English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For August 26/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
I tell you; but unless you repent, you will
all perish as they did
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 13/01-05/:"At
that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose
blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think
that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than
all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish
as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on
them do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in
Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as
they did.’
Titles For The
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on August 25-26/2025
Call for the Arrest of Naim Qassem and the Closure of Hezbollah’s
Institutions/Elias Bejjani/August 25/2025
Hezbollah’s Threats Against Journalist Mohammad Barakat and His Family Are
Condemned – The Judiciary Must Act/Elias Bejjani/August 25/2025
On the anniversary of Bashir’s election, we reaffirm our faith that Bashir—the
Cause—is alive and will never die. For he who has God as his supporter, none can
prevail against him.”/Elias Bejjani/August 23/2025
Video
link – Interview with Dr. Charbel Chartrouni from “Al-Siyasa” Youtube Platform
Hezbollah suspends Beirut protests pending Barrack’s talks on arms decision
US presses Israel to halt strikes on Lebanon to bolster Hezbollah disarmament
plan
Sheikh Qassem: Hezbollah Rejects Step-for-Step Proposal, ‘Israel’ Won’t Be Able
to Keep Occupation Sites in Lebanon
Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament, Says Lebanese Govt Cannot Be Trusted to Protect
Sovereignty
Hezbollah rebuffs Lebanese government’s push to disarm
Destroy Hezbollah’s weapons pipeline from Iran, support Lebanese army: Pompeo
Netanyahu offers 'phased' withdrawal if Lebanon disarms Hezbollah
Ortagus arrives in Beirut, lauds Netanyahu's statement on Lebanon
US asks Israel to create 'positive momentum' with Lebanon
Aoun: State protects all sects, cabinet decisions unprecedented
Hezbollah and Amal walk back after calling for protest over disarmament
Sharaa: Lebanon must benefit from Syria's rise or it will lose a lot
Salam stresses need for Israel to withdraw, halt attacks, release captives
Syrian delegation to visit Lebanon for talks on prisoners, demarcation
Iran official says Hezbollah disarmament plan 'will never be implemented'
Report: Army hasn't demanded extending Hezbollah disarmament deadline
No withdrawal from Lebanon until army begins disarming Hezbollah, Israel says
Diplomacy and Totalitarianism … Dismantling the Iranian Arc of Terror is
Essential if the Middle East is to make its way to peace/Dr. Charles Chartouni/This
is Beirut/August 25/2025
Lebanon needs clarity, not casino diplomacy/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya English/25
August/2025
No easy way out: Lebanon’s disarmament plan puts Hezbollah in a corner
Can Lebanon prevent losing another generation to conflict and despair?/ANAN
TELLO/Arab News/August 25, 2025
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on August 25-26/2025
From the CNN/LIVE: John Bolton Breaks Silence in Most Explosive Interview Yet |
FBI Raids/Bolton Vs Trump
Link to a Video Interview From FDD under the title/| Exodus or Endurance: The
Plight of Egypt’s Christians/Speaker FDD's Speaker Mariam Wahba, writing
Israel must take hostage deal, its military chief reportedly says
Israel’s security cabinet to meet Tuesday to discuss Gaza
Following Trump’s lead, Netanyahu shifts strategy on ceasefire even after Hamas
accepts
Leaders, journalist groups react to Israeli Gaza strike that killed five
journalists
At least 20 killed, including five journalists, in Israeli strikes on Gaza's
Nasser hospital
High-ranking US delegation meets Syria’s al-Sharaa, SDF leader
Syria president to speak at UN General Assembly: official
US Treasury issues final order to lift Syria sanctions
Syria accuses Israel of further military incursion near Damascus
Syria’s exclusion of Kurdish-controlled areas from September vote fuels new
tensions
Druze leader’s National Guard bid deepens rift with Syrian government
Geneva to host second round of Iran-European nuclear talks, uncertainties remain
Titles For
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources
on August 25-26/2025
Nigeria: Africa's War Within A War/Amb. Alberto M. Fernandez/Africa/MEMRI
Daily Brief No. 838/August 25/2025
Qatar's Muslim Scholars: Nothing More Important Than Killing Israelis/Bassam
Tawil/Gatestone Institute/August 25/2025
US forces begin withdrawal from Ain al Asad airbase as US presence in Iraq
transitions/Bridget Toomey/FDD's Long War Journal/August 25/2025
Going Back to Israeli Public Opinion/Hazem Saghieh/Al-Sharq Al Awsat/August
25/2025
Arms Are More Than Just a Security and Political Dilemma/Hassan Al Mustafa/Al-Sharq
Al Awsat/August 25/2025
Selected X tweets for August 25/202
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 25-26/2025
Call for the Arrest of Naim Qassem and the Closure
of Hezbollah’s Institutions
Elias Bejjani/August 25/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/146679/
Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s
Secretary-General, continues to act as nothing more than a failed and repulsive
mouthpiece for the Iranian regime. His speech today, filled with empty bravado,
inflammatory rhetoric, and sectarian incitement, was nothing short of a direct
provocation against the Lebanese state and its people.Such rhetoric is
dangerous, divisive, and openly challenges Lebanon’s sovereignty and rule of
law. Qassem is not merely a political figure — he is an instigator of conflict
and a partner in terrorism. His arrest is a national necessity, and all offices
and institutions of Hezbollah — a militia serving Iran’s agenda — must be shut
down immediately to restore Lebanon’s security, peace, and sovereignty.
Hezbollah’s Threats Against
Journalist Mohammad Barakat and His Family Are Condemned – The Judiciary Must
Act
Elias Bejjani/August 25/2025
In my name, and in the name of every Lebanese expatriate who cherishes freedom
of expression, believes in the rise of the state, the restoration of its
authority and sovereignty, the implementation of all international resolutions,
and full adherence to the constitution and laws related to freedoms, I strongly
condemn the organized campaign of terrorism and threats targeting journalist
Mohammad Barakat and members of his family by Hezbollah’s media outlets, its
officials, its propaganda machine, and its hired mouthpieces.
What is being waged against Barakat is nothing but a vile attempt to silence
free voices through defamation, intimidation, and incitement to both moral and
physical assassination—an outrageous violation of the Lebanese constitution and
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Mohammad Barakat is a free and sovereign-minded journalist, a man who testifies
to the truth, openly opposes Hezbollah’s occupation of Lebanon, and calls for
mere peaceful and constitutional ending of its military and intelligence grip,
and for the full implementation of relevant international resolutions.
Targeting him in such a disgraceful manner exposes the depth of Hezbollah’s
moral and political bankruptcy before the Lebanese public at large, and before
the free and sovereign voices within its own community in particular, which it
has taken hostage and tied to its illegitimate Iranian weapons.
It must be stressed that freedom of opinion and expression is guaranteed by the
Lebanese constitution, and every journalist and citizen has the right to
practice it so long as they remain within the bounds of the law. Mohammad
Barakat has not deviated from these bounds in the slightest. Therefore, any
attempt to harm him or any member of his family constitutes a direct assault on
press freedom and on the fundamental rights of all Lebanese people.
Hezbollah, its apparatus, its propaganda outlets, and its hired agents bear full
responsibility for any threat against Barakat, and for any harm that may befall
him or his family. It is imperative that the Lebanese judiciary and security
agencies move immediately to open a transparent investigation, identify those
responsible for this campaign, and prosecute anyone who incited, fabricated, or
circulated false statements targeting his life.
An attack on the life of Mohammad Barakat—or any Lebanese journalist—is a direct
assault on freedom and on human dignity. Yet voices of truth and liberty will
not be silenced by forged statements or campaigns of intimidation. Free Lebanese
journalism, both at home and across the diaspora, has always been—and will
remain—the first line of defense for Lebanon’s sovereignty. Hezbollah, or anyone
else, will not succeed in silencing it.
Standing in full solidarity with Mohammad Barakat, and with every journalist who
faces threats, is a national, moral, and legal duty. Exposing these practices
before the international community is likewise essential, in defense of freedom
of expression, the dignity of the Lebanese press, and the right of all Lebanese
to free speech and full sovereignty.
On the
anniversary of Bashir’s election, we reaffirm our faith that Bashir—the Cause—is
alive and will never die. For he who has God as his supporter, none can prevail
against him.”
Elias Bejjani/August 23/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/66952/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBVzm_nxqQ
Bashir Gemayel was elected President
of Lebanon on August 23, 1982. On this day, we proudly remember that historic
moment and affirm that Bashir's dream remains alive. It is carried forward in
the strong will of Lebanon’s honorable and sovereign youth, who have taken it
upon themselves to bear the torch of freedom, dignity, liberation, and
independence in a peaceful and civilized way. God willing, this will ultimately
lead to rescuing the nation from Iranian occupation, traitors, and
collaborators, and to restoring its independence and freedom.
On the day of his election, U.S. President Ronald Reagan described Bashir as
“the young president who brought the light of hope to Lebanon.”
Bachir was more than a leader—he was a strategic planner who boldly crossed red
lines, driven by his boundless love for Lebanon. He made the Lebanese of every
background and affiliation believe in his vision: a Lebanon where people live in
peace and dignity. He injected courage and willpower into the people, urging
them to demand and work for a true state of citizenship, and to preserve Lebanon
as a land of freedom, a nation worth every sacrifice.
On this day in 1982, Bachir's love for his country ignited a renewed sense of
belonging. He planted an eternal dream in the heart of every free Lebanese, at
home and abroad. His cause—the cause of Lebanon—remains alive, because “whoever
has God as their supporter will never be defeated.”
It is true that the forces of evil and darkness succeeded in assassinating
Bashir’s body, but they failed to kill the cause he embodied. That cause still
beats in the hearts and minds of every free Lebanese: the cause of the state, of
law and constitution, of freedom and democracy, and of genuine coexistence.
Bashir’s legacy lives on in the conscience and culture of every sovereign
Lebanese. Bashir will never die.
The man whose body was assassinated on September 14, 1982, remains alive in
memory as a model of patriotism and integrity. By contrast, most political
leaders still living in body are dead in spirit, consumed by greed, betrayal,
and opportunism. Their presence is an absence, and their absence is a blessing.
On the Feast of the Holy Cross, September 14, 1982, treachery struck down
Bashir’s body, but it failed to kill his cause, his patriotism, and his spirit
of resistance. On that day, Lebanon’s Cross was raised to the sky, bearing the
martyr president, Sheikh Bashir Gemayel, surrounded by his 23 faithful
companions. He had dedicated his life to Lebanon and its sacred cause, and
together with his companions he returned to the eternal paradise of the
righteous and the saints.
Bashir was lifted on the Cross of Lebanon after he and his companions watered
the blessed soil of the Cedar Nation with their pure blood. The martyr of 10,452
square kilometers ascended to his Lord with a clear conscience and a heart full
of faith, leaving behind a clear framework for the Lebanese cause. He instilled
in the conscience of his people the spirit of sacrifice, resistance, and the
certainty of Lebanon’s inevitable victory—the Nation of the Message, where
Christ performed His first miracle, and which the Virgin Mary blessed with her
presence.
It was God’s will to distinguish Bashir even in death, just as He had graced him
with talents, faith, and vision in life. God called him to eternal glory on the
Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross—the same day His only Son was crucified as
a ransom for humanity, to liberate mankind from sin. As the Apostle Paul wrote:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to
us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Bashir embraced the Cross as his path and his beacon. He made it the symbol of
his Lebanese message: a message of coexistence, love, loyalty, dignity, and
honor. He loved his people so deeply that he offered himself as a sacrifice for
their salvation and freedom. Protected by the Cross, he will not be defeated by
the devils of treachery nor defiled by the hypocrisy of false leaders. And just
as Christ rose from the dead, Bashir’s message will endure until the end of
time. It will raise Lebanon, sooner or later, from the grave of dependency,
occupation, and servitude.
Bashir’s Lebanon will not die. It lives in the struggle, resistance, and pride
of every Lebanese who believes in his dream—the dream of a sovereign, free,
independent, and democratic nation, where justice reigns, human dignity is
safeguarded, and freedom is protected. A Lebanon liberated from foreign armies
and mercenaries, ruled by its people, not by traitors.
Bashir fought to restore unity to Lebanon’s land, sovereignty to its state,
dignity to its people, and effectiveness to its institutions. He famously
declared: “We want to live with our heads held high. What must change is the
mentality, and the renewal of the person, to renew Lebanon.” As the prophet
Malachi said, “The law of truth was in his mouth.”
Video link –
Interview with Dr. Charbel Chartrouni from “Al-Siyasa” Youtube Platform
August 25/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/146687/
The duality of authority cannot continue, and any weapons outside the authority
of the state are illegitimate.
Hezbollah is an Iranian coup-like entity that contradicts everything related to
statehood and the constitution.
Hezbollah has destroyed the state, while part of it lives in denial and
delusion.
Iran continues to exploit the Lebanese arena, but this situation will eventually
be brought to an end by force.
Palestinians in Lebanon’s camps have no role other than engaging in internal
fighting.
The Americans are helping Lebanon, while the Iranians are destroying it,
occupying it, and dragging it into chaos and poverty.
Hezbollah’s chest-thumping and empty bravado are pathological.
Israel dominates the strategic reality of the region, and there is now an
opportunity to end the Lebanese conflict with it through a normalization process
based on a solid security framework.
Hezbollah
suspends Beirut protests pending Barrack’s talks on arms decision
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/August 25, 2025
BEIRUT: Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, retracted a joint invitation
issued on Monday to their supporters to take to the streets in protest of a
government decision limiting the possession of weapons to the Lebanese state.
This move came hours after the two groups had called on “workers and their
unions” to gather on Wednesday afternoon in Riyad Al-Solh Square in the heart of
Beirut, just meters away from the government headquarters, to denounce the
Cabinet decision and defend “the sanctity of the resistance and its noble
weapon,” a ruling which they called “a decision contrary to the supreme national
interest and the formula for coexistence.”The call to take to the streets and
the subsequent announcement of its postponement came on the eve of pivotal
meetings with US Envoy Thomas Barrack, who is expected in Beirut on Tuesday to
relay Israel’s response to a US-Lebanese proposal on implementing the ceasefire
terms between Israel and Hezbollah. The protest suspension signals that
Hezbollah and Amal are awaiting the outcome of Barrack’s talks before escalating
their opposition to the government ruling.
A ministerial source told Arab News that “communications took place between
decision makers, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the architect of the
ceasefire agreement, and concluded that it is not permissible to preempt
Barrack’s arrival in Beirut and what Israeli responses he may be carrying, nor
to preempt the next session of the Council of Ministers, during which the
Lebanese army is scheduled to present its plan for withdrawing illegal
weapons.”Barrack, who has so far employed a “step-by-step” approach in his
diplomatic efforts, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel
Aviv last weekend. The latter’s office stated on Monday that “Israel will
gradually reduce its presence in Lebanon if the Lebanese security forces take
steps to disarm Hezbollah.”Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Tel Aviv
“appreciates Lebanon’s steps regarding the restriction of arms by the end of
this year, and considers this decision fundamental and an opportunity for
Lebanon to regain its sovereignty and build its institutions.
“Israel will take reciprocal steps, including a gradual reduction of the Israeli
army’s presence, in coordination with the United States.”
The statement added that “the time has come to work with Lebanon in a spirit of
cooperation with the aim of disarming Hezbollah. Israel is ready to support
Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah and work together towards a safer and
more stable future for both countries.”The Israeli Army Radio reported that Tel
Aviv agreed to a “gradual withdrawal” from the five points along the border with
Lebanon, “provided that the disarmament of Hezbollah begins,” and that these
positions are not part of the ceasefire agreement, but rather a fait accompli
imposed by Israel, which will establish these positions.
Since the end of the war between Hezbollah and Israel in October, Lebanon has
repeatedly demanded Israel’s withdrawal from five strategic hills in the border
area that it occupied during its latest ground war against the group, an end to
aggressions against Lebanon, the release of prisoners, and reconstruction for
the scorched border region.
The Lebanese government’s decision to restrict arms control to the state sparked
internal tension over the past two weeks, particularly evident between Hezbollah
on one side, and the president and prime minister on the other. Last week,
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem threatened to take to the
streets in response to the government decision. In mid-August, he declared that
Hezbollah “will not hand over its weapons” and that the party “will wage a
battle, if necessary,” threatening that “there will be no life for Lebanon” if
the government confronts the group. He warned of possible disorder and civil war
if Hezbollah were disarmed. His stance was met with condemnatory internal
reactions. Over the past 48 hours, Hezbollah, through its activists on social
media, circulated information from unspecified sources about an “Israeli
intention to establish a buffer zone in southern Lebanon encompassing 14
villages,” accompanied by a map used by Israel in its field operations in the
region. However, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was quick to deny the claims on
Sunday night, affirming that “Lebanon has not been officially informed of
anything that was circulated regarding the establishment of a buffer zone.” Aoun
stressed “the importance of renewing (the mandate of) UNIFIL forces, until
Resolution 1701 is fully implemented, including Israel’s withdrawal from the
territories it controls, the release of detainees, and the complete deployment
of the Lebanese army up to the internationally recognized border.”
Political writer Ali Al-Amin told Arab News that “Hezbollah is moving without a
political horizon. Every stance its officials take, the latest being the call to
take to the streets, leads to further losses in the party’s standing and traps
it in one predicament after another.”
Al-Amin believes that “by political calculations, Hezbollah is a loser and may
become an easy target both internally and externally. If it remains committed to
these unconsidered positions, the losses will expand within its own environment,
and many Shiites may later disavow its actions.”The first phase of the handover
of weapons from Palestinian refugee camps to the Lebanese army began last
Thursday, marking the start of a process set to unfold in stages over the coming
weeks. On Monday, Israeli reconnaissance aircraft violated the airspace of
Beirut and its southern suburbs.
US presses Israel
to halt strikes on Lebanon to bolster Hezbollah disarmament plan
The Arab Weekly/August 25/2025
Washington considers the present moment a rare opportunity for Lebanon to
reassert control over arms, believing Hezbollah is in a position of relative
weakness.
In a significant diplomatic move aimed at easing escalating tensions on the
Lebanese front, the United States has asked Israel to halt its military attacks
on Lebanon, in order to give the Lebanese government an opportunity to begin
pushing ahead with a Washington-backed plan to disarm Hezbollah. US officials
argue that continued Israeli bombardment does not so much weaken Hezbollah as it
undermines the Lebanese government’s credibility with domestic constituencies.
They fear it creates the impression that Beirut is pursuing disarmament under
external dictates rather than out of a genuine national conviction that weapons
must be confined to the state and used solely by the army and security forces.
What was intended as pressure on Hezbollah has, in fact, been reversed. Having
rallied public opinion behind the government under the banner of blocking
Israeli intervention, Beirut now finds its stance undercut. Hezbollah’s
position, tying the surrender of its arsenal to a cessation of Israeli attacks,
has gained greater legitimacy on the street. Washington considers the present
moment a rare opportunity for Lebanon to reassert control over arms, believing
Hezbollah is in a position of relative weakness. For the US, disarmament is the
overriding priority, outweighing Israel’s objectives, whether coercing the group
into relinquishing its arsenal under pressure or ensuring Israel retains freedom
to carry out military operations in Lebanon and Syria.
American officials also warn that Washington’s own plans in Syria risk being
undermined by what they see as Israel’s ill-calculated operations, including its
support for Druze forces against the Syrian government. The US is simultaneously
seeking to win over President Ahmad al-Sharaa, reassuring him that alignment
with Washington would secure the continuity of his rule and attract foreign
investment to Syria, an approach repeatedly complicated by Israeli actions. On
Sunday, US envoy Thomas Barrack and Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for the
Middle East Morgan Ortagus met Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to
press Washington’s request to rein in Tel Aviv’s strikes on Lebanon and to
discuss developments in the parallel negotiations with Syria.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Barrack and Ortagus arrived in Israel on
Sunday, where they met Netanyahu and discussed issues related to Lebanon and
Syria.
The newspaper, citing an unnamed source, explained that “the envoys spoke to the
prime minister regarding America’s request that Israel restrain its strikes in
Lebanon, as well as negotiations with Syria.”US Ambassador to Israel Mike
Huckabee joined the two envoys in their meetings with Netanyahu. Barrack also
reportedly met Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister
Gideon Sa’ar, and Defence Minister Israel Katz. The two were set to travel to
Lebanon on Monday following the conclusion of their visit to Jerusalem. Senior
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham will join the envoys in Beirut, the Jerusalem
Post exclusively revealed. The US move comes at a sensitive time, after the
Lebanese government, backed by France and the wider international community,
expressed a preliminary willingness to move forward with a plan aimed at
dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in the south and deploying the
Lebanese army in its place.
Washington appears to have concluded that continued Israeli strikes complicate
the implementation of this plan and weaken the Lebanese government’s position in
the face of internal political forces. For its part, Hezbollah refuses to hand
over its weapons or engage in any political discussion on disarmament while
Israeli bombardment continues. The group maintains that any call to disarm under
fire is part of the war itself, as officials have previously declared in media
statements. Hezbollah also argues that armed resistance remains necessary as
long as Israeli aggression continues, a stance that complicates the execution of
any domestic initiative. Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem
accused the Lebanese government of serving the Israeli project by pressing ahead
with the decision to restrict arms, vowing to wage what he described as a
“Karbala-like battle” to resist the move. He warned that “there will be no life
in Lebanon if the government tries to confront the party.”
Observers note that Lebanon’s position remains central to the success of these
efforts, since implementing the disarmament plan requires difficult internal
political consensus amid deep divisions over Hezbollah’s role and arsenal.
Nevertheless, Washington believes that the initiative’s success depends first on
Israeli de-escalation, which explains the timing of intense American pressure.
Barrack is aware that Israeli military restraint is a fundamental condition for
creating an environment that would allow Lebanon to act politically and securely
against Hezbollah, and that continued escalation could spark a full-scale war,
one that would serve neither side, especially against the backdrop of heightened
regional tensions linked to the Gaza conflict and growing pressure on Iran.
Barak Ravid, correspondent for Axios, reported in a post on X, citing three
Israeli and American sources, that Barrack arrived in Israel and met Netanyahu
on Sunday to discuss Washington’s request that Israel scale back its strikes on
Lebanon, as well as ongoing talks with Syria. Ravid added that Barrack also met
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar,
and Defence Minister Israel Katz. Although the Israeli government has not issued
an official position following the meetings, media leaks suggested divisions
within the cabinet: some view the American plan as an opportunity to disarm
Hezbollah without a full-scale confrontation, while others regard de-escalation
as a “free concession” that gives the group time to reposition.
Two informed Syrian sources said Dermer held talks last Tuesday in Paris with
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani regarding security arrangements in
southern Syria. Syrian and Israeli officials are engaged in US-mediated
negotiations to ease tensions in southern Syria. A previous round of talks was
held in Paris in late July, but ended without a final agreement. During an
earlier visit to Lebanon, Barrack said Israel should commit to a plan that would
see Hezbollah disarmed by the end of the year in exchange for an end to Israeli
military operations in Lebanon. The plan lays out a phased roadmap for armed
factions to surrender their weapons, alongside a halt to Israeli ground, air and
naval operations and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. The
Lebanese cabinet approved the objectives of the plan this month, but Hezbollah
declared it would not abandon its weapons. Barrack said it was now Israel’s turn
to commit to the plan.
Sheikh Qassem:
Hezbollah Rejects Step-for-Step Proposal, ‘Israel’ Won’t Be Able to Keep
Occupation Sites in Lebanon
Al-Manar English Website/August 25/2025
Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem on Monday called on the Lebanese
government to undo its illegitimate and unconstitutional decisions related to
the disarmament of the resistance, maintaining that backing off would be a
virtue. “The Lebanese government has taken a wrongful decision to strip the
Resistance and its people of weapons while Israeli aggression and expansionist
intentions persist, under sinful American supervision.” Addressing the memorial
service in tribute of Lebanese cleric Sayyed Abbas Ali Al-Moussawi, Sheikh
Qassem said that the Lebanese government must stay committed to the ceasefire
agreement that imposes on the Israeli enemy the withdrawal from the Lebanese
territories, the halt of attacks on Lebanon, and the release of the Lebanese
prisoners. Sheikh Qassem urged the Lebanese officials to reject the US dictates
that may lead to an internal strife, saying: “It is better to tell the Americans
that you cannot implement the decision than to fail later.”“Do not worry about
your posts because the Americans will not find better than you even if you fail.
None can implement this decision.”Sheikh Qassem underlined that Hezbollah
rejects the step-for-step proposal because it does not trust the Americans,
adding that the Resistance Party has abided by the ceasefire agreement and made
heavy sacrifices which included the martyrdom of the Master of the Ummah Martyrs
Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and Sayyed . When the Israeli enemy withdraws from South
Lebanon, halts its attacks on Lebanon, and releases the Lebanese prisoners, and
the Lebanese government starts the implementation of the reconstruction plan, we
start discussing the defense strategy, Sheikh Qassem said.
“Let everyone know that we will never relinquish the weaponry that has honored
and protected us, and the Israeli enemy would not be able to remain in Lebanon.
Half of the Lebanese population would be ready to defend the weapons.”Sheikh
Qassem warned against Netanyahu’s scheme of ‘Greater Israel’, wondering whether
those who request the disarmament of the resistance have noticed it. His
eminence affirmed that Hezbollah will prevent the Israeli expansionist scheme in
the region, adding that the Zionist occupation sites in Lebanon will not
remain.Hezbollah Leader also highlighted the destructive American role in
Lebanon, recalling the sanctions, block of gas project, stir of bloody rallies,
and the prevention of the reconstruction project. “Without the Resistance,
‘Israel’ would have reached the capital, Beirut, just as it reached Damascus,
and it would have occupied 600 kilometers as it did in Syria.”“Some people do
not understand what the Resistance is and what it does. The Resistance is for
defense and liberation; it is people, families, faith, and willpower. It is
patriotism and honor. It is Gaza and steadfastness. It is the opposite of
humiliation, surrender, and submission,” his eminence said. “The Resistance is
sacrifice. It is not an army of the state, but rather a supporter of the
national army. It is not a substitute for the army, but it stands by it and
assists it, while the army remains the first responsible for the defense of the
homeland.”
According to Hezbollah leader, the Lebanese army must be armed and entrusted
with responsibility, with the Resistance as a supporting factor.
“The Resistance has not lost its role, as some claim. The Resistance was
established to confront aggression; it does not prevent aggression from
occurring, but it confronts it, obstructs its objectives, and defeats it.”The
Resistance in Lebanon is great and divinely guided because it has been able, in
an exceptional way, to truly deter ‘Israel’ from 2006 until 2024, his eminence
added. “Let it be clear: ‘Israel’ may occupy, destroy, and kill, but we will
confront it with defense and sacrifice, and this is within our ability and will
continue.”Without the Resistance, ‘Israel’ would have reached the capital,
Beirut, just as it reached Damascus, and it would have occupied 600 kilometers
as it did in Syria, Sheikh Qassem maintained. Sheikh Qassem pointed out that
Lebanon needs to restore its sovereignty over its land, “as all the problems the
Lebanese suffer from come from the enemy, the occupation, and American support
for it”, adding that the government today is responsible for putting forward a
plan to achieve sovereignty, “for there can be no stability without sovereignty
and no revival without sovereignty”. Sheikh Qassem urged the government to hold
intensive discussion sessions on how to restore sovereignty—through diplomacy,
arming the army, the defensive strategy, and every means that helps. Sheikh
Qassem called on the parties and elites to help the government in its way of
thinking and to present your proposals, saying, “Dedicate this week to
presenting proposals to the government in order to demand sovereignty.”
“I have chosen a slogan: ‘We demand that the Lebanese government restore
national sovereignty’. We must work under this slogan for at least a week to
make the government feel that we are with it in achieving sovereignty.”
Sheikh Qassem also recalled the ‘Fajr Al-Joroud’ battle “which was carried out
by the Lebanese Army in cooperation with the Islamic Resistance, and together
they achieved this great liberation victory”.“This battle is an example of the
defensive strategy, in which the Resistance stood as a strong support for the
Lebanese Army in the liberation.” Commenting on the Israeli aerial aggression on
Yemen, Sheikh Qassem said that it targeted civilian facilities because the
Yemenis support Gaza. “Where are the Arabs, the free world, and the Muslims to
stand with the people of Gaza?”On anniversary of the disappearance of Imam
Sayyed Moussa Al-Sadr, Sheikh Qassem said: “Imam Al-Sadr brought about a radical
change in Lebanon, and he is the Imam of the resistors. Imam Al-Sadr was keen on
national unity in a homeland that belongs to all of us, and he was the one who
said that the South stood in defense on behalf of all Lebanon and the Arabs.”On
the occasion, Hezbollah Secretary General said, “Sayyed Abbas Al-Moussawi was a
member of the Sharia Committee of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council and a
member of the Association of Muslim Scholars.”“Sayyed Abbas Ali Al-Moussawi was
a unifying figure at the level of Lebanon and the region and was supportive in
serving the Resistance.”Sheikh Qassem had also called on the Islamic world to
give due attention to the anniversary of the birth of the Noble Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH). The memorial ceremony included the speech of the Deputy Head of
Lebanon’s Higher Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib who advised the
Lebanese government not to yield to American pressures and not to persist in its
wrong decisions that would drag the country into internal strife desired by the
enemy.
Hezbollah Rejects
Disarmament, Says Lebanese Govt Cannot Be Trusted to Protect Sovereignty
Al-Sharq Al Awsat/August 25/2025
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem reiterated on Monday the group’s stance of
refusing to give up its weapons saying Israel will first have to leave Lebanon,
stop its attacks, release Lebanese prisoners and allow Lebanon to start the
reconstruction process in areas destroyed during the Israel-Hezbollah war.
“After that, we can discuss a national defense strategy,” Qassem said referring
to what could be the future of Hezbollah’s weapons and the possibility of
putting it under government control. “We will not give up the weapons that
brought us honor. We will not give up the weapons that defend us against our
enemy,” he said in a televised speech. “The weapons are our souls, honor, land,
dignity and the future of our children.” In an apparent warning to the Lebanese
government, Qassem said that the decision to disarm Hezbollah came according to
dictation by the US and Israel, adding that “whoever wants to remove the weapons
means that they want to remove our soul and at that time the world will see our
strength.” “If this government continues in its current form, it cannot be
trusted to safeguard Lebanon’s sovereignty,” he added. “Israel may occupy, but
we will confront it to prevent it from settling and achieving its goals, and
this confrontation will continue.” This month, Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army
with drawing up a plan to establish state control over arms by December, a
challenge to Hezbollah. Israel on Monday signaled it would scale back its
military presence in southern Lebanon if the Lebanese armed forces took action
to disarm Hezbollah. The announcement from the Israeli prime minister's office
came a day after Benjamin Netanyahu met with US envoy Tom Barrak, who has been
heavily involved in a plan that would disarm Hezbollah and withdraw Israeli
forces from Lebanon. The Israeli military has maintained a presence in southern
Lebanon near the border since agreeing to a United States-backed ceasefire with
Hezbollah in November.
Hezbollah rebuffs
Lebanese government’s push to disarm
Al Arabiya English/25 August/2025
Hezbollah’s Naim Qassem said Monday that his group would not give up “the weapon
that protects us from Israel’s aggression,” doubling down on harsh criticism of
the Lebanese government’s plan to disarm the Iran-backed group. “Those who want
to strip us of our weapons want to strip us of our soul, and the world will see
our wrath,” Qassem said in a televised speech. The Lebanese government recently
adopted a plan to disarm Hezbollah and all other non-state actors in the
country. Qassem has repeatedly rejected these calls. On Monday, he said Israel
first needed to implement the US-brokered ceasefire reached last November before
Hezbollah agrees to discuss a national defense strategy in the country. Israel
continues to occupy five points inside Lebanon along the southern border. Qassem
said Hezbollah would confront Israel to prevent it from settling and achieving
its goals in Lebanon, vowing, “This confrontation will continue.”He also hit out
at the Lebanese government, saying it could not be trusted to protect the
country’s sovereignty.
Destroy
Hezbollah’s weapons pipeline from Iran, support Lebanese army: Pompeo
Al Arabiya English/26 August/2025
The former CIA chief and top US diplomat in the first Trump administration
called for increasing American support to Lebanon and its army while urging the
complete destruction of Iran’s weapons pipeline to Beirut. “Lebanon stands at a
crossroads,” former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. “After decades of
Iranian manipulation and Hezbollah’s stranglehold on the country, President
Donald Trump has a historic opportunity to help the Lebanese people reclaim
their nation while advancing key American interests,” he wrote in an op-ed for
Fox News. The Lebanese government recently adopted a plan to disarm Hezbollah
and all other non-state groups in the country, despite strong opposition from
the Iran-backed group. The decision came on the heels of a crushing military
defeat by Israel against Hezbollah after the latter began lobbing rockets in
what it said was support for Hamas. As part of the US-backed ceasefire deal
between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Armed Forces were to replace
dismantled Hezbollah outposts along the southern border. The LAF has made slow
but steady progress. More work needs to be done, according to US officials as
well as the Lebanese government. “We must work with our friends and allies to
systematically destroy Iran’s weapons pipeline to Lebanon. Every rocket, every
missile, every piece of military equipment that Iran moves into Lebanon must be
identified and eliminated,” Pompeo said. Another point of contention has been
the renewal of the UN peacekeeping force (UNIFIL), which was set to be renewed
by the UN Security Council. The vote has been delayed, and Washington wants to
end the mandate for good. Pompeo said UNIFIL’s “failed mission must come to an
end.” He added: “With just a few weeks left of its mandate, now is the time to
pull the plug on this United Nations boondoggle.” While Pompeo cited the
international community spending years discussing Lebanon’s problems, including
a collapsed central bank and corrupt state institutions, he said Hezbollah’s
armed presence would always be an obstacle. “Lebanon cannot have two militaries.
It cannot have one group that answers to Tehran while claiming to serve Beirut.
There can be only one legitimate force capable of defending Lebanon: the
Lebanese Armed Forces,” Pompeo said. He added, “The US must also support the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). The LAF represents Lebanon’s best hope for unified,
legitimate governance. We must provide them with everything they need, including
intelligence sharing, advanced hardware, comprehensive leadership training and
other necessary support.”
Netanyahu offers
'phased' withdrawal if Lebanon disarms Hezbollah
Agence France Presse/August 25/2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said Israel was ready to
back Lebanon's efforts to disarm Hezbollah and offered "a phased" pullout of its
troops if Lebanon followed through with plans to seize the group's weapons.
"Israel stands ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah and
to work together towards a more secure and stable future for both nations," said
Netanyahu, according to a statement released by his office.Israel also
acknowledged "the significant step taken by the Lebanese government," according
to the statement. If the Lebanese government follows through with the plan,
Netanyahu said Israel was prepared to "engage in reciprocal measures, including
a phased reduction of IDF (military) presence in coordination with the U.S.-led
security mechanism." Following the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah
last year, the Lebanese Army has been deploying in the country's south and
dismantling the militant group's infrastructure there. Lebanon has been
grappling with the thorny issue of disarming Hezbollah, with the cabinet this
month tasking the army with developing a plan to do so by the end of the year.
Despite the November ceasefire that ended the war, Israel has continued to
strike Lebanon, saying it will do so until Hezbollah is disarmed. Israeli forces
also continue to occupy five areas of the south that they deem
strategic.Hezbollah, the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon's
1975-1990 civil war, emerged badly weakened from last year's war with
Israel.Earlier this month, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem promised to push
back against the Lebanese government's plans to disarm his group. Last week,
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack called on Israel to honor commitments under a ceasefire
that ended its war with Hezbollah. "There's always a step-by-step approach but I
think the Lebanese government has done their part. They've taken the first step.
Now what we need is Israel to comply," Barrack said during meetings with
Lebanese officials in Beirut. He met Sunday in Israel with Netanyahu regarding
the Trump administration’s request that Israel restrain its strikes in Lebanon,
as well as about the negotiations with Syria, three Israeli and U.S. sources
told U.S. news portal Axios. “The Trump administration is pushing simultaneously
for the implementation of new security arrangements between Israel and Lebanon
and between Israel and Syria as a first step toward a potential future
normalization of relations,” Axios reported. U.S. officials also told the news
portal that in light of the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel “has an interest in
calming the situation on its borders with Syria and Lebanon and reaching new
agreements with both countries.”
Ortagus arrives in Beirut, lauds Netanyahu's statement on Lebanon
Naharnet/August 25/2025
U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus arrived Monday in Beirut after she visited Israel
along with U.S. envoy Tom Barrack.,Prior to her arrival, Ortagus lauded Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement on Israel's readiness to gradually
decrease its troop presence in south Lebanon in return for Lebanese steps to
disarm Hezbollah. According to U.S. news portal Axios, Barrack met on Sunday
with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding “the Trump administration’s
request that Israel restrain its strikes in Lebanon, as well as about the
negotiations with Syria.”“The Trump administration is pushing simultaneously for
the implementation of new security arrangements between Israel and Lebanon and
between Israel and Syria as a first step toward a potential future normalization
of relations,” Axios said. U.S. officials also told the news portal that in
light of the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel “has an interest in calming the
situation on its borders with Syria and Lebanon and reaching new agreements with
both countries.”On Monday, Netanyahu said Israel is ready to back Lebanon's
efforts to disarm Hezbollah and offered "a phased" pullout of its troops if
Lebanon followed through with plans to seize the group's weapons. "Israel stands
ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah and to work together
towards a more secure and stable future for both nations," said Netanyahu,
according to a statement released by his office. Israel also acknowledged "the
significant step taken by the Lebanese government," according to the statement.
“Now is the time for both Israel and Lebanon to move forward in a spirit of
cooperation, focusing on the shared objective of disarming Hezbollah and
promoting the stability and prosperity of both nations,” the statement added.
US asks Israel to create 'positive momentum' with Lebanon
Naharnet/August 25/2025
U.S. envoy to Lebanon Tom Barrack and U.S. diplomat Morgan Ortagus, who arrived
Monday in Beirut, had stressed in their meetings with Israeli officials the
necessity of "creating positive momentum", American news portal Axios said.
Barrack and Ortagus had met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and Israel's defense and foreign
ministers in Israel on Sunday. Axios quoted an Israeli official as saying that
the Israeli side "expressed willingness" to take some of the steps the U.S. is
requesting, but said progress would depend on the ability of Lebanon's army to
rein in Hezbollah. The U.S. had asked the Israeli government to reciprocate a
decision taken by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah by scaling down
its strikes on Lebanon and starting a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from
five hills they are still occupying in south Lebanon. Barrack's assignment in
Lebanon, according to Axios, was to strengthen Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's
government, push it towards disarming Hezbollah and build foundations for future
normalization with Israel. On Monday, before Barrack and Ortagus arrived in
Beirut, Netanyahu issued a statement praising the Lebanese government's decision
to disarm Hezbollah by the year end as "a momentous decision."
Aoun: State protects all sects, cabinet decisions
unprecedented
Naharnet/August 25/2025
President Joseph Aoun stressed Monday the need that Lebanon “meet the Arab and
international interest in the country through boosting the confidence
restoration steps.”“We must properly make use of the numerous opportunities that
Lebanon has through exiting the sectarian and partisan alleways toward a single
party, which is Lebanon, and a single sect, which is the Lebanese sect,” Aoun
said in a meeting with a delegation of Lebanese businessmen. “Lebanon of the
sects cannot create a state. The state is what protects all sects and preserves
the country,” the president emphasized. “Cabinet is a platform for exchanging
viewpoints and taking decisions after discussions, and this is what has actually
happened, seeing as it has led to the issuance of unprecedented decisions,” Aoun
went on to say. The Lebanese government had on August 5 tasked the army with
preparing a plan for the removal of weapons and presenting it to Cabinet prior
to August 31, with an ultimate goal of completing the disarmament plan by year
end. Hezbollah has rejected the government’s decisions and said it will deal
with them as if they do not exist. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said Monday he welcomes the Lebanese cabinet's "momentous decision," adding that
if Lebanon takes the necessary steps to disarm Hezbollah, then Israel will
respond with reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of the Israeli
military presence in southern Lebanon. Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended in
November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group
will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it
controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or
wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members. Lebanon is under
U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with
Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military
leaders dead.
Hezbollah and Amal walk back after calling for protest over
disarmament
Naharnet/August 25/2025
Hezbollah and Amal called off Monday a rally they had called for in protest at
the government's decision to disarm Hezbollah by the year end. The workers'
departments of Hezbollah and Amal had called for a rally Wednesday in Riad al-Solh.
Media reports said the rally was called off after Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri
pressured Hezbollah to cancel it, while the Duo Amal and Hezbollah said in a
statement that their decision to cancel the protest came after pleas by
"national leaders". They said they called it off for unity and civil peace and
to open the way for "constructive dialogue" and "block any attempt to
destabilize the country." Hezbollah has been under domestic and international
pressure to give up its arsenal, which it has so far refused to do. The group's
leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is set to deliver a speech Monday at 4 PM. On Monday,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could start
withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese
cabinet’s “momentous decision” to disarm Hezbollah. Israel has carried out
almost daily strikes on Lebanon, despite a ceasefire reached in late November,
and its troops are still occupying five hills in south Lebanon they deem
"strategic".
Sharaa: Lebanon must benefit from Syria's rise or it will
lose a lot
Naharnet/August 25/2025
Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa has lamented that some in Lebanon are
depicting Syria’s new authorities as “terrorists and an existential threat”
while other Lebanese “want to rely on the strength of new Syria to settle scores
with Hezbollah.”“We are neither this nor that,” Sharaa added. Cautioning that
“Lebanon must benefit from Syria’s rise or it will lose a lot,” the Syrian
leader noted that Damascus has offered “concessions” over “the wounds caused by
Hezbollah” instead of “carrying on with the fight after Damascus’ liberation.”
“We want a state-to-state relation with Lebanon that is based on economic
solutions, stability and common interest,” al-Sharaa added.
Salam stresses need for Israel to withdraw, halt attacks,
release captives
Naharnet/August 25/2025
In a meeting Monday with visiting U.S. Senators Darin LaHood and Steve Cohen,
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam demanded that Israel withdraw from south Lebanon and
halt its strikes on Lebanon. Salam stressed that Israel must respect Lebanon's
sovereignty and withdraw from the five hills it is still occupying in south
Lebanon, enabling the Lebanese army to complete its deployment in the south. He
also called for the release of Lebanese prisoners and for a halt of hostilities
which would allow Lebanon to start rebuilding war-hit areas and recover from the
14-month Israeli war. LaHood for his part praised the Lebanese cabinet's
decision to work towards the disarmament of Hezbollah by the end of 2025. Also
on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the Lebanese
cabinet's "momentous decision" and said that if Lebanon takes the necessary
steps to disarm Hezbollah, then Israel will respond with reciprocal measures,
including a phased reduction of the Israeli military presence in southern
Lebanon. LaHood had also met in Lebanon with President Joseph Aoun.
Syrian delegation to visit Lebanon for talks on prisoners, demarcation
Naharnet/August 25/2025
A Syrian delegation will visit Lebanon this week to prepare for a high-level
meeting between Lebanese and Syrian officials, media reports said. Pro-Hezbollah
al-Akhbar newspaper reported Monday that a committee from the Syrian ministries
of foreign affairs, interior, and justice, will visit Beirut next Thursday to
arrange for the official meeting. The delegation, according to the daily, will
meet with Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Mitri, in the presence of Lebanese
officials from the ministries of interior and justice. The step comes after
Saudi efforts to mediate between the two countries, al-Akhbar said, adding that
the delegation will discuss the land and sea demarcation between the two
neighbors, including the disputed Shebaa Farms. The Lebanese and the Syrian
officials will also discuss the file of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon and economic
cooperation between the two countries. Salam would send to Parliament a draft
law that would grant amnesty to many Syrian prisoners in Lebanon, amid an
opposition from the Kataeb Party and the Free Patriotic Movement, the report
said. Al-Jadeed TV channel said a Lebanese-Syrian security meeting was
previously held under Saudi mediation and was attended by Saudi Defense Minister
Prince Khaled bin Salman and Saudi envoy to Lebanon Prince Yazid bin Farhan. The
local media outlet added that Saudi Arabia will organize another security
meeting between Lebanon and Syria in the coming days. During the meeting,
Lebanon asked for guarantees to keep terrorist organizations away from its
borders and Syria vowed to cooperate.
Iran official says Hezbollah disarmament plan 'will never
be implemented'
Naharnet/August 25/2025
Brig. Gen. Iraj Masjedi, the assistant commander of Iran’s Quds Force for
coordination affairs, announced Monday that “the Hezbollah disarmament plan in
Lebanon is an American-Zionist plan that will never be implemented.”Recent and
similar statements by the same official and by other Iranian officials had
prompted Lebanese authorities to strongly condemn “interference” in Lebanon’s
domestic affairs. “Neither the Lebanese people nor the Hezbollah force will
accept this plan and it will never materialize,” Masjedi stressed on Monday.
“The resistance’s arms are the arms of the Lebanese people to defend this land
against the Zionist entity’s aggression,” the Iranian official added. The
Lebanese government had on August 5 tasked the army with preparing a plan for
the removal of weapons and presenting it to Cabinet prior to August 31, with an
ultimate goal of completing the disarmament plan by year end.
Hezbollah has rejected the government’s decisions and said it will deal with
them as if they do not exist. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
Monday he welcomes the Lebanese cabinet's "momentous decision," adding that if
Lebanon takes the necessary steps to disarm Hezbollah, then Israel will respond
with reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of the Israeli military
presence in southern Lebanon. Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November
with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not
discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls
inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded
hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members. Lebanon is under U.S.
pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and
was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead.
Report: Army hasn't demanded extending Hezbollah disarmament deadline
Naharnet/August 25/2025
The Lebanese Army has not asked for an extension of the deadline set by the
Lebanese government for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the other armed groups
in the country, a Lebanese military source said. “The army’s plan for the
removal of Hezbollah’s arms has become almost ready,” the source told Al-Arabiya’s
Al-Hadath channel. “The army will present the Hezbollah disarmament plan to the
government on September 2,” the source added. The government had on August 5
tasked the army with preparing a plan for the removal of weapons and presenting
it to Cabinet prior to August 31, with an ultimate goal of completing the
disarmament plan by year end. Hezbollah has rejected the government’s decisions
and said it will deal with them as if they do not exist. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he welcomes the Lebanese cabinet's "momentous
decision," adding that if Lebanon takes the necessary steps to disarm Hezbollah,
then Israel will respond with reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction
of the Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon. Since the Israel-Hezbollah
war ended in November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have
said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five
hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have
killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members. Lebanon is
under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with
Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military
leaders dead.
No withdrawal
from Lebanon until army begins disarming Hezbollah, Israel says
Vanessa Ghanem & Nada Homsi & Mohamad Ali Harisi/The National/August 25,
2025
Hezbollah insisted the group would not give up its weapons, saying that
disarming it would be like “taking its soul out"
Israel on Monday said it would begin a phased withdrawal of its troops from
Lebanon, but only after the Lebanese army starts implementing a government
decision to disarm Hezbollah. Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem, in a speech
later, said the group would not give up its weapons, stressing that disarming
Hezbollah would be like “taking its soul out.”“You will face our wrath if you
proceed,” he warned, adding that Lebanon should first compel Israel to withdraw
and halt its attacks, and only then discuss a defence strategy. The statement,
issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, came as US envoys Tom
Barrack and Morgan Ortagus were due in Beirut following meetings in Israel. The
two US officials had pressed Israel to scale back its attacks in Lebanon,
according to media reports, arguing that easing military pressure could
encourage the Lebanese government to take a step forward on Hezbollah’s
disarmament plan. The timing also coincides with a looming deadline: by the end
of the month, the Lebanese army is expected to unveil its plan for implementing
the government’s historic decision to disarm the Iran-backed group. Israel,
however, made clear in its statement that it expects the Lebanese army to begin
carrying out the plan before it moves to de-escalate. "If the Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF) take the necessary steps to implement the disarmament of Hezbollah,
Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of IDF
presence in coordination with the US-led security mechanism," the Israeli
statement clarified. It added that Israel "acknowledges the significant step
taken by the Lebanese government, under the leadership of President Aoun and
Prime Minister Salam" to work towards "the disarmament of Hezbollah by the end
of 2025". It described it as a "momentous decision".
"In light of this important development, Israel stands ready to support Lebanon
in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah and to work together towards a more secure
and stable future for both nations," the statement read. Hezbollah, which has
already rejected the vote, has insisted it will not accept discussing a
disarmament plan until Israel withdraws from occupied Lebanese territory and
stops its attacks on the country. Iran, Hezbollah's main backer, has told
Lebanese leaders the group cannot be disarmed as the prospect of a new war with
Israel grows, said sources briefed on the meetings of Iran’s security chief Ali
Larijani in Beirut this month. On Monday, an Israeli strike killed one person in
the southern Lebanese village of Tibnin, the Lebanese health ministry reported.
Israel conducts near-daily attacks on Lebanon, with at least 200 people killed
in Israeli strikes since a ceasefire was declared last November.
Concessions and guarantees
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned there would be “no life” for Lebanon if the
government confronted the group, accusing it of surrendering to Washington’s
demands on behalf of Israel. On Monday, he reiterated that any disarmament plan
should be discussed with his group in a process that would start after Israel
withdraws from Lebanon. Sources close to Hezbollah also criticised the
government for failing to "use the weapons issue" as a bargaining chip to press
Washington to secure the release of a number of Lebanese prisoners or to push
Israel to withdraw from occupied areas. The group’s position has been bolstered
in recent weeks by what a Lebanese military source described as “moral support”
from Iranian officials. Lebanon is in desperate need of financial support to
begin rebuilding after the devastating war with Israel. The US and other
countries have made clear that aid will not come before a formal decision to
disarm Hezbollah is taken. “The Lebanese army is capable of meeting the deadline
to present the plan requested by the government to ensure only state
institutions possess weapons,” a senior Lebanese military source told The
National on Monday. “Any delay would be, rather, a political decision,"
explained the source, adding that the Lebanese army is preparing a two-phase
disarmament plan that would include both the north and south of the Litani
River. Tasking the army with drafting the plan to establish a state monopoly on
weapons by the end of the year is a clear challenge to Hezbollah’s armed status.
The decision is rooted in growing US pressure. Mr Barrack introduced a broader
roadmap, including Hezbollah’s disarmament, Israeli troop withdrawal from
southern Lebanon and arms consolidation by year-end.
Willing to disarm
Without a formal commitment from Beirut, Washington threatened to freeze its
mediation efforts. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf
Salam have repeatedly asserted the state's exclusive right to bear arms. But not
all in government are on board. Shiite ministers – aligned with Hezbollah, Amal
and independent MPs – walked out of the deliberations in protest. Lebanese
officials are now watching closely to see how Hezbollah will respond. Together
with the Amal Movement, the group has called for a protest on Wednesday in
Beirut’s Riad Al Solh Square to denounce the government’s decision to strip it
of its weapons, but cancelled it later on. “Hezbollah does not appear willing to
disarm without concessions or guarantees in return,” said the military source.
“They are looking for an outcome” in return. A Lebanese security source
described the Israeli statement as an attempt to further pressure domestic
affairs by trying to sow strife between the army and Hezbollah. “This is a clear
attempt to cause chaos. Naming the president and the prime minister is a
deliberate effort to influence domestic politics,” the source explained.
For Hezbollah, Israel is throwing the ball into Lebanon’s court.
“The writing is on the wall: the Lebanese government’s lax stance has allowed
Netanyahu to lecture the Lebanese on what he claims is the best path for their
country,” a source close to Hezbollah told The National. “With his statement,
Netanyahu is once again trying to throw the ball into Lebanon’s court without
offering any concession or step from Israel."The source stated that "Netanyahu
undermines the idea of step for step that Tom Barrack’s initiative was supposed
to be built on. After the Lebanese government’s decision, Israel was expected to
take a step — but it did not". "Netanyahu’s idea reaffirms his bet on sparking
internal clashes among the Lebanese, while committing Israel to no concessions
or initiatives of its own."
Updated: August 25, 2025, 10:54 AM`
Diplomacy and Totalitarianism … Dismantling the Iranian Arc
of Terror is Essential if the Middle East is to make its way to peace/
Dr. Charles Chartouni/This is Beirut/August 25/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/146671/
Observing international life today conveys puzzling images and ambivalent
feelings about its complexion. We have a difficult time categorizing events,
making sense of political evolutions, and dealing with them. The collapse of the
conventional political taxonomy with its binaries and ideological lenses invites
us to rethink our intellectual categories and policymaking. The diplomatic
efforts deployed across a conflict spectrum stretching from Eurasia to the wider
Middle East are worth pondering if we are to find our way in the labyrinthine
politics of the post-Cold War era and its enduring intellectual obfuscations
thirty-six years after the fall of communism.
The conflicts in Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia attest to the ongoing travails of
a post-Cold War era and to the inability to stabilize its floundering
geopolitics. Vladimir Putin’s political revanchism is symptomatic, revealing the
unending dilemmas of the “Russian idea” and its imperial derivatives. Russia has
never been able to address its lingering identity problems and settle for its
European tropism. The Eurasian ideology reflects the unmanageable conflicts
between clashing civilizational realms and their geopolitical modulations.
The historical wagers of Peter the Great (1682–1725) and Catherine the Great
(1762–1796) and their resolute embrace of the European anchors were defeated
when Communism and its Soviet geopolitics generated an ideological panopticon at
the crossroads of totalitarian ideology and militant imperialism. The current
ravings of the autocratic mafia reenact the illusions and the tragedies of a
decaying imperialism. Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia are defraying the costs of a
waning murderous dystopia. Putin’s inability to face the strategic threats posed
by China and the Islamic republics of Central Asia drives him toward targeting
Europe, portrayed as the ultimate menace to Russia’s strategic security.
These three targeted countries are emblematic of an overriding concern, the
destruction of the European Union as the corollary to the resuscitation of the
Russian imperial hubris. The short-sighted script adopted by the Trump
administration fails to reckon with the meta-narrative that lies beneath the war
in Ukraine and its replicas. The Alaska meeting once again confirmed that Putin
is unwilling to renounce his imperial ambitions, and the US-European summit and
its preliminaries were able to preempt the presumed US-Russian deal, strengthen
the NATO defenses, solidify Ukraine’s Western geopolitical and cultural anchors,
and reset the geostrategic balance.
The ultimate chance for peace is to steady the Ukrainian defenses, double down
on the economic sanctions, and pursue negotiations with Russia. The diplomatic
complacency attempted by President Trump does not seem to yield the expected
outcomes. The very fact that the battles raged during negotiations testifies to
Putin’s unyielding posture, and his outright cynicism. The delusions of personal
diplomacy have dissipated, however useful they might have been in jump-starting
the deadlocked military situation.
Once again, diplomacy doesn’t seem to work with dictators who are in the
business of buying time and pursuing their objectives. The Russian dictator, by
coming to the meeting, had a multilayered agenda: break away from his isolation,
finalize an accommodating deal with the US president, and sideline Europe. The
well-coordinated diplomatic move between the US administration and the EU was
able to dampen Putin’s inflated expectations, preempt his “divide and conquer”
strategy, and renew NATO’s momentum. The hypothetical sequencing between truce
and negotiations was initially rejected and prevented the Russian side from
setting the agenda of future negotiations.
The same scheme applies to the situation in Iran. The Iranian regime is trying
to outmaneuver its nemeses and to downplay its military defeat while diplomacy
is under curfew. The case of frozen conflicts is never instrumental in
diplomacy; on the contrary, it has always been counterproductive and detrimental
to negotiated conflict resolution. The Iranian regime has used this idle time to
upgrade its internal repression, uphold its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen,
undermine the political mediations in Gaza, and overlook the strategic
incidences of its military defeat and the destruction of its nuclear platforms.
The lingering state of political void that prevailed after the bombardment of
the nuclear sites is inexplicable and unsustainable, and the military operations
are not self-contained or purposeless actions. Either the Iranian regime has to
engage the diplomatic process on the very basis of its military defeat and
negotiate its way into nuclear demilitarization, normalization at the
international level and political liberalization within the domestic realm, or
there is an urge to finish the military campaign and defeat the Islamic regime
that is openly engaged in political subversion. The situations in Lebanon,
Syria, Gaza, Iraq and Yemen are explicit cases whereby there are no chances for
diplomacy, dialogue-based conflict resolution and peace unless the Iranian power
politics are checkmated and the conditions for peace, geopolitical stabilization
and democratization are made possible.
The Israeli disruption of the “integrated operational platforms” devised by the
Iranian regime allowed Lebanon to challenge Hezbollah’s reign of terror and foil
its domination strategy; undermined the Syrian regime and opened up the public
space for tentative political change; enhanceh the chances of political
reconciliation and reform in Iraq; destroyed Hamas and reset the dynamics of a
negotiated political solution with the Palestinians; and eradicated the Houthis’
faraway terrorism, affecting the end of Yemen’s civil war. The Iranian regime is
hell-bent on reversing the fatal dynamics, to no avail, and dismantling the
Iranian arc of terror is essential if the Middle East is to make its way to
peace.
Lebanon needs
clarity, not casino diplomacy
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya English/25 August/2025
Lebanon is once again finding itself at the crossroads of international
attention, as Tom Barrack and Morgan Ortagus arrive in Beirut. The two represent
not just different personalities but entirely different eras of American
diplomacy. Barrack, the billionaire dealmaker, is the archetype of an outdated
style of politics: flashy, transactional, and tone-deaf to the complexities of
societies like Lebanon. His brand of diplomacy belongs to the cocktail party
circuit, built on handshakes with oligarchs and whispered promises to rulers. It
is a diplomacy that confuses private equity instincts with statecraft, as if a
broken republic could be mended like a distressed asset. Lebanon does not need
another round of casino politics dressed up as diplomacy. Ortagus, by contrast,
embodies something Lebanon has long lacked from Washington: clarity, principle,
and the courage to speak plainly. She has consistently framed Hezbollah for what
it is – a militia serving Iran at the expense of Lebanon – and has done so
without the apologetics or hedging that too often characterize foreign envoys.
Where Barrack traffics in the language of Nabih Berri and the old political
class, Ortagus speaks to the Lebanese people directly, acknowledging their
yearning for sovereignty and reform. That difference is not cosmetic – it could
prove decisive. The timing of their visit is critical. Lebanon is not simply
another stopover on the way to Tehran or Tel Aviv. It is a state whose very
survival depends on disarming Hezbollah and restoring sovereignty. The challenge
is not only to pressure militias, but to empower Lebanese agency. Ortagus
understands that this requires more than elite understandings – it demands
public commitment and accountability. Barrack, meanwhile, seems trapped in a
1990s playbook, a relic of an age when buying access was confused with building
strategy. His wheeling and dealing comes across less like diplomacy and more
like a zoning meeting for a luxury resort on the Beirut waterfront.
The reason this contrast matters is because US envoys cannot come to Beirut with
half measures or empty gestures – the core challenge is Hezbollah’s arms. Few
issues dominate Lebanon’s political landscape as decisively. As long as Lebanon
hosts a heavily armed militia operating outside state authority, no real
progress – political, economic, or social – is possible. Elections cannot be
free and fair when one party carries an arsenal larger than the state’s.
Political bargains are always shadowed by the threat of force, and entire
communities live under the illusion that Hezbollah can defend them, even as the
group drags Lebanon into costly confrontations, isolates it from the global
economy, and robs its citizens of agency. The consensus across regional and
international perspectives is clear: Sovereignty and militias are mutually
exclusive.
Lebanon’s predicament is compounded by its entanglement with Syria. After the
fall of Bashar al-Assad and the emergence of Ahmad al-Sharaa’s government, the
question of militias has again taken center stage. For some, Syria’s turmoil has
offered Hezbollah a new lease on survival, a chance to destabilize its neighbor
and prolong its own relevance. For others, Lebanon’s only hope lies in a stable
Syria, one where militias are dismantled and the state rebuilt on national
rather than sectarian foundations. This is not a matter of Sunni versus Shia, or
Druze versus Christian, but of state authority against the chaos of armed
groups. The wellbeing of Lebanon is inseparable from that of Syria: So long as
Syria remains fractured, Lebanon will struggle to reclaim sovereignty.
Yet Lebanon’s plight has also been distorted by how Washington views it. For
decades, US policymakers, or at least some of them, reduced Lebanon to an
extension of the Iran problem, assuming that resolving issues with Tehran would
automatically resolve Hezbollah. In this calculus, Lebanon became a secondary
file, folded into the larger confrontation or détente with Iran. But Lebanon is
not a footnote. It is a nation of its own, with fragile institutions and deep
social fractures that require direct attention. By treating Lebanon as an
afterthought, Washington has emboldened Hezbollah and squandered opportunities
to invest in Lebanese sovereignty.
For now, however, it is Israel that is shaping Hezbollah’s trajectory. Israeli
strikes have systematically degraded the militia’s leadership, supply lines, and
infrastructure. When Hassan Nasrallah was killed, many Lebanese – from Sunnis to
Christians and Syrians – celebrated, even as the Shia community mourned. This
paradox highlights Lebanon’s fragile agency: there is popular will against
Hezbollah, but it lacks the force to confront the group without external
leverage. Sunnis and Christians do not threaten Hezbollah because Israel already
does. It is an unhealthy dynamic, but in the current vacuum it remains the only
credible deterrent to Hezbollah’s persistence.
If the militia question defines Lebanon’s sovereignty, normalization defines its
future economy. Across the Arab world, states such as the UAE, Morocco, and
Bahrain have shown that peace with Israel can unlock trade, technology, and
economic growth. Lebanon, with its highly educated workforce and entrepreneurial
culture, could benefit enormously. Israel’s economy is nearly thirty times
larger, and partnership could provide Lebanon with markets, infrastructure, and
access to global networks. But anti-normalization laws and Hezbollah’s hostility
block this path. Normalization is not capitulation but a pragmatic step toward
recovery. Sovereignty first, peace second, prosperity third – this is the
sequence Lebanon must follow.
Any discussion of Hezbollah inevitably confronts the question of justice. For
Syrians, the militia’s crimes are still raw, from its role in massacres to its
service as Iran’s proxy in their conflict. Some argue that accountability is
necessary, while others fear retribution risks perpetuating cycles of vengeance.
What cannot be ignored, however, is Hezbollah’s origin: it was never a political
party in the normal sense. Born in 1982 as an Iranian militia, it has always
used politics as a shield for its weapons. Its future in Lebanon depends on
whether it can shed that identity and function as a civilian actor – or else
face dissolution.
The path forward is clear. Disarmament must precede everything else, from
elections to economic reform. Sovereignty, not sectarian identity, must be the
foundation of Lebanese politics. The United States must recalibrate, recognizing
Lebanon as more than a proxy battlefield and investing in its sovereignty
directly. Regional stability in Syria is essential to Lebanon’s survival, and
Lebanon should not shy away from exploring normalization with Israel as a
gateway to economic recovery.
This is why Ortagus’s presence matters. She has proven she can combine principle
with pragmatism, speaking to the Lebanese people rather than only to their
discredited leaders. She knows that sovereignty cannot be negotiated away in
private rooms or traded for contracts. Barrack, on the other hand, offers little
more than the stale promise of elite backroom deals that resemble real estate
ventures more than statecraft. His model flatters the very class that ruined
Lebanon, while Ortagus challenges it. But even the best of international envoys
can only do so much. All the visits, conferences, and regional initiatives will
remain futile if the Lebanese themselves are not convinced of doing what is
right. No amount of foreign pressure or Israeli deterrence can substitute for a
national decision to reclaim sovereignty. If Lebanon is to have a future, it
must come from within: A choice to disarm Hezbollah, to reject the culture of
sectarian dependency, and to rebuild the republic on the foundations of law and
accountability. As Lebanon faces the choice between disarmament and
disintegration, the message from Washington and beyond must be unambiguous.
Hezbollah’s weapons are incompatible with Lebanon’s survival. Sovereignty comes
first, before elections, before economic recovery, before anything else. But
sovereignty will not be delivered from outside; it must be seized at home. Only
when the Lebanese themselves decide that enough is enough will clarity triumph
over casino politics, and Lebanon finally find a path back to life.
No easy way out:
Lebanon’s disarmament plan puts Hezbollah in a corner
Al Arabiya English/06 August/2025
Lebanon’s government has taken an unprecedented step by instructing the army to
prepare a plan to disarm the country’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. For the
first time since the 1989 Taif Agreement, which ended Lebanon’s 15-year civil
war and led to the disarmament of all participating militias, the government has
issued a formal decision aimed at removing Hezbollah’s weapons. Hezbollah was
the only armed group allowed to keep its weapons after the war, under the
pretext of resisting Israeli occupation. The move strips Hezbollah’s arms of the
political legitimacy they once enjoyed. Successive governments had endorsed the
so-called “Army, People, and Resistance” formula in official policy statements –
language that effectively enshrined Hezbollah’s military role. This was during a
period when Hezbollah was the country’s most powerful political and military
force, enjoying backing from Syria’s former regime and Iran. But times have
changed. The current government was formed amid a shift in political dynamics.
Hezbollah emerged weakened after its latest war with Israel last year, while
Tehran suffered major losses during a 12-day conflict with Israel in June. And
the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah’s key Syrian ally, has fallen. Past
attempts to address Hezbollah’s independent military infrastructure or its
separate communication networks have sparked crises. In 2008, when the Lebanese
government tried to dismantle Hezbollah’s private telecommunications network,
the militia responded by storming parts of Beirut. Clashes with political
opponents left more than 65 people dead. Since then, Hezbollah’s weapons have
remained a divisive political issue. One camp has consistently called for the
state to monopolize all weapons and decision-making on war and peace. The other,
led by Hezbollah, insists on keeping arms to confront Israel. Now, with the
landscape shifting, the question is: What are Hezbollah’s options?
A ‘grave sin’
Hezbollah’s initial response has been combative. The militia rejected the
government’s disarmament decision, saying it would treat it “as if it doesn’t
exist” and labeling it a “grave sin.” Despite limited options, each path forward
carries significant risks and costs for the militia. Hezbollah could escalate
politically by having its four ministers – and those from its ally Amal Movement
– resign from government, thereby disrupting parliamentary work where they hold
a strong bloc with allies. It might also mobilize supporters in the streets,
possibly with visible displays of arms, to create an atmosphere of intimidation.
An armed confrontation with the army is another possibility. But any internal
confrontation would have major consequences for civil peace and Hezbollah’s role
in Lebanon, and would likely turn the majority of the Lebanese public against
the militia, especially if it comes into direct conflict with the military.
Clashing with the army
David Wood, a Lebanon analyst at the International Crisis Group, told AFP he
believes Hezbollah will do everything it can to avoid a military clash with the
army, because it knows the majority of Lebanese would side with the army in such
a confrontation.
Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar dismissed the idea of a confrontation, saying that the
army and Hezbollah “have a strong understanding and cooperation in serving
Lebanon’s interests.”Still, Hezbollah could escalate tensions with Israel. But
as military analyst Riad Kahwaji explains, such a war would be devastating. With
supply lines compromised by the collapse of the Syrian regime and weakened
intelligence and logistics capabilities, the militia is in a poor position to
fight.
The optimistic scenario
The most hopeful scenario would see Hezbollah eventually agreeing to disarm and
fully enter civilian political life, much like other militias did after the
civil war. But a Lebanese source familiar with the talks told AFP that Hezbollah
won’t do that without something in return. The militia’s decision will also
depend heavily on Tehran’s position. Nicholas Blanford, a senior fellow at the
Atlantic Council, expects Hezbollah to try to buy time. He said it’s unlikely
Hezbollah agrees to complete disarmament.
What’s at stake for Lebanon?
Lebanon is facing intense pressure from international and Arab donors to ensure
that only the state holds weapons – one of several conditions for securing
much-needed aid and stabilizing the country. President Joseph Aoun recently
stated that Lebanese leaders must choose “either collapse or stability.”
Meanwhile, Israel may act militarily again. It has already issued multiple
warnings through media and diplomatic channels, signaling it will not hesitate
to launch destructive strikes if Hezbollah’s disarmament is not enforced.
Hezbollah emerged from its last war with Israel in a weakened state. Many of its
commanders were killed, and much of its arsenal destroyed. Getting weapons and
funding from Iran has also become far more difficult as Lebanon and Syria’s new
authorities tighten border controls and impose stricter financial regulations.
Several of Hezbollah’s funding sources in Lebanon and abroad are now under
scrutiny and targeted by sanctions.
Can Lebanon prevent losing another generation to conflict
and despair?
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/August 25, 2025
LONDON: When Sabah thinks about Lebanon’s turmoil and what lies ahead, she finds
herself filled with rage and despair. While much of the world carries on
uninterrupted, the lives of tens of thousands of young men and women in the
country remain in limbo.
“The world moves on while many here have been left with nothing but fragments of
memory, and others have lost even that,” the 25-year-old organizational
psychologist from Sidon, an ancient city on Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast, told
Arab News.
“Hundreds of thousands here have been deprived of the most basic needs,” she
added. “They can’t access essential resources, their homes have been destroyed,
their memories erased, their past lives vanished.”Her despair reflects a wider
reality. Lebanon stands on the brink of losing an entire generation to conflict,
poverty and social and economic disintegration. Years of political turmoil, weak
governance and economic meltdown were compounded by the latest war between
Israel and Hezbollah.
A UN-backed report released in July 2024 said the conflict left nearly half of
Lebanon’s young workforce without jobs matching their skills and disrupted
schooling for 500,000 students. Between September and late November, 69 percent
of children were forced out of classrooms. Building a future at home has become
a distant dream, and many now see emigration as the only way forward.
The report also found that the war displaced 1.2 million people, damaged or
destroyed 64,000 buildings, pushed unemployment to nearly 30 percent, and rolled
back human development to 2010 levels. Basic necessities are increasingly out of
reach. The UN estimates that 1.6 million people will face acute food insecurity,
while child malnutrition has reached critical levels in Baalbek Hermel and Bekaa,
where more than half of children under the age of two live in severe food
poverty. “Lebanon is at a turning point,” Blerta Aliko, resident representative
of the UN Development Programme in Lebanon, said in a statement. The country,
she added, “continues to face a complex polycrisis, now further exacerbated by
the repercussions of the latest war.”For Lebanon’s youth, the impact has been
crushing. Building a future at home has become a distant dream, and many now see
emigration as the only way forward. A 2024 Arab Barometer survey found young and
college-educated Lebanese increasingly inclined to leave their country. “It is
important to note that most of these ‘lost generation’ were fresh graduates
seeking work and a decent life in their homeland,” Yeghia Tashjian, regional and
international affairs cluster coordinator at the Issam Fares Institute for
Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut,
told Arab News.
“Many left due to insecurity, financial crisis and the lack of policy action
from the government. They felt hopeless and they had no other option.”
The country’s real GDP has shrunk by over 38 percent between 2019 and 2024,
according to the World Bank.
This exodus is not new. In 2021, two years into Lebanon’s financial collapse,
the Crisis Observatory at AUB warned the country had entered the third wave of
mass emigration since the 1975-1990 civil war, triggered by worsening all-round
conditions.
Lebanon’s 2019 financial collapse, which the World Bank described as one of the
worst globally since the 1850s, was the culmination of decades of fiscal
mismanagement, entrenched clientelism and a post-civil war economy. The crisis
left the state weakened and society vulnerable to further shocks.
Then came the recent Israel-Hezbollah war, which erupted on Oct. 8, 2023, as a
cross-border fire exchange between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant
group. Hezbollah had moved to back Palestinians as Israel launched a widescale
bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a deadly Hamas-led attack
on Oct. 7 that year.
The conflict intensified in September 2024, when Israeli strikes killed
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other senior party leaders and commanders
before its army began a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
By January, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 4,285 people had been
killed, 27 percent of them women and children.
On Nov. 27, a ceasefire agreement, though fragile, was reached. It called for
Hezbollah’s withdrawal north of the Litani River, Lebanese army deployment in
the south, and an Israeli pullback within 60 days.
But Israel did not fully pull its troops by the deadline, citing Lebanon’s
failure to fully enforce the agreement, particularly on Hezbollah’s arms and
positions, CNN reported.
Lebanon has for decades struggled with severe electricity and water shortages,
but the crises further deepened in 2024 and 2025.
The simmering tension has taken its toll on an already brittle society and
economy. Poverty in Lebanon has more than tripled since 2012, and the country’s
real GDP has shrunk by over 38 percent between 2019 and 2024, according to the
World Bank.
Still, some analysts see a path forward. “Hope is fragile, but it’s powerful,”
Fadi Nicholas Nassar, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East
Institute, told Arab News. “What will bring people back is showing them through
real action that Lebanon’s experiment in democracy is worth fighting for.”
He added: “Lebanon’s government needs to show the people who left that this
country is still worth coming back to as residents, not tourists. Worth their
time, their dreams, their hopes.”
But rebuilding trust will not be easy. Nassar said persuading young Lebanese
that they can build sustainable lives “without fear of conflict or collapse” is
not easy “after everything Lebanon has been through.”
He drew a parallel to post-civil war recovery, when a generation invested in
Lebanon’s promise — a promise now shattered for many.
A UN-backed report released in July 2024 said the conflict left nearly half of
Lebanon’s young workforce without jobs matching their skills.
“After the civil war, an entire generation invested in the promise of Lebanon,”
he said. “Now, the Lebanese are asked to believe again — to give what’s left of
their youth, or the last hope of those who’ve spent a lifetime watching promises
break.”
But can the people of Lebanon endure another disappointment, paid for in blood
and sweat?
“Belief cannot survive another betrayal,” Nassar said. “If Lebanon is to rise,
it must be worthy of the dreams entrusted to it. Lebanon, in the end, is nothing
without the Lebanese.”
“People vote with their feet,” he added, “and the government hasn’t delivered
the change people were waiting for.”
Tashjian of the Issam Fares Institute says the first steps should be small but
practical. He explained that the government must take “micro-steps to address
these issues by providing security, stability and economic reforms to attract
investments and create employment opportunities, mainly in the private sector.”
INNUMBERS
• 1.6m People projected to face acute food insecurity in Lebanon.
• 500k Students whose education was disrupted by 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war.
• 25% Drop in private sector employment due to the conflict.
(Source: UNDP and ESCWA)
The government, he said, should start by addressing electricity and water
shortages that have worsened amid mismanagement, drought and war. He argued that
“without solving these problems, it will be difficult to attract investments and
expect young Lebanese to fully return and bring their start-ups with them.”
Lebanon has for decades struggled with severe electricity and water shortages,
but the crises further deepened in 2024 and 2025. On Aug. 17, 2024, the
country’s last operational power plant shut down due to a lack of fuel, causing
a nationwide blackout for 24 hours.
Tashjian also urged the creation of an online “National Skills Registry” to
connect diaspora talent with jobs at home and new youth programs to encourage
Lebanese abroad to return.
The country’s real GDP has shrunk by over 38 percent between 2019 and 2024,
according to the World Bank. “Third,” he added, “institutionalize relations
between the diaspora and the Lebanese government by establishing ‘Lebanese Youth
Councils’ to facilitate young Fulbright-style programs attracting the youth to
visit Lebanon and seek new opportunities.”
The July 2024 UN-backed report underscored how vital such reforms are. Micro,
small and medium enterprises, which account for 90 percent of Lebanon’s
businesses, were especially hit hard. Concentrated in Beirut and Mount Lebanon,
firms suffered airstrikes, supply chain breakdowns and mass displacement of
staff. The southern city of Nabatieh saw the worst destruction, with 31 percent
of businesses damaged. Overall, 15 percent of MSMEs shut down permanently, while
three-quarters suspended operations.
UNDP’s Aliko said the crisis demands “the urgent and accelerated implementation
of essential reforms — particularly within public administration, as well as
across socio-economic and financial sectors.”Yet responsibility does not lie
solely with Beirut, analysts say. Israel’s ongoing operations in southern and
eastern Lebanon continue to undermine stability, complicating government efforts
to assert control. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah fighters, arms depots
and command centers. The US has urged Israel to scale back “non-urgent” strikes
to give Lebanon space to begin disarming Hezbollah, Axios reported on Aug. 21.
David Wood, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said Israel’s
actions may be delaying progress. “Lebanon’s leaders can take serious steps
toward securing the country’s future, while acknowledging that some challenges
remain beyond their entire control,” he told Arab News.
“To address the ongoing conflict, the government can press ahead with
implementing Lebanon’s obligations under the ceasefire agreement, including the
disarmament of Hezbollah and other non-state actors.”In early August, the
Lebanese government announced a timeline for Hezbollah’s disarmament, with the
goal of having a state monopoly on weapons before the end of 2025. In response,
Hezbollah said it would treat the decision “as if it doesn’t exist.” “The
government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam committed a grave sin by taking a
decision to strip Lebanon of its weapons to resist the Israeli enemy,” the group
said in a statement, warning that the decision “fully serves Israel’s interest.”
Wood cautioned that even if Lebanon fulfills its obligations, “it remains
unclear if Israel will respect its own commitments under the deal.” He urged
Washington to “help Lebanon by exerting diplomatic pressure on Israel to end its
ongoing occupation in southern Lebanon and near-daily military operations.”
In remarks on Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, welcomed
the Lebanese cabinet’s “momentous decision,” saying that if Lebanon took the
necessary steps to disarm Hezbollah, Israel would respond with reciprocal
measures, including a phased reduction of its military presence in the country’s
south.
The US has urged Israel to scale back “non-urgent” strikes to give Lebanon space
to begin disarming Hezbollah. Reforms would also unlock international aid, Wood
said, but key legislation remains stalled — including a law dividing losses from
the financial collapse.
“While the new leadership has made some progress on the reforms already, it
still needs to usher in key legislation, including a law allocating losses from
the collapse of Lebanon’s financial sector,” he said.
However, he added that “it could be difficult for the government to push through
this controversial law, given the unresolved dispute over which parties should
bear responsibility.”
Despite the obstacles, he added, Lebanon still has a window of opportunity. “The
international community has shown interest in supporting the country’s post-war
recovery,” Wood said. “But if Lebanon’s leaders fail to seize this chance —
which will not last forever — the Lebanese people could remain mired in the
current, dire situation for a very long time.”
The
Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on August 25-26/2025
From the
CNN/LIVE: John Bolton Breaks Silence in Most Explosive Interview Yet | FBI Raids
| Bolton Vs Trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZZ9fDOFfA
Link to a Video
Interview From FDD under the title/| Exodus or Endurance: The Plight of Egypt’s
Christians/Speaker FDD's Speaker Mariam Wahba, writing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouEgC3w3Haw
August 22/2025
Not every U.S. strategic partner is a democracy, but those receiving American
aid should not trample such basic freedoms as religious liberty. Years ago in
Egypt, Coptic Patriarch Pope Tawadros II told host Cliff May that discrimination
was diminishing under President Sissi. Today, USCIRF reports show the opposite:
systemic repression of religious minorities. FDD’s Mariam Wahba, writing
recently in The Free Press, calls out the “brazen attacks on Christianity” in
Egypt and beyond. She joins Cliff to discuss what’s gone wrong — and why it
matters — on Foreign Podicy.
Israel must take
hostage deal, its military chief reportedly says
Yolande Knell - BBC News, Jerusalem and Ruth Comerford - BBC News/ August 25,
2025
Israel's Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff has said there is a "deal on the
table" for the remaining hostages in Gaza, according to Israeli media. Lt Gen
Eyal Zamir reportedly said the Israeli military had brought about the conditions
for a deal, and it is now it is in Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu's hands,"
Channel 13 News reports. On Tuesday, Israel's security cabinet is expected to
discuss the latest proposal advanced by regional mediators, which Hamas accepted
a week ago. It follows mass demonstrations in Israel earlier this month as
hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv, calling for an end to the
Gaza war and a deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. Israel
pounds Gaza City in preparation for planned offensive
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Zamir had voiced "what most
Israelis were demanding," including a deal to bring home all 50 remaining
hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, and an end the war. The group is
planning another day of mass protest on Tuesday. The most recent proposal, from
mediators in Egypt and Qatar is said to be based on a framework put forward by
US envoy Steve Witkoff in June. It would see Hamas free around half of the
hostages in two rounds during an initial 60-day truce. There would also be
negotiations on a permanent ceasefire. Netanyahu's office previously said that
Israel would only accept a deal if "all the hostages are released in one go". On
Saturday, planes and tanks pounded parts of Gaza City as Israel pressed on with
its plan to seize the territory's largest urban area. Benjamin Netanyahu has
vowed to defeat Hamas and defied criticism over his plans to expand the war,
from the international community and from Zamir himself. According to Israeli
media, Zamir has argued against a full-scale occupation, citing fears of
endangering the lives of hostages and miring an exhausted military in Gaza.
The offensive would forcibly displace a million people from Gaza City to camps
in the south but Israel has not provided an exact timetable of when its troops
would enter Gaza City.
Netanyahu is reported to want the entire city under Israeli occupation from 7
October.
At least 1.9 million people in Gaza – or about 90% of the population – have
already been displaced, according to the UN. Last week a UN-backed hunger
monitor said there was now famine in Gaza City and that more than 500,000 people
in Gaza were facing "starvation, destitution and death". The UN and aid agencies
say this is a direct result of Israeli restrictions on letting food and aid into
Gaza. Israel described the monitor's report as an "outright lie", denying there
is starvation there. The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's 7 October 2023
attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken
hostage. Israel's offensive has killed more than 62,686 Palestinians, according
to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which the UN considers
reliable. Israel demands release of all Gaza hostages, casting doubt on
ceasefire proposal.
Israel’s security
cabinet to meet Tuesday to discuss Gaza
AFP/26 August/2025
The Israeli security cabinet will meet Tuesday evening in Jerusalem, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman said, with local media reporting it
would discuss renewed negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Responding to a request from AFP, spokesman Omer Mantzour did not provide any
details Monday on the meeting’s agenda. The security cabinet approved in early
August a plan for the military to take over Gaza City, but according to Israeli
media, Tuesday’s meeting is expected to focus on resuming negotiations for a
ceasefire and the release of hostages still being held in the Palestinian
territory. Netanyahu on Thursday had ordered immediate talks on the release of
all remaining captives in Gaza. That came days after Hamas said it had accepted
a new ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators that would see the staggered
release of hostages over an initial 60-day period in exchange for Palestinian
prisoners held by Israel. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main
campaign group advocating for the captives in Gaza, called for a day of national
action on Tuesday. “An absolute majority of the Israeli people want to bring our
loved ones home. The deliberate delay of signing a deal for their return goes
against the will of the people and our fundamental values – mutual
responsibility and friendship,” the group said in a statement.
Following Trump’s lead, Netanyahu shifts strategy on
ceasefire even after Hamas accepts
Tal Shalev/CNN/August 25, 2025
Nearly a week after Hamas accepted the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal from
Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Israel has yet to respond - even as Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims he is “immediately” starting negotiations to
release all the hostages and end the war.
The silence reflects a fundamental shift in Israel’s approach that has befuddled
mediators and families of the remaining hostages, who have accused Netanyahu of
abandoning and sacrificing their loved ones. After 18 months of agreeing only to
partial, phased ceasefire deals, Netanyahu is now demanding a comprehensive
agreement that would secure the release of all hostages and end the war entirely
– on Israel’s terms. The policy reversal comes as the prime minister
simultaneously accelerates plans for a massive military assault on Gaza City,
pursuing a dual strategy of negotiating while waging war to “defeat Hamas.”On
Thursday, Netanyahu declared that he had instructed his team to immediately
start negotiations for the return of all the hostages and end the war in Gaza.
But he did so without once mentioning the proposal currently on the table –
which calls for a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of half of the
hostages. The latest proposal is similar to the 60-day ceasefire Netanyahu
agreed to last month, only with terms more favorable to Israel after Hamas
showed flexibility on the number of prisoners to be released and the size of the
security perimeter.
At the same time, Netanyahu made a point of continuing to advance plans for the
Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) massive assault and takeover of Gaza City. Israel
attributes Hamas’ concessions to the threat of its imminent Gaza City offensive,
and Israeli officials say they believe the renewed threat of heavy military
pressure will make Hamas more flexible to accept Israel’s conditions to end the
war. Israel has long claimed that military pressure will force Hamas to the
table, but the terror group, while depleted, has defied defeat despite nearly
two years of fighting.
Netanyahu has not explained what caused this dramatic shift from a partial to a
comprehensive negotiation framework, and his mixed messaging has left many in
Israel and abroad confused: for a year and a half the government refused to
discuss ending the war and only agreed to negotiate phased and partial ceasefire
agreements. Now he’s opting only for a comprehensive deal and has been reluctant
to respond to the mediators’ latest proposal that was accepted by Hamas, Basem
Naim, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, said in a statement, “The
movement has presented everything necessary to reach a ceasefire agreement and
is still ready to do so with all national responsibility and an open mind.” Naim
said that Netanyahu has a “green light” from the Trump administration to
continue what he called a “dirty game.”
Trump’s belief that Hamas ‘want to die’
According to senior Israeli sources, the answer in Netanyahu’s new negotiations
strategy lies not in Jerusalem but in Washington. In recent weeks, US President
Donald Trump has expressed explicit public support for Israel’s renewed assault
in Gaza, adopting the Israeli rhetoric aiming to destroy Hamas, instead of
pushing for a temporary ceasefire. “We will only see the return of the remaining
hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place,
the better the chances of success will be,” President Trump wrote on his Truth
Social media platform last week.
According to one senior Israeli source, after Hamas raised obstacles during the
last round of negotiations in Qatar in July, Trump “lost patience and trust with
the partial process and doesn’t believe Hamas actually wants a deal.”
This echoes remarks his envoy Steve Witkoff made after the latest round of talks
collapsed, slamming Hamas as uncoordinated and not acting in good faith and
saying the US would explore alternative options to secure hostage release and
stabilize Gaza.
“It was too bad. Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to
die,” Trump told reporters outside the White House at the time. Shortly after
the comments, Netanyahu’s office shifted to an “all or nothing” approach,
demanding a comprehensive deal.
In the latest Israeli security cabinet meeting, during which Netanyahu’s
government approved the decision to expand and deepen the operation in Gaza
City, five conditions were set to end the war: disarmament of Hamas, the release
of all the hostages, demilitarization of Gaza while maintaining Israeli security
control, and the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is
neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. But Hamas has drawn a red line at
any notion of disarming. Israeli analysts say Netanyahu’s double-messaging –
pursuing war and peace – is a political tactic to buy time. It prolongs the war
and his own rule. “Netanyahu is fully aware that Hamas will never accept his
conditions for ending the war – and that is precisely his point,” Chaim
Levinson, a senior diplomatic commentator for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, told
CNN. Netanyahu’s demand for territorial control over large swaths of Gaza “is
likely to derail any potential agreement.”Netanyahu has demanded full Israeli
security control over Gaza in any post-war scenario, a scenario in which Israel
would retain the right to carry out strikes in Gaza. “Under such conditions, no
one will invest in Gaza, since the territory would remain trapped in a state of
ongoing conflict,” Levinson said. While repeated polling has shown that the vast
majority of the Israeli public would support any deal that would bring back the
hostages - Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel
Smotrich, adamantly oppose any ceasefire or end to the war, and have warned more
than once that it could lead to the collapse of his government.
Because of that overt threat, all of the hostage deals so far were designed as
phased and gradual, according to an Israeli source with knowledge of the
negotiations. The partial approach enabled Netanyahu to promise his coalition
partners that Israel will resume the war eventually.
Netanyahu’s far-right allies have pressed the Israeli leader to expand the war
and ramp up the bombardment of the devastated enclave until Hamas surrenders.
Former State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the Biden administration
believed Netanyahu was throwing up roadblocks to a ceasefire deal. “There were
times that we very much wanted to go public and make clear that we thought the
prime minister was being completely intransigent and making it tougher to get a
deal,” he told Israel’s Channel 13. But the administration kept the
disagreements private, Miller said, because former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar
pulled back from negotiations when he saw a split between the US and Israel. The
prime minister’s latest maneuvering and perceived double messaging has escalated
tensions between his government and the families of the remaining hostages in
Gaza. The families, who have been ramping up public pressure since the cabinet
approved the Gaza City offensive, accused the government of sacrificing the
hostages by delaying or dismissing the partial agreement on the table. After
launching some of the largest anti-war protests Israel has seen since the
beginning of the conflict nearly two years ago, the hostage families are
scheduling another protest for Tuesday night, trying to keep the pressure on a
government they feel is deaf to their cries of pain. Einav Zangauker, the mother
of Matan, who is held hostage in Gaza, blamed Netanyahu for torpedoing the
negotiations. “You are setting unattainable conditions to end the war, preparing
the army to conquer Gaza, you will lead soldiers into death traps,” she said at
a demonstration on Friday night outside the prime minister’s residence. “You
will sentence Matan to death, you will cause the deceased hostages to disappear
forever!”
In an attempt to brush off public criticism, Netanyahu’s office briefed Israeli
reporters over the weekend that he will be sending a negotiation team as soon as
a location is set for the talks. But without a site selected for the next
attempt at ceasefire negotiations – and with the US team tied up with Ukraine
and Russia – Netanyahu can pursue his dual strategy: making statements about
ending the war while taking military action that escalates it.
Leaders, journalist groups react to Israeli Gaza strike that killed five
journalists
Reuters/August 25/2025
World leaders and journalist groups reacted to an Israeli strike on Monday at
Gaza Strip's Nasser hospital that killed at least 20 people, including five
journalists who worked for Reuters, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and others.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS:
"The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Israeli strikes that killed
five journalists in Nasser hospital in southern Gaza and calls for the
international community to hold Israel accountable for its continued unlawful
attacks on the press."
PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS SYNDICATE:
"The Syndicate affirmed that this heinous crime represents a dangerous
escalation in the direct and deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists and
confirms without a shadow of a doubt that the occupation is waging an open war
on free media, with the aim of terrorizing journalists and preventing them from
carrying out their professional mission of exposing its crimes to the world."
U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:
“When did this happen?”
“I didn't know that. Well, I’m not happy about it. I don't want to see it. At
the same time, we have to end that whole nightmare.”
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON:
"This is intolerable: civilians and journalists must be protected in all
circumstances. The media must be able to carry out their mission freely and
independently to cover the reality of the conflict."
QATARI MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS:
"In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that the
occupation forces' targeting of journalists and relief and medical workers
requires urgent and decisive international action to provide the necessary
protection for civilians and ensure that the perpetrators of these atrocities do
not escape punishment."
UNITED NATIONS SPOKESPERSON STEPHANE DUJARRIC:
"The Secretary-General strongly condemns the killing of Palestinians today in
Israeli strikes that hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Those killed in
addition to civilians included medical personnel and journalists. "These latest
horrific killings highlight the extreme risks that medical personnel and
journalists face as they carry out their vital work amid this brutal conflict.
They "must be respected and protected at all times. He calls for a prompt, and
impartial investigation into these killings."
US SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN, SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE
"I personally am appalled by the bombing in Gaza and by the killing of
journalists, and think it needs to end now."
JEROME GRIMAUD, MSF EMERGENCY COORDINATOR IN GAZA:
"For the past 22 months, we have watched as healthcare facilities have been
levelled, journalists silenced, and healthcare workers buried beneath the rubble
by the Israeli forces. As Israel continues to shun international law, the only
witnesses of their genocidal campaign are deliberately being targeted. It must
stop now.”
RAVINA SHAMDASANI, CHIEF SPOKESPERSON FOR U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS VOLKER TURK:
"The killing of journalists in Gaza should shock the world – not into stunned
silence – but into action, demanding accountability and justice."
WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS:
"While people in #Gaza are being starved, their already limited access to health
care is being further crippled by repeated attacks.""We cannot say it loudly
enough: STOP attacks on health care. Ceasefire now!
UNRWA CHIEF PHILIPPE LAZZARINI:
"Silencing the last remaining voices reporting about children dying silently and
#famine with the world’s indifference & inaction is shocking....Let us undo this
manmade famine by: - opening the gates without restrictions - protecting
journalists & humanitarian + health workers Time for political will. Not
tomorrow, now."
JERUSALEM-BASED FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION:
"We demand an immediate explanation from the Israel Defense Forces and the
Israeli Prime Minister's Office. We call on Israel once and for all to halt its
abhorrent practice of targeting journalists....We appeal to international
leaders: do everything you can to protect our colleagues. We cannot do it
ourselves."
At least 20 killed, including five journalists, in Israeli
strikes on Gaza's Nasser hospital
FRANCE 24/August 25/2025
Multiple journalists killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza hospitalScroll back up to
restore default view. At least 20 people were killed, including five
journalists, in Israeli air strikes Monday on Gaza's Nasser Hospital,
Palestinian health officials said. More than 240 Palestinian journalists have
been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023,
according to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate. Gaza's civil defence agency
said five journalists were among at least 20 people killed Monday when Israeli
strikes hit a hospital in the south, with Reuters, the Associated Press and Al
Jazeera mourning their slain contributors. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said
"the toll so far is 20 martyrs, including five journalists and one member of the
civil defence," after strikes hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis – a large
medical complex in the south that has been targeted several times by Israel
since the start of the war. Israel has struck or raided hospitals repeatedly
throughout the war, justifying its attacks by saying it is targeting militants
operating inside the medical facilities, without providing evidence. Hospitals
have been overwhelmed by war wounded and now by increasing numbers of
malnourished as parts of Gaza slide into famine. Palestinians are also facing an
escalated Israeli offensive into Gaza City, which threatens a greater wave of
displacement. According to media watchdogs, around 200 journalists have been
killed in nearly two years of war between Israel and Hamas. In a statement, the
Israeli military said its troops on Monday "carried out a strike in the area of
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis". "The Chief of the General Staff instructed to
conduct an initial inquiry as soon as possible," it said, adding it "regrets any
harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such" The
civil defence's Bassal said an Israeli explosive drone targeted a building at
Nasser Hospital, followed by an air strike as the wounded were being evacuated.
A spokesperson for Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera on Monday said one of its
photojournalists and cameramen, Mohammad Salama, was killed in the attack.
"Al Jazeera Media Network condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this
horrific crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces, who have directly
targeted and assassinated journalists as part of a systematic campaign to
silence the truth," the broadcaster said in a statement. The Associated Press
said in a statement that it was "shocked and saddened" to learn of the death of
Mariam Dagga, 33, a visual journalist who had freelanced for the agency since
the start of the war. In an earlier statement, it said Dagga had not been on an
assignment with the agency when she was killed. A spokesperson for Reuters said:
"We are devastated to learn of the death of Reuters contractor Hussam al-Masri
and injuries to another of our contractors, Hatem Khaled, in Israeli strikes on
the Nasser hospital in Gaza today." "We are urgently seeking more information
and have asked authorities in Gaza and Israel to help us get urgent medical
assistance for Hatem," the spokesperson added in a statement. The Palestinian
Journalists Syndicate also named two other victims as Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad
Abu Aziz. According to AFP journalists, Abu Taha had worked with some
Palestinian and international outlets.
Smoke, bloodied bodies
Israel does not allow international news organisations into Gaza to report
freely, so many organisations rely on Gaza-based reporters for coverage. AFP
footage from the immediate aftermath of the attack showed smoke filling the air
and debris from the blast on the floor outside the hospital. Palestinians rushed
to help the victims, carrying bloodied bodies and severed body parts into the
medical complex. One body could be seen dangling from the top floor of the
targeted building as a man screamed below. A woman wearing medical scrubs and a
white coat was among the injured, carried into the hospital on a stretcher with
a heavily bandaged leg and blood all over her clothes. Nasser Hospital is one of
the last remaining health facilities in the Gaza Strip that is at least
partially functioning. Before the latest killings, media advocacy groups the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders said around
200 journalists had been killed in the Gaza war. Earlier this month, four Al
Jazeera staff and two freelancers were killed in an Israeli air strike outside
Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, prompting widespread condemnation. The Israeli
military alleged that Anas al-Sharif – a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent
killed in the strike – headed a Hamas "terrorist cell" and was "responsible for
advancing rocket attacks" against Israelis. The CPJ slammed that strike, saying
journalists should never be targeted in war. The war in Gaza was sparked 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 at least 62,744 Palestinians, most of them
civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that
the United Nations considers reliable.
(FRANCE 24 with AP and AFP)
High-ranking US
delegation meets Syria’s al-Sharaa, SDF leader
Al Arabiya English/25 August/2025
The top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jeanne
Shaheen, led a bipartisan delegation to meet with Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa
on Monday. “Ranking Member Shaheen is the first member of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime and meet
face-to-face with President Al-Sharaa,” Shaheen’s office said in a statement.
Shaheen, accompanied by Republican Joe Wilson and US Special Envoy Tom Barrack,
discussed the progress made in Syria on the security situation and “other US
priorities” within the country, according to the statement. She also highlighted
the importance of protecting all ethnic and religious backgrounds in Syria, as
well as inclusivity in the government. Shaheen also briefed the Syrian president
about bipartisan legislation on Capitol Hill that would lift the Caesar Act
sanctions against Syria. Separately, the US delegation met with Syria’s Minister
of Labor and Social Affairs, Hind Kabawat, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
leader, Gen. Mazloum Abdi. Shahen expressed support and discussed a pathway for
the SDF to integrate into the Syrian army. On another stop, Shaheen met with a
group of religious leaders and civil society members at a peace and dialogue
conference at a Christian Monastery. “Today’s meeting with leaders from many
faiths was a testament to the Syrian people’s common cause: a country free from
violence where people of many backgrounds can work together toward a brighter
future,” Shaheen said. “A Syria that can stand on its own after ridding itself
of the Assad regime will be a cornerstone for regional stability in the Middle
East. America is ready to be a partner to a new Syria that moves in the right
direction,” she added.
Syria president
to speak at UN General Assembly: official
AFP/August 25, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, will speak at the United
Nations General Assembly next month, a foreign ministry official told AFP on
Monday, the first Syrian leader to do so in decades. Sharaa “will take part in
the United Nations General Assembly in New York where he will deliver a speech,”
the official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the
media. Sharaa took power in December after his Islamist group led a coalition of
forces that toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad after nearly 14 years of
gruelling civil war. “He will be the first Syrian president to speak at the
United Nations since former president Nureddin Al-Atassi (in 1967), and the
first Syrian president ever to take part in the General Assembly’s high-level
week,” scheduled for September 22-30, the official added. Since taking power,
Syria’s new authorities have gained regional and international support. In
April, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani addressed the United Nations
for the first time and raised his country’s new flag at the body’s New York
headquarters. Sharaa met US President Donald Trump in May in Saudi Arabia, a
week after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on his first trip
to the West. Sharaa remains under United Nations sanctions and a travel ban due
to his past as a wanted jihadist, and must request an exemption for all foreign
trips.
US Treasury
issues final order to lift Syria sanctions
The National/August 25, 2025
In June, President Donald Trump ordered end of measures against Damascus
The US Treasury on Monday said it is removing Syria from its sanctions list,
officially allowing American companies to do business with Damascus. Treasury's
Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) said the change would take effect on
Tuesday, August 26. It means that sanctions dating back to 2004 and reissued
over the course of Syria's civil war will be lifted. The move follows the
collapse of the Bashar Al Assad regime in December after a lightning offensive
by groups led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham. HTS leader Ahmad Al Shara was chosen as
transitional president. US President Donald Trump in June ordered the lifting of
sanctions against Syria. Ofac “is removing from the Code of Federal Regulations
the Syrian Sanctions Regulations as a result of the termination of the national
emergency on which the regulations were based and further changes to the policy
of the United States towards Syria”, the Treasury said. In order for all US
sanctions to be lifted, Congress still needs to repeal the 2019 Caesar Act.
Politicians are currently on their summer break but are expected to work on the
issue when they return to Washington next month. Caesar sanctions are currently
waived for a 180-day period. The announcement comes after a bipartisan
congressional delegation, accompanied by US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack,
met Mr Al Shara and other leaders in Damascus. The delegation discussed "the
progress that has been made on the security situation and other US priorities
within Syria", according to Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who also met "multi-ethnic
and multi-faith religious leaders, and civil society representatives at a peace
and dialogue conference" during the visit. "Today’s meeting with leaders from
many faiths was a testament to the Syrian people’s common cause: a country free
from violence where people of many backgrounds can work together towards a
brighter future," Ms Shaheen said. "A Syria that can stand on its own after
ridding itself of the Assad regime will be a cornerstone for regional stability
in the Middle East. America is ready to be a partner to a new Syria that moves
in the right direction. I will keep fighting for lasting peace and prosperity.”
Syria accuses Israel of further military incursion near
Damascus
Amr Mostafa & Hadya Al Alawi/The National/August 25, 2025
Operation was carried out by force of 11 military vehicles and about 60
soldiers, Foreign Ministry says
Syria on Monday accused Israeli forces of further a "military incursion" into an
area near Damascus, describing it as a "blatant violation" of the Arab country's
sovereignty. In a statement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said the incursion was
carried out by a force consisting of 11 military vehicles and about 60 soldiers.
It added that Israeli troops advanced into the area between Beit Jinn and Beit
Jinn Farm, in the western Damascus countryside. The forces seized control of Tal
Bat Al Warda, in the foothills of Mount Hermon, the ministry added. State news
agency Sana reported earlier that Israeli troops opened fire on civilians,
though no casualties were reported. They also entered several towns and villages
in Quneitra countryside, including Jubata Al Khashab, Tranja, Al Rafid,
Manshiyat Suwaysa, Bariqa, Beer Ajam, Kodna, Ain Ziwan and Ain Al Abed, and
raided and searchedhomes before withdrawing, the agency said.
"This dangerous escalation constitutes a direct threat to regional peace and
security, and once again embodies the aggressive approach pursued by the
occupying authorities," the ministry said. It added that the continuation of
such breaches undermines efforts to establish stability in Syria and exacerbates
tensions in the region. The ministry called on the UN and the UN Security
Council to "assume their legal and moral responsibilities and take urgent and
effective measures to deter the occupation authorities from their aggressive
practices".
The two countries have recently engaged in talks on de-escalating the violence
in southern Syria. Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani last week met an
Israeli delegation in Paris to discuss enhancing security in the region. The
discussions focused on de-escalation and non-interference, as well as monitoring
the ceasefire in Sweida governorate, among other issues. Israel and Syria have
never established diplomatic relations, although both signed a disengagement
agreement in 1974 that created a UN-monitored buffer zone separating them. Sana
reported that the Paris discussions touched on reactivating the agreement.
Cross-border Israeli strikes on Syria increased after the toppling of former
president Bashar Al Assad and further intensified during the Sweida conflict,
with targets including the Ministry of Defence in Damascus. Syrian President
Ahmad Al Shara will participate in the 80th session of the UN General Assembly
next month and is expected to give a speech and talk about the Israeli breaches.
This will be the first speech by a Syrian president since 1967. The US in
December scrapped a $10 million reward for the arrest of the Syrian leader after
meetings between senior diplomats and representatives from the new government.
Last week, Mr Al Shara appointed Ibrahim Olabi, a British-educated human rights
lawyer, as the country’s new ambassador to the UN, replacing Kusay Aldahak, a
career diplomat who was appointed by Mr Al Assad, as UN ambassador.
Syria’s exclusion of Kurdish-controlled areas from
September vote fuels new tensions
The Arab Weekly/August 25/2025
The Kurdish administration in the north and northeast said in a statement that
“defining our regions as unsafe” was carried out “to justify the policy of
denial for more than five million Syrians” in the area. Postponement of
parliamentary elections in Kurdish-controlled areas in the north and northeast
is fuelling new tensions between Damascus and the Kurds. After toppling
long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria’s new authorities dissolved
the parliament and adopted a temporary constitution for a five-year transition.
The selection of a transitional parliament is planned for September. Appointed
local bodies will pick two-thirds of the 210 lawmakers and President Ahmed al-Sharaa
will name the rest. But an election committee official said on Saturday that the
process would be postponed in Druze-majority Sweida province and Kurdish-held
Raqqa and Hasakeh provinces, citing “security challenges” and saying it could
only go ahead in “territories controlled by the state”.The process will be
postponed in Druze-majority Sweida province in the south, and in Raqa and
Hasakeh in the north and northeast “until the appropriate conditions and a safe
environment are available”, the official SANA news agency quoted organising
committee member Nawar Najmeh as saying. Sweida province saw deadly sectarian
clashes last month, with access to the province still difficult and the security
situation tense. A Kurdish administration largely controls Raqqa and Hasakeh
provinces. Seats will be “reserved” in the transitional legislative body for the
three provinces to fill at a later date, he said, adding that the selection
process can only go ahead in “territories controlled by the state,”added Najmeh.
The Kurdish administration in the north and northeast said in a statement that
“defining our regions as unsafe” was carried out “to justify the policy of
denial for more than five million Syrians” in the area. “These elections are
neither democratic nor express the will of Syrians in any way,” it said. “They
simply represent a continuation of the approach of marginalisation and exclusion
that Syrians suffered over the past 52 years under the Ba’ath regime” of the
Assad dynasty, it added. It warned that “nearly half of all Syrians” would be
excluded from the process, including due to displacement. The interim
constitution has been criticised for concentrating power in Sharaa’s hands after
decades of autocracy and for failing to reflect Syria’s ethnic and religious
diversity. The Kurdish administration called the parliamentary selection process
“a superficial step that does not respond to the demands for a comprehensive
political solution that Syrians need”. “Any decision taken through this approach
of exclusion will not concern us, and we will not consider it binding for the
peoples and regions of northern and eastern Syria,” it added. Damascus and the
Kurds have been in talks on putting into effect a March 10 deal on integrating
Kurdish institutions into those of the central government. Implementation has
been held up by differences between the two sides. The Kurds have called for
decentralisation, which Damascus has rejected.
Druze leader’s
National Guard bid deepens rift with Syrian government
The Arab Weekly/August 25/2025
The new structure includes several factions such as the Saif al-Haqq Forces,
Al-Fahd Forces, Al-Uliya Forces.
The decision by Hikmat al-Hijri, one of the Druze spiritual leaders in Sweida,
to establish a National Guard has opened a new challenge for Damascus, just as
the United States seeks to broker a settlement between the Druze and the Syrian
transitional authority. The new military structure brings together thirty local
factions, with organisers claiming its purpose is to defend the southern Syrian
province and safeguard its security. The announcement came only days after a
meeting in Paris between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and Israeli
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, attended by US envoy Thomas Barrack. In a
rare move, Damascus publicised both the meeting and its outcomes, including
commitments not to support partition projects in Syria and a reaffirmation that
Sweida remains an integral part of the country. Analysts said Damascus’s
decision to go public was intended to bind Israel to those commitments, as Syria
accuses Tel Aviv of backing separatist ambitions in Sweida through support for
Hijri. They argue that the new National Guard aligns with broader efforts by
Druze leaders to pave the way for self-rule in the Druze-majority province,
steps in which Israel is believed to play a role. Observers added that the move
also consolidates Hijri’s political and spiritual leadership, but warned it
could deepen the crisis with Damascus, which is likely to see the new military
entity as a direct threat to both the state and Syrian unity. In a statement,
the factions behind the formation pledged loyalty to Hijri as the Druze
community’s legitimate representative in Sweida and vowed full integration into
the National Guard, describing it as the community’s official military
institution. They stressed that its mission was purely defensive and would
operate in coordination with allied forces. The statement said uniting local
groups under a single umbrella would help defend Druze identity and protect the
mountain. The new structure includes several factions such as the Saif al-Haqq
Forces, Al-Fahd Forces, Al-Uliya Forces. The position of Rijal al-Karama (Men of
Dignity), one of Sweida’s largest factions, remains unclear. Reacting to the
move, Sheikh Laith al-Balous, representative of al-Karama Guest House, wrote on
Facebook that people had expected Hijri to offer a unifying vision to guide
people towards safety, rather than create a new military structure. He
criticised the inclusion of groups long accused of kidnapping, theft, looting
and extorting women. Balous singled out Saif al-Haqq and Al-Fahd Forces, which
were previously tied to senior Assad regime officials such as Ali Mamlouk and
Kifah Moulhem, as well as to local commander Raji Falhout, accused of drug
trafficking. He dismissed the National Guard as a reckless step devoid of
reason.
He further argued that its name echoed Iran’s “Revolutionary Guard,” and
welcomed the fact that Rijal al-Karama had not joined. Analysts compared the
initiative to the Kurdish creation of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which
today serve as the backbone of self-administration in northern Syria. They noted
that parts of the Druze community appear intent on using the new force to impose
a new reality on Damascus, complicating US-led negotiations. But they also
warned that Washington’s own position is far from clear. The Washington Post
quoted Barrack as saying Syria might need to consider alternatives to a highly
centralised state. According to the paper, Barrack suggested Syria did not
require federalism but something “less,” a system that would allow communities
to preserve unity, culture and language, free from what he termed “political
Islam.”The US envoy, who also took part in talks in Paris and previously in
Amman on Sweida, said all those familiar with the Syrian file recognised the
need for a more rational approach. The Washington Post report, published on
August 23, highlighted how widespread violence across Syria continues to fuel
minority demands for autonomy, identifying the most pressing conflict as the
tense relationship between Damascus and the US-backed SDF. The paper added that
transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa is pursuing a centralised state led from
Damascus, akin to pre-war Syria, but warned that resurgent violence could
undermine those plans. It concluded that conditions in Syria are worsening
rather than stabilising, shattering hopes of calm after the fall of Bashar
al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024. Sweida itself witnessed fierce clashes in
July between Druze factions and Bedouin tribes, with government forces also
involved. The violence left hundreds dead before a US-brokered truce was reached
a week later. Yet the security situation remains fragile, and locals continue to
accuse Damascus of imposing an humanitarian blockade on the province, charges
the authorities deny.
Geneva to host
second round of Iran-European nuclear talks, uncertainties remain
The Arab Weekly/August 25/2025
“On Tuesday, Iran and the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, along
with the European Union, will hold a new round of talks in Geneva,” Iran’s state
television said on Monday.
Nuclear talks scheduled for Tuesday between Iran and Britain, France and Germany
will be held in Geneva, amid lingering uncertainties over a possible deal that
could forestall European snapback sanctions against Tehran. “On Tuesday, Iran
and the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, along with the European
Union, will hold a new round of talks at the level of deputy foreign ministers
in Geneva,” Iran’s state television said on Monday. The meeting will be the
second since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in mid-June, during which the United
States carried out strikes against Tehran’s nuclear facilities. The previous
round of talks was held in Istanbul on July 25. It comes after Iran suspended
cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog following the war with
Israel, with Tehran pointing to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s failure
to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities. The unprecedented
bombing by Israel and the retaliation by Iran during the 12-day war derailed
Tehran’s nuclear negotiations with Washington. The European trio have threatened
to trigger a “snapback mechanism” under the 2015 nuclear deal which would
reimpose UN sanctions that were lifted under the agreement, unless Iran agrees
to curb its uranium enrichment and restore cooperation with IAEA inspectors.
Iran disputes the legality of invoking the clause, accusing the Europeans of not
honouring their commitments under the accord. Britain, France and Germany, along
with China, Russia and the United States, reached an agreement with Iran in 2015
under a deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.
The deal provided Iran with sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its
nuclear programme to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon,
something it has always denied wanting to do. But Washington’s unilateral
withdrawal from the accord in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term in
office, and the re-imposition of biting economic sanctions prompted Iran to
begin rolling back on its own commitments, particularly on uranium enrichment.
At the time of the US withdrawal, London, Paris and Berlin reaffirmed their
commitment to the agreement and said they intended to continue trading with
Iran. As a result, UN and European sanctions were not reinstated, even as Trump
restored US sanctions. But the mechanism envisaged by European countries to
compensate for the return of US sanctions has struggled to materialise, and many
Western companies have been forced to leave Iran, which is facing high inflation
and an economic crisis. The deadline for activating the snapback mechanism ends
in October, but according to the Financial Times, the Europeans have offered to
extend the deadline if Iran resumes nuclear talks with Washington and re-engages
with the IAEA. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the
Europeans have no right to do so.
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources
on August 25-26/2025
Nigeria: Africa's War Within A War
Amb. Alberto M. Fernandez/Africa/MEMRI Daily Brief No. 838/August 25/2025
Islamic State West Africa Propaganda Video showing the killing of three Nigerian
Christians.
There is a continent-wide Jihadist offensive in Africa. From the Sahel region of
West Africa down to Ituri and North Kivu Provinces in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo to the coast of East Africa, stretching from Somalia to Cabo Delgado
in Mozambique, a variety of Islamist insurgencies, of varying lethality and
size, are active and growing.[1] The continent is global jihad's new
epicenter.[2] While some countries are particularly threatened – insurgencies
are well advanced in Burkina Faso, Mali and Somalia – no country combines the
full range of destabilizing factors as much as Nigeria, Africa's most populous
country, with a population exceeding 230 million souls.
Practically every trend or nuance seen in the Islamist insurgencies elsewhere on
the continent are at play inside Nigeria, but there is one major difference
(aside from the country's sheer size).
There are Jihadist insurgencies in Muslim majority African countries such as
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Somalia where terrorists battle governments and
militaries mostly made up of Muslim co-religionists. While Christians or
animists are targeted in those countries, the fight is between Salafi-Jihadists
and pro-government Muslims.
There are also Jihadist insurgencies in Christian majority African countries
such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or Mozambique, where terrorists
may be based in a Muslim majority region (such as Mozambique's Cabo Delgado) but
will face difficulties in advancing because the religious demographics do not
work in their favor – the DRC is about 80 percent Christian and two percent
Muslim. Mozambique is about 70 percent Christian and 19 percent Muslim. And, of
course, in both cases, a minority of the Muslims are likely active violent
Jihadist insurgents. These can still be, and are brutal and bloody conflicts,
but the sheer weight of the non-Muslim population is an important factor in the
government's favor.[3]
Nigeria is different. Unlike the insurgencies in Mali, Burkina Faso, Somalia,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mozambique (and lesser conflicts
elsewhere in the Sahel and the East Coast of Africa), Nigeria is more or less
evenly split between Muslim in the North and Christians in the South, with a
mixed population in between. While both religious blocs have experienced rapid
growth, it seems that the Muslim half of the population has been growing a
little faster.[4]
This means that Nigeria's Jihadist insurgency occurs within an already fraught
religious context of competition and conflict. The Jihadist phenomenon
encompasses not only two rival groups – one (Ansaru) associated with Al-Qaeda
and the other (Boko Haram or ISWAP – Islamic State West Africa Province) with
the Islamic State[5] – but flourishes side by side with other forms of extreme
violence and banditry. Nigerian security forces recently scored a major success
in capturing Ansaru's leadership.[6] The fear is that Al-Qaeda-linked Jihadists
(JNIM) pushing down from Burkina Faso into Northern Benin would have been able
to link up with their Ansaru allies in Northwest Nigeria.
But Jihadism in Nigeria also overlaps with generalized insecurity and banditry,
a phenomenon which has been growing in recent years, especially in the North of
the country and among the populous, regionally important, Fulani people. One
recent study claimed that there are at least 30,000 bandits in Northwest
Nigeria, spread among numerous rival groups.[7]
Fulani bandit warlord Bello Turji in 2024 propaganda video
Some of these bandit groups are tiny. Others are like small armies with their
leaders functioning as local or regional warlords with an exaggerated public
persona. Figures like Bello Turji, Dogo Gidge or Gwaska Dankarami are not actual
members of Jihadist groups but in their actions and impact on vulnerable
communities, they are little different than the Jihadists.[8] The sole
difference may be that the state sometimes negotiates with them.[9]
Both banditry and Jihadism overlap to some extent with existing tension between
Fulani pastoralists and non-Fulani farmers (who are either Christian or Muslim).
Thousands of Christians have been killed, their farms and villages in Nigeria's
Middle Belt burnt out by roving Fulani. All too often these bloody acts are
minimized by both the international community and the Nigerian government as
mere clashes over land, ignoring the political, ethnic, and sectarian dimension.
The sheer scope of the carnage is shocking.[10]
Both Jihadism and the attacks by Fulani militia have raised concerns among
Christians (who are mostly unarmed) that the government – particularly certainly
Muslim state officials and Fulani army officers – is not just incompetent in
fighting insecurity but actually complicit in the violence.[11] Fulani Ethnic
Militia (FEM) kill five times more Christians than Boko Haram in Nigeria.[12]
In 2025 alone, more than 7,000 Nigerian Christians have been slaughtered, while
almost 8,000 more have been abducted. That is an average of 32 Christian deaths
a day, every day this year. Christian civil society groups claim that the goal
is to extirpate Christianity altogether in the country by 2075.[13]
With national elections scheduled for early 2027 and incumbent President Bola
Tinubu – a Muslim – running for re-election, the questions of rising insecurity,
dysfunctional governance, and the religious dynamic will loom large. Nigeria's
Jihadists and Fulani death squads do not seem to be really strong enough by
themselves to overthrow the state, as dysfunctional as it sometimes seems, but
they are lethal and active enough to turbocharge existing ethnic and religious
fissures.[14] With or without government connivance, they function almost as an
armed wing in an ongoing ethnic and religious competition that has fateful
political, social and economic dimensions whose consequences we do not yet fully
understand.[15]
But even if Nigeria is able to persevere as a nation state and does not actually
break apart into regionalized civil war, the country is too large and
influential for rising internal instability to remain limited to inside the
country's borders and not impact the region and even the West. The world is
filled with raging conflicts dominating front page coverage. Nigeria is the
conflict that is coming tomorrow that approaches while we are distracted
elsewhere.
*Alberto M. Fernandez is Vice President of MEMRI.
Qatar's Muslim Scholars: Nothing More Important Than Killing Israelis
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone
Institute/August 25/2025
As far as Qatar's Muslim scholars are concerned... the war in the Gaza Strip did
not start on the day Hamas launched its invasion of Israel. Rather, the war
began the moment Israel fired back, and the only victims are the Palestinians in
the Gaza Strip, not those who were murdered, raped, beheaded and burned alive on
October 7.
Several Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Bahrain have added Qatar's IUMS to their terrorism blacklists, saying it used
"Islamic rhetoric as a cover to facilitate terrorist activities."Needless to
say, the scholars have not called on Hamas to release the Israeli hostages and
accept a ceasefire that would end the war and the suffering of the Palestinians
in the Gaza Strip. Instead, the conference has unleashed scathing criticism of
Israel for daring to defend itself against Hamas's terrorism. For the Muslim
scholars, boycotting and isolating Israel is more important than halting the
death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. Their interpretation of Sharia laws and
international humanitarian principles suggests that it is fine to sacrifice as
many Palestinians as necessary for the sake of murdering Jews and destroying
Israel. The IUMS's position does not come as a surprise. Instead of urging
Muslims to denounce terrorism and renounce violence, the organization, earlier
this year, issued a fatwa (Islamic ruling) in which it called on all Muslims to
wage Jihad (holy war) against Israel. The scholars want to see Muslims commit
more massacres against Jews.
Once again, Qatar and Turkey have proven that their top priority is to promote
the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates as part of the Islamists' Jihad to
destroy Israel.... It is time for the Trump administration to call out Qatar and
Turkey for their ongoing support for Hamas. It is also time for the US to
designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Once
again, Qatar and Turkey have proven that their top priority is to promote the
Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates as part of the Islamists' Jihad to destroy
Israel.... It is time for the Trump administration to call out Qatar and Turkey
for their ongoing support for Hamas. It is also time for the US to designate the
Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
For the scholars who are attending the International Union of Muslim Scholars
conference in Istanbul, boycotting and isolating Israel is more important than
halting the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. Their interpretation of
Sharia laws and international humanitarian principles suggests that it is fine
to sacrifice as many Palestinians as necessary for the sake of murdering Jews
and destroying Israel. More than 150 prominent Muslim scholars from 50 countries
are currently attending a conference in Istanbul, Turkey, to discuss the
situation in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led
massacre of Israelis and foreign nationals. At least 20 Muslim citizens of
Israel were among 1,200 people murdered by Hamas terrorists and ordinary
Palestinians that day. Thousands more were injured, and 251 Israelis and foreign
nationals were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip, where 50 -- dead and alive
-- are still held captive. As far as Qatar's Muslim scholars are concerned,
however, the war in the Gaza Strip did not start on the day Hamas launched its
invasion of Israel. Rather, the war began the moment Israel fired back, and the
only victims are the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, not those who were
murdered, raped, beheaded and burned alive on October 7. The conference, taking
place at the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, was organized by the Qatar-based International
Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), a body of Islamic theologians founded in 2004
by the late Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian scholar known as the spiritual
leader of the Muslim Brotherhood organization. Qaradawi was hosted and embraced
by Qatar for many years before his death. Qaradawi, who was closely associated
with the Iran-backed terror group Hamas, apparently had no problem justifying
Palestinian terrorism and murdering Israeli women and children -- or, evidently,
in using Muslim women to do it: "Israeli women are not like women in our society
because Israeli women are militarized," he told BBC in 2004.
"I consider this type of martyrdom operation [suicide bombings] as indication of
justice of Allah Almighty. Through His infinite wisdom, He has given the weak
what the strong do not possess and that is the ability to turn their bodies into
bombs like the Palestinians do."
Several Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Bahrain have added Qatar's IUMS to their terrorism blacklists, saying it used
"Islamic rhetoric as a cover to facilitate terrorist activities."The conference,
titled "Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility: Gaza," was organized to discuss
Israel's "genocidal war" and the Islamic world's humanitarian responsibilities,
according to the organizers. The conference totally ignores Hamas's
responsibility for the suffering of the Palestinians. The Muslim scholars who
have spoken at the conference did not make any reference to the thousands of
Israelis and foreign nationals, including children, women and the elderly, who
were murdered, wounded and kidnapped by Palestinian Muslims on October 7.
Needless to say, the scholars have not called on Hamas to release the Israeli
hostages and accept a ceasefire that would end the war and the suffering of the
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Instead, the conference has unleashed scathing criticism of Israel for daring to
defend itself against Hamas's terrorism. IUMS President Ali al-Qaradaghi, known
as a key propagandist for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodogan in the Islamic
world, urged Muslim and Arab nations to see Gaza's plight as their own. "Protect
yourselves," he warned, arguing that Israel's "expansionist project" threatens
the entire region, adding:
"This conference reaffirms that Gaza is not only a Palestinian issue; it is an
issue of the entire Ummah [Islamic nation] and a just human cause that no one
has the right to abandon."
Instead of condemning the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities as the worst crime
against Jews since the Holocaust, Eymen Zeydan, head of the International
Jerusalem Institution's Turkey branch, described Israel's war against the terror
group as "one of the greatest catastrophes in modern history."
Instead of calling on Hamas to lay down its weapons and relinquish control of
the Gaza Strip to spare the lives of Palestinians, the conference has emphasized
that sanctions and boycotts against Israel are "a priority grounded in Sharia
laws and international humanitarian principles."
For the Muslim scholars, boycotting and isolating Israel is more important than
halting the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. Their interpretation of
Sharia laws and international humanitarian principles suggests that it is fine
to sacrifice as many Palestinians as necessary for the sake of murdering Jews
and destroying Israel. The IUMS's position does not come as a surprise. Instead
of urging Muslims to denounce terrorism and renounce violence, the organization,
earlier this year, issued a fatwa (Islamic ruling) in which it called on all
Muslims to wage Jihad (holy war) against Israel. The scholars want to see
Muslims commit more massacres against Jews. The fatwa stated that "it is
obligatory for every capable Muslim in the Islamic world to wage armed jihad
against the occupation in Palestine," that Arab and Islamic states must
immediately intervene militarily, and that "the Zionist enemy" must be "besieged
at land, on sea, and in the air," by closing waterways and airspace in Arab and
Islamic states.
It further called to "supply the [Palestinian] resistance militarily,
financially, and legally." Announcing it obligatory to urgently form an "Islamic
military alliance to protect the Ummah and repel the aggressors," the fatwa
declared normalizing relations with the "Zionist enemy" forbidden by Sharia. It
urged members of the Muslim diaspora in the US to pressure President Donald
Trump to "fulfil his campaign promises of stopping the aggression and bringing
peace."
Unsurprisingly, the fatwa was immediately praised by the Iranian regime, whose
leaders have repeatedly pledged to eliminate Israel:
"Hojjatoleslam Haj Ali-Akbari, head of the Prayer Leaders' Policymaking Council,
wrote in a letter that the contemporary history of the Islamic world has
recorded in its memory the fatwas of jihads that stood as a solid barrier
against the cycle of occupation and colonization of Muslim lands.
"The history of the struggles of Muslim nations in the region and the Islamic
world has recorded a great fatwa against colonialists and occupiers. The
issuance of jihadi and anti-colonial fatwas by great Sunni and Shiite scholars
has a long history, especially in the face of occupation and colonialism in the
past two centuries, when these fateful movements are clearly evident, the letter
reads."
Once again, Qatar and Turkey have proven that their top priority is to promote
the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates as part of the Islamists' Jihad to
destroy Israel. Qatar and Turkey are the main sponsors of Hamas, whose leaders
lead comfortable lives in both countries. It is time for the Trump
administration to call out Qatar and Turkey for their ongoing support for Hamas.
It is also time for the US to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21867/qatar-scholars-killing-israelis
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. His work is made
possible through the generous donation of a couple of donors who wished to
remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.
© 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.
US forces begin
withdrawal from Ain al Asad airbase as US presence in Iraq transitions
Bridget Toomey/FDD's Long War Journal/August 25/2025
Arab media reported on August 18 that a US military convoy departed Ain al Asad
airbase, a military facility hosting US forces in western Iraq, on its way to
Syria. An Iraqi security source speaking to Shafaq News claimed that all US
soldiers will leave Ain al Asad by September 15. A limited number of US forces
may remain in Baghdad, while others relocate to bases in Syria and Erbil, the
capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
In a statement to the Iraqi News Agency, Hussein Alawi, an advisor to Iraqi
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani, said that the international coalition
gathered to fight the Islamic State (IS) will end its mission in Baghdad and Ain
al Asad airbase next month.
“This development follows Iraq’s agreement with coalition countries to conclude
the coalition’s mission within the publicly announced timeframe of 2025 and
2026. Under this agreement, the coalition’s presence at its headquarters in
Baghdad and at Ain al-Asad Air Base will officially end in September 2025,
marking a new phase of security cooperation focused on advisory roles and
capacity-building for Iraqi security forces,” Alawi added.
A US official confirmed to The National that the US mission in Iraq is
transitioning to a bilateral security arrangement between Iraq and the United
States on schedule.
The US Department of Defense (DOD) established Combined Joint Task
Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) in 2014 with the purpose of
defeating the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The DOD announced the most recent
transition of CJTF-OIR in September 2024. It entails a two-phased plan, the
first part of which is scheduled to end next month.
“In the first phase, the coalition’s military mission in Iraq will end. This
means coalition forces will withdraw from certain locations in Iraq as mutually
determined. The transition period in Iraq begins now and will end in September
2025,” the DOD stated in its announcement of the plan. The second phase, which
is scheduled to continue through September 2026, focuses on countering IS in
Syria.
Some Iraqi politicians have expressed concern over the country’s security
situation as the US decreases its presence.
Iraqi officials have been concerned that any instability in Syria may affect
Iraq and could provide an opportunity for the Islamic State to resurge.
Additionally, Shiite communities in Iraq distrust Syria’s new regime and hold
special animosity for interim President Ahmad al Sharaa, who fought with Al
Qaeda in Iraq as an insurgent during the Iraq War.
Iraq is also facing a tense moment politically over allegations of foreign
meddling in the country’s affairs, with accusations being leveled at both the
United States and Iran. The US and elements of the Iraqi political landscape
object to efforts by Iran to enshrine its influence in the country. Currently,
the vehicle for Iran to achieve this aim is legislation that would strengthen
the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iraqi security organization comprised
of militias, many of which are backed by Iran, as an independent government
organ.
Iran-aligned factions in Iraq responded to the US transition by condemning the
US presence in the country. Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia and member
of the PMF, insisted on the departure of US forces, saying, “We reaffirm that we
will not waver from demanding the withdrawal of the occupation forces and their
aircraft, and the exit of their elements from joint operations by September
2025, no matter how high the cost or great the sacrifices.” Kataib Hezbollah is
designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization. It has previously
targeted US troops in the region, including likely participating in the deadly
Tower 22 attack that killed three US service members in Jordan in January 2024.
In addition, Iran and Israel may engage in another round of fighting, and Iraqi
militias would be unlikely to sit out in a second round. Esmail Ghaani, the
commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), reportedly
warned Iran-backed militias in Iraq in July that Israel possesses an extensive
list of targets in Iraq to attack these groups.
*Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the
Houthis.
Going Back to
Israeli Public Opinion...
Hazem Saghieh/Al-Sharq Al Awsat/August 25/2025
Only a few of Yasser Arafat’s ideas were sound. One example of these rare
beneficial convictions is that winning over a substantial segment of the Israeli
public opinion was crucial. Although the current state of affairs does not help
us make it, this claim deserves to be reaffirmed once, twice, and even twenty
times.
Given the disparity between their military capacities and those of the Jewish
state, as well as the nature of the latter's society and its relations with
influential Western powers (especially the United States), the Palestinians
cannot achieve any of their goals without successfully appealing to the Israeli
public - or to a substantial segment of it. The fact that the end of “liberation
from abroad,” which showed itself to be an unviable and bloody endeavor - first
in Jordan (in 1970) and then in Lebanon (in 1975) - pushes in the same
direction.
In fairness, this Arafatist vision turned the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) into a target and led to the assassination of leading PLO figures, such as
Said Hamami, Izzedine Kalak, and Issam Sartawi. The opponents of peace, in
Baathist Damascus and Baghdad, as well as in Khomeini's Tehran and Gaddafi's
Tripoli, fought the PLO because they had a different vision: a war of existence,
not borders; a war of all against all, yesterday, today, and every day. As we
are well aware, these opponents of his, with help from their frenemies in
Israel, succeeded in their effort to sabotage the Oslo peace process that
Arafat's vision had created. Since the October 7 attack and the war it
precipitated, things have taken a drastic turn for the worse. One of the most
notable repercussions is that the Israeli public has ruled out any and every
political engagement with Palestinians, whose horrific suffering no longer
resonates with Israeli society on a human and moral level. Accordingly, one of
this attack’s "virtues" is that it turned the war of all against all into
reality that has been manifested in the strong mercilessly gnawing at the weak.
However, the burning question that the Palestinians cannot afford to postpone or
ignore remains: How can we get Israeli public opinion to look like it did in the
early 1990s, especially since the imbalance of power has reached astronomical
levels since then?
Today, one gets a sense that the notion of addressing this public, and aspiring
to change its opinion, has been revalorized. This inclination, however, remains
timid and hesitant, and its hesitance and timidity has been magnified by the
Israeli army’s perpetuation of its genocide of Gaza and its displacement of the
Strip's population or the recent project to divide the West Bank, to say nothing
about Netanyahu flirting with the slogan "Greater Israel."It is crucial to build
on the moral defeats that the Jewish state has suffered and continues to suffer
as it sweeps from one military victory to another. Every day, larger numbers of
Israelis come to the view that the course taken by Benjamin Netanyahu and his
coalition is turning Israel into a repugnant country and a sick society that is
becoming less safe and increasingly isolated, the more brutal its actions become
and the more victories its army accumulates.
In this sense, there seems to be an urgent need for efforts to bridge the gap
between the resonance of this injustice among the global public and the Israeli
public's (non) response to the world's reactions and its failures to link them
to its declining moral conditions and ethical standing. As for investing in this
effort and pushing in this direction, it will naturally need time and patience,
as well as initiatives on both fronts of the conflict that defy convention and
challenge the mainstream. It is here that the need for a program that reassures
both sides of the conflict emerges: the protests against Netanyahu and his
government are concerned with the hostages held by Hamas, and they continue to
orbit a planet with almost no link to the pursuit of ending the death in Gaza
because it is a noble goal in itself, to say nothing about the right of the
Palestinians, like all the other peoples of the world, to a state.
On the other side, just as the slogan of "liberating Palestine" had previously
been abandoned in favor of "erasing the repercussions of aggression," there is a
need to discard the rest of the arsenal of ideological slogans (eliminating
Israel, from the river to the sea, Palestine will be an Islamic Waqf, etc...),
and for open, broad, and radical criticism of the October 7 attack. Both have
become necessary prerequisites for the transition politics and for addressing
Israeli public opinion.
Two weeks ago, Avraham Burg, a former chairman of the Jewish Agency and the
World Zionist Organization, and former Knesset Speaker, called on the world's
Jews to "rebel" and engage in "moral resistance," accusing his state of
committing crimes against humanity in Gaza. He called on one million of them,
less than a tenth of the world's Jewish population, to sue the Jewish state at
the International Court of Justice in The Hague. "We will not allow the State of
Israel, which systematically inflicts violence on a civilian population, to
speak in our name, and we will not allow Judaism to be used as a cover for
crimes."
True, there is no reason to get carried away and expect such positions to have
an immediate impact, which would be akin to assuming that a single swallow makes
the spring season. However, it is certainly possible to broaden this phenomenon
and impel other figures to follow Burg’s example, especially if an equivalent
emerges on the other side and a Palestinian with Burg's moral authority voices
opposition to thuggish actions as eloquently and unequivocally as he did.
Arms Are More
Than Just a Security and Political Dilemma
Hassan Al Mustafa/Al-Sharq Al Awsat/August 25/2025
Restricting armament to the state constitutes the central challenge of the Arab
world. It is not merely a security and political question; rather, it pertains
to the very essence of modern statehood, whose defining function is the
monopolization of the “legitimate use of violence” by its institutions. At its
core, then, this is a dilemma that touches on our conception of politics. The
controversy around this matter stems from a misguided notion of statehood that
has granted non-state (or sub-state) actors immense leverage. Addressing this
problem demands an effort to rebuild society’s cultural, social, and legal
awareness and casts aside the obsolete ideas that have been entrenched by
movements hostile to the modern state over decades. Iraq and Lebanon stand out
as prominent examples, but we also see this dynamic in Yemen, Syria, Libya, and
other Arab countries. Militias in these countries have taken on roles that place
them above the authority of the state, undermining political stability and
threatening the peace. Their de facto authority has been reinforced by the
negative impact of external factors, such as Israel’s illegal practices-
killings, forced displacement, and occupation- that have facilitated non-state
actors’ effort to empower themselves at the expense of the nation state. Dozens
of militias have emerged in Iraq since 2003. Some of them were later integrated
into the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). However, their loyalties remain
diverse. Sectarian affiliations and regional alliances, particularly with Iran
are dominant, effectively rendering these forces proxies of the Quds Force of
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. These entities have evolved into parallel
power centers: they control borders and resources, impose a shadow economy, and
have even secured parliamentary seats. They have consolidated their position as
political and military actors through a combination of military strength,
religious discourse, and political maneuvering.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani recently laid out a clear stance on
the question of arms. “In a stable environment, as Iraq is today, nothing
justifies the presence of armed actors who operate autonomously of state
institutions.” He stressed that “the state alone holds the monopoly on the use
of force, and everyone, especially the tribes, must support the authority of law
and the judiciary.” However, this vision remains largely theoretical; indeed,
some of al-Sudani’s own coalition allies represent armed factions. Despite the
sincerity of his efforts, Sudani faces significant obstacles that require both
courage and wisdom to overcome.
Al-Sudani has sought to reassure the public by emphasizing that the disarmament
process is not focused on any specific group but on upholding the rule of law.
His government has already taken measures to curb abuses attributed to members
of Kataib Hezbollah, signaling that the era of complacency is nearing its end.
However, without unequivocal support from Iraqi political parties and allies,
his government might not succeed in asserting the state’s authority and
confiscating illegal arms. Not surprisingly, the militias have rejected these
steps. Kataib Hezbollah called for a “blockade” on the prime minister’s
decisions and urged the Coordination Framework to intervene. Its
secretary-general, Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, issued the following statement on
Telegram: “The resistance’s arms are a red line. We will not surrender them,
even under domestic or foreign pressure, because these weapons exist to defend
Iraq and confront occupation.”This standoff reflects a sharp binary: a state
striving to assert its sovereignty on one side, and militias that see themselves
as above the state, legitimizing their position through the narrative of
“resistance,” on the other. Yet, the major setbacks that have shaken the “Axis
of Resistance” since October 7, 2023, demonstrate that such weapons cannot
protect the state itself. In Lebanon, the challenge is even more complex.
Hezbollah is not merely an armed faction; it is a social, military, and
political force that is better armed than the national army. This state of
affairs has left Lebanon hostage to a perilous position, whereby its weakened
state is under the shadow of a statelet that dictates decisions of war and
peace.
President Joseph Aoun has been explicit: “No armed groups operating outside the
authority of the state or relying on foreign support will be tolerated,” and he
then stressed that “the army alone bears responsibility for defending citizens.”
His stance aligns with that of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who announced that
“the army was tasked with preparing a plan to limit arms to the state by the end
of the year,” and he underlined that “no one in Lebanon wants another civil
war.”This approach represents a serious attempt to establish a timetable for
integrating Hezbollah’s weapons into an institutional framework, through a
process designed to avert a national catastrophe. Nonetheless, the Lebanese
government faces formidable obstacles. Hezbollah’s response was swift and
uncompromising: its secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, issued a stark
warning. “If the government moves forward with implementing this plan, there
will be no life in Lebanon... This decision serves Israel, and we are prepared
to fight, whatever the cost.”This chasm between the logic of the state and that
of “sub-state forces” is rooted in numerous material factors that vary from one
Arab country to another. Civil wars, years of occupation, waves of terrorism,
and extended periods of chaos have all eroded state institutions, leaving them
incapable of protecting their citizens and undermining public trust in the state
as whole. As a result of this vacuum, many communities sought alternative forms
of protection, paving the way for foreign intervention. There are several
instances of militias becoming tied to regional power blocs, turning their
weapons into instruments used in proxy conflicts fought on their soil. This has
fostered volatile social and economic conditions, which, in turn, have been
aggravated by financial crises, poverty, and unemployment, driving segments of
young people to join militias in search of income or security. Addressing the
challenge of non-state actors operating outside the state’s authority demands a
strong and capable state, as well as decisive and viable policies that restore
respect for institutions, empower national armies, and categorically reject the
armament of any faction. Strengthening and modernizing security institutions is
equally crucial. Building a diverse national fighting force that assumes its
responsibilities, as part of a comprehensive reform process, is necessary, as
are developmental policies that tackle unemployment and declining incomes.
This is the only path to ending the era of militias, which has drained the
region, and to allow the nation-state to become the unifying defender of its
citizens.
Selected X tweets for
August 25/202
Dr.Charles Chartouni
Wafic Safa and his underlings within the Lebanese Armed Forces. The compliance
of Joseph Aoun as commander in chief and Nawaf Salam as Lebanon's ambassador to
the UN. These are facts that amply attest the Hezbollah domination over State
institutions and the deliberate compliance of senior military and diplomatic
figures at that time.
وفيق صفا وزملائه داخل الجيش اللبناني . تعاون جوزف عون كقائد للجيش ونواف سلام
كسفير للبنان في الأمم المتحدة بين.
هذه وقائع تثبت بشكل فاقع سيطرة حزب الله على مؤسسات الدولة اللبنانية وقتها وتعاون
مسؤولين عسكريين ودپلوماسيين كبار معهم.
#Joseph Aoun, as army commander, appointed the senior Shiite intelligence
officer as the army’s representative in the Ceasefire Monitoring Committee, from
which the officer transferred information to Hezbollah. That same officer
assisted Hezbollah in tampering with evidence after the killing of the Irish
UNIFIL soldier in August 2022. At the end of 2017, Lebanon’s ambassador to the
UN denied that another Shiite intelligence officer, who had initiated the
Lebanese Army’s shooting at IDF soldiers in 2010, was cooperating with
Hezbollah. The ambassador’s name was Nawaf Salam, currently the Prime Minister
of Lebanon. Continued cooperation with Hezbollah from within the army compels
Israel to take defensive measures. Any officer or soldier, in any unit of the
Lebanese Army, who is connected to and cooperates with Hezbollah must be
immediately dismissed.
@USAMBTurkiye
@MorganOrtagus
http://israel-alma.org/hezbollahs-inf…
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
@hahussain
Obstructing #Lebanon recognition of Jewish nationhood and peace with #Israel has
always been due to non-Lebanese spoilers, first Palestinian militias, then
Syrian occupation, today Iranian imperial interests.
Pic is of interview with late Lebanese Speaker Kamel Assaad, who presided over
approval of May 17, 1983 Lebanon-Israel peace agreement.
Why did it fail?
Because it also stipulated withdrawal of Syrian army from Lebanon, therefore
Assad killed the deal and blew up Beirut.
Similarly, holding back Hezbollah’s disarmament today is no Lebanese interest
but Islamist Iran’s imperial ambitions.
When will the Lebanese, especially fellow Shia, say enough is enough: We’re not
going to be the fodder for the battles of aliens?
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Israel acknowledges the significant step taken by the Lebanese Government, under
the leadership of President Aoun and Prime Minister Salam. The recent decision
by the Council of Ministers to work towards the disarmament of Hezbollah by the
end of 2025 was a momentous decision. It marks a crucial opportunity for Lebanon
to reclaim its sovereignty and restore the authority of its state institutions,
military, and governance—free from the influence of non-state actors.
In light of this important development, Israel stands ready to support Lebanon
in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah and to work together towards a more secure
and stable future for both nations. If the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) take the
necessary steps to implement the disarmament of Hezbollah, Israel will engage in
reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of IDF presence in
coordination with the US-led security mechanism.
Now is the time for both Israel and Lebanon to move forward in a spirit of
cooperation, focusing on the shared objective of disarming Hezbollah and
promoting the stability and prosperity of both nations.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Hezbollah and Berri call for a rally tomorrow to protest the cabinet's vote to
disarm the militia, in front of government offices. If meeting him tomorrow, @USAMBTurkiye
and @MorganOrtagus should give Berri a final choice: Support the Cessation of
Hostilities he negotiated or the continued armament of Hezbollah. No more
duplicity.
Zéna Mansour
Thank you President @POTUS for sending @MorganOrtagus toLEB. Ahiram's peace
agreement between Lebanon&Israel, inspired by King Ahiram legacy, would mark a
crucial turning pnt. Lebanon's future requires a FED syst thatvalues diversity&
ensures equalRights. @SecRubio
@USAMBTurkiye