English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  August 18/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.
You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12/13-21/:"Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?" Then he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry." But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’"

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 17-18/2025
Text and Video: Deconstructing the Deceptions, Foreign Agendas, and Terrorism in the Speech of Naim Qassem—Iran's Puppet and an Enemy of the Lebanese./Elias Bejjani/August 15/2025
Video link and transcript of an interview with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun from Al Arabiya
President Joseph Aoun: Hezbollah’s Weapons Are an Internal Matter for the State
President Aoun: Iran is a friendly country, but on grounds of mutual respect & preserving sovereignty, Hezbollah’s weapons are an internal matter
Speaker Berri to Al Arabiya: No decision on Hezbollah without Israeli compliance
From 1993 to today: Hezbollah and the politics of protests in Lebanon
UNIFIL renewal talks progress as Lebanon hosts US officials: Here’s what we know
Between rumors and reality: Lebanese Army on guard after reports of plot to kidnap soldiers
The weapons question: Will Hezbollah's allies stick or shift?
Report: Aoun to ask Barrack to implement some of Lebanon's demands
Mistrust and fear: The complex story behind strained Syria-Lebanon relations
PM Salam says Lebanese state has reclaimed decisions of war and peace

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 17-18/2025
Israel says struck Houthi 'energy infrastructure site' in Yemen
Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 18
Israeli police use water cannons, arrest dozens as protesters demand hostage deal
Hamas rejects Israel’s Gaza relocation plan
Protests held across Israel calling for end to Gaza war, hostage deal
Iraq starts work on Daesh mass grave thought to contain thousands
Jordan opens field hospital in Gaza
Suicide bomber detonates explosive belt in Syria's Aleppo, no other casualties: State TV
Syrian president says unifying country ‘should not be with blood’
Jordan, US forces launch ‘Dragon Eye’ field drill to counter WMD threats
European, NATO leaders to join Ukraine’s Zelensky for meeting with Trump
Trump drops Ukraine ceasefire demand after Putin summit
Putin agreed to let US, Europe offer NATO-style security protections for Ukraine: Trump envoy
Trump-Putin summit: What we know
Shooting in a crowded New York club leaves 3 dead despite record low gun violence
Pakistan defends flood response after over 270 people killed in northwestern district
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for local homeless people, invites them to lunch at summer villa

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 17-18/2025
Here We Go Again – The West's Palestinian State Fantasy/Nils A. Haug/Gatestone Institute/August 17/2025
How Syria can move beyond division, achieve reconciliation/ANAN TELLO/Arab News/August 17, 2025
Starvation in Gaza and our global shame/Binaifer Nowrojee/Arab News/August 17, 2025
Israel’s ‘doomsday settlement’ a test for the world/Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/August 17, 2025
Erosion of the nuclear taboo a key global challenge/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/August 17, 2025
Gulf investors turning to Asia’s finance giants/Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/August 17, 2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 17-18/2025
Text and Video: Deconstructing the Deceptions, Foreign Agendas, and Terrorism in the Speech of Naim Qassem—Iran's Puppet and an Enemy of the Lebanese.
Elias Bejjani/August 15/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/146313/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUdE7FE6pzc&t=150s
Today’s speech by Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, is a full-fledged declaration of war. It came just after the visit of the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, to Beirut. Larijani met with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and he heard clear, sovereign, and constitutional words from them: no weapons outside state control, decisions of war and peace are only in the hands of state institutions, No for foreign interference, and the Lebanese army is the sole guarantor of national security.
Qassem, hiding in an underground lair—perhaps in Iran or inside the Iranian embassy in Beirut—gave a recorded, rebellious speech. He confirmed he is nothing more than a trumpet and a tool for the mullahs of Iran, leaving no doubt that he was carrying out Larijani’s orders and instructions, both in letter and in spirit. In his address, Qassem issued a direct threat to the state and the army, saying: “If you decide to eliminate us, let it be clear that we will fight our battle to the end, and we will not allow a repeat of Karbala,” adding, “Either we live together on the terms of the resistance, or farewell to Lebanon.”
These statements are not just emotional rhetoric; they are a clear announcement that Hezbollah, under direct Iranian orders, will consider any attempt by the Lebanese state to impose its authority over its weapons a battle for survival, even if it’s against the Lebanese army itself. He did not stop at threats and disgusting shrieks. He also resorted to his pathological delusions of grandeur, claiming that Hezbollah “prevented Israel from achieving its goals” and that the South is “protected by the resistance’s weapons.”
The reality is quite different: in the last confrontation with Israel, Hezbollah suffered painful blows, losing most of its leaders commanders and weakening its military structure. Its weapons couldn’t even protect Hassan Nasrallah himself. This narrative of fake and false victories is meant to hide the failure and justify the continued existence of an illegitimate and non-Lebanese weapon that is an enemy of Lebanon and its people.
In an attempt to give Hezbollah’s weapons popular legitimacy, Qassem cited a “public opinion poll” that claims the majority of Lebanese support the “resistance strategy.” However, this poll was conducted by an institution affiliated with Hezbollah itself, which strips it of any scientific value or impartiality. The political, electoral, and popular facts confirm that the majority of Lebanese, including a large segment of the Shia community, reject the continued dominance, terrorism, Persian influence, and occupation by Hezbollah, as well as its control over the decision of war and peace and the dragging of the country into futile and destructive Iranian wars.
The most dangerous aspect of Qassem’s threatening speech today is that it falls directly under the articles of the Lebanese Penal Code:
Article 329: Armed threat to prevent authorities from performing their duties.
Article 314: Acts that cause public panic and threaten civil peace.
Article 315: Terrorist acts that lead to the disruption of state facilities.
By these standards, what Qassem said with brazenness, immorality, and depravity constitutes a full-fledged crime, requiring his immediate arrest and prosecution. He openly incited armed rebellion and announced the readiness of the terrorist Hezbollah to engage in a civil war if the constitution is applied.
In practice, Naim Qassem’s speech is a literal translation of Iranian orders carried by Larijani from Tehran to Hezbollah. These positions have nothing to do with Lebanese sovereignty or civil peace. Rather, it is a declaration of absolute loyalty to the authority of the mullahs, who see Lebanon merely as a battlefield for their wars and its people as sandbags, hostages, and their fuel.
The stark difference between the constitutional language of Presidents Aoun and Salam and Qassem’s response in the language of “Karbala” reveals the clear difference between those who want a state and those who want a terrorist, jihadist mini-state loyal to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
In a reading of Naim Qassem’s words, the following eight points can be highlighted:
First: A Threatening Karbala-Style Speech Against the State and the Army
Naim Qassem’s speech, which came one day after the visit of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani to Lebanon and their meeting, clearly exposes Hezbollah’s complete subordination to Iran and its operation according to the agenda of the Revolutionary Guard. While Larijani listened to direct and explicit sovereign and independent stances from Presidents Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam, Qassem chose to respond with a direct threatening tone against the Lebanese government, describing its decision as the implementation of “an Israeli and American paper.” Even more dangerous is his implicit and explicit declaration that Hezbollah is ready to confront the Lebanese army with a “Karbala concept,” should the state try to implement the constitution and disarm it. Qassem’s words represent a clear declaration of rebellion against the state and a readiness to enter into a civil war if Hezbollah’s dominance is threatened.
Second: The Majority of Lebanese, Including many Shiites, Are Against Hezbollah’s Weapons
Contrary to the lies and fabricated illusions that Qassem repeats, the popular and political reality in Lebanon today is clear: the majority of Lebanese, including many from the Shia community, reject the continued existence of Hezbollah’s weapons. These weapons have caused Lebanon’s isolation, destroyed its economy, dragged it into losing wars with Israel, and held it hostage to an Iranian decision that has nothing to do with the country’s interest. The people of the South themselves have paid a heavy price with their lives and homes because of Hezbollah’s adventures, and they realize that Lebanon’s true protection lies in a strong state with its army and laws, not in a sectarian Iranian militia.
Third: The Hypocrisy of the Alleged Poll
In an attempt to polish his party’s image, Qassem cited what he called a “public opinion poll” claiming that the majority of Lebanese support Hezbollah’s weapons and the defensive strategy it proposes. These are false claims, as the poll was conducted by the “Consultative Center for Studies,” an institution directly affiliated with Hezbollah, which robs it of any credibility. The goal of these lies is to create the illusion of popular support, while the political, electoral, and street realities prove the opposite.
Fourth: The Lie of Preventing Israel from Achieving its Goals
Qassem’s claim that Hezbollah prevented Israel from achieving its goals, including establishing settlements in the South, is a distortion of history. Hezbollah itself failed in the war of support for Gaza, which it began with an Iranian order. This resulted in the assassination of most of its leaders, field commanders, the displacement of Shiite people from the South and the southern suburbs, and the destruction of their areas. Its weapons couldn’t even protect Hassan Nasrallah personally, let alone Lebanon. This defeat is part of a larger defeat that Iran suffered during the 12 days when Israel and the United States destroyed its nuclear facilities and air defense systems, and assassinated dozens of its military and political leaders and nuclear scientists. The link is clear: Iran’s defeat is Hezbollah’s defeat, because the militia is nothing but an Iranian arm in Lebanon.
Fifth: Hezbollah… The Enemy of Lebanon
It is necessary to call things by their names: Hezbollah is not the protector of Lebanon; it is Lebanon’s primary enemy. Its weapons are not for defending the borders or confronting Israel, but for dominating national decisions and maintaining the Iranian occupation of Lebanon. These weapons are a tool to impose a unilateral political will that contradicts the principles of sovereignty, the constitution, and living together.
Sixth: Illegitimate Weapons and a Rogue Iranian Gang
Since its establishment in 1982, Hezbollah has been involved in a series of crimes covered by the Lebanese Penal Code under terrorism, murder, threats, and restricting freedoms, in addition to engaging in drug trafficking and manufacturing, money laundering, and arms smuggling etc.
Seventh: The Most Dangerous Threat
Qassem said it plainly: “There is no life for Lebanon if you decide to eliminate us. Either we live together, or farewell to Lebanon.” This is an existential threat to the state and the people, and a clear message that Hezbollah considers Lebanon its private property, and that the survival of the nation is conditional on the survival of the militia.
Eighth: The Necessity of Arresting and Prosecuting Naim Qassem
Based on the content of this speech and in accordance with the articles of the laws mentioned at the beginning of the text—which include incitement to sectarian strife, direct threats to the government and the army, and brazen boasting of committing acts criminalized by Lebanese laws—the national and legal duty requires the immediate arrest of Naim Qassem and his prosecution according to the articles of the Penal Code related to terrorism and armed rebellion.

Video link and transcript of an interview with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun from Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya/August 17, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/146380/
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed in an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya that Lebanon’s relationship with Iran is based on friendship and respect for sovereignty. He added, “Anyone who wants to help Lebanon is welcome,” provided that no country interferes in its affairs. He also emphasized that dealing with Hezbollah’s weapons is a Lebanese matter and an internal decision, and that the arms embargo has been taken and is irreversible. He praised the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in supporting Lebanon and ending the presidential vacuum. He also noted the Lebanese state’s efforts to improve relations with Syria. Aoun also emphasized his rejection of the resettlement of Palestinians, and considered Lebanon a plundered, not bankrupt, state, pledging not to cover up corruption.

President Joseph Aoun: Hezbollah’s Weapons Are an Internal Matter for the State
This is Beirut/August 17/2025
The President of the Lebanese Republic, General Joseph Aoun, affirmed in an exclusive interview with Al-Arabiya channel on Sunday that “Iran is a friendly country, but on the basis of mutual respect and the preservation of sovereignty. It must be a friend to all components of the Lebanese society, not to one faction alone.”He stressed that Lebanon does not interfere in the affairs of any state, and it will not allow any country to interfere in its own.
Regarding the US proposal carried by American envoy Ambassador Thomas Barrack, President Aoun explained that Lebanon had added its observations, making it effectively a Lebanese document, and that “it will not become effective before Lebanon, Syria and Israel approve it. The second point we emphasized is the principle of ‘step for step’: if one step is not implemented, the corresponding step will not be carried out.”
President Aoun added that Hezbollah’s weapons are an internal matter to be addressed by constitutional institutions. “I do not believe that anyone in the Lebanese state, across the country, has an issue with restricting arms,” he said.
He emphasized that his priority is not shifting Lebanon’s political alliances, but focusing on reintegrating the country, ending its isolation and ensuring safety, economic growth and stability. He noted that he was faced with two options: “Either I accept the paper and tell the world that I have done my duty and it is now your duty to secure Israel’s approval, or I refuse it, in which case Israel would escalate its aggressions, Lebanon would become economically isolated and none of us would be able to respond to the attacks. If anyone has a third option that could lead to Israel’s withdrawal, the liberation of prisoners, border demarcation and economic revival, let them present it.”“I have no political or electoral ambitions, nor do I have a party whose interests I must carry. My concern is Lebanon. I want to end the occupation in the South, finalize border demarcation with Syria and not drag the country from one axis to another,” the president added. On relations with Syria, the president welcomed the official Syrian response to Lebanon’s remarks on the US paper, confirming that relations with Syria exist and coordination continues on the security and military levels. He thanked Saudi Arabia for its efforts in facilitating coordination between the two countries and noted that Lebanon is awaiting a Syrian envoy to further activate ties. President Aoun reiterated that the state has begun taking steps to rebuild trust both internally and externally through reform laws and judicial and administrative appointments, stressing that “what has been achieved in six months amounts to accomplishments. I promise the Lebanese at home and abroad that we will continue, and there is no turning back. It is not easy to change 40 years overnight, but change has begun and is tangible. These measures will restore depositors’ money.”
He concluded by saying that “Lebanon has started to return to what the Arab world wants from it. As it was once said that Lebanon is the Arabs’ balcony, Lebanon will once again become the Arabs’ balcony, with the help of the Arabs.”

President Aoun: Iran is a friendly country, but on grounds of mutual respect & preserving sovereignty, Hezbollah’s weapons are an internal matter
NNA/August 17/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/146380/
President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, affirmed in an interview with Al Arabiya Channel that "Iran is a friendly country, but based on mutual respect and preserving sovereignty," adding, "We do not allow ourselves to interfere in its affairs or those of any other country, just as we do not accept interference in our affairs."He said, "Hezbollah's weapons are an internal matter, and constitutional institutions are responsible for addressing this issue. I do not believe anyone in the country has a problem with restricting weapons."The President went on: "We have made observations on the American paper, which has become a Lebanese paper and will not become effective until the relevant countries approve it. We emphasized the 'step by step' principle.""I have two choices: either to approve the paper and demand that the world obtain Israel's approval, or to reject it and increase the pace of attacks and isolate Lebanon economically," Aoun added. He affirmed, "I do not judge intentions. I am a statesman who came to build a country. I have no electoral calculations, no party, and no future political aspirations."Regarding relations with Syria, President Aoun valued the official Syrian response to the Lebanese observations on the American paper, stressing that relations with Syria exist and that coordination is ongoing at the security and military levels. He thanked Saudi Arabia for its efforts to coordinate between the two countries, noting that "Lebanon is awaiting a Syrian envoy to activate relations."Aoun reiterated that "the state has begun taking steps to restore confidence between itself and the Lebanese, and between itself and the outside world, through reform laws and judicial and administrative appointments," pointing to accomplishments made in the past six months. "I promise the Lebanese people, both at home and abroad, that we will continue, and there is no going back. It is not easy to change 40 years overnight, but change has begun and is tangible. These measures will return depositors' money," pledged Aoun, promising that "Lebanon will return to being the pride of the Arabs, with the help of the Arabs."

Speaker Berri to Al Arabiya: No decision on Hezbollah without Israeli compliance
LBCI/August 17, 2025
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that no decision regarding Hezbollah can be implemented as long as Israel refuses to meet its own obligations. In an interview with Al Arabiya, he noted that Hezbollah has not fired a single shot since the ceasefire, while Israel continues its strikes.Berri called for dialogue on the issue of restricting arms to the state but stressed that it should not be approached in the way currently proposed. "I will hear from the U.S. envoy his vision on how to disarm Hezbollah, but I have nothing to propose to him," he stated. Berri also dismissed fears of a civil war or any threat to domestic peace.

From 1993 to today: Hezbollah and the politics of protests in Lebanon
LBCI/August 17, 2025
“Street protests” may be common in democratic countries, but in a politically sensitive country like Lebanon, they are far more complicated. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem’s remarks on Friday about postponing the idea of demonstrations served as a warning that such protests would occur—but according to the party’s timing. Since 1993, Hezbollah has taken to the streets under various banners. In September of that year, under the slogan of opposing the Oslo Accords between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, a Hezbollah-organized demonstration on the airport bridge clashed with Lebanese army forces. Gunfire during the demonstration resulted in nine casualties among protesters. In 2006, Hezbollah supporters, along with allies including the Amal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement, and the Marada Movement, protested against then-Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s government, demanding its resignation. They staged a sit-in in central Beirut for nearly a year and a half.

UNIFIL renewal talks progress as Lebanon hosts US officials: Here’s what we know
LBCI/August 17, 2025
On the issue of renewing the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mandate, diplomatic contacts are intensifying between Beirut and key capitals ahead of Morgan Ortagus’ visit to Beirut on Sunday, accompanied by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack.
Lebanon plans to deliver a clear message rejecting any changes to the peacekeeping force’s mandate, insisting it remain as it was set in last year’s renewal decision. The Lebanese position is based on two factors: UNIFIL’s mission and its funding. Beirut has been in continuous contact with both the French and American sides, alongside a meeting held in Paris two days ago between the U.S. and France dedicated to discussing the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate. France, as the “penholder” on Lebanon at the U.N. Security Council, is playing a key role. According to reports, Washington had insisted, until the Paris meeting, on introducing changes to the resolution and to UNIFIL’s tasks. It is still unclear how the United States will respond to Lebanon’s stance, though Beirut is counting on initial signs suggesting possible flexibility in Washington’s position, which could be reflected during Ortagus and Barrack’s visit. Britain, like France, supports keeping the mission unchanged.Lebanon will tell the American visitors that it is firmly committed to its position and that the Lebanese army will remain ready to work alongside UNIFIL in the south to ensure no incidents occur between the peacekeepers and local residents.
Sources confirmed to LBCI that Lebanon will emphasize three key points to the U.S. officials. The first is that UNIFIL is a vital necessity for the south and a cornerstone in implementing Resolution 1701, strengthening the Lebanese army’s deployment along the border.
The second is that the Lebanese state plans to increase troop numbers in the south by 4,500 soldiers, after having already added 1,500 earlier, bringing the total to around 10,000 by the end of this year. This expansion requires ongoing coordination with UNIFIL. The army has completed the first recruitment and training phase and is preparing for the second. The third is that UNIFIL is not only a military or security force, but also plays an essential social and humanitarian role, providing health care, education, and employment opportunities. This is especially critical after Israeli attacks destroyed most social and health centers in the south. Many Lebanese families, from the south and beyond, rely on jobs created by UNIFIL. As for funding, sources said that if Washington insists on cutting its contribution to U.N. agencies, including UNIFIL in Lebanon, Arab and European states are expected to step in and cover the shortfall. European officials have already assured all parties of their commitment to maintaining UNIFIL’s presence, mandate, and budget without any reduction.

Between rumors and reality: Lebanese Army on guard after reports of plot to kidnap soldiers
LBCI/August 17, 2025
Are reports about extremist groups in Syria planning to kidnap soldiers from the Lebanese Army accurate? The Lebanese Army has heightened security along the Syrian border after an internal document warned of possible plans by extremist groups in Syria to abduct Lebanese soldiers for prisoner swaps, military and security sources said Sunday. The document, which circulated over the past hours to army units and other security agencies, including customs authorities, cited intelligence suggesting that militants based in Syrian territory near the border were preparing to kidnap soldiers in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and northern regions. According to the document, the aim would be to exchange them for Islamist detainees held in Lebanese prisons. Military sources confirmed the document's authenticity but stressed it was based on preliminary intelligence. The army stated that it issued the notice as a precaution, urging heightened vigilance at night, closer monitoring of suspicious movements, and reinforcing security at border posts. Other security agencies were also alerted, as any such plot could potentially target their personnel. The warning came amid the circulation of videos online in which individuals from Syrian tribes threatened to abduct Lebanese soldiers unless prisoners in Roumieh prison were released. The army also denied separate reports claiming that Lebanese warplanes had crossed into Syrian airspace to monitor militant movements following the threats. "These claims are false," the military said in a statement, adding that units are taking the necessary measures to secure the border and maintain coordination with Syrian authorities. Sources close to the matter said Damascus has not endorsed the tribal threats, describing them as pressure tactics that are unlikely to materialize on the ground. Daily coordination between the Lebanese and Syrian sides continues to address security concerns along the frontier.

The weapons question: Will Hezbollah's allies stick or shift?
LBCI/August 17, 2025
As Iran continues to back Hezbollah against efforts to strip it of its arsenal, the positions of some of the group's Lebanese allies on the weapons issue are beginning to evolve.
Is Hezbollah losing political cover at a critical juncture?
Sources close to the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) told LBCI that the party's stance is not new, emphasizing that a national defense strategy has been a core demand of the movement since 2006. The sources stressed that the FPM has consistently called for the exclusive right of the Lebanese state to bear arms, while rejecting involvement in foreign agendas that undermine national interests. Preserving civil peace and stability remains its top priority, the sources said. Among Hezbollah's allies, MP Tony Frangieh also signaled a shift. In a post on X, he declared support for a strong state that monopolizes all weapons.
As clock ticks, Lebanon faces pressure over UNIFIL and Hezbollah's weapons — the details
Does his position reflect the broader stance of the Marada Movement, led by his father, Sleiman Frangieh, or is it a personal declaration?
While Sleiman Frangieh has also long advocated for weapons to be limited to the state, he has done so with the caveat that the state must be capable of protecting Lebanon from Israeli threats. Meanwhile, Tony Frangieh sought to balance his stance by following up his post with another message describing Hezbollah's talk of a national security strategy as "an opportunity not to be missed." This appeared to reconcile his call for state sovereignty over arms with openness to Hezbollah's role in shaping defense policy. However, Hezbollah sources noted that the group has already accepted in the ministerial statement the principle of arms being under the state's authority, but only alongside guarantees that Lebanon can defend itself against future Israeli attacks. The group's sources suggested that U.S. and Saudi pressure may have influenced some allies' recalibrated positions, though they stressed that Hezbollah has never relied solely on its allies for legitimacy. Instead, they pointed to the group's enduring popular base, reflected in the latest municipal elections. The sources also recalled that Hezbollah's liberation of South Lebanon was achieved independently, not through temporary political alliances. Still, they argued that a unified national position remains the best way to counter Israel, which they accuse of exploiting Lebanon's internal divisions to deepen its crises. Meanwhile, LBCI has learned that during his recent visit to Beirut, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, met with Hezbollah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc chief Mohammad Raad, senior Hezbollah aide Hussein Khalil, representatives of the Amal Movement, and Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, deputy head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council. The meeting, according to sources, was intended to underscore Iran's ongoing support for Hezbollah and to reassure Lebanon's Shiite community that it is not abandoned. Attention now turns to the Lebanese Army's plan, set to be discussed in the Cabinet on September 2. Can the government agree on a practical framework to ensure the state's monopoly over weapons, or will political divisions stall the process and risk dragging Lebanon into another conflict?

Report: Aoun to ask Barrack to implement some of Lebanon's demands
Naharnet/August 17, 2025
President Joseph Aoun insists on implementing the government’s decisions on arms monopolization and his firmness is not aimed at clashing with any component, Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper quoted his visitors as saying. “The Lebanese presidency will propose to U.S. envoy Tom Barrack -- who will be joined by Morgan Ortagus on his visit to Beirut on Monday -- that some of the Lebanese demands be achieved, especially as to the Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory and securing the northern border with Syria, while acknowledging in advance that a full Israeli withdrawal seems to be unlikely,” the visitors added.

Mistrust and fear: The complex story behind strained Syria-Lebanon relations
BASSEM MROUE/Associated Press/August 17, 2025
BEIRUT (AP) — A lot has happened in just a year on both sides of the Lebanon-Syria border. A lightning offensive by Islamist insurgents in Syria toppled longtime autocrat Bashar Assad and brought a new government in place in Damascus. In Lebanon, a bruising war with Israel dealt a serious blow to Hezbollah — the Iran-backed and Assad-allied Shiite Lebanese militant group that had until recently been a powerful force in the Middle East — and a U.S.-negotiated deal has brought a fragile ceasefire. Still, even after the fall of the 54-year Assad family rule, relations between Beirut and Damascus remain tense — as they have been for decades past, with Syria long failing to treat its smaller neighbor as a sovereign nation.
Recent skirmishes along the border have killed and wounded several people, both fighters and civilians, including a four-year-old Lebanese girl. Beirut and Damascus have somewhat coordinated on border security, but attempts to reset political relations have been slow. Despite visits to Syria by two heads of Lebanon's government, no Syrian official has visited Lebanon.
Here is what's behind the complicated relations.
A coldness that goes way back
Many Syrians have resented Hezbollah for wading into Syria's civil war in defense of Assad's government. Assad's fall sent them home, but many Lebanese now fear cross-border attacks by Syria's Islamic militants.
There are new restrictions on Lebanese entering Syria, and Lebanon has maintained tough restrictions on Syrians entering Lebanon. The Lebanese also fear that Damascus could try to bring Lebanon under a new Syrian tutelage. Syrians have long seen Lebanon as a staging ground for anti-Syria activities, including hosting opposition figures before Hafez Assad — Bashar Assad's father — ascended to power in a bloodless 1970 coup. In 1976, Assad senior sent his troops to Lebanon, allegedly to bring peace as Lebanon was hurtling into a civil war that lasted until 1990. Once that ended, Syrian forces — much like a colonial power — remained in Lebanon for another 15 years.
A signature of the Assad family rule, Syria's dreaded security agents disappeared and tortured dissidents to keep the country under their control. They did the same in Lebanon.
“Syrians feel that Lebanon is the main gateway for conspiracies against them,” says Lebanese political analyst Ali Hamadeh.
Turbulent times
It took until 2008 for the two countries to agree to open diplomatic missions, marking Syria's first official recognition of Lebanon as an independent state since it gained independence from France in 1943. The move came after the 2005 truck-bombing assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that many blamed on Damascus. Two months later, Syria pulled its troops out of Lebanon under international pressure, ending 29 years of near-complete domination of its neighbor.
When Syria’s own civil war erupted in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled across the border, making crisis-hit Lebanon the host of the highest per capita population of refugees in the world. Once in Lebanon, the refugees complained about discrimination, including curfews for Syrian citizens in some areas. Hezbollah, meanwhile, rushed thousands of its fighters into Syria in 2013 to shore up Assad, worried that its supply lines from Iran could dry up.
And as much as the Lebanese are divided over their country’s internal politics, Syria's war divided them further into those supporting Assad's government and those opposing it.
Distrust and deadlock
A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus is asking Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials say Beirut won't release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately. In July, family members of the detainees rallied along a border crossing, demanding their relatives be freed. The protest came amid reports that Syrian troops could deploy foreign fighters in Lebanon, which Damascus officials denied.
Another obstacle is Lebanon’s demand that Syrian refugees go back home now that Assad is gone. About 716,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the U.N. refugee agency, while hundreds of thousands more are unregistered in Lebanon, which has a population of about 5 million. Syria is also demanding the return of billions of dollars worth of deposits of Syrians trapped in Lebanese banks since Lebanon's historic financial meltdown in 2019.
The worst post-Assad border skirmishes came in mid-March, when Syrian authorities said Hezbollah members crossed the border and kidnapped and killed three Syrian soldiers. The Lebanese government and army said the clash was between smugglers and that Hezbollah wasn't involved. Days later, Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers flew to Saudi Arabia and signed an agreement on border demarcation and boosting their coordination.
In July, rumors spread in Lebanon, claiming the northern city of Tripoli would be given to Syria in return for Syria giving up the Golan Heights to Israel. And though officials dismissed the rumors, they illustrate the level of distrust between the neighbors.
Beirut was also angered by Syria's appointment this year of a Lebanese army officer — Abdullah Shehadeh, who defected in 2014 from Lebanon to join Syrian insurgents — as the head of security in Syria’s central province of Homs that borders northeastern Lebanon.
In Syria, few were aware of Shehadeh’s real name — he was simply known by his nom de guerre, Abu Youssef the Lebanese. Syrian security officials confirmed the appointment.
What's ahead
Analysts say an important step would be for the two neighbors to work jointly to boost security against cross-border smuggling. A U.S.-backed plan that was recently adopted by the Lebanese government calls for moving toward full demarcation of the border.
Radwan Ziadeh, a senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, says the best way forward would be for Syria and Lebanon to address each problem between them individually — not as a package deal. That way, tensions would be reduced gradually, he said and downplayed recent comments by prominent Syrian anti-Assad figures who claimed Lebanon is part of Syria and should return to it. “These are individual voices that do not represent the Syrian state,” Zaideh said.

PM Salam says Lebanese state has reclaimed decisions of war and peace
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 17, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed that the Lebanese state has restored the decisions of war and peace.“These decisions are now being taken in Beirut, at cabinet, not anywhere else,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat in an extensive interview, the first installment of which was published on Saturday. “No one is making dictates to us, not from Tehran or Washington,” he added. Moreover, he underlined the right of the people to hold protests – a reference to Hezbollah supporters rallying against the government’s decision to disarm the Iran-backed group and limit the possession of weapons in the country to the state. Salam said however, that protesters should not block main roads, including the one leading to Lebanon’s only functional airport in Beirut. Asked if he believed that the Shiite ministers would resign from cabinet in wake of the decision to disarm Hezbollah, which is Shiite, he responded: “The government is united, but that does not mean that all of its 24 ministers share the same opinion over everything.”If consensus is not reached over an issue, then disputes and differences are resolved through a vote and other constitutional measures, he explained.
“We are not opposed to anyone turning to the streets to express their views. (...) We respect the right to have a different opinion. But we draw the line at blocking roads. It is forbidden to impede the freedom of movement of the Lebanese people, especially in heading to vital areas, such as the airport or international highway,” he said. Salam noted that several attempts to block the airport road have been successfully thwarted by the army.
Asked if he has been advised in recent weeks to increase his personal security, the PM replied: “I have a deep sense that the majority of the Lebanese people have confidence in our government. I am acting on this trust and my conscience is clear. I believe that any threats are being made by a small fraction of the Lebanese or some unruly people.” On US special envoy Tom Barrak’s upcoming highly anticipated visit to Lebanon in wake of the disarmament decision, Salam said the envoy had presented the government with a proposal, which was in turn submitted to cabinet. “The cabinet actually received an amended version of the proposals – a ‘Lebanonized’ version,” the PM explained. “Not a single patriotic Lebanese citizen can be opposed to the goals listed in the proposal that was adopted by the cabinet.”He revealed that he along with President Joseph Aoun and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had direct input in the final drafting of the approved goals. “No one is opposed to the first article on ending the hostilities immediately. No one is opposed to the complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories. No one is opposed to the return of the displaced people to their villages in the South. No one is opposed to the release of Lebanese detainees by Israel. No one is opposed to reconstruction and holding an international donor conference,” he stressed.
“Let them stop challenging the government about these issues. You are Lebanese. You have read the proposals. Tell me, what issues do you oppose? Let any Lebanese citizen tell me which articles they oppose. Does anyone oppose the international conference? Does anyone oppose the Israeli withdrawal? Does anyone oppose the return of the detainees or displaced? So why this uproar over the government decision?” he asked.
Asharq Al-Awsat countered that perhaps the uproar stems from removing Lebanon from the military conflict with Israel, to which Salam responded: “Lebanon was supposed to be removed from this equation with the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701. That was around 20 years ago.”The ceasefire agreement last November and the government’s policy statement only consolidate the resolution, he stated.
“Who doesn’t want to get out of the military conflict with Israel? Up until the year 2000, the resistance (Hezbollah), which I salute, was the main actor in this conflict. Before that, other groups were involved, such as the Communist Party and Communist Action Organization in Lebanon.”“Hezbollah was the main player in making the enemy withdraw from our occupied territories in 2000. Unfortunately, after that, we spent years discussing whether to deploy the army to the South or not. Why should it even be a contentious debate to allow the army to deploy in its land in the South to protect our people?” he wondered.
The deployment was met with objections and then doubts were raised about the army, continued the PM. “This was a wasted opportunity. The same thing happened with the decisions of war and peace. How could a decision be taken to drag Lebanon to a ‘support war’ (with Gaza)? This never should have happened. The state did not have a say in it,” he said. “The decisions of war and peace have today returned to the state,” he declared. “Only we decide when to wage a war or not. This does not mean that weapons exist outside the authority of the state. We are now concerned with how to have state monopoly over them.”
War and peace
Asharq Al-Awsat said that the state’s reclaiming of the decisions of war and peace effectively means that “Lebanon has been taken out of the (Resistance) axis that has existed for decades.”“Yes, I know that,” replied Salam. “They used to brag about certain issues, like saying Tehran controls four Arab capitals. I believe that that time is over. Lebanon’s decisions are being taken from Beirut, at cabinet, not anywhere else. No one dictates to us what to do; not from Tehran or Washington.” “Is that what you told (Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali) Larijani?” asked Asharq Al-Awsat.
“I issued a statement to clarify the discussions that we had. Of course, I strongly reproached him for the Iranian criticism of the Lebanese government’s disarmament decision,” said the PM. “I informed him that balanced relations between countries, especially between us and Iran, should be based on mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs.”“We have never allowed ourselves to meddle in Iranian internal affairs. I have never stated that I support one side against the other in Iran. I do not express my opinions on Iranian affairs. I do not express my views about Iran’s defense strategy or internal politics. What I am asking of Iran and any other party is to not meddle in our internal affairs.”“Statements have been made, and unfortunately, some threatened the government. I told Larijani that this is completely unacceptable in any way, shape or form,” he stressed.
Relations with Washington
Turning to ties with Washington, Asharq Al-Awsat asked if Beirut was receiving the aspired backing from it, to which Salam replied: “Of course not. We had hoped and want to have greater support in making the Israeli enemy withdraw completely from Lebanese territories and stop its daily violations. The United States is the side that is most capable of influencing Israel and it is not doing that enough.” “I do not feel useless when I hear an Israeli drone flying over Lebanon. I know that today I am incapable of preventing them from flying over Lebanon, but I do not want to embark on a new military adventure. What I can do is garner enough political and diplomatic support to stop these flights and Israel’s hostile acts. We have not reached that goal yet, but more contacts are needed with our Arab brothers, who are effective players on the international arena. Similar contacts are needed with the Europeans and the US,” he added. He revealed that Barrack’s proposals demand that the US and France pressure Israel to pull out of Lebanon. “This is a positive point that I am revealing for the first time. Israel, meanwhile, has not committed to Barrack’s proposals. We are,” he stressed. PM Salam meets with Ali Larijani at the Grand Serail in Beirut on August 13. (EPA)
Moreover, Salam stated that the proposals stipulate that Israel would incur some form of penalty if it does not commit to the withdrawal. All parties involved will incur penalties for failing to meet their commitments. For Israel, the penalty would be condemnation by the Security Council, which would be a precedent. The US may actually be ready to condemn Israel for failing to respect its end of the deal. Asked if Washington had broached the subject of holding negotiations to establish peace between Lebanon and Israel, Salam responded: “Our position is known and clear. The Arab Peace Initiative was adopted during the Beirut summit in 2002. We have no intention of engaging in normalization negotiations or anything of the sort beyond the initiative. This is our plain and simple answer whenever the Americans or others bring up the issue.”
“There is a need, now more than ever, to implement the initiative,” he urged. Asked about what Lebanon will demand from Barrack during his visit, Salam said he “must guarantee that Israel cease its hostile operations and start withdrawing from Lebanese territories, especially the five points, as stipulated in his proposals.”The PM added that Speaker Berri was involved in the discussions between him, Aoun and Barrack. “He had reservations about some issues, but was part of the discussions at various points. Aoun, Berri and I introduced amendments to the proposals.”
Relations with Iran
“Do you fear that relations may be severed with Iran?” asked Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Iran is a big country and we boast historic relations with it. I informed Larijani that these relations existed before the establishment of the Islamic Republic. (...) We are very keen on ties between Lebanon and Iran. Iran is among the most important neighbors to the Arab world. We want balanced relations similar to the ones with other neighbors,” Salam said. Asharq Al-Awsat added: “Iran is the greatest loser with the change that had taken place in Syria. Perhaps it wants to compensate for this loss by maintaining its influence in Lebanon?”
Salam said: “We have an interest in having the best relations with Iran. The other Arab countries share this same interest. Were this not the case, Saudi Arabia would not have reached the Beijing agreement with Iran.”
Pending issues with Syria
Turning to relations with Syria, Salam was asked about his meeting with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus earlier this year. He replied: “I told him that we have long suffered from Syria’s interference in our internal affairs. We are pleased with the change that has happened in Syria. I am also aware that they have suffered from the meddling by some Lebanese parties in their country.”“We have both suffered. We are now ready to open a new chapter in Lebanese-Syrian relations based on mutual respect and non-interference in the affairs of the other,” the PM stressed. The pending issues that exist between the two neighbors can only be resolved through joint efforts between them, he continued. “Progress has already been made over cross-border smuggling, especially the smuggling of drugs and weapons. The drugs were being smuggled to the Gulf, which has tarnished Lebanon’s image.”
He said that “major cooperation” was taking place over this issue and it has been sponsored by Saudi Arabia through a meeting between the defense ministers in Jeddah. Furthermore, Salam added that efforts were ongoing with Syria over securing their shared border. Other issues remain pending, such as Syrian detainees held in Lebanon. “We are ready to discuss the issue with our Syrian brothers to reach a serious solution to this file. I informed them of this during my visit to Damascus. I reiterated this to Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani when we met in Baghdad on the sidelines of the Arab summit.”
“We are both eager to put this file behind us. There is also the issue of Syria refugees in Lebanon. This should be resolved between us and the Syrians and concerned international organizations,” he went on to say. Tens of thousands of Syrians have already returned home in recent months. “We have declared that we support their safe and dignified return,” he remarked. Salam added that he requested from Sharaa any information Syrian authorities have over “internal issues that greatly concern Lebanon,” such as the case of the bombing of two mosques in the northern city of Tripoli in 2013 and the 2020 Beirut Port blast.
“Sharaa was very understanding of the requests. I believe we have a new opportunity with the new rulers in Syria to not just put the old relations between us, but to build a balanced relationship with our Syrian brothers,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Asked about how he felt when he saw Sharaa seated at the presidential palace in Damascus instead of Bashar al-Assad, Salam replied: “I used to be Lebanon’s ambassador to the UN when Assad was in his post. Our position remains the same: We want for Syria what its own people want for it. We support what the Syrian people choose. We want to close the Assad chapter; Lebanon suffered a lot from it.”
Ties with Saudi Arabia
“What about relations with Saudi Arabia?” asked Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Lebanon and Saudi Arabia enjoy historic relations,” he said, citing its major role in the Taif Accords that helped end Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war. He also singled out Prince Saud al-Faisal and his role in the Accords. Ties between the two countries stretch before the agreement. “The issue isn’t just about bilateral relations. The Kingdom is now a major Arab Islamic international player,” stressed Salam. “We are very keen on relations with the Kingdom and are seeking the greatest support from it in terms of pressuring Iran or supporting Lebanon in its reconstruction and attracting investments.” He hoped that Saudi Arabia would soon lift its ban on its citizens from traveling to Lebanon. “We can’t say that we have returned to the Arab world; the Arab world must also return to Lebanon. The lifting of the ban would be a very significant development.”The PM also acknowledged the concerns over the smuggling of drugs to Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s ensuing decision to bar imports from Lebanon. Salam hoped that this issue would be resolved soon given that authorities have adopted tougher measures at various land and marine crossings. “We do not want to smuggle captagon or other illicit material. This damages our image before it harms the Saudis and others. Lebanon’s image has already been tarnished. Our country used to export books, ideas and engineers to the Arab world. This is the image that we want to restore,” Salam said. Turning to the Gulf countries, he stressed that he is proud of the strides they have made and the accomplishments they have achieved, “but at the same time, we lament the opportunities we have wasted.”“Lebanon can be a natural partner to their rise,” he went on to say. He also noted the vision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, who wants to take the Arab world and Kingdom to “not just the 21st Century but its second half through investments in AI and technology.” “Lebanon, through its universities and human capabilities, is a natural partner to this renaissance project,” he declared.
War on corruption
Returning to Lebanon, Asharq Al-Awsat asked whether the “war on corruption has started.” Salam said it is already underway. Two ministers are being persecuted, and one has been jailed on corruption charges. The other, unfortunately, managed to flee the country.
He noted that former public employees and judges are being persecuted for corruption. “I am aware of how much Lebanon has suffered in recent years from the looting of public funds and waste that has taken place in several state sectors. We have a project to rebuild the country, which demands a number of issues that are founded on reforms.”Asked if he regrets becoming prime minister, Salam said: “I have been concerned with public affairs for dozens of years. I grew up in a family that is concerned in public affairs. I have written extensively about reforms in Lebanon. I saw an opportunity and seized it so that I can translate into reality the ambitious reform pledges of this (Aoun’s) term.”“I was encouraged by Aoun’s swearing in speech. I am today seeking to implement whatever I can,” he revealed. Asked about online campaigns against him, the PM explained that they are being waged by thousands of bots. “They aren’t even real people. They accuse me of treason and of being a Zionist. Does anyone really believe these claims? Do I need to prove my loyalty to my nation or my stances against Israel? I forgive those making the accusations because they themselves know that they are not true.”
“However, I do not forgive those who are manipulating their supporters with such claims. This is very dangerous, not because of the personal injury to me – I don’t care about that – but because it could lead to civil strife in the country,” he warned. “Those intimidating us with civil war should first concern themselves with removing the weapons that are the source of this strife,” he demanded. “I sought last week to defuse tensions, but then came another party to stoke civil tensions by accusing me of being a Zionist and rallying their supporters. Let them cease such behavior, which only pits the people against each other. I am confident that the majority of the Lebanese people agree with me,” he said.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 17-18/2025
Israel says struck Houthi 'energy infrastructure site' in Yemen
Agence France Presse/August 17, 2025
Israel's military said Sunday it struck an "energy infrastructure site" in Yemen used by the Houthi rebels, the latest action against the Iran-backed group which has launched attacks at Israel throughout the Gaza war. A military statement said Israeli forces "struck... deep inside Yemen, targeting an energy infrastructure site that served the Houthi terrorist regime" in the area of Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, without naming the site. The Houthis' Al-Masirah TV, citing a civil defense source, reported "an aggression targeting the Haziz power plant" south of Sanaa. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Since the October 2023 start of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel, claiming to act in solidarity with the Palestinians. Most Houthi attacks have been intercepted, but have prompted Israeli air strikes on rebel targets in Yemen. The military said its latest "strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks" by the Houthis. On Thursday Israel said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, with the Houthis later claiming responsibility for it. Beyond attacks on Israel, the Houthis have also targeted alleged Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden off Yemen. The Iran-backed group broadened its campaign to target ships tied to the United States and Britain after the two countries began military strikes aimed at securing the waterway in January 2024. In May, the rebels cemented a ceasefire with the United States that ended weeks of intense U.S. strikes, but vowed to continue targeting Israeli ships.

Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 18
AFP/August 17, 2025
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Sunday, including seven people shot dead while waiting to collect food aid. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that seven people were killed in an Israeli drone strike that hit a hospital courtyard in Gaza City, in the territory’s north. Witnesses said the victims were members of a Hamas unit, which a source from the Palestinian militant group described as responsible for distributing aid and “fighting thieves.”There was no comment from the Israeli military, which is preparing a broader offensive in Gaza City and has sent ground forces to the city’s Zeitun neighborhood in recent days. After more than 22 months of war, UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in Gaza, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in and convoys have been repeatedly looted. Witnesses on Sunday reported Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into the morning. Bassal said four people were killed in a strike that hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the southern area of Khan Yunis. The civil defense spokesman said Israel continues its intense bombardment of Gaza City’s Zeitun, where troops have carried out a ground operation for the past week.He said there were many casualties, but civil defense crews were facing “enormous difficulties reaching those trapped under the rubble” due to the ongoing violence and lack of equipment.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swaths of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency or the Israeli military. Israel on Saturday hinted at an approaching call to push civilians from Gaza City ahead of the new offensive demanded by the security cabinet. A defense ministry statement said that “as part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume.” Hamas later slammed the move, saying the announcement was part of a “brutal assault to occupy Gaza City.”On the ground on Sunday, Bassal said six people were killed by Israeli gunfire near an aid distribution point in the south. Another person was killed near an aid site in central Gaza, Bassal added, with a nearby hospital saying the body had been taken there. The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,897 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.

Israeli police use water cannons, arrest dozens as protesters demand hostage deal
AP/August 17, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israeli police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests on Sunday as protesters demanding a hostage deal escalated their campaign Sunday with a one-day nationwide strike that blocked roads and closed businesses.
The “day of stoppage” was organized by two groups representing some of the families of hostages and bereaved families, weeks after militant groups released videos of emaciated hostages and Israel announced plans for a new offensive.
Protesters fear further fighting could endanger the hostages who were seized by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 – the attack that triggered the war – and are believed to still be alive in captivity. Israel believes that some 20 are still alive, with Hamas holding the remains of about 30 others.
“We don’t win a war over the bodies of hostages,” protesters chanted.They gathered at dozens of points throughout Israel, including outside politicians’ homes, military headquarters and on major highways, where they were sprayed with water cannons as they blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theaters closed in solidarity. In Tel Aviv, among the protesters was a woman carrying a photo of an emaciated child from Gaza. Such images were once rare at Israeli demonstrations but now appear more often as outrage grows over conditions there. Police said they had arrested 38 people as part of the nationwide demonstration – one of the fiercest since the uproar over six hostages found dead in Gaza last September. “Military pressure doesn’t bring hostages back – it only kills them,” former hostage Arbel Yehoud said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv’s hostage square. “The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.”
Netanyahu and allies oppose any deal that leaves Hamas in power
“Today, we stop everything to save and bring back the hostages and soldiers. Today, we stop everything to remember the supreme value of the sanctity of life,” said Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest. “Today, we stop everything to join hands – right, left, center and everything in between.”
Protesters at highway intersections handed out yellow ribbons, the symbol that represents the hostages, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which organized the stoppage, said.Still, an end to the conflict does not appear near. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the immediate release of the hostages but is balancing competing pressures, haunted by the potential for mutiny within his coalition. “Those who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’s position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will be repeated,” Netanyahu said on Sunday, in an apparent reference to the demonstrations. The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released hostages, far-right members of his cabinet threatened to topple Netanyahu’s government.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday called the stoppage “a bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas’ hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardize its security and future.”

Hamas rejects Israel’s Gaza relocation plan
Reuters/August 17, 2025
CAIRO: Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s Gaza relocation plan constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area. The group said the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment by Israel in southern Gaza Strip was a “blatant deception.”

Protests held across Israel calling for end to Gaza war, hostage deal
AFP/August 17, 2025
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Sunday, including seven people shot dead while waiting to collect food aid. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that seven people were killed in an Israeli drone strike that hit a hospital courtyard in Gaza City, in the territory’s north. Witnesses said the victims were members of a Hamas unit, which a source from the Palestinian militant group described as responsible for distributing aid and “fighting thieves.”There was no comment from the Israeli military, which is preparing a broader offensive in Gaza City and has sent ground forces to the city’s Zeitun neighborhood in recent days. After more than 22 months of war, UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in Gaza, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in and convoys have been repeatedly looted. Witnesses on Sunday reported Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into the morning.Bassal said four people were killed in a strike that hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the southern area of Khan Yunis. The civil defense spokesman said Israel continues its intense bombardment of Gaza City’s Zeitun, where troops have carried out a ground operation for the past week. He said there were many casualties, but civil defense crews were facing “enormous difficulties reaching those trapped under the rubble” due to the ongoing violence and lack of equipment.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swaths of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency or the Israeli military. Israel on Saturday hinted at an approaching call to push civilians from Gaza City ahead of the new offensive demanded by the security cabinet. A defense ministry statement said that “as part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume.”Hamas later slammed the move, saying the announcement was part of a “brutal assault to occupy Gaza City.”On the ground on Sunday, Bassal said six people were killed by Israeli gunfire near an aid distribution point in the south. Another person was killed near an aid site in central Gaza, Bassal added, with a nearby hospital saying the body had been taken there. The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,897 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.

Iraq starts work on Daesh mass grave thought to contain thousands
AFP/August 17, 2025
BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities have begun excavating the site of a mass grave believed to contain thousands of victims of the Daesh group near Mosul city, the project’s director said on Sunday. The first phase, which was launched on August 10, includes surface-level excavation at the Khasfa site, director Ahmed Assadi said. An AFP correspondent visiting the site in northern Iraq on Sunday said the team unearthed human skulls buried in the sand. Khasfa is located near Mosul, where Daesh had established the capital of their self-declared “caliphate” before being defeated in Iraq in late 2017. Assadi said that there were no precise figures for the numbers of victims buried there – one of dozens of mass graves Daesh left behind in Iraq – but a UN report from 2018 said Khasfa was likely the country’s largest. Official estimates put the number of bodies buried at the site at least 4,000, with the possibility of thousands more. The project director said the victims buried there include “soldiers executed by Daesh,” members of the Yazidi minority and residents of Mosul. Exhuming the bodies from Khasfa is particularly difficult, Assadi said, as underground sulfur water makes the earth very porous. The water may have also eroded the human remains, complicating DNA identification of victims, he added. Assadi said further studies will be required before his team can dig deeper and exhume bodies at the site – a sinkhole about 150-meter (nearly 500-foot) deep and 110-meter wide. Iraqi authorities said it was the site of “one of the worst massacres” committed by Daesh militants, executing 280 in a single day in 2016, many of them interior ministry employees. In a lightning advance that began in 2014, Daesh had seized large swathes Iraq and neighboring Syria, enforcing a strict interpretation of Islamic law and committing widespread abuses. The United Nations estimates the militants left behind more than 200 mass graves which might contain as many as 12,000 bodies. In addition to Daesh-era mass graves, Iraqi authorities continue to unearth such sites dating to the rule of Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion in 2003.

Jordan opens field hospital in Gaza
Arab News/August 17, 2025
AMMAN: A new Jordanian field hospital began operating in Gaza on Sunday, providing medical and therapeutic services across multiple specialties as part of the kingdom’s continued support for the health sector in the Palestinian enclave, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The commander of the Jordanian Field Hospital Gaza/83 said medical teams immediately set up clinics and equipped them with the necessary devices to begin operations. The facility includes departments for general medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, dentistry, pediatrics, internal medicine and pre-operative care. Gazans expressed appreciation for Jordan’s ongoing assistance, noting that medical and humanitarian aid delivered through airdrops and ground convoys has helped ease their suffering amid Israel’s invasion, JNA added.

Suicide bomber detonates explosive belt in Syria's Aleppo, no other casualties: State TV
Reuters/August 17, 2025
A suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, killing himself but causing no other casualties, state news agency SANA said.
The blast occurred near a bakery in the city's al-Maysar neighborhood, a security source told SANA.

Syrian president says unifying country ‘should not be with blood’
AFP/August 17, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has said the battle to unify his country after years of civil war “should not be with blood,” rejecting any partition and accusing Israel of meddling in the south. His remarks, released by state TV on Sunday, came as hundreds demonstrated in south Syria’s Sweida province, denouncing sectarian violence last month and calling for the right to self-determination for the Druze-majority province. “We still have another battle ahead of us to unify Syria, and it should not be with blood and military force... it should be through some kind of understanding because Syria is tired of war,” Sharaa said during a dialogue session involving notables from the northwest province of Idlib and other senior officials. “I do not see Syria as at risk of division. Some people desire a process of dividing Syria and trying to establish cantons... this matter is impossible,” he said according to a recording of the meeting, distributed overnight by state media. “Some parties seek to gain power through regional power, Israel or others. This is also extremely difficult and cannot be implemented,” he said. At the protest in Sweida, some demonstrators waved the Israeli flag and called for self-determination for the region. A week of bloodshed in Sweida began on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin, but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces, with Israel also carrying out strikes. Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze, including summary executions. Sharaa said that Sweida “witnessed many violations from all sides... some members of the security forces and army in Syria also carried out some violations.”The state is required “to hold all perpetrators of violations to account,” whatever their affiliation, he added. “Israel is intervening directly in Sweida, seeking to implement policies aimed at weakening the state in general or finding excuses to interfere in ongoing policies in the southern region,” Sharaa said. Israel, which has its own Druze community, has said it has acted to defend the minority group as well as enforce its demands for the demilitarization of southern Syria. Syria’s new authorities are also in talks with a semi-autonomous Kurdish administration that runs swathes of the country’s north and northeast and has called for decentralization, which Damascus has rejected. Implementation of a March 10 deal on integrating the Kurds’ semi-autonomous civil and military institutions into the state has been held up by differences between the parties. “We are now discussing the mechanisms for implementation” of the deal, Sharaa said.

Jordan, US forces launch ‘Dragon Eye’ field drill to counter WMD threats
Arab News/August 17, 2025
AMMAN: The Jordanian army on Sunday launched its “Dragon Eye” field exercise at the Chemical Support Group of the Royal Engineering Corps, the Jordan News Agency reported. The drill is being held in cooperation with the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Oak Ridge National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy, under the Jordan-US program to counter weapons of mass destruction, JNA added. According to a Jordanian army statement, the exercise aims to strengthen national response to nuclear and radiological incidents, identify gaps in security systems, and improve procedures for handling unconventional threats.It also seeks to enhance coordination and interoperability between Jordanian and US forces. The drill included field scenarios simulating nuclear and radiological threats, designed to build practical skills and facilitate the exchange of technical expertise among participants. The army said the exercise reflects its commitment to boosting operational readiness, keeping pace with scientific and technological developments, and contributing to national, regional, and international security.

European, NATO leaders to join Ukraine’s Zelensky for meeting with Trump
AP/August 18, 2025
KYIV, Ukraine: European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they will join President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington to present a united front in talks with President Donald Trump on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and firming up US security guarantees now on the negotiating table. Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland are rallying around the Ukrainian president after his exclusion from Trump’s summit on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their pledge to be at Zelensky’s side at the White House on Monday is an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump berated Zelensky in a heated Oval Office encounter. “The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelensky to the hilt,” said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France’s military mission at the United Nations. “It’s a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump,” he said. Putin agreed at his summit in Alaska with Trump that the US and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war, special US envoy Steve Witkoff said in an interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”It “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that,” said Witkoff, who called it “game-changing.”Later, French President Emmanuel Macron said the European delegation will ask Trump to back plans they drafted to beef-up Ukraine’s armed forces — already Europe’s largest outside of Russia — with more training and equipment to secure any peace. “We need a credible format for the Ukrainian army, that’s the first point, and say — we Europeans and Americans — how we’ll train them, equip them, and finance this effort in the long-term,” the French leader said. The European-drafted plans also envision an allied force in Ukraine away from the front lines to reassure Kyiv that peace will hold and to dissuade another Russian invasion, Macron said. He spoke after a nearly two-hour video call Sunday with nations in Europe and further afield — including Canada, Australia and Japan — that are involved in the so-called “coalition of the willing.”The “several thousand men on the ground in Ukraine in the zone of peace” would signal that “our fates are linked,” Macron said.
“This is what we must discuss with the Americans: Who is ready to do what?” Macron said. “Otherwise, I think the Ukrainians simply cannot accept commitments that are theoretical.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier at a news conference in Brussels with Zelensky that “we welcome President Trump’s willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. And the ‘coalition of the willing’ — including the European Union — is ready to do its share.”Macron said the substance of security guarantees will be more important than whether they are given an Article 5-type label.
“A theoretical article isn’t enough, the question is one of substance,” he said. “We must start out by saying that the first of the security guarantees for Ukraine is a strong Ukrainian army.”Along with Von der Leyen and Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also said they’ll will take part in Monday’s talks, as will secretary-general of the NATO military alliance, Mark Rutte. The European leaders’ support could help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Ukraine risks being railroaded into a peace deal. Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said European leaders are trying to “shape this fast-evolving agenda.” After the Alaska summit, the idea of a ceasefire appears all-but-abandoned, with the narrative shifting toward Putin’s agenda of ensuring Ukraine does not join NATO or even the EU. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that a possible ceasefire is “not off the table” but that the best way to end the war would be through a “full peace deal.” Putin has implied that he sees Europe as a hindrance to negotiations. He has also resisted meeting Zelensky in person, saying that such a meeting can only take place once the groundwork for a peace deal has been laid. Speaking to the press after his meeting with Trump, the Russian leader raised the idea that Kyiv and other European capitals could “create obstacles” to derail potential progress with “behind-the-scenes intrigue.”For now, Zelensky offers the Europeans the “only way” to get into the discussions about the future of Ukraine and European security, says RUSI’s Melvin.
However, the sheer number of European leaders potentially in attendance means the group will have to be “mindful” not to give “contradictory” messages, Melvin said. “The risk is they look heavy-handed and are ganging up on Trump,” he added. “Trump won’t want to be put in a corner.”Although details remain hazy on what Article 5-like security guarantees from the US and Europe would entail for Ukraine, it could mirror NATO membership terms, in which an attack on one member of the alliance is seen as an attack on all. Zelensky continues to stress the importance of both US and European involvement in any negotiations. “A security guarantee is a strong army. Only Ukraine can provide that. Only Europe can finance this army, and weapons for this army can be provided by our domestic production and European production. But there are certain things that are in short supply and are only available in the United States,” he said at the press conference Sunday alongside Von der Leyen. Zelensky also pushed back against Trump’s assertion — which aligned with Putin’s preference — that the two sides should negotiate a complete end to the war, rather than first securing a ceasefire. Zelensky said a ceasefire would provide breathing room to review Putin’s demands. “It’s impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons,” he said. “Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it.”

Trump drops Ukraine ceasefire demand after Putin summit
AFP/August 17, 2025
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump on Saturday dropped his push for a ceasefire in Ukraine in favor of pursuing a full peace accord — a major shift announced hours after his summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin yielded no clear breakthrough. Prior to the high-stakes meeting in Alaska, securing an immediate cessation of hostilities had been a core demand of Trump — who had threatened “severe consequences” on Russia — and European leaders, including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, who will now visit Washington on Monday. The shift away from ceasefire would seem to favor Putin, who has long argued for negotiations on a final peace deal — a strategy that Ukraine and its European allies have criticized as a way to buy time and press Russia’s battlefield advances. Trump spoke with Zelensky and European leaders on his flight back to Washington, saying afterward that “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement which would end the war.”Ceasefire agreements “often times do not hold up,” Trump added on his Truth Social platform.
Complicated
This new development “complicates the situation,” Zelensky said Saturday. If Moscow lacks “the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater — peaceful coexistence with its neighbors for decades,” he said on social media.In the call, Trump expressed support for a proposal by Putin to take full control of two largely Russian-held Ukrainian regions in exchange for freezing the frontline in two others, an official briefed on the talks told AFP. Putin “de facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas,” an area consisting of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, the source said. In exchange, Russian forces would halt their offensive in the Black Sea port region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, where the main cities are still under Ukrainian control. Several months into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia in September 2022 claimed to have annexed all four Ukrainian regions even though its troops still do not fully control any of them. “The Ukrainian president refused to leave Donbas,” the source said. Trump notably also said the United States was prepared to provide Ukraine security guarantees, an assurance German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed as “significant progress.” But there was a scathing assessment of the summit outcome from the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, who accused Putin of seeking to “drag out negotiations” with no commitment to end the bloodshed.“The harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war any time soon,” Kallas said.
Onus now on Zelensky
The main diplomatic focus now switches to Zelensky’s talks at the White House on Monday. An EU source told AFP that a number of European leaders had also been invited to attend. The Ukrainian president’s last Oval Office visit in February ended in an extraordinary shouting match, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berating Zelensky for not showing enough gratitude for US aid. Zelensky said Saturday after a “substantive” conversation with Trump about the Alaska summit that he looked forward to his Washington visit and discussing “all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”In an interview with broadcaster Fox News after his sit-down with Putin, Trump had suggested that the onus was now on Zelensky to secure a peace deal as they work toward an eventual trilateral summit with Putin.
“It’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” Trump said.
‘Coalition of the willing’
The leaders of France, Britain and Germany are due to host a video call Sunday for their so-called “coalition of the willing” to discuss the way forward. In an earlier statement, they welcomed the plan for a Trump-Putin-Zelensky summit but added that they would maintain pressure on Russia in the absence of a ceasefire. Meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine raged on, with Kyiv announcing Saturday that Russia had launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile during the night. Back in Moscow, Putin said his summit talks with Trump had been “timely” and “very useful.”In his post-summit statement in Alaska, Putin had warned Ukraine and European countries not to engage in any “behind-the-scenes intrigues” that could disrupt what he called “this emerging progress.”

Putin agreed to let US, Europe offer NATO-style security protections for Ukraine: Trump envoy
AP/August 17, 2025
NEW YORK: Special US envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the US and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war. “We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He added that it “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that “we welcome President Trump’s willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine and the ‘Coalition of the willing’ — including the European Union — is ready to do its share.”Witkoff, offering some of the first details of what was discussed at Friday’s summit in Alaska, said the two sides agreeing to “robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing.” He added that Russia said that it would make a legislative commitment not to go after any additional territory in Ukraine. Zelensky thanked the United States for recent signals that Washington is willing to support security guarantees for Ukraine, but said the details remained unclear. “It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said, “But there are no details how it will work, and what America’s role will be, Europe’s role will be and what the EU can do, and this is our main task, we need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees.”Witkoff defended Trump’s decision to abandon his push for Russian to agree to an immediate ceasefire, saying the president had pivoted toward a peace deal because so much progress was made. “We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,” Witkoff said, without elaborating.“We began to see some moderation in the way they’re thinking about getting to a final peace deal,” he said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted there would be “additional consequences” as Trump warned before meeting with Putin, if they failed to reach a ceasefire. But Rubio noted that there wasn’t going to be any sort of deal on a truce reached when Ukraine wasn’t at the talks. “Now, ultimately, if there isn’t a peace agreement, if there isn’t an end of this war, the president’s been clear, there are going to be consequences,” Rubio said on ABC’s “This Week.” “But we’re trying to avoid that. And the way we’re trying to avoid those consequences is with an even better consequence, which is peace, the end of hostilities.” Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security adviser, said he did not believe issuing new sanctions on Russia would force Putin to accept a ceasefire, noting that the latter isn’t off the table but that “the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal.”“The minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to table will be severely diminished,” Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”He also said “we’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement” and that getting there would not be easy and would take a lot of work. “We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remains some big areas of disagreement. So we’re still a long ways off,” Rubio said. Zelensky and Europeans leaders are scheduled to meet Monday with Trump at the White House. They heard from the president after his meeting with Putin. “I think everybody agreed that we had made progress. Maybe not enough for a peace deal, but we are on the path for the first time,” Witkoff said. He added: “The fundamental issue, which is some sort of land swap, which is obviously ultimately in the control of the Ukrainians — that could not have been discussed at this meeting” with Putin. “We intend to discuss it on Monday. Hopefully we have some clarity on it and hopefully that ends up in a peace deal very, very soon.”

Trump-Putin summit: What we know
Agence France Presse/August 17, 2025
Here are the outcomes of a summit meeting on Ukraine between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, based on statements from Saturday:
No ceasefire -
Ukraine and European leaders had urged Trump to push for an immediate ceasefire, but this was not agreed to at the summit. Trump said it was determined by all that the best way to end the "horrific war... is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up".This stance appears to be a victory for Putin, whose army has made recent progress in eastern Ukraine and who has called for a peace deal that would address what he says are the "root causes" of the conflict, notably the prospect of NATO membership for Ukraine. According to Kyiv, Russian forces launched 85 drones and one missile at Ukraine overnight Friday to Saturday -- including during the meeting -- while Russia claimed to have taken two more villages in the east of Ukraine.
No 'severe consequences' -
Ahead of the summit, Trump had threatened "severe consequences" if Putin failed to agree to a ceasefire.Trump could impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on any country that helps Russia's war effort as part of so-called "secondary sanctions", according to Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham. But when asked about this by Fox News after the talks, Trump said that, "because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that now".
European leaders, meanwhile, said they would keep pressuring Russia, including with further sanctions, until "there is a just and lasting peace".
Nothing on land concessions -
Ukraine's biggest fear ahead of the Alaska summit was that the United States would push it to give up territories currently occupied by Russia, which comprise around 20 percent of its land, including Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Trump expressed support during a call with Zelensky and European leaders after the summit for a proposal by Putin to take full control of two largely Russian-held Ukrainian regions in exchange for freezing the frontline in two others, an official briefed on the talks told AFP.
Putin "de facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas," an area consisting of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, the source said. In exchange, Russian forces would halt their offensive in the Black Sea port region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, where the main cities are still under Ukrainian control.
Security guarantees -
Guarantees to secure any future peace deal were not mentioned in the Trump-Putin final declaration. But Trump told Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders that a NATO-style guarantee for Kyiv could be on the table, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and a diplomatic source said -- but without actual NATO membership for Ukraine. France, Britain and others said they could contribute troops as peace deal guarantors in Ukraine, but not on the frontline.
Possible three-way meeting -
Trump said he would meet Zelensky in Washington on Monday, and said three-way talks between himself, Putin and Zelensky could be scheduled later.He had said earlier that a deal to end the war depended on Zelensky alone. But Zelensky said that Russia refusing to accept a ceasefire "complicates the situation", and questioned its willingness to achieve a lasting peace.

Shooting in a crowded New York club leaves 3 dead despite record low gun violence
AP/August 17, 2025
NEW YORK: A club shooting in the New York City borough of Brooklyn early Sunday morning has left three people dead and nine others wounded in a year of record low gun violence in the city. Investigators believe up to four shooters opened fire with multiple weapons at Taste of the City Lounge in Crown Heights after a dispute just before 3:30 a.m. The violence appeared to be gang-related, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters. “It’s a terrible shooting that occurred in the city of New York,” Tisch said at a news briefing, later calling the killings “a tragic, senseless act of violence.”The crime is the second mass shooting within weeks in New York City during a year that has otherwise seen declining gun violence. On July 29, a man stalked through a Manhattan office tower with a rifle, wounding one person and killing four others. A New York City police officer was among those who died. Mayor Eric Adams said both recent shootings just reinforce “why we do this work of going after guns off our streets.” “This is the second within weeks, and we don’t want this to turn into a normal course of doing business of violence in our city,” he said. Those wounded Sunday were being treated at hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, Tisch said. The ages of the victims range from 19 to 61. A 19-year-old man died at the scene and two other men — ages 35 and 27 — died after being transported to a hospital. Investigators found at least 42 shell casings from 9 mm and .45-caliber weapons and a firearm in a nearby street. Adams said crisis management teams had been mobilized to provide trauma services and facilitate mediation efforts with the victims’ friends and families to try to stop any retaliation. He asked members of the public who might have information about the shooting to help investigators by calling NYPD’s crime stoppers line, 800-577-TIPS. “If you were inside the club, if you heard individuals talking about this shooting, if you witnessed someone fleeing the location, every piece of information will allow us to put the puzzle together,” Adams said. Tisch said the violence erupted even as the city has reported the lowest number of shootings and shooting victims on record during the first seven months of 2025. “Something like this is, of course, thank God, an anomaly and it’s a terrible thing that happened this morning, but we’re going to investigate and get to the bottom of what went down,” she said.

Pakistan defends flood response after over 270 people killed in northwestern district
AP/August 17, 2025
BUNER, Pakistan: Torrential rains triggered more flash floods in two villages in the Kathua district of Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least seven people and injuring five others overnight, officials said Sunday. In Kishtwar district, teams are continuing their efforts in the remote village of Chositi, looking for dozens of missing people after the area was hit by flash floods last week. At least 60 were killed and some 150 injured, about 50 of them critically. In Pakistan, authorities on Sunday defended their response to climate-induced flash floods that killed more than 270 people in a single northwestern district. Mohammad Suhail, a spokesman for the emergency service, said 54 bodies were found after hours-long efforts in Buner, a mountainous district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where torrential rains and cloudbursts triggered massive flooding on Friday. Similar cloudburst have also caused devastations in the Indian-administered Kashmir. Suhail said several villagers remain missing, and search efforts are focused on areas where homes were flattened by torrents of water that swept down from the mountains, carrying massive boulders that smashed into houses like explosions. Authorities have warned of more deluges and possible landslides between now and Tuesday, urging local administrations to remain on alert. Higher-than-normal monsoon rains have lashed the country since June 26 and killed more than 600.
More intense weather to come?
Residents in Buner have accused officials of failing to warn them to evacuate after torrential rain and cloudbursts triggered deadly flooding and landslides. There was no warning broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method in remote areas. The government said that while an early warning system was in place, the sudden downpour in Buner was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be alerted. Lt. Gen. Inam Haider, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, told a hastily convened news conference in Islamabad that Pakistan was experiencing shifting weather patterns because of climate change. Since the monsoon season began in June, Pakistan has already received 50 percent more rainfall than in the same period last year, he added. He warned that more intense weather could follow, with heavy rains forecast to continue this month. Asfandyar Khan Khattak, director-general of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said there was “no forecasting system anywhere in the world” that could predict the exact time and location of a cloudburst. Mohammad Iqbal, a schoolteacher in Pir Baba village, said the lack of a timely warning system caused casualties and forced many to flee their homes at the last moment. “Survivors escaped with nothing,” he said. “If people had been informed earlier, lives could have been saved and residents could have moved to safer places.”
People still missing
Idrees Mahsud, a disaster management official, said Pakistan’s early warning system used satellite imagery and meteorological data to send alerts to local authorities. These were shared through the media and community leaders. He said monsoon rains that once only swelled rivers now also triggered urban flooding. An emergency services spokesman in Buner, Mohammad Sohail, said more than half the damaged roads in the district had reopened by Sunday, allowing vehicles and heavy machinery to reach cut-off villages. Crews were clearing piles of rocks and mud dumped by the floods. They were still using heavy machinery to remove the rubble of collapsed homes after families reported that some of their relatives were missing. In one of the deadliest incidents, 24 people from one family died in the village of Qadar Nagar when floodwaters swept through their home on the eve of a wedding. The head of the family, Umar Khan, said he survived the floods because he was out of the house at the time. Four of his relatives have yet to be found, he added.
Extreme weather events
Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters. In 2022, a record-breaking monsoon killed nearly 1,700 people and destroyed millions of homes. The country also suffers regular flash floods and landslides during the monsoon season, which runs from June to September, particularly in the rugged northwest, where villages are often perched on steep slopes and riverbanks. Experts say climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events in South Asia. Khalid Khan, a weather expert, said Pakistan produces less than 1 percent of planet-warming emissions but faces heatwaves, heavy rains, glacial outburst floods and now cloudbursts, underscoring how climate change is devastating communities within hours. Thursday’s floods struck during an annual Hindu pilgrimage. Authorities rescued over 300 people, while some 4,000 pilgrims were evacuated to safety.

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for local homeless people, invites them to lunch at summer villa
AP/August 17, 2025
CASTEL GANDOLFO: Pope Leo XIV spent the last Sunday of his summer vacation with several dozen homeless and poor people and the church volunteers who help them, celebrating a special Mass for them and inviting them into the Vatican’s lakeside estate for a lunch of lasagna and roast veal. Leo celebrated Mass in the St. Mary sanctuary of Albano, near the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo where he is vacationing. The Mass was attended by around 110 people cared for by the local Caritas church charity, and the volunteers who run the diocese’s shelters, clinics and social service offices. In his homily, Leo celebrated the “fire of charity” that had brought them together. “And I encourage you not to distinguish between those who assist and those who are assisted, between those who seem to give and those who seem to receive, between those who appear poor and those who feel they have something to offer in terms of time, skills, and help,” he said. In the church, he said, everyone is poor and precious, and all share the same dignity. Leo, the former Robert Prevost, spent most of his adult life working with the poor people of Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and then as bishop. Former parishioners and church workers say he greatly reinforced the work of the local Caritas charity, opening soup kitchens and shelters for migrants and rallying funds to build oxygen plants during the COVID-19 pandemic.Later Sunday, Leo was to preside over a luncheon with the guests at the Borgo Laudato Si’, the Vatican’s environmental educational center in the gardens of the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo. The center is named for Pope Francis’ 2015 landmark environmental encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be). According to the Albano diocese, local caterers were providing a menu of lasagna, eggplant parmesan and roast veal. For dessert, the menu called for fruit salad and sweets named for the pope, “Dolce Leone.”

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 17-18/2025
Here We Go Again – The West's Palestinian State Fantasy
Nils A. Haug/Gatestone Institute/August 17/2025
Only leaders completely sold out to extremist ideologies would persist in pushing a proposal so far detached from reality and so harmful to many people -- starting with the atrociously governed Palestinians -- that it is almost beyond comprehension.
"If you notice, the talks with Hamas fell apart on the day Macron made the unilateral decision that he's going to recognize a Palestinian state. And then you have other people come forward, other countries say, well, if there is not a ceasefire by September, we're going to recognize a Palestinian state. Well, if I'm Hamas, I basically conclude, 'let's not do a ceasefire because we can be rewarded, we can claim it as a victory.'" — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The situation in Gaza could quite easily have been resolved many months ago if Hamas had laid down its weapons and released the hostages it had no business kidnapping in the first place. This did not happen. Nevertheless, Israel is blamed for trying to get its tortured and starved hostages released. What would France, Britain, Canada or Australia have done? The party responsible for Gaza's collateral damage is Hamas.
Israel... is doing its best in horrendously dangerous circumstances to feed the hungry people of Gaza, while Hamas deliberately starves the hostages, and has lately photographed them digging their own graves. A Palestinian state would, in addition, continue trying to conquer more of Israel's historic homeland, and try to drive Jews out of it, as they openly vow to do...
That, it seems, is Macron's view of a "just and lasting peace".
"If France is really so determined to see a Palestinian state, I've got a suggestion for them: Carve out a piece of the French Riviera, and create a Palestinian state. They're welcome to do that, but they're not welcome to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign nation. " —US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, June 1, 2025.
A further reason that Western efforts to impose a Palestinian state are inadvisable is that they ignore a warning from the Trump administration that "any country that takes 'anti-Israel actions' will be viewed as acting in opposition to US interests and will face diplomatic consequences." "There was a Palestinian state. It was called Gaza. Look what we received. The biggest massacre since the Holocaust. To establish a Palestinian state after October 7 is a huge prize not only for Hamas [but] for Iran." — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, February 6, 2025.
The question remains how any rational national leader can simply discount Israel's attitude towards an independent Palestinian (terrorist, Jihadist) state within or alongside its borders? Would those leaders countenance an uppity ISIS or Al Qaeda on their borders? Yet, Starmer and Macron (together with leaders of Spain, Norway and Ireland) are doing exactly that. Is it possible that they are endeavouring to accommodate the millions of Muslim voters they have helped infiltrate into their own broken countries?
This irony is that many in the West who are advocating "social justice for all people" think nothing of vilifying the Jews.
At this point in history, Israel's legitimate actions consist in defending its people -- and the stunningly ungrateful West -- from a horror disguised within a veneer of fake "moral clarity," along with false charges of a supposed genocide in Gaza. As Huckabee remarked, "If Israel is trying to commit genocide, they are really, really bad at it." In fact, Israel is defending the West -- the very people undermining them -- from a genocide. Publicly expressed slogans targeting Jews simply support the murderous intent of the enemies of Israel and those apparently trying to help them finish the job.
A majority of Western leaders clearly refuse to exercise integrity when it concerns the Palestinian issue. Only leaders completely sold out to extremist ideologies would persist in pushing a proposal so far detached from reality and so harmful to many people -- starting with the atrociously governed Palestinians -- that it is almost beyond comprehension. "Are these people wicked or just very, very stupid?", asks columnist Melanie Phillips. A valid question indeed.
A majority of Western leaders clearly refuse to exercise integrity when it concerns the Palestinian issue. Only leaders completely sold out to extremist ideologies would persist in pushing a proposal so far detached from reality and so harmful to many people -- starting with the atrociously governed Palestinians -- that it is almost beyond comprehension. Perhaps this phenomena is best described as a "cognitive bias" that can "lead to a person interpreting all new information as supporting their preconception."
Connected to fatuous ideals of utopianism -- especially to the dangerously mushrooming number of extremist Muslims on their shores -- is these leaders' pandering to prospective voters to ensure re-election. In so doing, they not only damage their society, culture and values, but race towards the rapid demise of Western civilization in favour of an Islamist Caliphate under Sharia law. In the UK, for instance, according to Stephen Pollard, "Open Jew hate is now the norm." How the mighty have fallen.
On July 24, President Emmanuel Macron of France announced that "Paris would formally recognize a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly." A week later, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer made a similar announcement, and on August 11, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined the scrimmage.
Hamas, needless to say, was delighted:
"The Palestinian group described the declaration as 'a positive step in the right direction 'toward justice for the Palestinian people and support for their right to self-determination and an independent state on all occupied Palestinian land, with Jerusalem as its capital.'"
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted:
"If you notice, the talks with Hamas fell apart on the day Macron made the unilateral decision that he's going to recognize a Palestinian state. And then you have other people come forward, other countries say, 'Well, if there is not a ceasefire by September, we're going to recognize a Palestinian state. Well, if I'm Hamas, I basically conclude, 'let's not do a ceasefire because we can be rewarded, we can claim it as a victory.'"
Three countries, Spain, Norway and Ireland, have already recognised a non-existent Palestinian state in 2024. Two of them – Spain and Ireland – have a long history of passionate Jew-hate.
The Irish boast they have never had a "Jewish problem" because, as the author James Joyce noted through an anti-Semitic character in his novel Ulysses, the reason there was no antisemitism in Ireland was because they never let admitted entry to Jews in the first place. Spain's history of the Inquisition and expulsion of Jews in 1492 is well-recorded.
Norway was home to its anti-Semitic leader, Vidkun Quisling, a traitor who supported the Nazi cause and was responsible for sending 1,000 Jews to their deaths. Other than that historic issue, Norwegians are not generally anti-Semitic but driven, rather, by uninformed and naïve perceptions of human rights, "virtue" and "humanitarianism." According to John A. Moen:
"The governing body of Norway's Jewish communities has on a number of occasions emphasized the fact that it does not recognize the claim that Norway is an anti-Semitic society. "
In July 2025, in line with the European Union's incessant criticism of Israel, 28 Western nations condemned Israel's actions in Gaza. From a humanitarian viewpoint, the situation is indeed disastrous for the multitude of innocents on both sides caught up in the conflict. Israel's Foreign Ministry responded that much of the criticism was "disconnected from reality and would send the wrong message to Hamas." The distasteful truth, however, is that no one ever really cares what Israel says -- it is invariably judged and found guilty, without anything even resembling due process or a trial -- in the world of public opinion, notwithstanding the refusal of the UN itself to distribute food in Gaza, as it is obliged to do.
The situation in Gaza could quite easily have been resolved many months ago if Hamas had laid down its weapons and released the hostages it had no business kidnapping in the first place. This did not happen. Nevertheless, Israel is blamed for trying to get its tortured and starved hostages released. What would France, Britain, Canada or Australia have done? The party responsible for Gaza's collateral damage is Hamas. It not only started the war after Israel, in a gesture of goodwill, had granted roughly 20,000 permits for Gazans to come and work in Israel; Hamas also seems to revel in the deaths of their own civilians and fraudulently inflate the numbers to try to blame the casualties on Israel.
Israel, conversely, with US support , is doing its best in horrendously dangerous circumstances to feed the hungry people of Gaza, while Hamas deliberately starves the hostages, and has lately photographed them digging their own graves.
Europe's aspiring powerhouses, France and the UK, nevertheless persist in their folly of endorsing a utopian terrorist Palestinian state. Such a creation – called "Franc-en-Stine" by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee in a nod to Mary Shelley's monster -- would bring nothing but disaster to Europe, Israel and to the Palestinians themselves, considering the continuing brutality of their corrupt and dead-end governance. Huckabee stated in June:
"If France is really so determined to see a Palestinian state, I've got a suggestion for them: Carve out a piece of the French Riviera, and create a Palestinian state. They're welcome to do that, but they're not welcome to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign nation. And I find it revolting that they think that they have the right to do such a thing."
An independent terrorist Palestinian state would reward jihadists murdering Jewish and Arab civilians -- shooting Gazans trying to flee war zones (at the urging of the Israelis), Gazans trying to take the humanitarian aid sent for them, and Gazans accused of alleged "collaboration". A Palestinian state would, in addition, continue trying to conquer more of Israel's historic homeland, and try to drive Jews out of it, as they openly vow to do, in the words of senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad:
"The Al-Aqsa Flood [Hamas's name for its Oct. 7, 2023 invasion] is just the first time, and there will be a second, third and fourth... We must remove that country [Israel]... [It] must be finished. We are not ashamed to say this, with full force.... Everything we do is justified."
That, it seems, is Macron's view of a "just and lasting peace".
Just the same, the West at large and the United Nations persist in striving towards a state for Palestinians, bordering, or within, Israel itself.
In late July, UNRWA ruled that Palestinians would remain permanently categorised as refugees – even if against their wishes. This sleight of hand would mean that they would be entitled to endless funding and lasting status as a people for whom a homeland needs to be established. All descendants of original Palestinian 'refugees' would likewise be entitled to benefits of that status.
"The enforced permanence of the Palestinian refugee issue is absurd," wrote David May, a senior analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), and is contrary to the accepted definition of refugees.
According to May:
"UNRWA is in the business of protracting the refugee crisis, not solving it. While the UN Refugee Agency, which oversees all non-Palestinian refugees, offers a variety of solutions to help refugees improve their lives, including resettlement in a third country, UNRWA indulges the Palestinians' desire to move to Israel en masse and overwhelm the only Jewish-majority country in the world."
A further reason that Western efforts to impose a Palestinian state are inadvisable is that they ignore a warning from the Trump administration that "any country that takes 'anti-Israel actions' will be viewed as acting in opposition to US interests and will face diplomatic consequences." There might therefore be severe financial and economic side-effects for discounting this caution. This is especially so as Trump apparently has other plans for the Gaza area. A July 25 report from FDD explains:
"The recognition of a Palestinian state as a full member of the United Nations, including the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), would immediately trigger U.S. funding cuts to the international organization."
These efforts disregard Israel's position on the matter. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear in February:
"There was a Palestinian state. It was called Gaza. Look what we received. The biggest massacre since the Holocaust. To establish a Palestinian state after October 7 is a huge prize not only for Hamas [but] for Iran....
"I will not allow the State of Israel to repeat the fateful mistake of Oslo, which brought to the heart of our country and to Gaza the most extreme elements in the Arab world, which are committed to the destruction of the State of Israel and who educate their children to this end."
Echoing this idea, David May writes:
"Recognizing a non-existent Palestinian state after Hamas's October 7 atrocities tells the Palestinians that violence works, and rewards Hamas for immiserating Gazans."
The question remains how any rational national leader can simply discount Israel's attitude towards an independent Palestinian (terrorist, Jihadist) state within or alongside its borders? Would those leaders countenance an uppity ISIS or Al Qaeda on their borders? Yet, Starmer and Macron (together with leaders of Spain, Norway and Ireland) are doing exactly that. Is it possible that they are endeavouring to accommodate the millions of Muslim voters they have helped infiltrate into their own broken countries?
France has a long history of anti-Semitism, exemplified by the Dreyfus affair in 1894-1906. The problem, however goes back even further, even to Voltaire (1694-1778), who wrote:
"The Jews are an ignorant and barbarous people, who have long united the most sordid avarice with the most detestable superstition and the most invincible hatred for every people by whom they are tolerated and enriched."
This, about the small group that brought the Ten Commandments to the West, as well as its first breaths of social justice:
"You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it...."
— Deuteronomy 24:15 (NASB 1995)
"...but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do."
— Deuteronomy 5:14 (New International Version)
"You shall not boil a young goat in the milk of its mother."
— Exodus 23:19
"Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. "Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay."
— Leviticus 19:13 (New Living Translation)
This irony is that many in the West who are advocating "social justice for all people" think nothing of vilifying the Jews.
It is anticipated that at the UN General Assembly September session, France will actually announce its recognition of a Palestinian state. This declaration will evidently be supported by Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia and, probably, Britain. A US State Department spokesman curtly responded that "we will not be in attendance at that conference."
The US not only urged other "governments to skip the event;" Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in rejecting Macron's self-indulgent nonsense , wrote:
"This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th."
Without the US endorsing the formation of an independent Palestinian state, it likely cannot eventuate. The same view applies to Israel: they cannot permit the establishment of yet another hostile entity alongside their communities -- one determined to attack them endlessly more -- especially without their participation in the decision. All this posturing is therefore meaningless; most likely designed to distract their nations from domestic woes. It does, nonetheless, indicate their malicious attitude towards Israel's legitimate right to sovereignty, peace and security in its ancestral land.
Should pandering to extremism continue without a major correction in the near future, civilization in Western Europe, as we know it, will be significantly diminished and possibly replaced with the Islamic totalitarian law, effectively as repressive as the Nazi laws were in 20th century Germany, and elsewhere in Europe.
We could see Islamic Sharia law replacing the hallowed Western legal concepts of the rule of law, which, according to Encyclopedia Brittanica "supports the equality of all citizens before the law, secures a nonarbitrary form of government, and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power," and equality before the law, "which holds that no 'legal' person shall enjoy privileges that are not extended to all and that no person shall be immune from legal sanctions." Amongst other legal remedies, the relief of Habeas Corpus for false imprisonment might be eliminated. The outcome would thus be similar to living under Taliban rule, with no rights for women and other extreme social measures.
By blindly ignoring the social, political and legal destruction caused by their new policies, certain Western leaders could destroy what generations have built up over many centuries.
Europe is apparently determined to destroy itself.
Possibly in the view of these leaders, sacrificing little Israel and a few presumably expendable Jews, is a small price to pay for appeasing the important radical voters that enable Starmer, Macron, Carney, Albanese and other like-minded invertebrates to remain in power.
Slogans such as "globalize the intifada" and "from the river to the sea..." confirm the declaration in the Hamas Covenant. Its preamble states that "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it." Article 7 reads:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."
At this point in history, Israel's legitimate actions consist in defending its people -- and the stunningly ungrateful West -- from a horror disguised within a veneer of fake "moral clarity," along with false charges of a supposed genocide in Gaza. As Huckabee remarked, "If Israel is trying to commit genocide, they are really, really bad at it." In fact, Israel is defending the West -- the very people undermining them -- from a genocide. Publicly expressed slogans targeting Jews simply support the murderous intent of the enemies of Israel and those apparently trying to help them finish the job.
"Are these people wicked or just very, very stupid?", asks columnist Melanie Phillips. A valid question indeed.
Nils A. Haug is an author and columnist. A Lawyer by profession, he is member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Dr. Haug holds a Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology and is author of 'Politics, Law, and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and 'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.' His work has been published by First Things Journal, The American Mind, Quadrant, Minding the Campus, Gatestone Institute, National Association of Scholars, Jewish Journal, James Wilson Institute (Anchoring Truths), Jewish News Syndicate, Tribune Juive, Document Danmark, Zwiedzaj Polske, Schlaglicht Israel, and many others.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

How Syria can move beyond division, achieve reconciliation
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/August 17, 2025
LONDON: Eight months after the fall of the Bashar Assad regime, the world is watching and hoping that Syria, despite its fragility, can avoid partition along sectarian lines.
The latest crisis erupted in mid-July in the southern province of Suweida. On July 12, clashes broke out between militias aligned with Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri and pro-government Bedouin fighters, according to Human Rights Watch.
Within days, the fighting had escalated, with interim government forces deploying to the area. On July 14, Israel launched airstrikes on government buildings in Damascus and Syrian troops in Suweida with the stated aim of protecting the Druze community.
Although they constitute just three to five percent of Syria’s overall population, the Druze — a religious minority — make up the majority in Suweida, with further concentrations in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan.
Diplomatic maneuvers quickly followed. On July 26, Israeli and Syrian officials met in Paris for US-mediated talks about the security situation in southern Syria. Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya TV, citing a diplomatic source, said both sides agreed to continue discussions to maintain stability.
The human cost has been severe. Fighting in Suweida has displaced roughly 192,000 people and killed at least 1,120, including hundreds of civilians, according to the UN refugee agency, citing a UK-based monitoring group.
The bloodshed in Suweida has cast a long shadow over Syria’s post-Assad transition. “Syria is already fractured,” Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, told Arab News. “The Druze region is under Druze control and the much more important northeast is ruled by the Kurdish-led SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces).
“The real question is whether (President Ahmad) Al-Sharaa’s new government can bring them back under government control.”
FASTFACTS
• Syria is home to eight major religious sects, including Sunni, Alawite, Twelver Shiite, Ismaili, Druze and several Christian denominations.
• Its ethnic and cultural mosaic includes Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidis and others with distinct identities.
Analysts say the surge in violence reflects the fragility of Syria’s political and social landscapes. “This violence is not only disturbing; it’s also revealing a lot about the internal dynamics inside Syria,” Ibrahim Al-Assil, who leads the Syria Project for the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programs, told CNN last month.“It also shows how fragile not only the ceasefires are but also the whole transition inside Syria.”Al-Assil said the turmoil also tests the ability of Syria’s government, its society, and regional powers — including Israel — to guide the country toward stability. Despite a US-mediated ceasefire declared on July 16, sporadic clashes persist. Residents report severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine, blaming a government blockade — an allegation Syria’s interim authorities deny.
Camille Otrakji, a Syrian-Canadian analyst, describes Syria as “deeply fragile” and so vulnerable to shocks that further stress could lead to breakdown.
He told Arab News that although “officials and their foreign allies scramble to bolster public trust,” it remains “brittle,” eroded by “daily missteps” and by abuses factions within the security forces. From a rights perspective, institutional credibility will hinge on behavior. Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, stresses the need for “professional, accountable security forces that represent and protect all communities without discrimination.”Coogle said in a July 22 statement that de-escalation must go hand in hand with civilian protection, safe returns, restored services and rebuilding trust.
The battlefield map complicates the political storyline. Tensions between the SDF and government troops threaten an agreement reached in March to integrate the Kurdish-led coalition into the national military. Talks were set back earlier this month when the two sides clashed, with both accusing the other of striking first. The interim government announced it was backing out of talks planned in Paris in objection to a recent conference calling for a decentralized, democratic constitution.
The August 8 meeting in the northeastern city of Hasakah brought together Kurds, Druze and Alawite figures and called for a new democratic constitution and a decentralized system that respects Syria’s cultural and religious diversity.
State-run news agency SANA quoted an official accusing the SDF-hosted event of having a separatist agenda and of inviting foreign intervention.
Meanwhile, religion and identity remain combustible. The coalition of rebel groups that ousted Assad in December was led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which was led by Al-Sharaa.
The insurgent pedigree of parts of the new administration fuels mistrust among communities already raw from years of war.
Meanwhile, fear continues to grip Alawite communities in coastal areas amid reports of ongoing revenge attacks. Assad belonged to the sect and promoted many in his government, making them a target since his downfall, even though most had nothing to do with his repression. A UN-backed commission that investigated violence in coastal areas in March found that killings, torture, looting and burning of homes and tents primarily targeted Alawites and culminated in massacres.
These developments across the war-weary country have heightened fears of sectarian partition, though experts say the reality is more complex.
“The risk is real, but it is more complex than a straightforward territorial split,” Haian Dukhan, a lecturer in politics and international relations at the UK’s Teesside University, told Arab News. “While Syria’s post-2024 landscape is marked by renewed sectarian and ethnic tensions, these divisions are not neatly mapped onto clear-cut borders.”
He noted that fragmentation is emerging not as formal borders but as “pockets of influence” — Druze autonomy in Suweida, Kurdish self-administration in the northeast, and unease among some Alawite communities.
“If violence persists,” Dukhan says, “these local power structures could harden into semi-permanent zones of authority, undermining the idea of a cohesive national state without producing formal secession.” In Suweida, communal confidence is buoyed by a sense of agency — and by outside deterrence. Al-Hijri, the most prominent of Syria’s three Druze leaders, has resisted handing control of Suweida to Damascus.
“There is no consensus between us and the Damascus government,” he told American broadcaster NPR in April. Landis, for his part, argues that Israel’s military posture has been decisive in Suweida’s recent calculus.
Taken together, these incidents underscore the paradox of Syria’s “local” conflicts: even the most provincial skirmishes are shaped by regional red lines and international leverage.
Against this backdrop, Damascus has drawn closer to Turkiye. On August 14, Reuters reported the two had signed an agreement for Ankara to train and advise Syria’s new army and supply weapons and logistics.
“Damascus needs military assistance if it is to subdue the SDF and to find a way to thwart Israel,” Landis said. “Only Turkiye seems willing to provide such assistance.”
Although Landis believes it “unlikely that Turkiye can help Damascus against Israel, it is eager to help in taking on the Kurds.”While the SDF has around 60,000 well-armed and trained fighters, it is still reliant on foreign backers. “If the US and Europeans are unwilling to defend them, Turkiye and Al-Sharaa’s growing forces will eventually subdue them,” said Landis.
For Ankara, the endgame is unchanged. Turkiye’s strategic aim is to prevent any form of Kurdish self-rule, which it views as a security threat, said Dukhan.
“By helping the government bring the Kurdish-led SDF into the national army and reopening trade routes, Turkiye is shaping relations between communities and Syria’s place in the region.”Could there be more to Syria’s flareups than meets the eye? Ghassan Ibrahim, founder of the UK-based Global Arab Network, thinks so. “It looks like a sectarian conflict, but at the same time, it has a strong element of political ambition,” he told Arab News.
He pointed to the unrest in Suweida as one example. “On the surface, what happened there looks sectarian, but at its core, it’s more about political autonomy.”
Elaborating on the issue, he noted that Al-Hijri had long supported Assad and believed Suweida should have a degree of independent self-rule.
“When that ambition was crushed — by the (interim) government — things spiraled out of control, taking on a stronger sectarian appearance,” he said. “But I still see it mainly as a struggle for power — each side is trying to bring areas under its control by force.”
This perspective dovetails with Dukhan’s view that “sectarian identity in Syria is fluid and often intersects with economic interests, tribal loyalties and local security concerns.”
He noted that “even in areas dominated by one community, there are competing visions about the future.” That fluidity complicates any blueprint for stabilization. Even if front lines quiet, the political map could still splinter into de facto zones where different rules and loyalties prevail.
To Landis, the government’s current instinct is consolidation. He believes the leadership “has chosen to use force to unify Syria,” which he adds “has proven successful” in the coastal region “because the Alawites are not united and had largely given up their weapons.”
Success by force in one region, however, does not guarantee the model will travel. In Suweida, Israel’s tripwire and Druze cohesion have raised the price of any government offensive. In the northeast, the SDF’s numbers, organization, and foreign ties complicate any quick military integration. If raw power cannot produce a durable settlement, what could? For Dukhan, the transitional government’s challenge is “to prevent local self-rule from drifting into de facto partition by offering credible political inclusion and security guarantees.”
That formula implies a real negotiation over autonomy, representation, and local policing — sensitive subjects that arouse deep suspicion in Damascus and among nationalists fearful of a slippery slope to breakup. Landis agrees that compromise is possible, but unlikely. “Al-Sharaa has the option of compromising with Syria’s minorities, who want to retain a large degree of autonomy and to be able to ensure their own safety from abuse and massacres,” he said. “It is unlikely that he will concede such powers.”
Still, experts say Syria can avoid permanent fracture if all sides — domestic and foreign — work toward reconciliation. As Syria’s conflict involves multiple domestic factions and foreign powers, Ibrahim said international actors could foster peace by pressuring their allies on the ground. Responsibility, he stressed, lies with all sides.
“The way forward is cooperation from all,” he said. “For example, Israel could pressure Sheikh Al-Hijri and make it clear that it’s not here to create a ‘Hijristan’.”
Ibrahim was referring to the Druze leader’s purported ambition to carve out a sovereign state in Suweida. Otrakji said that “after 14 years of conflict, Syria is now wide open — a hub not just for diplomats and business envoys, but also for military, intelligence and public relations operatives.”The previous regime was rigid and combative, he said, but the new leadership “seems intent on pleasing everyone.”That balancing act carries dangers — overpromising at home, underdelivering on reforms, and alienating multiple constituencies at once.
Otrakji stressed that without full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, Syria will remain trapped “on a dizzying political rollercoaster” and in uncertainty.
The UNSC reaffirmed on August 10 its call for an inclusive, Syrian-led political process to safeguard rights and enable Syrians to determine their future.
Global Arab Network’s Ibrahim concluded that Syria does not need regime change, but rather reconciliation, education and a leadership capable of dispelling the idea that this is a sectarian war. Sectarian and religious leaders, he said, “must understand that Syria will remain one unified, central state with some flexibility — but nothing beyond that.”

Starvation in Gaza and our global shame
Binaifer Nowrojee/Arab News/August 17, 2025
Starvation is the slow, silent unmaking of the body. Deprived of basic sustenance, the body first burns through sugar stores in the liver. Then it melts muscle and fat, breaking down tissue to keep the brain and other vital organs alive. As these reserves are depleted, the heart loses its strength, the immune system surrenders and the mind begins to fade. The skin tightens over the bones and breathing grows faint. Organs begin to fail in succession, vision fails and the body, now empty, slips away. It is a prolonged, agonizing way to die.
We have all seen the images of emaciated Palestinian babies and children withering away from starvation in their mothers’ arms. Yet now that Israel is intensifying its war — embarking on a new campaign to “conquer” Gaza City — thousands more Palestinian civilians may be killed, either by bombs or by starvation. “This is no longer a looming hunger crisis,” Ramesh Rajasingham, a senior UN humanitarian official, told the UN Security Council on Aug. 10. “This is starvation, pure and simple.” Alex de Waal, an expert on famine, estimates that thousands of Gazan children are now too weak to eat, even if they had access to food. “They have got to that stage of severe acute malnutrition where their bodies just can’t digest food.”
There is a growing consensus that Israel is committing the most serious of crimes in Gaza, including the use of starvation as a method of warfare. Palestinian and international human rights groups raised the alarm about this risk within months of the start of the war and it has since been echoed by states on every continent, as well as by many in Israel. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, for example, has decried what he describes as war crimes in Gaza and leading Israeli human rights groups say Israel’s actions in the territory amount to genocide.
On Oct. 9, 2023, two days after Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took more than 200 hostages — itself a serious war crime — then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced: “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly.” The population of Gaza was dehumanized and no distinction was made between civilians and combatants — a violation of a cardinal rule of international humanitarian law. The siege shut off all supplies into Gaza for 70 days, imposing collective punishment. This first siege was eased only slightly when Israel allowed supplies to trickle into Gaza in early 2024. By that April, Samantha Power, then the head of the US Agency for International Development, was already warning of famine in parts of Gaza. The following month, Cindy McCain, the executive director of the World Food Programme, announced “a full-blown famine” in northern Gaza.
Over the past 21 months, several governments and aid agencies have pleaded with Israel to let them deliver aid. International law prohibits the use of starvation as a weapon of war. As the occupying power in Gaza, Israel must ensure that the civilian population receives adequate food, water, medical supplies and other essentials. If those supplies cannot be located within Gaza itself, they must be sourced externally — including from Israel. Over the past 21 months, several governments and aid agencies have pleaded with Israel to let them deliver aid. Granting such permission is also a legal obligation: Israel has a duty to facilitate others’ relief schemes “by all means at its disposal.” But Israel has continuously thwarted these efforts. At this very moment, it is blocking humanitarian organizations from delivering aid. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice, through legally binding decisions, ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.” Two months later, it reaffirmed that order and required that the measures be taken “in full cooperation with the United Nations.”The UN-led humanitarian system was the only one capable of preventing widespread famine in Gaza. During the ceasefire between January and March of this year, the UN and other humanitarian organizations were operating as many as 400 relief distribution sites. But after Israel broke the ceasefire in March, these were shut down and another siege was unlawfully imposed.
Israel justified the new siege by saying that it was cutting off aid to exert greater pressure on Hamas — thus acknowledging its use of starvation as a weapon. When aid resumed in May, the UN was replaced by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private food distribution arrangement organized by Israel. But since then, nearly 1,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while attempting to obtain food at the foundation’s four distribution sites.
Although signs of the coming horrors were clear within months of the war’s onset, many governments averted their eyes. Worse, the scheme was never going to work. According to a report from the Famine Review Committee last month, “our analysis of the food packages supplied by the GHF shows that their distribution plan would lead to mass starvation, even if it was able to function without the appalling levels of violence.”
Under international law, the war crime of starvation begins at the point of deprivation. When it becomes a more expansive policy undertaken with the intent “to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,” it becomes genocide. Multiple senior Israeli officials have openly expressed such intent — including Gallant in October 2023, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who in August 2024 remarked that “it might be justified and moral” to “cause 2 million civilians to die of hunger,” and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Minister for National Security, who posted on social media that “food and aid depots should be bombed.”Palestinians are being intentionally starved to death. Although signs of the coming horrors were clear within months of the war’s onset, many governments averted their eyes. They rationalized the restrictions on aid by arguing that it was going to Hamas — a claim that Israel now says it has no evidence for — and transferred more tonnage in weapons to Israel than they delivered in aid to Gaza. Now, they are failing in their duty to prevent and stop a genocide. History will forever record this moment of global shame. It will archive the images of skeletal children alongside those from past episodes where the world did nothing. One can only hope that the world will act now to salvage at least a measure of our humanity, before even more children die.
• Binaifer Nowrojee is President of the Open Society Foundations.
Copyright: Project Syndicate

Israel’s ‘doomsday settlement’ a test for the world
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/August 17, 2025
As the world still tries to grapple with Israel’s Gaza genocide, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has bluntly declared that he feels a connection to the vision of a “Promised Land” and “Greater Israel.” This offensive statement led to condemnation from several Arab countries. However, Netanyahu has begun a systematic plan to realize this vicious vision. While media attention is focused on the planned starvation of Gaza and while analysts are busy talking about Netanyahu’s plans to resettle Gazans, the West Bank is being quietly eaten up by settlements and settler violence. The settlers’ terrorism has brutally increased, with cover from the Israeli army, with the clear objective of driving Palestinians away from their homes in a new Nakba.
In addition to the systematic aggression against Palestinians in the West Bank, a new settlement, E1, is set to be approved in the Knesset on Wednesday. It is known as the “doomsday settlement” and will be the final nail in the coffin of the two-state solution. The plan is only one pen stroke away from becoming reality. In an Aug. 6 hearing, the planning committee rejected all the petitions presented by civil rights groups and activists to stop its construction. E1 is dangerous because of its strategic location. If it comes to fruition, a two-state solution would be practically impossible.
The plan for the E1 settlement was proposed 29 years ago, but no prime minister — not even Netanyahu — dared to approve it. Successive Israeli governments bowed to the international community’s pressure. Now, however, Israel does not even pay lip service to the international community. It does not even pretend to be willing to allow the Palestinians to have a state of their own, nor it is willing to offer citizenship to those in the Occupied Territories. Its plan is clear ethnic cleansing, forced displacement and genocide if needed.
E1 is dangerous because of its strategic location. If it comes to fruition, a two-state solution would be practically impossible. E1 would drive a wedge between the northern West Bank of Nablus and Ramallah and the southern West Bank of Bethlehem and Hebron, with no connection between the two. The plan allows for the construction of thousands of residential units in a 12.5 sq. km area between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
It would mean there would be no possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state. This would limit the Palestinians’ existence to several isolated camps, Bantustans, human islands or whatever you want to call them, surrounded by Israeli settlements. Basically, it would confine Palestinian existence to a set of open-air prisons inside Israel. Even though the plan has been frozen for so long, Netanyahu has never given up on it. He has always been waiting for the right moment to realize it. This is not his first attempt to bring it to fruition. In November 2012, Netanyahu retaliated to the UN General Assembly’s decision to recognize the state of Palestine by giving the go-ahead for the plan. After Netanyahu gave the green light, the international community pressured Israel to stop and the plan was put aside. However, since then, the Israeli government has been quietly working toward garnering approval. The international community should act quickly and take punitive action against Israel. Condemnation alone does not work.
Advancing the E1 settlement is a sign of Israel’s defiance of the international community, as it comes while Saudi Arabia is using its political and diplomatic weight to push for recognition of a Palestinian state. France, Malta and Australia have announced they will recognize Palestine at September’s UN General Assembly. Canada and the UK have stated they will do the same if Israel fails to meet certain conditions. In response, Israel hopes that advancing E1 will “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state, as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said last week. “After decades of international pressure and freezes, we are breaking conventions and connecting Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem,” Smotrich said. “This is Zionism at its best — building, settling and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel.” The international community should act quickly and take punitive action against Israel. Condemnation alone does not work. The more statements the international community issues, the more Israel realizes they are just empty threats, the more defiant it becomes and the more it doubles down on its criminal policies. This is a test of the international community’s claim that it is committed to the two-state solution.
Israel is now blatantly rejecting all UN resolutions. It is blatantly saying it wants to conduct ethnic cleansing and drive Palestinians out of their homes. The fig leaf has fallen. In addition to the issue of credibility, Israel’s policies are likely to result in another Nakba. Another Nakba would likely mean another wave of refugees that will ultimately reach European shores. This is why Europe should act now. The EU should suspend its trade agreement with Israel. Only when there are direct consequences will Netanyahu and Israel stop; otherwise, they will continue to act with impunity.
**Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II

Erosion of the nuclear taboo a key global challenge
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/August 17, 2025
Eight decades on, relatively few people recall the historical significance of Aug. 15, 1945. Yet, the surrender of Japan on that day, ending the Second World War, was a pivotal moment in 20th-century history. Each year, Victory over Japan Day, known as VJ Day, commemorates that surrender. While Victory in Europe Day — May 8, 1945 — marked the end of the war in Europe, many thousands of armed forces personnel had continued to fight in Asia in what is sometimes seen as a forgotten conflict. Eighty years later, the momentous events of 1945 might appear to be consigned to the history books, yet they have much relevance to the world of today. This core point was highlighted by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on this month’s 80th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, one of the key developments that led to the surrender of Japan. Ishiba vowed to uphold the commitment that his country would never possess, produce or permit the introduction of nuclear weapons. Moreover, he pledged to help bring about “a world without nuclear war and a world without nuclear weapons.”These are widely seen as noble goals. But today the world faces at least two major threats in this realm, as the post-1945 so-called nuclear taboo preventing the further use of atomic weapons has begun to erode.
Firstly, there are still more than 12,000 such weapons stockpiled around the globe, each of which is more powerful than the two devices used eight decades ago by the US in Japan combined. This is a chilling fact, given that the bomb dropped on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, is estimated to have killed more than 70,000 people, while the one used three days earlier on Hiroshima is estimated to have killed more than 140,000.
The events of 1945 might appear to be consigned to history, yet they have much relevance to the world of today.
Today, there are growing tensions between the US and Russia, each of which possesses more than 5,000 nuclear weapons, together representing about 90 percent of the global total. Just this month, US President Donald Trump engaged in a war of words with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over atomic weapons. Medvedev referred to “Dead Hand,” the Russian nuclear retaliation system, in an apparent threat to the US. In response, Trump claimed he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia.
The reasons this behavior is so alarming are at least twofold. Firstly, there is the risk of miscalculation in the context of growing global investment in new nuclear weapons technology. The US government, for instance, is building a new generation of nuclear weapons and plans to resume nuclear testing. China, too, is rapidly increasing its nuclear arsenal, which is estimated to have approximately trebled in size to about 600 weapons. While still relatively small compared to the US and Russia, the direction of travel is clear.
These actions are slowing disarmament and nonproliferation initiatives, such as the efforts to advance the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first international accord designed to comprehensively ban nuclear arms. The treaty came into force in 2021 but has so far been ignored by nuclear-armed states and other key parties, including Japan.The origins of the international nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation campaign dates back decades, to at least 1963, when the US, the former Soviet Union and the UK signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Other landmarks have included the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which came into force in 1970. With global momentum shifting toward rearmament rather than abolition, a growing list of nations, including South Korea, Ukraine and Turkiye, have expressed an interest in acquiring atomic weapons. Iran, too, is likely to further develop its nuclear capabilities, fueled by the recent attacks by Israel and the US on its development facilities. While many fear the use of nuclear weapons as a conscious choice, as happened in 1945, a growing number are also alarmed about the possibility of deployment in error. This includes the possibility of cyberattacks, especially on systems in which artificial intelligence is utilized.
Beyond the state use of nuclear weapons, there also remains the threat of atomic terrorism. While some assert that the probability of a major nuclear terrorism event remains very low, Robert Gates, a former US defense secretary, noted while in office that “every senior leader, when you’re asked what keeps you awake at night, it’s the thought of a terrorist ending up with a weapon of mass destruction, especially nuclear.”
This nuclear terrorism agenda first appeared prominently on the international radar in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, amid concerns about safeguarding the former communist empire’s extensive nuclear arsenal.
More than two dozen states have had at least 1 kg of highly enriched uranium in civilian stocks. Since the 1990s, more than 4,000 confirmed incidents of illicit trafficking, unauthorized possession or loss of nuclear and radioactive material have been reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
It is the US, which dropped the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, that has been at the forefront of international post-Cold War efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and materials. However, this agenda is no longer a top priority for Washington.
While the international ability to tackle nuclear terrorism might be eroding significantly, the threat could be growing. Yet, given the hurdles that exist to terror networks obtaining weapons-grade material, perhaps the more likely danger is the use of a small nuclear weapon or a radiological dispersal device (a so-called dirty bomb), which could still cause immense damage, especially in a major urban area.
The world is therefore facing a growing risk related to the possible use of nuclear weapons. The danger lies not only in the growing threat of the state use of such weapons, but also in nuclear terrorism — a major global effort is now needed to counteract these grim challenges.
**Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

Gulf investors turning to Asia’s finance giants
Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/August 17, 2025
In recent years, there has been a noticeable shift in the investment strategies of Gulf nations, as they increasingly turn to Asia for funding. This trend marks a significant pivot in the region’s economic diversification efforts, driven by both geopolitical considerations and the evolving global economic landscape. With traditional Western investment sources becoming more volatile, Asian powers — especially China, India and Japan — are fast becoming the region’s go-to funding source, as the Gulf states seek financial capital and strategic partnerships to expand their global influence and secure long-term growth.
As of June, Saudi Arabia had already sought more than $2 billion in syndicated loans toward Asia-Pacific bank liquidity. This includes $1 billion for the Saudi Electricity Company, $750 million for Banque Saudi Fransi and $500 million for Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait — transactions that reflect a clear strategy to diversify funding sources beyond domestic markets.
Qatar Gas Transport Company last week secured a five-year, $1 billion syndicated loan, with Mizuho Bank acting as the sole mandated lead arranger and bookrunner. The deal follows an earlier financing arrangement with Korea Eximbank to build 25 conventional Korean-built liquefied natural gas carriers.
This wave of recent announcements, marked by a growing number of deals with Asian banks, signals a structural shift in the global geoeconomy. For decades, the US and Europe served as the key destinations for Gulf banks seeking to raise capital. These markets provided deep liquidity, investor familiarity and established frameworks for issuing debt. However, the geopolitical and financial dynamics that once characterized this east-to-west flow of capital are rapidly changing. Today, Gulf banks are increasingly looking toward markets like Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei as viable alternatives for capital raising. Instruments such as private placements, Formosa bonds and growing interest in Panda bonds are creating new pathways to Asia’s capital markets.
Central to this shift is China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to connect China to Asia, Africa and Europe through vast infrastructure investments. As key trade partners in oil and energy, Middle Eastern countries are increasingly engaging with China, seeking opportunities in infrastructure, finance and technology.
Energy, more than any other sector, has become the most visible gateway for global investors into the Middle East.
This pivot toward Asia is also evident in the growing diplomatic and financial exchanges between the Gulf and the East. For instance, high-profile visits by Hong Kong officials to Saudi Arabia, including the launch of a $1.2 billion Shariah-compliant exchange-traded fund tracking Hong Kong-listed companies, shows Asia’s rising efforts to court Gulf wealth.
Adding to this are the increasing investment flows between the Gulf and Asia, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund alone allocating $6.6 billion to the region between 2022 and 2024. Gulf funds, such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Company and the Qatar Investment Authority, are also significantly increasing their investments in Asia.
These trends are unfolding against a backdrop of shifting global alliances. With the UAE now a member of the BRICS grouping and Saudi Arabia having been invited to join, Gulf states are clearly signaling their commitment to a more multipolar investment strategy.
Energy, more than any other sector, has become the most visible gateway for global investors into the Middle East. The high-voltage direct current “Project Lightning,” a major initiative to power ADNOC’s offshore oil operations in the UAE with electricity instead of gas, has secured $1.2 billion in committed financing, led by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and co-financed by Korea Eximbank, the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank. This export credit agency-backed structure, contracted by Abu Dhabi, offers both risk visibility and replicability, setting a benchmark for large-scale oil and gas decarbonization projects across the region.
In Saudi Arabia, NEOM Green Hydrogen Company closed an $8.4 billion investment package, including $6.1 billion in nonrecourse debt from 23 local and international lenders. Asian banks played a prominent role in the financing syndicate, helping secure competitive terms. With fewer investment opportunities in Asia-Pacific, the Gulf offers a much-needed avenue for growth and diversification.
The surge in credit contracted by Gulf operators from Asia-Pacific lenders over the past year reflects the attractive terms and diverse financing options that Asian banks can provide. Central to this financing are institutions such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, which play a crucial role in both funding and risk mitigation. These institutions provide more than just capital; they assume much of the risk, particularly during the sensitive construction and early operation phases, by providing direct loans, insurance and guarantees.
A notable example is the Warsan waste-to-energy project in Dubai, for which the Japan Bank for International Cooperation committed about $452 million in direct financing, while Nippon Export and Investment Insurance offered loan insurance covering $380 million of the commercial bank debt. By shouldering a significant share of the risk, these institutions have made it possible to move forward with large infrastructure projects.
Asian banks also often provide a complete financing package that includes, alongside capital, critical equipment and engineering, procurement and construction services from Asian companies. This package approach is common in sectors like energy and infrastructure, where specialized technologies are essential. However, this approach creates a strong dependency on the Asian suppliers throughout the project’s life cycle.
For Asian investors, the Middle East has become an increasingly attractive destination for infrastructure and new energy projects. With fewer investment opportunities in Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, and a 30 percent drop in syndicated loans in hard currencies, the region offers a much-needed avenue for growth and diversification.
In this context, the growing footprint of Asia-Pacific megabanks in the Middle East reflects a deliberate shift in both financial strategy and geopolitical alignment. Alongside financial engagements, there has been a rise in the deployment of Chinese private military companies to safeguard energy and trade routes, critical not only for China but also for Japan and Korea. The broader picture is clear: Gulf investors are increasingly turning to Asia as a key part of their diversification strategy, reducing their dependence on the West.
*Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator and an adviser to private clients between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council. X: @Moulay_Zaid

Selected tweets for 17 August/2025
Zéna Mansour
Anyone who wants to support the Druze Cause needs a complete perspective, covering IDENTITY, RIGHTS and EXISTENCE.We can't trust those who fragment the issue,whether Wahab Arslan Junblat, or others who curry favor by masking their true intentions.

MRM58
There's an online incitement campaign against Lebanese Maronites
Going on today on X
Handled by anti-Christians and anti jews accounts
Most of them are either Shia Hezbollah supporters or Sunnis who advocate for Palestine and greater Syria under Jolani
Be aware &Report

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
In the three Levantine countries where the Druze live, their percentage compared to the rest of the population decreased in two — Lebanon and Syria — and remained steady in only one: Israel. Perhaps this is why the Druze of Syria are calling on Israel to annex their territory?

Mike Pompeo
"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
-John 8:12
#SundayScripture

Ronnie Chatah
There will be no justice for what Hassan Nasrallah did to Lebanon.
But what is clear is the shell that remains of his group can no longer determine war or armistice with Israel, fight alongside or against Syria, target political opponents or paralyze our govt with violent force.