism, free from the fears that have been so pervasive in society.” Speaking during her second visit to Lebanon, where she has held “fantastic meetings” with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Ortagus also reiterated Washington’s continued support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, while stressing that disarmament remained a central pillar of any meaningful recovery.“We, of course, always bring up disarming Hezbollah, but not just Hezbollah, all militias in this country,” Ortagus said. “President Aoun said clearly in his inaugural speech that he wanted the state to have the monopoly of force, he wanted the state to be the one with the weapons. That is a position that we support,” she added. When asked to outline a timeline on disarming the Iran-backed group, Ortagus said there was “not necessarily a timetable,” but that it should happen “as soon as possible.”She continued that the US had been providing aid and assistance, training, funding, and equipment to the LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) for decades.
“That’s a very important American priority. Now that we’re in this new era — where the LAF is really able, under President Aoun’s leadership, to exert more authority over the state — we want to help them move toward those goals. Those goals are real; they’re clear,” she said. Ortagus, who served as spokesperson for the State Department during the first Trump administration, said she was “very encouraged” by Lebanon’s new cabinet, describing its ministers as “real patriots” with a clear vision for reforms. This was in stark contrast to what she described as the “depressing” conditions of the past decade.
When asked whether Hezbollah could play a political role in Lebanon if disarmed, Ortagus responded by reframing the question in terms of broader US policy under Trump.
“I don’t come here as a US official representing the Trump administration to make demands: ‘You must do X, you must do Y.’ Rather, I encourage and say: If you want continued partnership with the United States, you have to meet certain goals and criteria,” she said.
“When I came here the first time, it was important to me that Nawaf Salam did not have Hezbollah represented among his ministers, just as important was that there not be corrupt ministers; corruption has eroded society’s confidence.
“If (Lebanon’s leaders) choose to work together and partner with the US government to disarm Hezbollah, to fulfil the cessation of hostilities, to end endemic corruption, we’re going to be a wonderful partner and friend. And there will be more of that to come.
“But if the government and the leaders choose to slow-walk that or not be part of that vision for Lebanon that we share, that’s a choice they can make. But they shouldn’t expect partnership if they’re not achieving these goals,” she added.
Addressing speculation over potential Lebanese normalization with Israel, Ortagus dismissed the issue as premature. “I didn’t have a single conversation about that topic here in Lebanon. What we’re focused on now is implementing the cessation of hostilities. We’re focused on disarming Hezbollah. We’re focused on economic reforms,” she said. “You have to crawl before you run; we’re still at the crawling stage.”
On Lebanon’s deepening economic crisis, Ortagus said US support would hinge on reforms, echoing positions taken by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. “Lebanon must get off things like the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) gray list. It must move beyond a cash-based economy. It must return to having a sophisticated financial sector, the one Lebanon used to be known for,” she said. Ortagus revealed she was struck by a billboard in Beirut that read “Make Lebanon Great Again,” saying she took a photo of it to show Trump. “I loved that sign,” she said. “If you want to make Lebanon great again, you must implement these reforms. It’s tough, but Lebanon is in one of the worst financial conditions I’ve seen in the past 20 or 30 years.” Calling the situation “devastating,” she warned that radical change was required to avoid collapse. “To rescue yourselves, you’ll need reforms, and some of them radical, to save the country.”Ortagus also called for an overhaul of the traditional donor-aid approach to post-conflict reconstruction, advocating instead for increased private-sector investment and innovation. “Our vision for Lebanon is not just as a donor country always asking for donations,” she told Mrad. “How do we think of a better way to rebuild southern Lebanon? We want people to have jobs. We want them to have hope for the future.” Pointing to the regional devastation in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon, she said the world must “look differently at these war-torn regions” and empower their youth to participate in shaping a more prosperous future.


When Nasser, Arafat (And The Lebanese) Destroyed Lebanon
Amb. Alberto M. Fernandez/MEMRI/April 07/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/04/142047/
April 13, 2025, is the 50th anniversary of the formal start of the Lebanese Civil War. That day, Palestinian gunmen shot up civilians coming out of a Maronite church in Beirut while later that same day Lebanese Maronite gunmen shot up a bus carrying Palestinian civilians coming from a Palestinian militant rally.[1] The first Lebanese "martyr" of that war was Maronite Joseph Abu Assi, cut down outside that church after witnessing his son's baptism.
While both events happened the same day and hours apart, expect most commentators to dwell, as they did back in 1975, on the infamous Black Sunday "bus massacre" while making scant mention of the drive-by shooting on the church.
The war would rage, on and off, for 15 long years, drag in neighboring and global powers, turbocharge terrorism, and devastate a tiny country. While retrospectives may seek to assign blame here or there, in my view one of the main instigators of the Lebanese Civil War was already dead when it happened. That would have been Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser.
It is the November 1969 Cairo Agreement which fatefully set the stage for the Civil War.[2] That agreement, in the shadow of the Arab defeat at the hands of Israel in 1967, legitimized the presence, and military independence, of Palestinian armed factions in Lebanon, creating a Palestinian state within a state which would provoke Israel and disastrously interfere militarily in Lebanese affairs and which would serve as a pattern for future intervention in Lebanon by foreign powers which continues to this day.
While the Lebanese were pressured into an agreement by Nasser, working closely with PLO leader Yasser Arafat, the Lebanese walked openly into the accord, which was initialed by Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander General Emile Boustany. Much of the Lebanese political elite, even the Maronite elite, endorsed the agreement. Christian leaders like Pierre Gemayel and Camille Chamoun did so with the proviso that the agreement would be strictly endorsed, which it never was. A main motivation for the agreement by the Lebanese was to try to keep the already fracturing country together. The Maronite president at the time had expressed concern about Palestinian attacks on Israel from Lebanese soil while the country's Sunni Muslim prime minister had openly disagreed with his own president.
Regardless of the motivations and the details of the agreement, it was a deadly step. Journalist Edouard Saab, who would be killed by a sniper during the war in 1976, wrote in 1969 of the agreement: "Why do they want what is not permitted in Syria, to be allowed in Lebanon?" And so, it would be. Cross-border raids and direct attacks on Israel that Nasser in Egypt and Assad in Syria and, after September 1970, Hussein in Jordan would not allow would be accepted in Lebanon. And not only that but Beirut would become the headquarters of Palestinian factions funded by outside regimes – from Syria, Iraq, and Libya. Eventually, the Lebanese capital, the capital city of a foreign country, would be dubbed by the PLO as first the "Hanoi" and then the "Stalingrad of the Arabs."[3]
By 1975, armed Palestinian factions would become an equalizer in the just-exploded civil war, as Lebanese Christian militias fought mostly Muslim/leftist Lebanese militias and Palestinian factions. During the early years of the war, it seemed that the pro-Palestinian Lebanese militias were actually the junior partner in the struggle. The PLO was dominant on the anti-Lebanese Christian side from 1975 to 1982. After that and the 1982 Israeli invasion and evacuation of PLO fighters in September of that year, the war would be between Lebanese factions dominated by Syria against Lebanese Christian factions supported by Israel, and later by Iraq, until the war's end in 1990.
What would the war have been like without the active military participation of the PLO? Would it even have occurred? Perhaps the Christian armed factions would have won. But more likely, the crisis would still have led to war and the war would perhaps have ended sooner in some sort of stalemate or internal compromise like the 1958 Lebanese Crisis.
That earlier war had had a similar internal lineup – but without the destabilizing presence of Palestinian fighters – and included direct American intervention. The 1958 crisis was – aside from the internal political dimension – also an attempt by Nasser (who then ruled in both Syria and Egypt) to project power in Lebanon. The American intervention was brief and the Lebanese were able to, among themselves, work out a political agreement which bought the country a generation of – if not real stability – no war from 1958 to 1975.
Despite increasing misgivings about the 1969 Cairo Agreement, it was only repudiated by Lebanon in 1987 under President Amin Gemayel and yet the legacy of the agreement remains. Lebanon is still to be considered an anti-Israel free fire zone as it had been under the PLO. Other Arab borders with Israel would remain relatively quiet but Lebanon would remain an active shooting gallery, first by PLO factions, then by Lebanese factions supported by Syria and Iran (particularly Hezbollah).
Today Palestinian factions, chiefly Hamas, still fire rockets into Israel, are still armed and still have their arsenals and enclaves where the Lebanese Army dare not go, cowed if not by the Palestinians, by the Palestinians' great protector in Lebanon, Hezbollah. The ghost of General Emile Boustany lived on in General, and especially President, Michel Aoun (and other local politicians) who would legitimize eternal war by factions outside the state waged on Lebanon's border in return for fleeting, short-term political gains.
I am sure that there will be great and thoughtful introspection by the Lebanese, a cultured and intelligent people, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Civil War. Some will blame themselves and some will blame foreigners, or a combination of both. Incredibly, after Hezbollah's recent defeat in the Gaza War at the hands of Israel, Lebanese political leaders still seem ambivalent about finally exiting from the trap first fashioned by Nasser and the 1969 Cairo Agreement.
*Alberto M. Fernandez is Vice President of MEMRI.
[1] Youtube.com/watch?v=kDvmXLkyISA, April 13, 2012.
[2] The961.com/cairo-agreement-explained, January 9, 2021.
[3] See MEMRI Daily Brief No. 404, Stalingrad Of The Arabs, August 23, 2022.
https://www.memri.org/reports/when-nasser-arafat-and-lebanese-destroyed-lebanon


The Christian Rule Saves Lebanon (Part 2 of 3)
Elie Aoun/April 07/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/04/142023/
If the “Christian republic” was not considered good enough for certain politicians, could the likes of Arafat, Assad, and Khomeini provide a better republic to those who supported them? Of course not. The tragedy of some Lebanese who followed Arafat’s PLO, Assad’s Syria, and Khomeini’s Iran is their failure to recognize which governing system works and which one does not.
For example, the average IQ of Iranians (106.3) is higher than the average IQ for Americans (99.74) and for the average Lebanese (99.39). Despite this fact, the United States is far more advanced than Iran, and Lebanon is not as prosperous as the United States (although their people share similar IQs). The reason is not related to whose people are smarter, but to the nation’s legal and governmental system.
The United States is a country that promotes freedom (such as freedom of conscience and freedom of speech) while the Iranian system of government oppresses it. The American judicial system adheres to English common law principles, while the Iranian legal system does not.
Common law (largely inspired and developed by Christian principles) is one of the main bridges between chaos and true peace. The proof can be seen everywhere. If we look at the world map, nations that adopt common law (the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, etc.) are usually better off than those who do not. In the Arab region, prosperous nations (such as Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) have all adopted some forms of the common law system, whereas the states that are struggling (Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Libya etc.) have not.
Lebanon has more freedom of conscience and speech than all regional nations, but its leaders (at a time when the nation was prosperous) failed to incorporate common law into the legal system to preserve the country for the long-term.
How exactly can the common law benefit Lebanon and other nations in the regions (such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, even Iran)? Before answering this question, a brief historical background is required.
The “Common law” is based upon the English legal system: a mixture of customary law, judge-made law and parliamentary law. At least until the early 19th century, the common law was heavily influenced by Christian philosophy.
The emergence of the English common law system occurred in an age and in a culture steeped in Christian theology, Christian morals, and a Christian understanding of the meaning and value of life. According to John C.H. Wu (a noted international statesman, jurist and law professor who converted to Christianity in the 1930’s), "while the Roman (civil) law was a deathbed convert to Christianity, the common law was a cradle Christian.”
Sir Henry de Bracton, considered as the “Father of the Common Law”, declared that “The King is under no man but under God, and under the law, because the law makes the king … For there is no king where will, and not law, wields dominion.”
Lord Denning, the most celebrated English judge of the 20th century, said: The common law lawyers made a great contribution to the Constitution of England by insisting that the executive power (the king) was under the law. “In insisting upon this, they were really insisting on the Christian principles (of the common law). If we forget these principles, where shall we finish? You have only to look at the totalitarian systems of government to see what happens. The society is primary, not the person. The citizen exists for the State, not the State for the citizen. The rulers are not under God and the law. They are a law unto themselves. All law, all courts are simply part of the State machine. The freedom of the individual, as we know it, no longer exists. It is against that terrible despotism, that overwhelming domination of human life that Christianity has protested with all the energy at its command.”
From a political perspective, the common law can protect Lebanon and other neighboring nations from tyranny where certain leaders use their will (not legitimate laws), act above reason and conscience, oppress freedoms, and utilize the court system to unfairly persecute and prosecute patriots. For example, the likes of Arafat, Hafez Assad, or Khomeini all act above the law and utilize their will to oppress, destroy, and enforce their agenda. In today’s Lebanon, there are thousands of Lebanese (such as many political activists and residents of southern Lebanon who were displaced to Israel) being denied the right to return to their country simply by the will of certain politicians and without any legitimate or legally proven accusations. No common law country would tolerate such a cruel measure against their citizens.
From a legal perspective, most foreign investors want a court system that is reliable. They have no faith in the civil laws or courts of Lebanon or any other neighboring country. If it was not for the availability of the common law and security, Dubai might not have attracted major foreign investors.
From an economic perspective, the recipe for economic prosperity is to find a successful model and copy it. One such model is the offshore jurisdictions whose cash assets are estimated between $21 Trillion to $32 Trillion. The reason for their success is simple: security, privacy, secrecy, honest governance, zero to low taxation, and a primarily common law system.
Lebanese politicians must copy these standards to attract all the funding that the country needs. Instead of doing so, they are implementing certain policies just to appease the World Bank to “borrow” $3 billion – at a time when they can generate far more wealth in implementing viable principles. If the governmental “reforms” are intended to “fight corruption”, government officials already know who is corrupt without cancelling the bank secrecy. Any bank should be able to share information to authorities on any corrupt individual pursuant to a court order, without having to cancel the bank secrecy laws for that purpose. There are no good intentions when new measures are pursued that negatively impact the country’s well-being, while no steps are taken against known law-violators.
Lebanon’s economic salvation is to copy the offshore and common law model. The politicians must preserve the country’s privacy and secrecy, entirely abolish corporate taxes (if not permanently, for at least 50 years), and establish a hybrid legal system – whereas common law courts and civil law courts co-exist under the same legal system. Such measures constitute the correct path towards restoring confidence in the economy and the banking sector.
With regards to returning the depositors’ funds, there is a way to do so without imposing any new liabilities on the Lebanese government or the banks, and without deducting any percentage of the depositors’ funds. How? I cannot share the process. Publicly sharing such ideas will benefit the wrong elements, while the politicians lack the vision to implement correct solutions.
In 2005, I proposed the incorporation of common law into Lebanon’s legal system. However, the politicians (who received the message at the time) were more concerned with egotistical/partisan objectives rather than laying the foundation for a viable nation.
At the present, the politicians are embarking on what they consider as “reform” (such as cancelling bank secrecy laws, raising taxes, merging banks, minimizing cash transactions, etc.) without giving us a model as to where their type of “reform” was proven to be successful.
They want to pass new laws under the pretext of combatting money laundering, drug trafficking, the smuggling of cash and weapons, etc. as if the country does not already have laws against these activities, and as if the criminals will cease their illegal acts by the mere passage of new laws. What the country needs is truth and courage, and a central executive command that has the proper vision to take action.
In summary, the only way for Lebanon and neighboring countries to move from chaos to prosperity is through freedom of conscience and the principles of the Christian common law. Other than that, there is no future for them, and whatever else their governments do becomes irrelevant. The original common law principles are the correct version of what must be implemented – and not the recent policies being pursued by the United States or Britain. Whoever undertakes the process of incorporating common law must know what they are doing (what old principles to accept and what new policies to avoid).

Political Fraud and the Bungled Peace
Charles Chartouni/This is Beirut/April 07/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/04/142028/
Monitoring the Lebanese political scene is quite disturbing since the hypothetical new political era seems to be bungling. The new incumbents, who came into power incidentally, were unlikely to be co-opted if it were not for the military and political upheaval induced by the Israeli destruction of the operational platforms weaved by the Iranian imperial policy throughout the last two decades.
Unfortunately, Joseph Aoun's election and Nawaf Salam's nomination turned out to be major political blunders. The two actors were initially bound to commit to international security mandates and enforce the UN resolutions (1701, 1559, 1680) after the devastating effects of a reckless war based on strategic miscalculations, ideological fallacies, and the destructive power projections of the Islamic regime in Tehran.
The most puzzling aspect of their behavior is the deliberate denial that marred their approach to the ongoing conflict, distorted their understanding of the strategic landscape, and, more importantly, undermined their sense of political and moral responsibility at a critical juncture, where the future of peace and the viability of the country are at stake. They blinded themselves to the emerging realities and confined themselves to the calculations of oligarchic logrolling, ideological mystification, and partisan networking at a time when Lebanon needed a decisive breakaway from a ruinous legacy of sectarianism, patrimonialization of politics, and outright disregard for constitutional regulation.
The flagrant discrepancies between the principled statements, the declaration of intentions, and the nuts and bolts of politicking were egregious. This demeanor partakes of a common pattern in Lebanese politics whereby words and facts are divorced from the least intellectual and moral consistency. The initial breach of trust started with the carving of zones of influence, division of public spoils, and actualization of power turfs. Whereas constitutional stipulations were relegated to mere instrumentalization.
The framing of the Taef Constitution has planted the seeds of political instrumentation, turf wars, and pliability to foreign power politics as a substitute for legal endorsements and regulations. The likelihood of reforming the political process was vitiated and forestalled at its very origin. Rather than breaking with the devastating consequences of this political endowment, they have managed to rehabilitate it under the trappings of a reformist policy process. The very formation of the cabinet reflected the sturdy political fragmentation and the unwillingness to build a coherent coalition whose goal is to engage the international peace process and initiate urgent reformist undertakings.
Rather than building on the truce platform and benefiting from the international arbitration predicated on the twin pillars of peace restoration and public policy reforms, the newly elected president and the new prime minister were busy accommodating the political agendas of Hezbollah and its allies and solidifying their competing power centers. The executive has failed to create the least political cohesion among its two aisles and to secure the much-needed consensus between its cabinet members. How can such a fractured political landscape operate without the least care about its elementary cohesiveness?
The worst part of this dismal picture is the failure to live up to the international assignments whose success is vital for transitioning to peace and restoring a badly battered national sovereignty and the conditions of working statehood. This state of intentional blindness is what accounts for the failure to implement international resolutions, bring back a modicum of stability, and allow institution building. The overwhelming power politics and their ideological connotations and strategic nexuses were ultimately thwarting the normalization course.
The proposed roundtables with Hezbollah, under the false pretense of a defense strategy, contradict the very principle of the truce and its peacebuilding mission. The failure to disarm, dismantle security zones, challenge the extraterritoriality of Palestinian camps, and address Hezbollah's expanding totalitarian gated communities and diffuse military platforms is no mere coincidence. It’s the result of a tacit political arrangement finalized by both sides of the executive and a deeply entrenched narrative that refuses to engage in peace negotiations with Israel.
The consequences of this deliberate policy and its political and ideological subterfuge are lagging behind international directives. Lebanon is once again set to pay the price—after sixty years of unresolved conflicts—bearing the heavy costs of ideologically driven wars, Arab and Iranian power politics, and the fallacies of Palestinian militancy. This course is coming to an end very soon, but its devastating fallouts are likely to remain with us. The ultimate defeat of the Iranian regime or its dubious change, of course, are the prerequisites for sustainable peace. In addition, the deradicalization of the Shiite political environment and the eradication of its criminal subsidiaries are major cross-generational challenges.
Otherwise, the financial debacle is lingering after seven years of open-ended crises without the least concern for its ravaging consequences. Rather than striving for a consensual arrangement that safeguards the depositor’s investments, lifetime savings, social security funds, and health care insurance, these issues are relegated altogether to the back burner. The social and humanitarian costs of this monumental robbery are blatantly ignored, treated as mere externalities that never challenge the rationale or the fundamental structure of this organized crime.
Rather than considering the urgency to reform the financial system, restructure the banking sector, recapitalize the banks, relaunch the investments, and diversify the economy, the whole reformist plot revolves around oligarchic spoils distributions, targeting the state’s assets without the least concern for redressing the injustices through litigations, confiscation of the robbery derivatives, and the re-establishing of the nexuses between the real and the financial economies.
The political robber barons, Hezbollah and the Shiite mafias, and their counterparts in the financial sector are busy settling scores and upholding their financial interests. Unfortunately, the line between open warfare and peace, and their supposed reformist dividends, is increasingly blurred. The presumed postwar era turns out to be misleading since none of the strategic priorities are addressed based on a common understanding and the search for a common ground to tackle the war aftermaths, the colliding power politics, and the protracted conflicts and their compounded fractures.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 07-08/2025
Trump announces direct Iran nuclear talks during meeting with Netanyahu
AFP/April 07, 2025
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said the United States would start direct, high-level talks with Iran over its nuclear program on Saturday, in a shock announcement during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday after a meeting that was meant to focus on Israel’s bid to avoid US tariffs.
“Maybe a deal’s going to be made, that would be great. We are meeting very importantly on Saturday, at almost the highest level,” he said. Trump’s stunning announcement came a day after Iran dismissed direct negotiations on a new deal to curb the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, calling the idea pointless. The US president pulled out of the last deal in 2018 during his first presidency and there has been widespread speculation that Israel, possibly with US help, might attack Iranian facilities if no new agreement is reached. Trump said “everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious — and the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with, if they can avoid it.”The surprise announcement came as Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to personally plead for a reprieve from stinging US tariffs that have shaken the world. The Israeli premier pledged that he would “eliminate” the trade deficit between the two countries and also knock down trade “barriers.” His country moved to lift its last remaining tariffs on US imports ahead of the meeting. Netanyahu said he felt Israel could serve “as a model for many countries” when it came to negotiating on tariffs.Netanyahu and Trump also discussed Gaza, where a short-lived, US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas has collapsed. Netanyahu said that new negotiations were in the works aimed at getting more hostages released from war-torn Gaza. “We’re working now on another deal that we hope will succeed, and we’re committed to getting all the hostages out,” Netanyahu said in the Oval Office. Trump also doubled down on his plan for the US to “control” the Gaza strip — which he described as a “great piece of real estate” — which he initially announced when Netanyahu last visited him in February. Earlier, Trump greeted Netanyahu outside the West Wing and pumped his fist, before the two leaders — both wearing dark suits, red ties and white shirts — went inside for a meeting in the Oval Office. A planned press conference between the two leaders was canceled at short notice without explanation in an unusual move but they spoke to a smaller group of pool reporters at length in the Oval Office. The Israeli premier’s visit is his second to Trump since the US president returned to power and comes at short notice — just days after Trump slapped a 17 percent tariff on Israel in his “Liberation Day” announcement last week. Trump refused to exempt the top beneficiary of US military aid from his global tariff salvo as he said Washington had a significant trade deficit with Israel. Netanyahu met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Sunday night soon after his arrival, according to his office.
The Israeli premier also met Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Monday.

Trump-Netanyahu summit sparks speculation on Iran, Gaza, and regional strategy
LBCI/April 07, 2025
As U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepare to meet in Washington, debate is intensifying over what is happening behind the scenes. Some believe the summit signals a possible imminent attack on Iran, while others say it is intended to confirm a shift toward a potential U.S.-Iran agreement. The meeting comes a year and a half after the start of the Gaza war and amid widespread anger at decision-makers for keeping all fronts open. According to his aides, Netanyahu is seeking to persuade Washington to pressure its regional allies to push Hamas to advance a prisoner exchange deal.  In return, Israel would continue its military strategy in Gaza, now dubbed the “grand maneuver.” At the same time, Israel has reportedly occupied about 50% of the Gaza Strip to establish what would be the largest buffer zone since the war began. Regarding Syria, Netanyahu’s main objective remains securing legitimacy for the continued expansion and entrenchment of Israel’s presence there. Meanwhile, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has stepped up visits to the northern border with Lebanon, meeting with deployed units. He told soldiers that operational plans for both defense and offense toward Lebanon are being finalized in response to developments on the ground.

Netanyahu says Israel working on fresh Gaza hostage deal
AFP/April 07, 2025
WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday during a White House appearance with President Donald Trump that new negotiations were in the works aimed at getting more hostages released from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
“We’re working now on another deal that we hope will succeed, and we’re committed to getting all the hostages out,” Netanyahu told reporters in the Oval Office. Trump for his part said: “We are trying very hard to get the hostages out. We’re looking at another ceasefire, we’ll see what happens.”Netanyahu added that “the hostages are in agony, and we want to get them all out.”The Israeli leader, seated next to Trump, highlighted an earlier hostage release agreement negotiated in part by Trump’s regional envoy Steve Witkoff that “got 25 out.” Netanyahu’s visit follows the collapse of Israel’s six-week truce with Palestinian group Hamas, whose militants launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that triggered the war. The fragile ceasefire ended with Israel’s resumption of air strikes on Gaza on March 18. The recent truce had allowed the return of 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom were dead, in exchange for the release of some 1,800 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The prime minister and his government maintain — against the advice of most hostage families — that increased military pressure is the only way to force Hamas to return the remaining hostages, dead or alive.Of the 251 hostages abducted during Hamas’s October 7 attack, 58 remain in captivity in Gaza, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.

Exclusive-Iran-backed militias in Iraq ready to disarm to avert Trump wrath
Ahmed Rasheed/Reuters/April 7, 2025
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Several powerful Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq are prepared to disarm for the first time to avert the threat of an escalating conflict with the U.S. Trump administration, 10 senior commanders and Iraqi officials told Reuters.
The move to defuse tensions follows repeated warnings issued privately by U.S. officials to the Iraqi government since Trump took power in January, according to the sources who include six local commanders of four major militias. The officials told Baghdad that unless it acted to disband the militias operating on its soil, America could target the groups with airstrikes, the people added.Izzat al-Shahbndar, a senior Shi'ite Muslim politician close to Iraq's governing alliance, told Reuters that discussions between Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and several militia leaders were "very advanced", and the groups were inclined to comply with U.S. calls for disarmament. "The factions are not acting stubbornly or insisting on continuing in their current form," he said, adding that the groups were "fully aware" they could be targeted by the U.S.
The six militia commanders interviewed in Baghdad and a southern province, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation, are from the Kataib Hezbollah, Nujabaa, Kataib Sayyed al-Shuhada and Ansarullah al-Awfiyaa groups.
"Trump is ready to take the war with us to worse levels, we know that, and we want to avoid such a bad scenario," said a commander of Kataib Hezbollah, the most powerful Shi'ite militia, who spoke from behind a black face mask and sunglasses.
The commanders said their main ally and patron, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) military force, had given them its blessing to take whatever decisions they deemed necessary to avoid being drawn into a potentially ruinous conflict with the United States and Israel.
The militias are part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of about 10 hardline Shi'ite armed factions that collectively command about 50,000 fighters and arsenals that include long-range missiles and anti-aircraft weapons, according to two security officials who monitor militias' activities. The Resistance group, a key pillar of Iran's network of regional proxy forces, have claimed responsibility for dozens of missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the Gaza war erupted about 18 months ago.
Farhad Alaaeldin, Sudani's foreign affair adviser, told Reuters in response to queries about disarmament talks that the prime minister was committed to ensuring all weapons in Iraq were under state control through "constructive dialogue with various national actors".
The two Iraqi security officials said Sudani was pressing for disarmament from all the militias of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which declare their allegiance to Iran's IRGC or Quds Force rather than to Baghdad. Some groups have already largely evacuated their headquarters and reduced their presences in major cities including Mosul and Anbar since mid-January for fear of being hit by air attacks, according to officials and commanders. Many commanders have also stepped up their security measures in that time, changing their mobile phones, vehicles and abodes more frequently, they said. The U.S. State Department said it continued to urge Baghdad to rein in the militias. "These forces must respond to Iraq's commander-in-chief and not to Iran," it added. An American official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that there had been instances in the past when the militias had ceased their attacks because of U.S. pressure, and was sceptical any disarmament would be long-term. The IRGC declined to comment for this article while the Iranian and Israeli foreign ministries didn't respond to queries.
SHAKEN: IRAN'S AXIS OF RESISTANCE
Shahbndar, the Shi'ite politician, said the Iraqi government had not yet finalised a deal with militant leaders, with a disarmament mechanism still under discussion. Options being considered include turning the groups into political parties and integrating them into the Iraqi armed forces, he added. While the fate of any disarmament process remains uncertain, the discussions nonetheless mark the first time the militias have been prepared to give ground to longstanding Western pressure to demilitarize. The shift comes at a precarious time for Tehran's regional "Axis of Resistance" which it has established at great cost over decades to oppose Israel and U.S. influence but has seen severely weakened since Palestinian group Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7 2023 tipped the Middle East into conflict. Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been hammered by Israel since the Gaza war began while the Houthi movement in Yemen has been targeted by U.S. airstrikes since last month. The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, another key Iranian ally, has further weakened the Islamic Republic's influence. Iraq is seeking to balance its alliances with both America and Iran in its dealing with the militias on its soil. The groups sprang up across the country with Iranian financial and military support in the chaotic wake of the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and have become formidable forces that can rival the national army in firepower. U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth told Prime Minister Sudani in a phone call on March 16, shortly after the American strikes on the Houthis began, to prevent the militias carrying out revenge attacks on Israel and U.S. bases in the region in support of their allies, according to two government officials and two security sources briefed on the exchange. The Iraqi-based militias had launched dozens of drone and rockets attacks against Israel in solidarity with Hamas since the Gaza war began and killed three U.S. soldiers in a drone operation in Jordan near the Syrian border last year. Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie, a former political adviser to Sudani, told Iraqi state TV that the United States had long pressed Iraq's leadership to dismantle Shi'ite militias, but this time Washington might not take no for an answer. "If we do not voluntarily comply, it may be forced upon us from the outside, and by force."

King Abdullah of Jordan discusses Gaza during summit with Egyptian, French presidents in Cairo
April 07, 2025
LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan emphasized the need to halt the Israeli offensive in Gaza during a summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron in Cairo. The leaders on Monday urged the international community to advocate for an end to the Israeli war in Gaza, restore the ceasefire agreement, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian coastal enclave. King Abdullah said that Israeli attacks on Gaza undermine all diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to resolve the crisis and risk dragging the entire Middle East into chaos, the Petra news agency reported. He stressed the need for a political solution based on the two-state vision, which would ensure security and stability for both Palestinians and Israelis. King Abdullah said that Jordan opposes the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, warning against Israeli unilateral actions and assaults on Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, the Petra added. The Jordanian ruler and El-Sisi welcomed France’s support for resolving the Palestinian issue. They highlighted the need for international cooperation, especially from EU countries, including France, to aid in Gaza’s reconstruction. After arriving in Cairo on Sunday, Macron will travel to Al-Arish, 50 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday to meet with humanitarian and security authorities, and push for a ceasefire. On Monday, he expressed strong opposition to any displacement or annexation in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. King Abdullah, El-Sisi, and Macron highlighted the need for a political solution to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, aiming for lasting peace, the Petra reported.
The Jordanian delegation included the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs, Ayman Safadi; Director of the King’s Office, Alaa Batayneh, and the Ambassador to Cairo, Amjad Al-Adaileh.

Emmanuel Macron calls for 'immediate ceasefire' in Gaza during visit to Egypt
Gavin Blackburn/Euronews/April 7, 2025
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for another ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages detained by Hamas during a meeting in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Macron called renewed Israeli attacks on the enclave after the collapse of the ceasefire in mid-March a "dramatic setback for the civilian population.""Negotiations must resume without any delay and in a constructive manner and I want to welcome the tireless efforts from Egypt for the ceasefire and release of the hostages," Macron said. Egypt, along with the United States and Qatar, were the major negotiators of the previous ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas, which came into force on 19 January. Macron's demands were also echoed by el-Sissi, who said that "achieving sustainable peace and stability in the Middle East will remain a far-fetched issue as long as the Palestinian case is not settled fairly.""The Palestinian people are still facing the horrors of devastating wars that destroys its structure and deprive its coming generations from their right even in having hope in a more safe and stable future," he said.
The two leaders also discussed the situation in Syria, emphasising the importance "of preserving Syria's unity" in its transitional political period, as well as "restoring the normal flow of ships in the Egyptian Suez canal," following targeted attacks on ships by Israel due to the continuation of the war in Gaza. Macron was in Egypt on Monday to meet with el-Sissi and later with Jordan's King Abdullah II, close Western allies also calling for a ceasefire. Macron's visit, his second to Cairo since the war in Gaza erupted, comes at a critical time for the Middle East, after Israel last month reimposed a blockade in Gaza and resumed its fighting against Hamas, shattering the fragile truce. The war, now in its 18th month, started when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. The group still holds 59 captives, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

Israeli soldiers describe clearance of 'kill zone' on Gaza's edge
James Mackenzie/JERUSALEM (Reuters)/April 07/2025
Israeli troops flattened farmland and cleared entire residential districts in Gaza to open a "kill zone" around the enclave, according to a report on Monday that quoted soldiers testifying about the harsh methods used in the operation.
The report, from the Israeli rights group Breaking the Silence, cited soldiers who served in Gaza during the creation of the buffer zone, which was extended to between 800-1,500 metres inside the enclave by December 2024 and which has since been expanded further by Israeli troops. Israel says the buffer zone encircling Gaza is needed to prevent a repeat of the October 7, 2023 attack by thousands of Hamas-led fighters and gunmen who poured across the previous 300 metre-deep buffer zone to assault a string of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip. The attack, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, was one of the worst security disasters in Israel's history. "The borderline is a kill zone, a lower area, a lowland," the report quotes a captain in the Armored Corps as saying. "We have a commanding view of it, and they do too."
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The testimony came from soldiers who were serving in Gaza at the end of 2023, soon after Israeli troops entered the enclave, until early 2024. It did not cover the most recent operations to greatly enlarge the ground held by the military. In the early expansion of the zone, soldiers said troops using bulldozers and heavy excavators along with thousands of mines and explosives destroyed around 3,500 buildings as well as agricultural and industrial areas that could have been vital in postwar reconstruction. Around 35% of the farmland in Gaza, much of which is around the edges of the territory, was destroyed, according to a separate report by the Israeli rights group Gisha. "Essentially, everything gets mowed down, everything," the report quoted one reserve soldier serving in the Armored Corps as saying. "Every building and every structure." Another soldier said the area looked "like Hiroshima". Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers that aims to raise awareness of the experience of troops serving in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, said it had spoken to soldiers who took part in the operation to create the perimeter and quoted them without giving their names. One soldier from a combat engineering unit described the sense of shock he felt when he saw the destruction already wrought by the initial bombardment of the northern area of the Gaza Strip when his unit was first sent in to begin its clearance operation. "It was surreal, even before we destroyed the houses when we went in. It was surreal, like you were in a movie," he said. "What I saw there, as far as I can judge, was beyond what I can justify as needed," he said. "It's about proportionality."
'JUST A PILE OF RUBBLE'
Soldiers described digging up farmland, including olive trees and fields of eggplant and cauliflower as well as destroying industrial zones including one with a large Coca Cola plant and a pharmaceutical company. One soldier described "a huge industrial area, huge factories, and after it's just a pile of rubble, piles of broken concrete." The Israeli operation has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities, which do not distinguish between civilians and armed fighters. The Israeli military estimates it has killed around 20,000 fighters. The bombardment has also flattened large areas of the coastal enclave, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in bomb-damaged buildings, tents or temporary shelters. The report said that many of the buildings demolished were deemed by the military to have been used by Hamas fighters, and it quoted a soldier as saying a few contained the belongings of hostages. But many others were demolished without any such connection. Palestinians were not allowed to enter the zone and were fired on if they did, but the report quoted soldiers saying the rules of engagement were loose and heavily dependent on commanders on the spot. "Company commanders make all kinds of decisions about this, so it ultimately very much depends on who they are. But there is no system of accountability in general," the captain in the Armored Corps said.
It quoted another soldier saying that in general adult males seen in the buffer zone were killed but warning shots were fired in the case of women or children. "Most of the time, the people who breach the perimeter are adult men. Children or women didn't enter this area," the soldier said.

Multiple UN agencies call for urgent renewal of ceasefire in Gaza as death toll mounts

Olivia Le Poidevin/Reuters/ April 07/2025
The heads of six U.N. agencies called on Monday for an urgent renewal of the ceasefire in Gaza, warning of aid shortages and hunger since Israel resumed its all-out assault with the deadliest week for Gaza's children of the past year.
No new humanitarian supplies have entered the Palestinian enclave since Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks on March 2, as talks stalled on the next stage of a now broken truce. Israel resumed its assault on March 18. "More than 2.1 million people are trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up," said a statement co-signed by the heads of six U.N. agencies including the U.N.'s aid coordination agency (OCHA) and the World Food Programme. At least 1,000 children were killed or injured during the first week after fighting resumed, the statement added, describing that week's death toll as the highest for children of the past year. "We are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life…We appeal to world leaders to act – firmly, urgently and decisively – to ensure the basic principles of international humanitarian law are upheld," the statement read. Israel denies violating humanitarian law in Gaza and blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny. The agencies also warned of critical food and medical shortages in the enclave. Twenty-five bakeries supported by the World Food Programme during the ceasefire had to close due to flour and cooking gas shortages, it said. More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli campaign in Gaza, Palestinian officials say. It was launched after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel controls 50% of Gaza after razing land to expand its buffer zone

The Associated Press/ April 7, 2025
Israel has dramatically expanded its footprint in the Gaza Strip since relaunching its war against Hamas last month. It now controls more than 50% of the territory and is squeezing Palestinians into shrinking wedges of land. The largest contiguous area the army controls is around the Gaza border, where the military has razed Palestinian homes, farmland and infrastructure to the point of uninhabitability, according to Israeli soldiers and rights groups. This military buffer zone has doubled in size in recent weeks. Israel has depicted its tightening grip as a temporary necessity to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war. But the land Israel holds, which includes a corridor that divides the territory's north from south, could be used for wielding long-term control, human rights groups and Gaza experts say. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that even after Hamas is defeated, Israel will keep security control in Gaza and push Palestinians to leave. The demolition close to the Israeli border and the systematic expansion of the buffer zone has been going on since the war began 18 months ago, five Israeli soldiers told The Associated Press. “They destroyed everything they could, they shot everything that looks functioning ... (the Palestinians) will have nothing to come back, they will not come back, never,” a soldier deployed with a tank squad guarding the demolition teams said. He and four other soldiers spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. A report documenting the accounts of soldiers who were in the buffer zone was released Monday by Breaking The Silence, an anti-occupation veterans group. A handful of soldiers -- including some who also spoke to AP -- described watching the army turn the zone into a vast wasteland. “Through widespread, deliberate destruction, the military laid the groundwork for future Israeli control of the area,” said the group.
Asked about the soldiers’ accounts, the Israeli army said it is acting to protect its country and especially to improve security in southern communities devastated by the Oct. 7 attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. The army said it does not seek to harm civilians in Gaza, and that it abides by international law.
Carving Gaza into sections
In the early days of the war, Israeli troops forced Palestinians from communities near the border and destroyed the land to create a buffer zone more than a kilometer (0.62 miles) deep, according to Breaking The Silence. Its troops also seized a swath of land across Gaza known as the Netzarim Corridor that isolated the north, including Gaza City, from the rest of the narrow, coastal strip, home to more than 2 million people. When Israel resumed the war last month, it doubled the size of the buffer zone, pushing it as far as 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) into Gaza in some places, according to a map issued by the military. The buffer zone and the Netzarim Corridor make up at least 50% of the strip, said Yaakov Garb, a professor of environmental studies at Ben Gurion University, who has been examining Israeli-Palestinian land use patterns for decades.
Last week, Netanyahu said Israel intends to create another corridor that slices across southern Gaza, cutting off the city of Rafah from the rest of the territory. Israel’s control of Gaza is even greater taking into account areas where it recently ordered civilians to evacuate ahead of planned attacks.
Neighborhoods turned into rubble
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians used to live in the land that now makes up Israel's buffer zone, an area that was key to Gaza's agricultural output. Satellite images show once-dense neighborhoods turned to rubble, as well as nearly a dozen new Israeli army outposts since the ceasefire ended. When the ceasefire was announced in January, Nidal Alzaanin went back to his home in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. His property stood on the edge of the buffer zone and lay in ruins. All that remains is a photo of him and his wife on their wedding day, a drawing of his son’s face on a porcelain plate and the carcass of a 150-year-old sycamore tree planted by his great-grandfather. His greenhouse was reduced to twisted scraps of metal. The 55-year-old farmer pitched a tent in the rubble, hoping to rebuild his life. But when Israel resumed its campaign and seized his land, he was again uprooted. “It took 20 years to build a house and within five minutes they destroyed all my dreams and my children’s dreams,” he said from Gaza City, where he now shelters. Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives throughout the war have left vast swaths of Gaza’s cities and towns destroyed. But the razing of property inside the buffer zone has been more methodical and extensive, soldiers said. The five soldiers who spoke to the AP said Israeli troops were ordered to destroy farmland, irrigation pipes, crops and trees as well as thousands of buildings, including residential and public structures, so that militants had nowhere to hide. Several soldiers said their units demolished more buildings than they could count, including large industrial complexes. A soda factory was leveled, leaving shards of glass and solar panels strewn on the ground.
Soldier alleges buffer zone was a ‘kill' zone
The soldiers said the buffer zone had no marked boundaries, but that Palestinians who entered were shot at. The soldier with the tank squad said an armored bulldozer flattened land creating a “kill zone” and that anyone who came within 500 meters of the tanks would be shot, including women and children. Visibly shaken, he said many of the soldiers acted out of vengeance for the Oct. 7 attack. “I came there because they kill us and now we’re going to kill them. And I found out that we’re not only killing them. We’re killing them, we’re killing their wives, their children, their cats, their dogs, and we destroyed their houses,” he said. The army said its attacks are based on intelligence and that it avoids “as much as possible, harm to non-combatants.”
Long-term hold?
It is unclear how long Israel intends to hold the buffer zone and other territory inside Gaza. In announcing the new corridor across southern Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel aims to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages, of whom 35 are believed dead. He also said the war can only end when Hamas is destroyed and its leaders leave Gaza, at which point Israel would take control of security in the territory. Then, Netanyahu said, Israel would implement U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to move Palestinians from Gaza, what Israel calls “voluntary emigration.”Some Israel analysts say the purpose of the buffer zone isn’t to occupy Gaza, but to secure it until Hamas is dismantled. “This is something that any sane country will do with regard to its borders when the state borders a hostile entity,” said Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at two Israeli think tanks, the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute. But rights groups say forcibly displacing people is a potential war crime and a crime against humanity. Within Gaza’s buffer zones, specifically, it amounts to “ethnic cleansing,” because it was clear people would never be allowed to return, said Nadia Hardman, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. Israel called the accusations baseless and said it evacuates civilians from combat areas to protect them.

At least 32 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza
Malek Fouda/Euronews/April 7, 2025
Israel is continuing its relentless bombardment of Gaza three-weeks with daily operations and strikes taking place after a fragile ceasefire was broken three-weeks ago. At least 32 Palestinians were killed across the enclave on Sunday, mostly women and children. A UN report published on 2 April says more than one thousand people have been killed in Gaza since the collapse of the ceasefire on 18 March. More than 100,000 have also been displaced, mostly from Rafah, as Israel ramps up its evacuation orders. Several neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah neighbourhood shortly after about 10 projectiles were fired from the strip – the largest barrage from the territory since Israel resumed the war. Israel says about five were intercepted. Hamas’ military wing claimed responsibility. Police said a rocket fell in Ashkelon city and fragments fell in several other areas. Seven people were injured according to Israeli officials. Overnight strikes on Gaza hit a tent and a house in the south of the enclave, in Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to the hospital receiving the bodies.At least four others were killed in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. One of the dead was a child and three were women. A strike in Gaza City targeted people waiting outside a bakery and killed at least six, of which three were children, according to the Civil Defence, which operates under the Hamas-run government. The attacks come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gears up to visit US President Donald Trump in the White House on Monday. It’s the second time the Israeli premier meets the US president since Trump’s return to Washington. Netanyahu says he’ll discuss the war with Trump, update the US leader on recent developments and discuss next steps. The Israeli leader said he will also discuss the new 17% tariff imposed on Israel as part of Trump’s sweeping global tariff policy.
The US, which is a mediator in ceasefire efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, has expressed support for Israel’s resumption of the war last month. The war in Gaza started after Hamas fighters carried out an attack on southern Israel on 7 October, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians. 251 hostages were taken, most of whom have since been released as part of negotiations between the two parties. 59 hostages remain, 24 of which are believed to still be alive. Israel has vowed to intensify violence across Gaza in a bid to force the group into submission and facilitate the return of the remaining hostages. All supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid have also been cut off to apply more pressure. Israel has also demanded the group disarm and leave Gaza. Hamas says it will only release the hostages in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The group however rejects the premise of laying down its arms or departing the enclave.

Israeli forces seen building positions in Gaza as they take more ground

Nidal al-Mughrabi and Hatem Khaled/CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters)/April 7, 2025
CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops could be seen clearing ground and building watch towers on Monday in parts of Gaza they have seized in recent days in a renewed offensive that the United Nations says has already captured or depopulated two-thirds of the enclave.
The army has issued repeated evacuation warnings to hundreds of thousands Palestinians in southern, central and northern areas since it resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, forcing them into a diminishing space limited by the sea. Zakia Sami, 60, a mother of six from Gaza City, said she could see tanks occupying the high ground as she fled her home after the army ordered the family out of the eastern suburb of Shejaia. "They have taken over the Al-Muntar hilltop where we used to go to play with our kids. Now they are stationed there and they can hit any house they want inside Shejaia,” she told Reuters via a chat app. "Gaza has always been a small place and the Israelis are making it smaller and smaller every day. We are being strangled with no food and with bombs falling on us." According to the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA, the total area seized by Israel or placed under evacuation orders now covers 65% of the Gaza Strip. In Rafah alone, 140,000 people have been displaced over the past two weeks, according to the International Rescue Committee aid group.
A Palestinian journalist was killed on Monday and nine others were wounded, some critically, when an Israeli air strike hit a tent used by media inside the compound of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. People tried to douse flames in the tent in the early hours of Monday. Images were shared online showing a journalist in flames and another person trying to rescue him. The Israeli military said it had struck Hassan Aslih, a Gaza-based reporter with hundreds of thousands of social media followers, whom it described as a Hamas militant and "terrorist who operates under the guise of a journalist". Medics said Aslih was critically wounded.
Israel announced plans last week to seize a "security zone" around the edges of the Gaza Strip, a month after a ceasefire expired. It has not said what its long-term plan is for the recaptured territory, but Palestinians fear it aims to occupy it permanently.
Residents said there were increasing signs the military was digging in for an extended stay, building watchtowers in Shejaia in the north and around the former Israeli settlement of Morag, between the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah in the south.
Footage circulating on social media showed a large crane protected by machine guns and security cameras near Morag as well as earthmoving equipment at work near Shejaia. Overnight the army issued evacuation warnings to several districts in Deir al-Balah and Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip, areas that have sheltered hundreds of thousands. In Deir al-Balah, residents carried a wounded man in a blanket out of the rubble of a house that had been destroyed in an Israeli strike. "There are still martyrs under the rubble. Our neighbours are martyrs," said Imad Hassan, a neighbour, who blamed U.S. President Donald Trump for encouraging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restart the Israeli campaign. A report issued on Monday by the rights group Breaking the Silence quoted soldiers describing demolishing buildings and farmland to create the buffer zone.
WHERE DO WE GO?
"Where do we go? The question is of over two million people now. They are squeezing us," said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman, sheltering in Deir Al-Balah. A ceasefire reached in January expired in March. Israel has said that its campaign in Gaza will continue until the remaining 59 hostages still held by Hamas and other militant groups are returned. Hamas says it will not free them without a deal that would bring a permanent end to the war. Trump has spoken of removing the population of Gaza and turning the territory into a resort controlled by the United States. Israel has said it supports that plan and would encourage Palestinians to leave voluntarily. The Hamas-run government media office said Israel's seizure of Rafah, a 60 square kilometre zone with a prewar population of around 300,000, showed its goal was "to empty the land of its people and erase its geographic and demographic identity". The Israeli offensive in Gaza was launched after Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.

Israeli soldiers reveal systematic destruction of Palestinian property to create Gaza buffer zone

Jeremy Diamond, Muhammad Darwish, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Mohammad al-Sawalhi/CNN/April 7, 2025
Israel’s military has transformed every bit of Gazan territory within about half a mile of the Israeli border into a wasteland.
Armored bulldozers have systematically leveled one home after another. Combat engineers have laid explosives and triggered controlled demolitions inside once-bustling factories. Troops have torn up and denied Palestinians any access to the fertile farmland that once sustained lives and livelihoods. In its place, the Israeli military has established a roughly 1-kilometer-wide buffer zone (about 0.6 miles) from which it has banished Palestinians and killed or fired at those who do set foot within its unmarked perimeter – all of which it has never officially acknowledged.
Now, in interviews with CNN and testimonials to an Israeli watchdog group, Israeli soldiers who were deployed to Gaza are revealing how the military carried out the destruction of civilian infrastructure to create the buffer area and the loose rules of engagement that have allegedly resulted in Israeli troops firing on and killing unarmed Palestinians. These testimonies reveal Israeli military practices that arguably violate international humanitarian law and, in some cases are war crimes, according to international law experts. CNN reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment about the demolitions and testimonials about a shoot-to-kill policy in the buffer zone, but did not receive a response. When Sergeant 1st Class “A” arrived in the industrial zone of Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighborhood in December 2023, many of the warehouses and factories had already been destroyed. But others were still standing. “Our job was to make more of the first kind,” the sergeant told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity because he risks reprisals for speaking out publicly. “We destroyed them one by one in a very methodical fashion – area by area.”After initially deploying to Israeli communities along the Gaza border to shore up their defenses following Hamas’s October 7 attack, Sgt. “A” was sent to Shujaiya and tasked with protecting combat engineers as they bulldozed buildings and rigged others to explode.
The purpose of the destruction was quickly made clear to him and his fellow soldiers: Israel was enlarging the buffer zone separating Palestinians from Israeli communities along the Gaza border. Before October 7, Israel restricted Palestinians from coming within 300 meters (around 980 feet) of the border fence. But after Hamas’s attack, Israel’s military brass soon put into motion a plan to expand that area to approximately 1 kilometer, establishing a clear line of sight through the expanded buffer zone by leveling territory ranging from 800m to 1.5 km from the border.
In testimony provided to Breaking the Silence, an Israeli watchdog group which vets and publishes military testimonials, multiple soldiers said they were told the mission was to dramatically expand the buffer zone, in order to prevent another border attack.
But international law experts say that justification likely fails to meet the bar of “military necessity” that must be met to justify the destruction of civilian property, likely putting Israel’s actions in violation of international humanitarian law.
“There needs to be a legitimate military objective and operational objective – and the only way to achieve it would be to destroy the civilian property. And so, at that scale, that’s simply not quite plausible,” said Janina Dill, co-director at Oxford University’s Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict. Beyond potential violations of humanitarian law, the deliberate, widespread destruction of civilian property without a clear military necessity is a war crime, Dill said. Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne, a professor of public international law at the University of Bristol, agreed there is a strong case that Israel’s widespread destruction of property is a war crime of wanton destruction, an accusation also leveled by Amnesty International and other human rights groups. “(From) what I’ve seen so far – there’s no clear evidence of a military necessity, at least for the level of destruction that’s been caused by Israel,” Hill-Cawthorne said.
While the Israeli military has acknowledged destroying “terrorist infrastructure” in Gaza in order to improve security conditions for Israeli communities near the border, it has never publicly acknowledged a full-throated plan to destroy thousands of buildings to create a kilometer-wide buffer area inside the territory. But soldiers interviewed by CNN and Breaking the Silence said the buffer zone policy was just that: an unambiguous, centralized, top-down strategy. “I knew other units were doing the same up north and then down south. I knew it came from up high,” Sgt. “A” told CNN. “When the engineering corps and the infantry work together, it can’t be the initiative of a small commander because a small commander doesn’t have access to the engineering corps.” A Sergeant Major who was deployed to Khuza’a in southern Gaza, who also spoke to Breaking the Silence on condition of anonymity, said his brigade got its orders “from the division’s operations branch. It wasn’t some local intervention.” He and others also described the distribution of color-coded maps, marking varying levels of destruction so far achieved in the buffer zone. The destruction in Khuza’a, which lies to the east of Khan Younis, is unmistakable in satellite imagery, with the destruction of hundreds of buildings cleaving a line marking the zone’s perimeter. “Residential buildings, greenhouses, sheds, factories; you name it – it needs to be flat. That’s the order,” said the Sgt. Maj. in the 5th infantry brigade who deployed to Khuza’a. “Except for that UNRWA school and that small water facility – for everything else, the directive was ‘nothing left.’”
The Israeli military has since destroyed more than 6,200 buildings in Gaza within 1 kilometer of the border, according to satellite analysis conducted by Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, researchers at the City University of New York and Oregon State University.
Adi Ben-Nun, a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said as of January, “all buildings in the buffer zone were demolished or heavily damaged.”
‘Kill zone’
For Palestinians, setting foot inside the buffer zone can be a death sentence. Multiple soldiers described rules of engagement that authorized them to fire on Palestinians in the zone, regardless of whether they were armed or identified as combatants. “Adult, male – kill. Shoot to kill. For women and children, shoot to drive away,” a Sergeant 1st Class in Israel’s Armored Corps said in an interview with Breaking the Silence provided to CNN. “The reservists also always raised questions over whether this was communicated to them (the Palestinians): ‘Do they know such a thing exists?’” the Sgt. 1st Class said. He said commanders never provided a clear answer, but the reality was clear. “It’s not like they were told: The ridge before the border is (the line),” he said. While the buffer zone can be clearly seen in satellite imagery, its perimeter can be hard to discern on the ground and multiple Palestinians have been shot for entering the area, according to the testimonial of Israeli soldiers to Breaking the Silence and Palestinians in Gaza. Even during the ceasefire, CNN tracked multiple cases of Palestinians who were shot and killed for crossing invisible lines near the buffer zone where troops were stationed. A Warrant Officer in the Armored Corps described Palestinians being shot for trying to pick khubeiza or mallow, an edible plant. “People were incriminated for having bags in their hands,” the Warrant Officer told Breaking the Silence. “Guy showed up with a bag? Incriminated, terrorist. I believe they came to pick khubeiza, but (the army says), ‘No, they’re hiding.’ Boom.” He said a tank fired at them from about 800 meters, narrowly missing. “A kill zone is in essence the announcement of a party to the war that they won’t take feasible precautions, that they won’t verify the status of an individual before attacking them. And that definitely violates international law,” said Dill, of Oxford University. “Simply being present in a certain part of a combat theater does not amount to active participation in hostilities. And only active participation in hostilities makes a civilian lose their protection under international law.”
Hill-Cawthorne was equally unequivocal. “A civilian does not lose their protected status, their immunity from attack merely because they enter an area that they’re not allowed or that they’re told not to enter,” Hill-Cawthorne said. “The only way in which people lose that immunity from attack is if they directly participate in hostilities.”
‘It was like paradise’
For 40 years, Abdul Aziz al-Nabahin grew olives, oranges and guavas on five acres of land he had inherited from his ancestors on the outskirts of Al-Bureij, in central Gaza – about 600 meters from the Israeli border. His son Mahmoud recently married and had a 3-year-old daughter. “It was like paradise,” al-Nabahin said. “We used to say, thank God. We were settled and satisfied.” After being forced to flee earlier in the war, he returned to his farm during the January ceasefire only to find his home and farmland in ruins.
“We found the house destroyed. The trees were bulldozed,” he said. “We didn’t know where to sit, so we just stayed outside in the open.”
But he has lost so much more.
In late June, al-Nabahin said Mahmoud had gone to collect firewood near their home when he was killed. An Israeli tank shell struck him and his cousin, who was grievously injured but survived. “The Israelis deliberately targeted them. They knew they were only collecting wood – not resisting or fighting. Just a cart with wood, clearly visible. Still, they were targeted,” al-Nabahin said.
“They kill anyone who goes there.”
CNN reached out to the IDF for comment about this incident specifically but did not receive a response.
Kareem Khadder contributed to this report.

Syria appoints finance expert as new central bank governor
AFP/April 07, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Monday appointed Abdul Qadir Al-Hasriya as governor of the war-battered country’s central bank, state media reported. State news agency SANA posted a picture of Hasriya taking the oath as the new central bank chief in front of Sharaa, who on Monday led a first cabinet meeting to “discuss government priorities for the next phase.”Sharaa announced the formation of a new government on March 29.Syria’s national currency is considered the foremost challenge for the central bank post, after its value plummeted during 13 years of civil war. Hasriya takes over from Maysa Sabreen, who had been appointed caretaken governor in late December, after an Islamist-led offensive toppled longtime president Bashar Assad. Sabreen, a banking expert, had been the first woman to head the financial establishment, having served as first deputy governor since 2018. Hasriya was born in 1961 and previously lived between the United Arab Emirates and Syria. He studied at the American University of Beirut before completing his PhD in finance at the University of Durham in Britain. He previously worked for accountancy firms EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, and Arthur Andersen, as well as having been a member of the financial committee of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva. He was a consultant on reforms to Syria’s central bank in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme.The Syrian pound has lost about 90 percent of its value since the start of the civil war in 2011, sinking from 50 pounds to currently around 10,000-12,000 to the US dollar.


Zelenskiy confirms for first time that Ukrainian troops active in Russia's Belgorod region

Reuters/Mon, April 7, 2025
(Reuters) -Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed for the first time on Monday that Ukrainian troops have been active in Russia's Belgorod region as they seek to protect Ukrainian towns near the border. Ukrainian troops remain in parts of the neighbouring Russian region of Kursk eight months after a cross-border incursion, though Russian forces have recaptured much lost territory. In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had presented a report "on the front line, our presence in the Kursk region and our presence in the Belgorod region." "We continue active operations in the enemy's border areas and this is absolutely justified. The war must return to where it came from. "Our main objective remains the same: to protect our land and our communities in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions from Russian occupiers."He later referred to operations in the area by Ukraine's 225th Assault Regiment and congratulated the unit for its performance. Zelenskiy repeated Kyiv's long-held contention that despite Russia's recapture of areas of Kursk in recent weeks, the operation was successful in that it drew Russian forces away from the war's main front line in Ukraine's Donetsk region. "Due to the entire Kursk operation, we have managed to reduce pressure on other frontline sectors, particularly in Donetsk region," he said. The president last month referred obliquely to "certain steps" undertaken by Ukraine's military in Russia "a little below the Kursk region", implicitly suggesting a presence in Belgorod region. Russian military bloggers had reported battles in Belgorod region between Russian and Ukrainian troops. On Sunday, Russia said its troops had seized the village of Basivka in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region -- opposite Kursk -- and were battering Ukrainian forces in different settlements. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly suggested that Russian forces carve out a buffer zone along the border. A Ukrainian military spokesperson issued a new denial on Monday that Basivka was in Russian hands.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on April 07-08/2025
Qatar's Muslim 'Scholars' Call For Death And Destruction
Dr. Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April 07, 2025
The last thing the Palestinians need are more calls from Qatar-based extremist for terrorism and jihad. If these Muslim "scholars" really want to help their Palestinian brothers, they should be calling on Hamas to release all the Israeli hostages they kidnapped, then to disarm, and then to stop pursuing the disastrous path of terrorism and jihad. The "scholars" leading the IUMS live safely in Qatar, not in the Gaza Strip, and they are therefore not directly affected by the war that Hamas launched.
That such a call by an influential Islamic group comes from an organization based in Doha illustrates why Qatar cannot be trusted as an honest mediator in the Hamas-Israel war....
Since then, Qatar's royal family -- who amusingly seem to imagine that they are doing the US a favor by hosting the largest US Air Force base in the Middle East -- have smoothly persuaded the Americans and other Westerners that they are neutral, trustworthy mediators in the Hamas-Israel war. In reality, they are doing their utmost to protect their long-term client, Hamas, and keep it in power, just as they protected their other client, the Taliban, in Afghanistan to make sure it remained in power. If the US were to transfer its air base to a real ally, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar would probably not survive a week. It is time for the US to understand that Qatar continues to serve as a base and platform for jihad and Islamist terrorism. Qatar is not an ally in the war on terrorism. Qatar is the predominant sponsor and leading voice that promotes Islamist terrorism. Qatar is also, perilously, the towering donor to universities in America. To American voters, it must look as if Qatar's sham-negotiations to keep Hamas in power are being conducted by US President Donald J. Trump's envoys primarily with an eye to avoid disrupting any future real estate deals with the emirate, rather than actually to stop the Hamas-Israel war and free the hostages.
At the very least, the US might threaten to withdraw its military assets from Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base, just to put the most minimal pressure on the Doha to stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and other questionable Islamist organizations. The US might also designate the Muslim Brotherhood and IUMS as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), an association of extremist Islamic theologians affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, has issued a fatwa (Islamic ruling) calling for jihad (holy war) against Israel. The fatwa, shared by IUMS Secretary-General Ali al-Qaradaghi, calls for "urgent, widespread action by Muslim countries and peoples, including military action [against Israel]." While Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are facing death and destruction as a result of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), an association of extremist Islamic theologians affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, has issued a fatwa (Islamic ruling) calling for jihad (holy war) against Israel.
The IUMS, a largely Sunni group founded in 2004, consists of some 95,000 Muslim "scholars" globally and 67 Islamic organizations. It included among its members the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, killed by Israel in an explosion last year in Iran.
These Muslim "scholars" also called for "urgent, widespread action by Muslim countries and peoples, including military action [against Israel]."
The fatwa, shared by the secretary-general of the IUMS, Ali al-Qaradaghi, emphasized the obligation of "armed jihad against the occupying entity [Israel] for every capable Muslim." This "duty," he added, "extends to all parts of the Islamic world."
The fatwa also calls for "immediate military intervention" by Arab and Islamic countries to halt Israel's military operations against the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Tunisian newspaper Al-Shorouq:
"The fatwa stressed as well the necessity of supporting the Palestinian resistance [Hamas] militarily, financially, politically and legally, and deemed that a 'religious duty.' It also called for the formation of an Islamic military alliance to defend the ummah [Muslim nation], and... prohibited any form of normalization with the occupation [Israel]."
If this is what the Muslim "scholars" have to offer the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians are in deep trouble. They are already paying a heavy price there for Hamas's jihad against Israel.
The last thing the Palestinians need are more calls from Qatar-based extremist for terrorism and jihad. If these Muslim "scholars" really want to help their Palestinian brothers, they should be calling on Hamas to release all the Israeli hostages they kidnapped, then to disarm, and then to stop pursuing the disastrous path of terrorism and jihad.
If the "scholars" really want to help the Palestinians, they should be sending them food and tents, not calling for military, financial and political support to the "resistance" (armed groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad).
Sadly, we rarely hear moderate and pragmatic Islamic voices from Qatar denouncing Hamas's October 7 massacre, jihad and terrorism.
The "scholars" leading the IUMS live safely in Qatar, not in the Gaza Strip, and they are therefore not directly affected by the war that Hamas launched.
There is no personal cost to them when they issue calls for jihad and violence from their homes and offices in Qatar or other countries around the world.
Meanwhile, as a result of Hamas waging jihad and its fantasies of obliterating Israel, many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have lost everything.
That such a call by an influential Islamic group comes from an organization based in Doha illustrates why Qatar cannot be trusted as an honest mediator in the Hamas-Israel war, started after October 7, 2023 massacre, in which Hamas-led terrorists murdered 1,200 Israelis and wounded thousands, as well as kidnapping 251 people who were taken to Gaza as hostages -- 59 of whom (alive and dead) are still being held there in captivity.
Since then, Qatar's royal family -- who amusingly seem to imagine that they are doing the US a favor by hosting the largest US Air Force base in the Middle East -- have smoothly persuaded the Americans and other Westerners that they are neutral, trustworthy mediators in the Hamas-Israel war. In reality, they are doing their utmost to protect their long-term client, Hamas, and keep it in power, just as they protected their other client, the Taliban, in Afghanistan to make sure it remained in power. If the US were to transfer its air base to a real ally, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar would probably not survive a week. Qatar has long been providing political and financial backing to various Islamist and terrorist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Al Nusra Front, Al Shabaab, Islamic Stare (ISIS), al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Moreover, Qatar has, for the past three decades, used its Al-Jazeera television network to promote radical Islam and terrorism, to praise terrorist operations against Israel, and to broadcast anti-American propaganda.
To this day, Qatar continues to host several leaders of Hamas, even after they proudly took responsibility for the atrocities on October 7. Shortly after the October 7 invasion, Hamas leaders in Qatar, such as Khaled Mashaal, came out in support of the massacre and vowed that there would be more attacks against Israelis.
On the same day as the October 7 invasion, a video of Hamas leaders watching the coverage of their group's invasion of southern Israel on Al-Jazeera was posted on social media. The Hamas leaders also reportedly bowed their heads to the ground in appreciation. "This is a prostration of gratitude for this victory," declared the late Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader who was assassinated by Israel last year. "Allah, please bestow your support and glory on our people and nation. Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allah be praised."
In 2023, the IUMS also come out in support of the carnage. It issued a statement expressing "unprecedented support" for Hamas and its terrorism against Israel. The organization called on Islamic governments and armed groups to back up Hamas with military force as part of a "religious obligation" to wage jihad against Israel. The IUMS praised the October 7 massacre as an "effective and mandatory development of legitimate resistance" and said that Muslims have a religious duty to support their brothers and sisters "throughout all of Palestine, especially in Al-Aqsa [Mosque], Jerusalem, and Gaza."
The former head of the IUMS, the late Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, was often described as the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was barred from entering the US as well as other countries, and was notable for supporting suicide bombers targeting Israelis, and encouraging violence against US troops in Iraq.
Al-Qaradaghi, the current IUMS chairman, has stated that his organization views Hamas "from the perspective of the Palestinian cause, which must remain the pre-eminent cause not just for the union, but for all Arabs, Muslims and free humanitarians of the world."
In 2017, the IUMS was banned and listed as a terrorist organization by a number of Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The countries accused the IUMS of "working to promote terrorism through the exploitation of Islamic discourse, which they use as cover to carry out various terrorist activities."It is time for the US to understand that Qatar continues to serve as a base and platform for jihad and Islamist terrorism. Qatar is not an ally in the war on terrorism. Qatar is the predominant sponsor and leading voice that promotes Islamist terrorism. Qatar is also, perilously, the towering donor to universities in America. To American voters, it must look as if Qatar's sham-negotiations to keep Hamas in power are being conducted by US President Donald J. Trump's envoys primarily with an eye to avoid disrupting any future real estate deals with the emirate, rather than actually to stop the Hamas-Israel war and free the hostages. At the very least, the US might threaten to withdraw its military assets from Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base, just to put the most minimal pressure on the Doha to stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and other questionable Islamist organizations. The US might also designate the Muslim Brotherhood and IUMS as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
As for the Palestinians, it is time for them to wake up and realize that many of their Arab and Muslim brothers are prepared to continue their jihad against Israel down to the last Palestinian.
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
**Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21530/qatar-muslim-brotherhood

Syria’s new strongman isn’t living up to his promises for reform
Ahmad Sharawi/The Hill/April 07/2025
Days before his troops overthrew the regime of Bashar Assad, Ahmad al-Sharaa declared that Syria deserves a system in which no “single ruler makes arbitrary decisions.” Sharaa, once a feared jihadist and founder of al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, now vows to abandon vengeance and lead Syria’s reconstruction with moderation and inclusivity.
But as interim president, he has seized control of every pillar of government, stacking sensitive posts with loyalists and family. This culminated in mid-March with the imposition of an interim constitution granting him executive, legislative and judicial authority for five years.
Despite hopes after Assad’s fall, Syria is not on a path to democracy, liberal or otherwise. Sharaa has already begun replicating the old dictator’s habit of appointing relatives to power. Assad inherited Syria from his father, Hafez, and made his brother Maher head of the fourth division, while his brother-in-law became deputy defense minister. Sharaa also has a brother named Maher, whom he appointed interim Minister of Health, though he was later replaced when the second transitional Cabinet was approved on March 29.
Sharaa is also filling key military and intelligence posts with jihadi confidants. The new interior minister is Anas Khattab, a U.S.-designated terrorist and co-founder with Sharaa of al Qaeda’s Syrian branch. In the sworn-in government, Sharaa kept the defense, foreign affairs, interior and justice portfolios under the control of people connected (or formerly connected) to al Qaeda.  Militia leaders close to Sharaa have become governors or deputy governors in Syria’s most populous and economically vital cities. Favoritism toward loyalists is not new for Sharaa — it was central to his rule over the Idlib enclave before Assad’s fall. He effectively built an authoritarian regime in Idlib from 2017 onward. He may now be replicating that model on a national scale.
At first, Sharaa took no official title despite filling the government with allies. But in late January, he named himself interim president after a “Victory Conference” in Damascus, where 18 armed factions agreed to merge into a unified military under his command. The factions then formally selected him as interim president, though he had effectively held that role since Assad’s fall.  Sunni Islamist factions dominate this new military. Recruits reportedly undergo 21 days of Sharia training. Aleppo’s new police chief stated that officer training would last 10 days and include Islamic jurisprudence, the Prophet Mohammad’s biography, and codes of conduct. Sharaa has also promoted foreign jihadists from Jordan, Turkey and China’s Xinjiang region to top positions. Syrian journalist Ahmad Maher warned the army “may come to resemble a cult-like political system where loyalty to the ideology supersedes loyalty to the state.”
Despite this, Sharaa insists he will build “an inclusive transitional government that represents the diversity of Syria.” In February, he convened a National Dialogue Conference, pledging it would be “a platform for deliberations and consultations on our upcoming political program.” Yet it was hastily arranged, leaving key figures scrambling.
George Sabra, former president of the Qatar-based National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, declined the invitation, citing the short notice. Major groups, especially the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, were excluded under the pretext that “whoever does not lay down his arms … will have no role in the national dialogue.” In other words, participation required submission — something Sharaa himself never gave.  The conference ended with 18 recommendations on transitional justice, constitutional reform, freedoms, the economy and civil society. It also called for creating a committee to draft a new constitution, balance powers and build a state rooted in the rule of law. These were critical steps— in theory. But the recommendations were non-binding, giving Syria’s new leaders license to ignore them.  Nevertheless, Sharaa quickly appointed all members of the committee that drafted the “constitutional declaration” he unveiled in mid-March. The declaration grants sweeping executive powers to the president for five years. Though it claims to establish “a political system based on separation of powers,” it allows the president to appoint lawmakers and top judges. Oversight is virtually nonexistent. “There is virtually no oversight of the president’s actions,” said constitutional committee member Ray’an Keheilan.
If this trajectory continues, Syria risks becoming an even more entrenched authoritarian regime — one that serves neither its people nor regional stability. And instability in Syria could attract foreign meddling, particularly from Tehran and Moscow.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has emphasized that “credible, non-sectarian governance is the best path to avoid further conflict.” Yet Sharaa, still on the U.S. terrorism blacklist, has concentrated power in his hands and those of Sunni Islamists who fought beside him. That is no foundation for real inclusivity.
The best way to prevent Syria from sliding into a new dictatorship is for Washington and its allies to demand checks and balances as a condition for deeper engagement. For the U.S., restoring diplomatic ties and sending an ambassador to Damascus should depend on tangible progress toward representative government. That remains the most viable hope for guiding Syria toward recovery — and away from renewed civil war.
**Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Middle East affairs and the Levant.   

Why Europe should appreciate Trump
Salman Al-Ansari//Arab News/April 07, 2025
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Charles de Gaulle envisioned a Europe that was capable of defending itself. Eighty years later, that vision remains unfulfilled. The ambition to reduce reliance on external powers continues to dominate European strategic discussions. In 2019, when I visited Brussels and spoke at the European Parliament about global security, one of the things that most stood out to me was the prominence of the concept of strategic sovereignty in dialogue about the EU. In concrete terms, this was largely the popular belief that the bloc would be better off reducing its reliance on other countries — particularly, as a key EU think tank suggested, its dependence on the US, Russia and China.
The ambition to diversify away from Russian energy and Chinese manufacturing was unsurprising and made complete sense. But the mention of the US — and at the top of the list — was an unexpected curveball. Instead of a certain satisfaction with being in the American sphere of influence, this seemed to indicate a desire for a more powerful and independent collective entity.
This push for strategic sovereignty is not ideological rhetoric. It is based on a growing discomfort with Europe’s position in the geopolitical landscape. During Trump’s first term, the EU had to repeatedly face its new reality. After decades of falling under the American umbrella of protection via NATO, European leaders were left clumsily looking for solutions after America’s 2018 withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. The world watched as they ultimately failed to bypass American sanctions — a clear reminder that, when Washington makes a decision, Brussels often has little choice but to fall in line, regardless of its own interests.
Brexit had the potential to push the EU toward true autonomy, given London’s tendency to mirror Washington. Instead, European leaders remained divided and without a clear strategy to break free from reliance on the US. The goal of reducing dependence is not about opposition but about the ability to act autonomously, independently of the political mood in the White House or elsewhere.
The pandemic accelerated the need for greater EU resilience by exposing its supply chain vulnerabilities and overreliance on China. The Russian invasion of Ukraine completely shifted Europe’s stance, pulling it back under the American security umbrella as the leader of NATO. Before 2022, European leaders actively sought to avoid provoking Russia and hesitated to add Ukraine to NATO or the EU. However, with the invasion came a strong and almost frantic fear of Russia and the existential threat it might pose to Europe. The EU rapidly aligned with US policies on sanctions, military aid and NATO coordination, preferring the guarantee of short-term security to working on long-term strategic independence.
Three years into the war, Brussels has quietly revived the idea of independence. Rebranded under the new name of the “strategic compass,” it aims to improve defense by collective coordination. But this strategic compass and focus on sovereignty is insufficient on its own. The EU must not just seek autonomy but learn to believe in its own ability to act — a shift from strategic sovereignty to strategic confidence.
As European leaders watched the tense White House exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, it would be easy to conclude that they are now on their own. Yet this reaction may not capture the full truth. The US will remain committed to Europe, but only if Europe is committed to itself — meaning that it must take its own defense seriously, pull its weight and not take American security guarantees for granted.
Europe should also recognize that the trajectory of the Ukraine conflict was not inevitable. Under the presidencies of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Ukraine was pushed to align ever more closely with the West, despite contestation by EU leaders wary of upsetting Moscow. Trump now seeks to rectify that trajectory, to end the war and rebuild better global security. If successful, this shift could ultimately benefit Europe, providing a more stable and predictable geopolitical order.
With a second Trump term underway, the majority of EU member states appear nervous, uncertain and undecided about how to move forward. One thing is clear: many in Europe still do not see Trump as their American friend. Yet, in reality, the EU and a Trump-led US agree on more than they disagree.
For instance, raising defense spending is both a European and an American interest, not provoking Russia is also European policy and a Trump policy, as is less Russian energy dependency, and the list goes on. Perhaps the only difference is that most EU leaders lean left while the US is currently on the right. That means there are differences in their approaches to climate change, immigration and social policy, but not on core strategic interests.
If the EU does not seize the opportunity of a second Trump presidency to achieve strategic sovereignty, it might never obtain it. If the EU is serious about its sovereignty, it must act — this means building a unified EU military and creating a new security architecture that neither replaces nor is fully reliant on NATO. The idea that Europe cannot defend itself against Russia is absurd. The EU does not lack unity, money or military strength — it simply lacks confidence. Strategic confidence is what differentiates a continent that can chart its own course from one that is forced to follow external powers.
The EU must not just seek autonomy but learn to believe in its own ability to act — a shift to strategic confidence.
With that confidence, a lot is possible. European leaders now have the opportunity to build out their own capabilities, together. Germany’s new government is focused on positive economic outcomes. That could help the economy get back on track after a prolonged slowdown of its output, most notably in the energy sector, where high prices have hurt German industries. France, on the other hand, is the only EU power with access to atomic weapons, which, while they will most likely never actually need to be deployed, still gives it a strategic position at the head of Europe’s defense. With Berlin driving Europe’s economic future and Paris leading its politics, this could be a turning point for European economic and political independence.
Perhaps the EU can learn from two countries in particular — Saudi Arabia and India — on how to balance strategic relationships with the world’s major powers. Both nations have masterfully applied the concept of strategic sovereignty, not just in theory but in practice, becoming influential global players without compromising their autonomy.
Europe is key to global security and prosperity, but it needs to come together around a clear vision of its place and future in the world. Now, with strong European leaders and as the US is undergoing a foreign policy transformation, the EU has the space to do that.
**Salman Al-Ansari is a geopolitical analyst who is a frequent guest on the BBC, CNN and France 24. In 2021, he was ranked as the most influential political pundit in the Middle East and North Africa by Arab News. X: @Salansar1

The politics behind Netanyahu’s Shin Bet scandal

Dr. Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/April 07, 2025
Within the space of 24 hours last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated Eli Sharvit as the new chief of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, only to quickly retract the nomination. This episode highlights the lack of coherence in Netanyahu’s leadership, reinforcing the perception that decisions at the highest levels of government are made impulsively and without a clear plan.
It also serves as further proof that Netanyahu is easily manipulated — not just by his right-wing extremist allies in the coalition, but also by external forces, foreign governments and, as reported by Israeli media, even his wife Sara.
This chaotic decision-making process helps explain the deep lack of trust Israelis have in their leadership. Recent public opinion polls show that a significant percentage of Israelis lack faith in their government and are calling for new elections or Netanyahu’s resignation.
This distrust has been attributed to Netanyahu’s failure to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and his inability to win the war-turned-genocide in Gaza.
But the issue goes beyond these failures. Israelis have lost confidence in Netanyahu because they do not see him as a leader acting in the national interest. He has become so entrenched in power that he is willing to incite civil strife in Israel just to maintain his position.
Netanyahu has become so entrenched in power that he is willing to incite civil strife in Israel just to maintain his position
As a result, it should come as no surprise that Netanyahu is also willing to sacrifice the lives of more than 15,000 children in Gaza, along with tens of thousands of innocent civilians, just to buy himself more time in office.
However, the Shin Bet scandal is the clearest example to date of Netanyahu’s corruption and poor judgment. Israeli politics is notoriously unstable and coalitions rarely last long. In that context, Netanyahu’s fractious government could be seen as a reflection of Israel’s history of political instability. The ongoing conflict between the government and the military, while unusual, can also be understood as part of a growing trend in which the Israeli right seeks to control all institutions — including the military, which has historically been seen as separate from politics. The events of Oct. 7 and the failed war that has followed — both of which are now the subject of critical investigations — have shattered the fragile balance that allowed Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition to hold power without provoking mass dissent.
Israeli public pressure has proven to be a key factor in this balancing act. For example, a public outcry forced Netanyahu to restore former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to his position in April 2023.
However, 18 months of war in Gaza, Lebanon and now Syria have given Netanyahu the leverage to use the state of emergency as a tool to crush opposition, stifle dissent and ignore calls for the war to end and for a final agreement to be reached.
He has now turned the war into a platform for pursuing an internal political agenda that he had failed to implement in the years leading up to Oct. 7. But Shin Bet is another matter entirely. Founded by Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, in 1949, Shin Bet has long been the cornerstone of Israel’s internal security. While the agency’s primary mission involves countering terrorism, gathering intelligence and providing security for Israeli officials, its role carries much greater significance for the stability of the state. One of Shin Bet’s objectives is to prevent espionage and internal subversion. Given the intelligence failures exposed by the events of Oct. 7, any significant restructuring of such a critical agency could be disastrous for Israel.
Though the head of Shin Bet reports directly to the prime minister, it has always been understood that the position should remain above political infighting. Netanyahu’s move to fire Ronen Bar last week, therefore, sent shockwaves through Israeli society, even more so than his decisions to oust former army chief of staff Herzi Halevi or Gallant.
Netanyahu’s actions have violated a long-standing taboo, further exacerbating Israel’s already unprecedented internal crisis.
His actions have violated a long-standing taboo, further exacerbating Israel’s already unprecedented internal crisis
Former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman has even threatened to reveal secret information, signaling that the agency is prepared to engage in this internal power struggle, which some fear could escalate into a civil war.
But the cancellation of Sharvit’s nomination to fill Bar’s position is perhaps the most revealing aspect of this crisis. It underscores Netanyahu’s erratic decision-making and empowers his opponents, who are eager to bring him down. As Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid has put it, Netanyahu has become “an existential threat to Israel.”
Some analysts have suggested that Netanyahu’s reversal was due to US pressure, especially since Sharvit had written an article criticizing US President Donald Trump.
While some see this as evidence that Netanyahu’s agenda is largely dictated by the US, such conclusions are oversimplified. Although Washington wields significant influence, Netanyahu’s decisions are shaped by a complex array of factors.
Netanyahu is keen on presenting the withdrawal of Sharvit’s nomination not as a sign of political subservience, but rather as a strategic concession or overture to Trump. His aim is to maintain full US support for his war agenda in Gaza and across the Middle East.
Ultimately, this perpetual war strategy is not driven by any coherent political ideology. Netanyahu’s singular focus remains on maintaining his political coalition and ensuring his political survival — nothing more, nothing less.
**Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and author. He is editor of The Palestine Chronicle and nonresident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappe, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out.” X: @RamzyBaroud