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

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2025/english.december02.25.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006 

Click On The Below Link To Join Elias Bejjaninews whatsapp group
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط على الرابط في أعلى للإنضمام لكروب Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group

Elias Bejjani/Click on the below link to subscribe to my youtube channel
الياس بجاني/اضغط على الرابط في أسفل للإشتراك في موقعي ع اليوتيوب
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOOSioLh1GE3C1hp63Camw

Bible Quotations For today
Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her
Saint Luke 10/38-42: “Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 01-02/2025
Video Links of the second day of the visit of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Lebanon
A detailed report in Arabic and English covering the events of the first day of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lebanon
The Pope Between the Moment of Annaya and the Voice of the Youth in Bkerke
Israel on full alert: Could retaliation come from Syria, Yemen or abroad?
On-the-ground assessment: UN Security Council delegation heads to Lebanon and Syria
Barrack Warns Iraq of Imminent Escalation in Lebanon
Lindsey Graham Welcomes Pope Leon XIV’s Visit to Lebanon
Pope Leo XIV's visit highlights Christian resilience in Lebanon despite regional turmoil
‘Peace is not just about balance, it’s about knowing how to live together,’ Pope tells Lebanon
Pope Leo visits Annaya monastery, meets religious leaders and young people in Lebanon
Pope Leo has a message of peace and reconciliation for the Lebanese, stresses two-state solution for Palestinians
Pope prays for peace in Lebanon and the region
Pope Leo urges Lebanon’s religious leaders to fight intolerance
Pope Leo brings his message of peace to the Middle East/Pope Leo brings his message of peace to the Middle East/Dr. Diana Galeeva/Arab News/December 01, 2025
The First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and Its Historical and Theological Dimensions: A Study on the Occasion of the Visit of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Turkey and Lebanon/Elias Bejjani/November 29/2025
Who is His Holiness Pope Leo XIV?/Elias Bejjani/November 27/2025
The Layers of Pope Leo XIV’s Inaugural Journey/Charles Chartouni/This Is Beirut/November 01/2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 01-02/2025
Israeli carrier Israir in talks to buy 2 Airbus A330 aircraft
Netanyahu invited to White House in ‘near future’: Israeli PM’s office
Netanyahu holds phone call with Trump shortly after Syria warning
Trump warns Israel not to ‘interfere’ in Syria
Syrian authorities arrest Assad-era militia leader on war crimes charges
Syria launches first official print newspaper since fall of Assad
US and Syrian forces conduct strikes on ISIS weapons storage facilities in Rif Damashq
Palestinian Authority receives $90m in support from Saudi Arabia
Israeli president says will consider country’s ‘best interests’ on Netanyahu pardon
Settlers uproot more olive trees south of Hebron
Israel’s Netanyahu appears in court after pardon request backed by Trump
Ahmad Al-Sharaa: Liberation of Aleppo was gateway to Syria’s freedom
Jordanian authorities seize 1.2 million illicit pills, arrest drug gang
White House says ‘very optimistic’ on chances of Ukraine deal
Europeans rally round Ukraine as Trump envoy heads to Moscow
Putin-Witkoff talks risk piling pressure on Ukraine, EU’s top diplomat warns
White House says Trump MRI was preventative, president in excellent health
Saudi Arabia, Russia sign mutual visa-waiver agreement
Iran, Turkey agree to build $1.6 billion strategic trade rail link between Asia and Europe
The planned route will cover around 200 kilometres. The project is expected to take three to four years to complete.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 01-02/2025
Why Qatar Should Have No Role in Gaza/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/December 01/2025
Can Trump really ban the Muslim Brotherhood?/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/01 December/2025
The IDF whistleblower testimonies appearing to confirm claims of Israeli war crimes in Gaza/KHALED AL-KHAWALDEH/Arab News/December 01, 2025
Gaza cannot wait for a roadmap to peace/Hani Hazaimeh/Arab News/December 01, 2025
Maduro on Trump’s Clock/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/ December 01/2025
Is Europe flexible enough to solve its polycrisis?/Chris Doyle/Arab News/December 01, 2025
Selected Face Book & X tweets for December 01/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 01-02/2025
Video Links of the second day of the visit of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Lebanon
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/149784/
December 01/2025
**From Sawt Loubnan (Voice of Lebanon): Video link of the Ecumenical Spiritual Meeting of Lebanon's Sect Leaders with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in the Martyrs' Square.
**From DRM News: Video link of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Saint Charbel monastery-Eynaia
**From DRM News: Video link of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the Shrine of Harissa 
**From Al-Nahar Newspaper Website: Video link of the Youth Meeting at Bkerké complex with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

A detailed report in Arabic and English covering the events of the first day of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lebanon
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/11/149724/
November 30, 2025
Link to the video of the Pope’s Speech and its text in Arabic and English
Link to the video of the speeches by the Pope and President Aoun, with Arabic and English transcripts
Link to the full video of the events and details of the first day of the visit

The Pope Between the Moment of Annaya and the Voice of the Youth in Bkerke
Nidaa Al-Watan/December 2, 2025  (Translated from Arabic)
Lebanese people, yearning for resurrection after years of crucifixion on the cross of axes and wars, are experiencing three celestial days. On the second day of the Holy Father's visit, Lebanon revealed its three dimensions: a pervasive holiness emanating from the "Summit of Annaya" between Saint Charbel and His Holiness Pope Leon XIV; followed by a unifying spiritual stop with bishops, priests, and consecrated men and women in Harissa, and a special meeting with the Catholic patriarchs at the Papal Nunciature; diversity and pluralism embodied in the gathering of representatives of all confessions in Martyrs' Square; and a renewed Lebanese spirit pulsating in the youth who are seeking a homeland that resembles their dreams.
The Pulse of Youth Floods Bkerke
In this context, a church source indicated to "Nidaa Al-Watan" that the stop that boosted morale and restored hope for the future was the meeting with the youth in Bkerke last night. The number of participants exceeded expectations, highlighting the faith of the Christian youth, despite claims about the new generation drifting away from the church. The deep interaction between His Holiness the Pope and the generation of the future was evident, as he walked among them without barriers, listened to their concerns, and responded spontaneously and attentively. According to the source, the meeting gave a strong impression that Christians are still here, and the Christian nerve is alive and pulsating, refuting all claims about the fading of the Christian presence due to wars, emigration, and demographic decline. This pulse was also expressed by US Congressman Lindsey Graham, who noted in a post on "X" that "Pope Leon XIV's visit to Lebanon comes at a critical moment." He said, "His presence reminds us of the strength and unity of the Christian community in Lebanon, and the message of peace he carries brings hope to a people who have endured so much." He added, "We hope his visit brings comfort, healing, and a renewed commitment to reconciliation between Lebanon, Israel, and all its neighbors." The source pointed out that Bkerke, as Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai affirmed before the Pope and the youth, will remain the protector of the Lebanese Republic, adhering to its historic role, and calling for the building of a new Lebanon away from violence and replicating the past. The youth meeting, in its simplicity and depth, showed that Lebanon is still well, and hope is alive, provided there is patience and continued struggle amidst the darkness. The Pope carried a message of peace and a historic opportunity for Lebanon, while the youth clearly expressed their desire for this peace, to build a future worthy of them. The source concluded: "This is the true face of Lebanon, and these are the demands of its people. The Pope, with his voice and symbolism, supports this choice. The time has come to end the chronic injustice, step out of the cycle of axes and wars, and move towards neutrality that opens the path to true peace." The external courtyards of the Patriarchal Seat were filled with thousands of Lebanese and arrivals from several countries, of various age groups, predominantly youth, who raised Papal and Lebanese flags to welcome His Holiness the Pope. Giant screens were distributed in the courtyards, showing the atmosphere of preparations and the hymns and symbolic performances dedicated to the occasion, amidst calls for the gathering to be a live message to His Holiness that this audience is an audience of peace.
Ecumenical Unity in Martyrs' Square
After being torn apart by the "unity of the squares" and "support wars," the Martyrs' Square meeting reflected an image of a pluralistic, non-combative Lebanon, with coexisting communities and confessions. Sources noted the positive impact of the speech by the Vice President of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, especially when he stressed that "we are not fond of bearing arms and sacrificing our children," placing "the cause of Lebanon in your hands, so that the world may help us emerge from its accumulated crises." Also noteworthy was the speech by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, John X Yazigi, who recalled the legacy of Charles Malik for his symbolism and pioneering role in bringing the Lebanese cause to international forums. He said: "Welcome to Lebanon, the Nation-Message, which is the title coined by Charles Malik, the brilliant son of our Antiochian Church, who played a fundamental role in the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the same title later affirmed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II during his visit to Lebanon."
At the conclusion of the ecumenical and interfaith dialogue meeting, which brought the Pope together with heads of confessions in Lebanon and around 300 invitees, the Pope, along with Patriarch Yazigi and the Sheikh Al-Aql of the Unitarian Druze Community, Sami Abi Al-Mona, planted an olive sapling presented to him by two children, to the tune of hymns and the Canticle of the Creatures, followed by a commemorative photo. The Pope shook hands with a number of attendees at the end of the meeting and departed to the sound of applause.
A Message to Iraq for Lebanon to Hear
While the Lebanese hope that the blessing of this visit will be prolonged, warding off the specter of crises and fears of war, Al-Hadath revealed a warning message sent by Tom Barrack to Iraq, carrying an ultimatum about an imminent Israeli operation against "Hezbollah" in Lebanon, aimed at completely disarming it, with a clear call for Iraqi factions not to assist it. Regarding the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the withdrawal of "Hezbollah's" weapons, "Nidaa Al-Watan" learned that Morgan Ortagus, who will attend the "Mechanism" meeting on Thursday, has not yet requested any appointments from the Presidential Palace in Baabda, the Government Serail, or Ain el-Tineh, which suggests that her visit may be limited to the military aspect, unless there is a change in her schedule in the coming hours. Sources reported that the delegation of ambassadors from the UN Security Council member states, who will visit Lebanon on Thursday and meet with President Joseph Aoun and a number of officials before heading to Syria, is on a fact-finding mission, amid increasing talk about the possibility of renewed war and the situation heading towards a military confrontation on Lebanese soil.

Israel on full alert: Could retaliation come from Syria, Yemen or abroad?
LBCI/December 01, 2025
As the year draws to a close, Israel is intensifying its coordination with the United States on the files of Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza. On this basis, Israel will send its army chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, to Washington next week to meet with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. The meeting aims to coordinate any security action on the three fronts, including Lebanon, as Tel Aviv argues there has been insufficient progress in dismantling Hezbollah’s weapons. The visit comes just hours after U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus holds talks in Israel, amid expectations that the end of the month could mark a turning point in the security situation. Israel’s security establishment has not hidden its concern over the possibility of a Hezbollah response to the assassination of Haytham Tabtabai. Officials have discussed multiple scenarios, at times conflicting.One option they anticipate is an attack launched from Syria by Islamist groups close to Hezbollah, which Israel attacked in Beit Jinn last week. Another possibility is an operation carried out from Yemen by the Houthis in retaliation for Tabtabai, who trained Houthi fighters. A third scenario involves an operation by Iran and Hezbollah targeting Israeli or Jewish sites abroad. Because Israel views this third scenario as the most challenging — given the difficulty of responding from inside Lebanon — its security apparatus has been placed on full alert.

On-the-ground assessment: UN Security Council delegation heads to Lebanon and Syria
LBCI/December 01, 2025
A delegation of ambassadors from the 15 member states of the U.N. Security Council is expected to arrive in Lebanon and Syria on December 5 and 6, amid escalating security tensions with Israel and growing fears of expanded strikes on Lebanese territory. Their talks will focus on the security situation in South Lebanon, the status of UNIFIL, and Lebanon’s adherence to Security Council resolutions and the ceasefire agreement. The centerpiece of the visit will be a tour of the south on December 6, where envoys will observe U.N. deployment zones and receive direct briefings on border developments, the fragile calm in the area, and the extent to which involved parties are complying with Resolutions 1701 and 1559, particularly regarding the halt of military activity and control of weapons outside state authority. The delegation will also hear a detailed assessment from UNIFIL’s leadership on the challenges facing the peacekeeping force, especially as the Security Council has decided to end its mandate at the end of next year—a deadline that may come as the south still requires an international military presence to secure any long-term stability arrangement. According to diplomatic sources, the visit will also carry a message of support for Lebanon’s legitimate institutions, notably the Lebanese Army, which is considered the primary actor responsible for securing the borders and maintaining stability. The trip may open the door to new military or humanitarian assistance. The visit comes two days after a meeting of the monitoring mechanism, attended by U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus, who is reportedly in Israel. It remains unclear whether she will stay to join the Security Council delegation or whether another U.S. representative will participate. Washington has reportedly viewed positively the recent media tour organized by the Lebanese Army south of the Litani River. However, it has not shifted its stance that the process of consolidating arms under state control remains slow—a concern it warns could carry significant consequences.

Barrack Warns Iraq of Imminent Escalation in Lebanon
This is Beirut/December 01, 2025
US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack delivered a stark warning to the Iraqi government about a looming escalation in Lebanon, Saudi Television Al Hadath reported Monday, citing informed sources. Barrack reportedly told Iraqi officials that an Israeli operation targeting Hezbollah is imminent, cautioning that any involvement by pro-Iranian Iraqi factions in support of the group would trigger “a severe response.” He added that, based on information shared with Washington, Israel intends to press ahead with its campaign in Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed. Neither the Iraqi government nor the U.S. Embassy has issued an official statement on the reported remarks.

Lindsey Graham Welcomes Pope Leon XIV’s Visit to Lebanon
This is Beirut/December 01, 2025
US Senator Lindsey Graham welcomed Pope Leon XIV’s visit to Lebanon, saying on X that it comes “at a critical moment.”He noted that the pontiff’s presence highlights “the strength and unity of the Christian community in Lebanon” and brings “a message of peace that offers hope to a people who have endured so much.”Graham added that he hopes the visit will bring “comfort, healing, and a renewed commitment to reconciliation between Lebanon, Israel, and all its neighbors.”

Pope Leo XIV's visit highlights Christian resilience in Lebanon despite regional turmoil
Associated Press/December 01, 2025
Over the past few decades, hundreds of thousands of Christians have left parts of the Middle East for good, driven by wars and the rise of Muslim extremists. In Lebanon, it has been different. Despite the many crises that have battered the small nation, Christians continue to enjoy religious freedom and significant political influence. Pope Leo XIV's visit to Lebanon is a recognition of the importance of Lebanon's religious pluralism and a message to Christians not to abandon the region. In Iraq, large numbers of Christians fled after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and the rise of the Islamic State group that followed. A decade later, in 2014, IS declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria leading to an exodus by Christians as well as followers of other religions. IS blew up churches in areas they once controlled in Syria and Iraq and confiscated many Christians' property.
A recent church bombing in Damascus this year made some Christians who stayed in Syria consider leaving. Many Christians in Syria have been concerned about the direction of the country's new government under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, former leader of the Islamist insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. In Lebanon, despite others emigrating, many Christians who remain cling to their ancestral homeland and refuse to leave. The country's sectarian power-sharing system is prone to deadlock and has been criticized by reformists who want a secular state, but it has also ensured that minorities are not marginalized. "More than half the advantage comes from Lebanon's political system when it comes to Christians," said Catholic priest Monsignor Abdo Abou Kassm who is the director of the Catholic Center for Information. "There is a democratic system where people can express their opinions freely without getting killed, oppressed or sent to exile," said Abou Kassm. "You can live freely with dignity in Lebanon." Cynthia Khoury, 25, a business graduate from Syria who joined a delegation heading to Lebanon to see the Pope, said that after the takeover of power in her country by an Islamist-led government last year, Christians in the war-torn country were worried that they would not be able to practice their religious freely, although so far this has not turned out to be the case. "We know that the conditions of Christians in Lebanon are somewhat better than ours, but we also know that they passed through many wars," Khoury said adding that despite the hardships Lebanese Christians had faced, "they did not leave and stayed in their country and preserved their customs and traditions, and this is beautiful."
Deeply rooted since the early days of the faith, Christians in present-day Lebanon have survived wars and genocide over the past two millennia. For many years, Christian monastic communities lived in caves in the rugged mountains to protect their faith and avoid persecution. Since the establishment of the State of Greater Lebanon in 1920 following World War I, Christians have played an instrumental role in shaping the country's politics and economy.
Today, Christians make up around a third of Lebanon's 5 million people, giving the small nation on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East. Lebanon is home to 18 different religious sects, of which more than half are Christians. Maronite Catholics are the largest Christian group, followed by the Greek Orthodox. Christians have a presence in most parts of Lebanon, from the south in villages bordering Israel to areas along Syria's border in the north and east as well as the coast. Mount Lebanon, which remains the Christian heartland, is mentioned frequently in the Bible. Since Lebanon gained independence from France in 1943, a power sharing agreement has been in place in which the president is a Maronite, the parliament speaker is a Shiite Muslim and the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim. This makes Lebanon the only Arab country with a Christian head of state. "People can practice religion wherever they are, but the Lebanese identity is something that is sacred for us too," says Christian legislator Camille Dory Chamoun, who heads the National Liberal Party. His late grandfather, Camille Chamoun, was the president of Lebanon in the 1950s.
He is allied with the Christian Lebanese Forces Party that has 19 seats in the 128-member legislature. "Our Lebanese identity is as important as our Christian identity," said Chamoun. Other senior posts held by Maronites are the army command as well as the head of the central bank. The deputy parliament speaker and deputy prime minister are posts allocated to the Greek Orthodox. The command of two of the country's four security agencies are also given to Christians, with a Maronite general heading the Army Intelligence while a Greek Orthodox heads State Security. Toward the end of the 1975-90 civil war in Lebanon that largely pitted Christians against Muslims, an agreement to end the war was reached in the Saudi city of Taif. Since then, seats in parliament and Cabinet have been equally divided between Christians and Muslims.
Charles Hayek, a historian and researcher, says that the ties between Lebanon and the Vatican are old and deep, adding that there is a tradition that states that St. Peter, the first Pope, established churches in Beirut, Byblos, Batroun and Tripoli, along Lebanon's coast. Hayek added that two men of Phoenician origin from what is now the port city of Tyre in south Lebanon were elected popes in Rome in the 8th century.
"You have also unbroken correspondence especially between the Maronite Church, the local Catholic Church and the papacy since 1215," Hayek said.
Despite the civil war and sectarian strife in Lebanon, Muslims and Christians peacefully coexist today and followers of both religions accept one another as partners.
"Christians in Lebanon and the east are a main part of the region," says Khaldoun Oreimet, a Sunni Muslim cleric who heads the Islamic Center for Studies and Information. "Christians are not (only) a community but an integral part of this land," Oreimet said. The pope's visit to Lebanon comes a year after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire ended the Israel-Hezbollah war that killed about 4,000 people and caused destruction worth billions of dollars. Despite the ceasefire, the country still faces almost daily Israeli airstrikes, including one in Beirut on Nov. 23 that killed five members Hezbollah and wounded 28 others. Many Christian politicians criticized Hezbollah for starting the war a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Iran-backed group had said for years that its weapons were only intended to defend Lebanon.
Many Christians in Lebanon, including the head of the Maronite Church, Cardinal Beshara al-Rahi, have called for Lebanon to be a neutral state, rather than an arena where regional and world powers settle their accounts. "God willing, Lebanon will begin to feel safer in the days ahead," Chamoun said. "The most important thing is to stop these conflicts that are extremely harmful.""We have seen their consequences, and we have seen that we are paying a very high price for other people's wars on our land," he added.

‘Peace is not just about balance, it’s about knowing how to live together,’ Pope tells Lebanon
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/December 01, 2025
BEIRUT: Pope Leo XIV called for peace in Lebanon during a Beirut address to more than 400 of the country’s top political, religious and social figures. “Peace in this land is more than a word; it is a desire, a message, a gift and a work in progress,” he said on the first stop of his historic three-day visit to Lebanon. Lebanon has “a people who do not give up, but rather, in the face of adversity, always know how to rise again with courage,” he added. “Your resilience is a fundamental characteristic of true peacemakers, because peacemaking is, in reality, a continuous new beginning. Commitment to and love of peace know no fear in the face of apparent defeat, nor are they discouraged by disappointment. Rather, they look ahead, welcoming and embracing all situations with hope.”The pope, who arrived from a visit to Turkiye, told the Lebanese audience that “building peace requires perseverance.”He added: “You are a diverse country, a community among communities, united by a common language. I am not referring here only to the Levantine Arabic language, in which your great past has left priceless treasures. I am referring, above all, to the language of hope, which has always enabled you to begin anew. “Almost everywhere in the world around us, a kind of pessimism and sense of helplessness seems to have taken hold, where people are no longer able to ask themselves what they can do to change the course of history.
“It seems that the great decisions are made by a select few, often at the expense of the common good, as if this were an inevitable fate. You have suffered greatly from the consequences of a devastated economy and from global instability, which has had devastating effects even in the Levant, and from the extremism of identities and conflicts. But you have always wanted, and you have known how, to start anew.”He called on the youth of Lebanon “never to separate yourselves from your people, and to place yourselves with commitment and dedication at their service, rich in their diversity. Speak only one language, the language of hope.” On peacemaking in the country, he said: “There are personal and collective wounds that take many years, sometimes even generations, to heal. If they are not addressed, if we do not work, for example, to heal memories and reunite those who have suffered injustice and oppression, it will be difficult to move toward peace. We will remain trapped, each of us a prisoner of our own pain and way of thinking.” “Peace is much more than a mere balance — which is always fragile — between those who live separately under one roof. Peace is knowing how to live together, in communion, as reconciled people. A reconciliation that enables us to work together for a common future, side by side. Thus, peace becomes that abundance that will surprise us when our horizons expand, transcending every wall and barrier. Mutual dialogue, even in the face of misunderstanding, is the path to reconciliation.”The pope urged the Lebanese to “remain in their homeland and work day after day to build a civilization of love and peace, for this is a most precious thing. The church is not only concerned with the dignity of those who leave their homeland, but she does not want anyone to be forced to leave. Rather, she wants those who wish to return to their homeland to be able to do so safely.”He added: “The challenge, not only for Lebanon, but for the entire Levant, is what can be done to ensure that young people, in particular, do not feel compelled to leave their homeland and emigrate? How can we encourage them not to seek peace elsewhere, but to find guarantees of peace and to be pioneers in their own country?”
Leo XIV highlighted “the essential role of women in the arduous and patient endeavor of preserving and building peace.”He said: “Let us not forget that women have a special capacity for peacemaking, because they know how to foster and strengthen deep connections with life, people and places. Their participation in social and political life, as well as in their religious communities, represents a true force for renewal throughout the world.”Later, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said: “Lebanon, this small country in size but great in its mission, has always been and remains a land that unites faith and freedom, diversity and unity, pain and hope.”He highlighted the country’s “uniqueness in the world,” which “necessitates that all living humanity preserve Lebanon.”Aoun added: “For if this model of free and equal life among the followers of different religions were to fall, there is no other place on earth that can accommodate it. “If the Christian presence disappears from Lebanon, the equation of the nation will collapse, and its justice will crumble. If the Muslim presence disappears from Lebanon, the equation of the nation will be disrupted, and its moderation will be shattered. If Lebanon is paralyzed or transformed, the inevitable alternative will be fault lines in our region and the world, between all kinds of extremism and intellectual, physical and even bloody violence. This is something the Holy See has always understood. “We affirm today that the very survival of this Lebanon, present and present around you, is a prerequisite for peace, hope and reconciliation among all the children of Abraham.”
The president addressed the pope and said: “In our land today, and in our region, there is much oppression and much suffering. Their wounds await your blessed touch. Please, tell the world on our behalf that we will not die, we will not leave, we will not despair and we will not surrender. “Rather, we will remain here, breathing freedom, creating joy, practicing love, embracing innovation and striving for modernity. We will remain the only space for encounter in our entire region, united representatives of all the children of Abraham, with all their beliefs, sacred values and shared heritage.” The pope’s plane landed at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, arriving from Istanbul at about 4 p.m. amid tight security and organizational measures. Two Lebanese Army jets escorted the papal plane as it entered Lebanese airspace. The pope told the press delegation accompanying him on the plane that his visit to Turkiye had been “positive and successful.” Thanking the Turkish president and the Eastern Church, he added that “the goal of his visit to Lebanon is to build peace.”
President Joseph Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi, Army Commander Gen. Rudolph Haykal, a host of religious leaders from across Lebanon, members of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps, representatives of parliamentary blocs and groups of civilians awaited the pope on the tarmac at Beirut Airport.
As he emerged from the aircraft, the Lebanese Army fired a 21-gun salute in his honor, and church bells rang throughout Lebanon. Ships docked in Beirut’s port sounded their horns in welcome. Two children from the Children’s Cancer Center presented the pope with a bouquet of flowers, bread, salt and soil from Lebanon on the tarmac in a symbolic tradition. He received an official welcome in the VIP lounge, after which he proceeded to the Presidential Palace. Leo XIV’s motorcade traveled along highways in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where dozens of residents lined the roads, waving Lebanese and Vatican flags. Some raised Hezbollah flags and pictures of former Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Along the route from the southern suburbs of Beirut to Hazmieh, passing through the roads leading to Baabda and the Presidential Palace, hundreds of people — children, women, men, the elderly and the sick — gathered despite the heavy rain. They carried white umbrellas, waved Vatican and Lebanese flags, and chanted his name. Some said he was “a beacon of hope for Lebanon,” while others hoped his “historic visit would be the salvation of this country from its crises.”
One woman said: “The diverse religious communities welcoming the pope demonstrates Lebanon’s commitment to coexistence.”Before arriving at the Presidential Palace, the pope moved from his black armored car to his glass-fronted vehicle, greeting people along the way who had showered his motorcade with rose petals and rice. To the sounds of traditional Lebanese dabke music and accompanied by a horse escort, the pope was received in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace. In the VIP lounge, Leo XIV held separate private meetings with each Lebanese leader. In another hall, the 400 political figures, including a delegation of Hezbollah MPs, heads of religious communities, members of the diplomatic corps and civil society representatives, waited to hear the pope’s speech.

Pope Leo visits Annaya monastery, meets religious leaders and young people in Lebanon
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/December 01, 2025
BEIRUT: On the second day of his three-day visit to Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV prayed “for peace in this country and the countries of the Middle East.”His itinerary on Monday included a visit to the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, Mount Lebanon, marking a historic moment as he became the first pope to visit the shrine of Saint Charbel, revered patron saint of the Maronite community. Many Christians and Muslims visit the holy site seeking intercessions or the healing of incurable diseases. Charbel, a Maronite monk and priest who was born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf in Lebanon in 1828 and died in 1898, was canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI. Despite the cold weather and heavy rain, thousands of people of all ages gathered from early morning to greet the pope, lining roads leading from the coastal city of Byblos to Annaya. They came from Lebanon and other countries. Security, enforced by the Lebanese army, was tight. President Joseph Aoun and his wife formally welcomed the pope, who acknowledged the crowds from his “popemobile” vehicle as the sound of applause, church bells and chants filled the air along the 3 kilometer route to the monastery. Aoun was joined by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi and the superior general of the Lebanese Maronite Order, Abbot Hady Mafouz, as well as other prominent political, religious and social leaders. At the monastery, a site central to Maronite heritage and the location of Saint Charbel’s tomb, the pope knelt in prayer and lit a candle he brought as a gift from Rome for the people of Lebanon and Christians worldwide. In a speech at the shrine, Pope Leo said that Saint Charbel had lived in Annaya “hidden from view and in silence. However, his reputation spread throughout the world, teaching prayer to those whose lives were devoid of God, demonstrating silence to those consumed by noise, modeling humility for those craving recognition, and exemplifying poverty to those chasing riches. This combination of radical witness and humble service carries a message for all Christians.”He emphasized the importance of “communion and unity, beginning with the churches and extending to the universal church,” adding: “There is no peace without repentance of the heart.”
The pope then visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in the town of Harissa, where he met Catholic leaders, including bishops, as well as priests, nuns, other religious figures and laypeople engaged in pastoral service. The pope made his way, with some difficulty, to the altar at the site through a capacity crowd of about 2,700 worshippers who had traveled from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Europe, and as far afield as America and Australia. Men and women recounted stories of human suffering caused by war, displacement, migration, imprisonment and violence. In response, the pope called for “love to triumph over hatred, forgiveness over revenge, service over domination, humility over pride, and unity over division, so that we are no longer ground down under the weight of injustice and exploitation.”He continued: “Even when people betray us, as we have heard, and unscrupulous institutions exploit the despair of those who have no other choice, we can return and fill our hearts with hope for a better tomorrow, despite the harshness of the present we must face.” During all of his public appearances in Lebanon and his preceding visit to Turkiye, his first official foreign trip since becoming pope in May, Leo has stressed the important need to promote the involvement of young people in the church, including in ecclesiastical roles. “Even amid the ruins of a world suffering from painful failure, it is essential that we offer them real and practical prospects for advancement and growth in the future,” he said. The Pope later held a closed meeting with Catholic patriarchs at the Papal Embassy in Harissa. And at Martyrs Square in downtown Beirut, he held talks with more 300 religious leaders and dignitaries. The event also featured a screening of a documentary about peaceful interfaith coexistence and dialogue, and speeches by faith leaders. It culminated with the pope planting an olive tree as a symbol of peace. During the event, he emphasized Lebanon’s role as a beacon of interfaith harmony. “The eyes of the world are turned towards the Middle East, the cradle of the Abrahamic religions, and towards the arduous journey and constant pursuit of the gift of peace,” the Pope said. Acknowledging regional conflicts, he added: “Amidst these challenges, we can find meaning in hope and consolation when we focus on what unites us: our shared humanity and our faith in a God of love and mercy.”Lebanon, he noted, proves that “fear, mistrust, and prejudice do not have the final say, and that unity, communion, reconciliation, and peace are possible.” Citing the Second Vatican Council’s Nostra Aetate document from 60 years ago, the Pope urged religious leaders to be “peacemakers: to confront intolerance, turn a blind eye to violence, reject exclusion, and illuminate the path to justice and harmony for all, through the witness of your faith.”His day ended with a gathering of young people from Lebanon and other nations at the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerki. More than 12,800 people of various Christian denominations, including Catholics, Maronites, Orthodox, Protestants and Evangelicals, had registered to attend, along with representatives of Islamic communities. The Pope, traveling through cheering crowds in an open vehicle that broke from protocol, addressed them in English: “The future is in your hands, and you have a historic opportunity to change it. Love can heal everyone’s wounds, and blessed are those who bring peace and make it.”

Pope Leo has a message of peace and reconciliation for the Lebanese, stresses two-state solution for Palestinians
The Arab Weekly/December 01/2025
“The Holy See has publicly backed the proposal for a two-state solution for several years. We all know that Israel still does not accept it, but we consider it the only solution,” said the pope. In his speech at the presidential palace, the pope emphasised the theme of peace using the word “peace” more than 20 times. In the first day of long awaited trip to Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV urged the Lebanese people on Sunday to embrace peace and reconciliation, while reiterating his support for the two state solution as the “only solution” for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The pope had previously visited Turkey, where he kicked off his first overseas tour since being elected leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics in May. Although Leo’s four-day visit drew little attention in Turkey, a Muslim-majority nation whose Christian community numbers only around 100,000, his 48-hour stopover has been eagerly anticipated in Lebanon, a religiously-diverse country of around six million people.
Lebanon’s last papal visitor was Benedict XVI in 2012.
The pope pressed the Lebanese people to take up the “path of reconciliation”, and called on the country’s leaders to place themselves “with commitment and dedication at the service of your people”. No real reconciliation process was undertaken following Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, and the latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has deepened divisions. Long hailed as a model of coexistence, multi-confessional Lebanon is plagued by sectarian and political rifts, and has seen waves of emigration amid a severe economic crisis. Lebanon rolled out the red carpet and a 21-gun salute for Leo, who was greeted at the airport by children and a brass band as ships at the port sounded their horns. Two Lebanese military aircraft escorted his plane on descent. Hundreds of people stood along the roadside braved heavy rain to greet the pope along his route to the presidential palace. Youth scouting groups affiliated with Hezbollah waited to welcome the pope along the road in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where the Iran-backed militants hold sway. On Saturday, Hezbollah had urged the pope to reject Israeli “injustice and aggression” against Lebanon. In his speech at the presidential palace, the pope emphasised the theme of peace using the word “peace” more than 20 times.Addressing a chamber packed with politicians and religious leaders from Lebanon’s many sects, he opened his speech by repeating Jesus’ words “blessed are the peacemakers”. Leo said Lebanon must now persevere with peace efforts despite facing a “highly complex, conflictual and uncertain” regional situation in a speech attended by President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and other leaders. The pope had told journalists on the plane that his tour had “a special theme of … being a messenger of peace, of wanting to promote peace throughout the region”.
Two state-solution
In his call for peace, the pope did not mention any specific conflicts. But flying from Istanbul to Beirut, he told reporters that a two-state solution was the only one likely to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. He said, “The Holy See has publicly backed the proposal for a two-state solution for several years. We all know that Israel still does not accept it, but we consider it the only solution likely to resolve the current conflict,” he said during a brief exchange. “We are also friends with Israel and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help them close in on a solution with justice for everyone,” added the pope, speaking in Italian. He said he discussed the issue on Thursday in Ankara with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “who fully supports this proposal”. “Turkey has an important role to play in this process,” the pontiff added. The Holy See has recognised the State of Palestine since 2015. Since his election in May, the pope has expressed his solidarity with the “martyred land” of Gaza and denounced the forced displacement of Palestinians. In his speech at the presidential palace, Leo also called on the Lebanese not to leave their crisis-plagued country. He said that “there are times when it is easier to flee, or simply more convenient to move elsewhere. It takes real courage and foresight to stay or return to one’s own country.” President Aoun said that “safeguarding Lebanon”, a unique model of coexistence among different religious communities, “is a duty for humanity”.
“If this model disappears, nowhere else can replace it,” said Aoun, the only Christian head of state in the Arab world. Christians play a key political role in Lebanon, where power is shared among the country’s religious communities, but they have seen their numbers dwindle, particularly due to emigration.
Lebanon’s diverse communities have also welcomed the papal trip, with leading Druze cleric Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna saying Lebanon “needs the glimmer of hope represented by this visit”. Leo, 70 and in good health, has a crowded itinerary in Lebanon, visiting five cities and towns from Sunday to Tuesday, when he returns to Rome. Leo will not travel to the south, the target of Israeli strikes, and he did not mention Israel in his speech. His schedule includes a prayer at the site of a 2020 chemical explosion at the Beirut port that killed 200 people and caused damage worth billions. He will also lead an outdoor Mass on the Beirut waterfront and visit a psychiatric hospital, one of the few mental health facilities in Lebanon, where carers and residents are eagerly anticipating his arrival.

Pope prays for peace in Lebanon and the region
AFP/December 01, 2025
HARISSA: Pope Leo XIV prayed for peace in Lebanon and the region on Monday on day two of his trip to the multi-confessional country, with joyful Lebanese welcoming the pontiff at two famous pilgrimage sites. Thousands of people cheered, ululated and threw rice in celebration as the pope traveled in the popemobile to a monastery in Annaya in the mountains north of Beirut which hosts the tomb of Saint Charbel, AFP photographers said. Pope Leo arrived from Turkiye on Sunday on his inaugural visit abroad as pontiff and brought a message of hope, particularly to young people in Lebanon whose faith in their crisis-hit country has dwindled. “For the world, we ask for peace. We especially implore it for Lebanon and for the entire Levant,” the pope said from deep inside the candle-lit stone monastery. Saint Charbel, who was canonized in 1977, enjoys broad popularity in Lebanon beyond the Christian community, with depictions of the white-bearded saint found in homes, vehicles and workplaces. The pontiff then visited Harissa, also north of Beirut, where a giant statue of Our Lady of Lebanon overlooks the Mediterranean from a plunging hilltop. The shrine is visited by Lebanese of all faiths, and Pope Leo called it “a symbol of unity for the entire Lebanese people.”The crowd at the site’s towering modern basilica erupted into cheers and applause as the pontiff entered, shaking hands with people including priests and nuns, some of whom kissed his hand. Prayer “gives us the strength to continue to hope and work, even when surrounded by the sound of weapons and when the very necessities of daily life become a challenge,” the pontiff told the packed gathering of bishops, other religious figures and pastoral workers, after hearing testimonies from participants.
Message of peace “I am reminded of the responsibility we all bear toward young people,” Leo said.“It is necessary, even among the rubble of a world that has its own painful failures, to offer them concrete and viable prospects for rebirth and future growth,” he added.
Many Lebanese, particularly young people, left the country after a crushing economic crisis, widely blamed on official corruption and mismanagement, began in 2019. Fears have grown in the country of a renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah despite a ceasefire in November 2024 that sought to end more than a year of hostilities. Israel has intensified strikes on Lebanon in recent weeks despite the truce, while the cash-strapped Lebanese government is under heavy US pressure to disarm the Iran-backed militants. Tony Elias, 43, a priest from the village of Rmeish along Lebanon’s border with Israel, said that “we have lived through nearly two and a half years of war, but have never been without hope.”Leo “has come to confirm that what we have gone through has not been in vain, and we believe that he brings a real message of peace — a living peace,” he told AFP. A day earlier, the pope called on Lebanon’s leaders to serve their long-suffering people, and many Lebanese on Monday expressed their joy at the pontiff’s visit. “Everyone goes to Rome to see the pope, but he has come to us,” said housewife Therese Daraouni, 61, who was among those waiting along the roadside to see Leo.“This is the greatest blessing, and the greatest grace and hope for Lebanon. I hope people unite for the sake of Lebanon and its people,” she told AFP.
Inter-religious meeting
Yasmine Chidiac, who was hoping to catch sight of Leo, said “we are very happy about the pope’s visit. His trip has brought a smile back to our faces.”The pope is to hold an inter-religious event in central Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square with figures from many of Lebanon’s 18 officially recognized religious denominations. He will then meet young people at the patriarchate of Lebanon’s Maronite church in Bkerke, outside the capital. On Sunday, Leo called on Lebanon’s leaders to place themselves “with commitment and dedication at the service” of the people and urged reconciliation in a country where divisions from the 1975-1990 civil war have never fully healed. More than 10,000 people aged 16 to 35 have registered to attend, according to organizers, including more than 500 from abroad. Authorities have proclaimed Monday and Tuesday as official holidays, and ramped-up security measures include road closures and a ban on all drone photography.

Pope Leo urges Lebanon’s religious leaders to fight intolerance
AFP/01 December /2025
Pope Leo XIV and leaders from Lebanon’s religious communities met in a show of unity on Monday, with the pontiff urging them to combat intolerance on day two of his visit. Lebanese have joyfully welcomed the American pontiff, turning out in their thousands to his public appearances and lining streets where his motorcade has passed, waving Vatican flags and sometimes ululating or throwing rice in celebration despite intermittent rain. “You are called to be builders of peace: to confront intolerance, overcome violence, and banish exclusion, illuminating the path toward justice,” Pope Leo told 16 leaders from Lebanon’s 18 officially recognized religious denominations. “In an age when coexistence can seem like a distant dream, the people of Lebanon, while embracing different religions, stand as a powerful reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word, and that unity, reconciliation, and peace are possible,” he added. The event in a marquee in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square near several mosques and churches included a reading from the Quran and remarks by leaders from Orthodox churches and the Sunni, Shia, Druze and Alawite communities, who also emphasized the importance of coexistence. While long hailed as a model of tolerance, Lebanon was devastated by a 1975-1990 civil war along sectarian lines and is still plagued by deep rifts. Leo arrived from Turkey on Sunday on his inaugural visit abroad as pontiff and brought a message of hope, particularly to young people in Lebanon whose faith in their crisis-hit country has dwindled.
‘Never without hope’
“For the world, we ask for peace. We especially implore it for Lebanon and for the entire Levant,” Leo said earlier Monday from a monastery in Annaya hosting the tomb of Saint Charbel, who enjoys broad popularity in Lebanon beyond the Christian community. The pontiff then visited Harissa, where a giant statue of Our Lady of Lebanon overlooks the Mediterranean from a plunging hilltop. The site also draws visitors of all faiths. A packed gathering of bishops, other religious figures and pastoral workers in Harissa’s towering basilica erupted into cheers and applause as the pontiff entered, shaking hands with people including priests and nuns, some of whom kissed his hand. Prayer “gives us the strength to continue to hope and work, even when surrounded by the sound of weapons and when the very necessities of daily life become a challenge,” the pontiff told the event after hearing testimonies from participants. “It is necessary, even among the rubble of a world that has its own painful failures,” to offer young people “concrete and viable prospects for rebirth and future growth,” he added. Many Lebanese, particularly young people, left the country after a crushing economic crisis, widely blamed on official corruption and mismanagement, began in 2019. Fears have grown in the country of a renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah despite a ceasefire in November 2024 that sought to end more than a year of hostilities. Israel has intensified strikes on Lebanon in recent weeks despite the truce, while the cash-strapped Lebanese government is under heavy US pressure to disarm the Iran-backed militants.
Youth meeting
Tony Elias, 43, a priest from the village of Rmeish along Lebanon’s border with Israel, said that “we have lived through nearly two and a half years of war, but have never been without hope.”Leo “has come to confirm that what we have gone through has not been in vain, and we believe that he brings a real message of peace – a living peace,” he told AFP. The pope is to meet young people at the patriarchate of Lebanon’s Maronite church in Bkerke, outside the capital. More than 10,000 people aged 16 to 35 have registered to attend, according to organizers, including more than 500 from abroad.
“Everyone goes to Rome to see the pope, but he has come to us,” said housewife Therese Daraouni, 61, who had waited along the roadside to see Leo. “This is the greatest blessing, and the greatest grace and hope for Lebanon. I hope people unite for the sake of Lebanon and its people,” she told AFP. Yasmine Chidiac, who was hoping to catch sight of Leo, said the trip “has brought a smile back to our faces.” Authorities have proclaimed Monday and Tuesday official holidays, and ramped-up security measures include road closures and a ban on drone photography.

Pope Leo brings his message of peace to the Middle East
Dr. Diana Galeeva/Arab News/December 01, 2025
As Pope Leo last week set off on his first international apostolic journey — to Turkiye and Lebanon — since his election in May, he said: “I very much have been looking forward to this trip because of what it means for all Christians. But it’s also a great message to the whole world.” So what is the Vatican’s message amid the emerging world order, which has been transformed due to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Europe? Both Turkiye and Lebanon have political and spiritual importance. Over 16 centuries, Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) served as the capital of four successive empires: the Roman, the Byzantine, the Latin and the Ottoman. And Pope John Paul II once said: “Lebanon is more than a country; it is a message of freedom and an example of pluralism.” Arguably, for Pope Leo, visiting both Turkiye and Lebanon offers a message of peace for the new world order, in which morals — justice and peace — can be prioritized as the basis of the international system. Faith-based diplomacy, or spiritual diplomacy, is the political order shaped by a divinely grounded vision. Winston Scott and Victor Tyler argue that, while the Holy See has limited hard power resources (such as economic and military), “its sustained moral voice, global diplomatic network and strategic interventions position it as a unique actor in international relations.” They conclude that, “in an era of geopolitical polarization and declining trust in liberal institutions, the Vatican’s interventions offer both a counternarrative and a stabilizing moral grammar within the international system.” Leo became the fifth pope to visit Turkiye after Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. During his formal welcome by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the pope described the country as “inextricably linked to the origins of Christianity,” as well as a land “that recognizes and appreciates differences.” The important political message — which reflected the views of Scott and Tyler — was made during the pope’s address to civic leaders and lawmakers in Turkiye. Pope Leo said: “We are now experiencing a phase marked by a heightened level of conflict on the global level, fueled by prevailing strategies of economic and military power. This is enabling what Pope Francis called ‘a third world war fought piecemeal.’” He explicitly evaluated the current world order as being destabilized by “ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace.”
At the end of the first day of his trip, the pope met with the head of Turkiye’s Presidency of Religious Affairs, Safi Arpagus. The second day was dedicated to prayers with the Christian community. He also met with Turkiye’s Chief Rabbi David Sevi. According to the Holy See, they “discussed how Pope Leo’s visit is a sign of peace and support for all religious communities in the country.” In the city of Iznik, he prayed with Christian leaders at the site of the ruins of the basilica of Nicaea. The chronology of events illustrates the logic of delivering the message of peace to all religious communities.
On the third day, the pope visited Sultan Ahmed Mosque, aka the Blue Mosque, before meeting with the heads of Turkish Christian churches and societies at the Syriac Orthodox church of Mor Ephrem. On Sunday, his schedule included a prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul and a visit to the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George. Pope Leo has also become the third pope to officially visit Lebanon after John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Here, political and religious symbolism interconnects with the present and the past. Lebanon’s Maronite Christian President Joseph Aoun, Shiite Muslim parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the Maronite patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, all met the pope. In the presidential Baabda Palace, Pope Leo shared his message of peace and unity. “It takes tenacity to build peace. It takes perseverance to protect and nurture life,” he said, just a week after an Israeli strike on Beirut. The important political message was made during the pope’s address to civic leaders and lawmakers in Turkiye. On Monday, the pope visited Christian sites in the country, including the Maronite Monastery of Saint Maron in the hills outside Beirut and the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon on a hill in Harissa, overlooking Jounieh bay, where Muslims and Christians from across the world came to pray. On Tuesday, he will travel to the Port of Beirut, where he will pray at the memorial to the victims of the 2020 explosion, before celebrating Mass for 100,000 people at Beirut Waterfront. Recent events represent a major milestone for the change in the papacy’s role in the global order, as popes now perform as diplomats. Pope Benedict XV made efforts toward peace mediations during the First World War. And Mario Aguilar has particularly examined Pope Francis’ special role as a peacemaker. In his first public speech in May, Pope Leo stated his vision as “the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering.” This message of encouraging morals in the international system — by promoting peace and justice — can serve as a primary foundation for the emerging world order and, hopefully, will contribute to the end of all ongoing conflicts.
*Dr. Diana Galeeva is an academic visitor to the Center of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge.

The First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and Its Historical and Theological Dimensions: A Study on the Occasion of the Visit of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Turkey and Lebanon
Elias Bejjani/November 29/2025
Abstract
This study presents a concise summary of an in-depth historical and theological examination of the First Council of Nicaea, convened in 325 AD in the city of Nicaea (present-day Iznik) in Turkey. It analyzes the historical, political, and theological contexts that led to its assembly, the decisions issued by the Council, and the profound impact it left on the structure of Christian doctrine and the unity of the Church before major schisms emerged. This study is set against the backdrop of the apostolic visit conducted by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Turkey and Lebanon, which included a visit to the historical site of the Council—an event carrying deep symbolic significance in an age marked by ongoing persecution and demographic decline among Christians in the Middle East. The study also examines the situation of Christians in modern Turkey and the ecclesiastical divisions that arose after the Council. It concludes with an evangelical prayer for Lebanon, for Christians in the East, and for the unity of the Churches in the world.
Introduction
The visit of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Turkey and Lebanon constitutes a significant ecclesial and spiritual event in the realm of ecumenical relations and in the rereading of Christian history. One of the most prominent stops in the papal visit is his pilgrimage to the historic city of Nicaea in Turkey, where the first Ecumenical Council in the history of the Church was held in 325 AD, with the participation of leaders of the Orthodox Church. At the site of the original Council church, a joint prayer service was held, evoking the foundational moment in which the Nicene Creed was born and recalling the unity of faith that once linked the Churches before the schisms. It is worth mentioning that this apostolic visit opened the way for a renewed academic, historical, theological, and ecclesial reflection on the Council of Nicaea, reconnecting the contemporary Church with its early roots at a time when Middle Eastern Christians face demographic collapse and persistent persecution.
I. Historical Background of Christianity Prior to the Council of Nicaea
1. Roman Persecutions of Christians
From its earliest days, the Church endured severe waves of persecution under the Roman Empire, the most notable being:
The persecution of Nero (64 AD): during which Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome.
The persecution of Decius (249–251 AD): an attempt to force Christians to offer pagan sacrifices.
The persecution of Diocletian (303–311 AD): the harshest of all, marked by the burning of churches and Scriptures and the imprisonment of believers.
Christians suffered: imprisonment and executions, torture, confiscation of property,coercion to offer sacrifices to idols. These persecutions formed a crucial backdrop for the development of Christian theology and the shaping of the collective identity of believers.
2. The Edict of Milan (313 AD)
Emperor Constantine the Great and Licinius issued the edict guaranteeing Christians freedom of worship. The Church emerged from secrecy into public life, creating an urgent need to unify doctrine and resolve internal conflicts that had surfaced after the persecution waned.
II. Reasons for Convening the Council of Nicaea (325 AD)
The immediate cause of the Council was the teaching of Arius, a priest from Alexandria, who claimed that Christ was “created” and not equal to the Father in essence. These teachings threatened Church unity and caused widespread divisions. Emperor Constantine called the bishops to an Ecumenical Council to settle this theological dispute and secure unity of faith throughout the empire.
III. The First Council of Nicaea: Location, Participants, and Context
The Council was held in the city of Nicaea in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) between May and June 325 AD, with the participation of 318 bishops from various regions.
Prominent Participants:
St. Athanasius
Hosius of Cordoba
Alexander, Patriarch of Alexandria
Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem
Eustathius of Antioch
Spyridon of Trimythous
Nicholas of Myra
Participants came from many countries, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Greece, Rome, Cyprus, Israel, North Africa, Armenia, and the Caucasus. It is noteworthy that the Church at that time was united and undivided, rich in liturgical and cultural diversity yet firmly anchored in apostolic faith.
IV. Decisions of the Council and Its Theological Outcomes
1. Affirmation of the Divinity of Christ
The Council declared: Jesus Christ is begotten of the Father before all ages, not created, and consubstantial with the Father. Thus the teachings of Arius were rejected and condemned.
2. The Formulation of the Nicene–Constantinopolitan Creed. This creed became the cornerstone of Christian doctrine. Its full text reads: We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through Him all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried; and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life… And in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church… We confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins…We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
3. Determining the Date of Easter
The Council established a unified method for fixing the date of Easter: the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
V. Ecclesiastical Schisms After the Council of Nicaea
Despite the unity of the Church during the Council, major schisms emerged later:
1. The Chalcedonian Schism (451 AD)
Resulting from disagreements over the nature(s) of Christ between Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Churches.
2. The Great Schism between Rome and Constantinople (1054 AD)
Due to doctrinal, theological, liturgical, and political differences.
VI. The Situation of Christians in Modern Turkey
Despite its rich Christian heritage, Turkey witnessed ongoing pressure on its Christian communities since the fall of Constantinople:
1. Conversion of Hagia Sophia into a Mosque
President Erdoğan’s 2020 decision to convert the mother church into a mosque became a clear symbol of the targeting of Christian heritage.
2. Confiscation of monasteries and churches
Especially in Tur Abdin and along the Anatolian coast.
3. Demographic decline
The Christian population fell from 20% at the start of the 20th century to less than 0.3% today.
VII. Geographical Structure of the Church at the Time of the Council
Within the Roman Empire, the Church was organized into major sees: Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Constantinople (added later). Nicaea was closely tied to the spiritual geography of the earliest centers of the Church.
VIII. Significance of Pope Leo XIV’s Visit to the Site of the Council
The visit carries academic and spiritual dimensions, most notably:
Reviving the memory of the Council and reaffirming Nicene doctrine, Emphasizing unity of faith between Catholics and Orthodox, Rereading Church history before the schisms, Supporting persecuted Christians in the East and Issuing a global call for reconciliation and peace
Conclusion:
A Prayer for Lebanon, for Peace in the East, and for the Unity of Churches and Christians:
Lord Jesus Christ, You who prayed that all may be one, we ask You to grant our Churches the light of unity
and to remove from our hearts every spirit of division. Protect Your children in the East—those who were forced to flee because of violence and persecution, losing their rights and their homelands. Look with mercy upon Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, and Turkey, and restore peace and freedom to their peoples.
May Your Holy Spirit descend upon all the Churches, to bring unity, strengthen faith, and restore to Christians their presence and their mission.
Amen.
NOTE: The information in this study is cited from various documented ecclesiastical, theological, research, and media references.

Who is His Holiness Pope Leo XIV?
Elias Bejjani/November 27/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/11/149615/
The Birth and Roots
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America, into a believing Catholic family dedicated to prayer and Church life. He grew up in a home accustomed to Mass attendance and parish service. His devout mother had a significant influence on his spiritual formation, instilling in him a love for the Church and an attachment to the Word of God from an early age. His Holiness holds both American and Peruvian citizenship (since 2015).
Childhood and the Path of Faith
His childhood was marked by a close attachment to the Church and simple pastoral service. He served as an altar boy in his local parish and participated in activities assisting the poor and marginalized. Signs of a priestly vocation appeared at a young age, and he became attached to the spiritual life and the liturgy, spending long hours in meditation and prayer, which led his parish priest to encourage him to pursue the call to the clergy.
Culture and Academic Credentials
He pursued his higher education at prestigious American Catholic universities, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Villanova University and a Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union. He studied philosophy and theology, earning advanced degrees in Canon Law (JCL and JCD) from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.
He showed particular interest in the Eastern heritage and the Eastern Churches and became familiar with Oriental spirituality, particularly Maronite spirituality. He is proficient in English as his mother tongue, in addition to Italian and Latin, and has extensive knowledge of biblical Greek and Aramaic.
Deaconate and Religious Order
He was ordained a deacon in the early 1980s, and then chose to join The Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.), a religious order with a contemplative and prayerful nature, where he spent years of religious formation and took his vows. Within the Order, he distinguished himself with his calm and open spirit, and his intellectual and administrative abilities, which led him to assume early teaching, pastoral, and administrative roles. He later served as the Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013.
Positions He Held
Following his religious vows and priestly ordination, he held teaching positions in theological institutes, then progressed to assume:
Prior General of the Augustinian Order (2001–2013).
Monastic responsibilities within his Order and managing pastoral and educational institutions.
Service in South America: He served as a missionary in Peru, where he was the Bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo (from 2015 to 2023) and the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Callao (until 2023).
Subsequently, he joined Church work closely connected to the Vatican Curia, serving as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (from 2023 until his election as Pope). He participated in initiatives to support suffering Churches and dossiers on inter-church and Christian-Islamic dialogue.
Priestly and Administrative Advancements
Priest: June 19, 1982.
Bishop: December 2014.
Archbishop: After years of episcopal service.
Cardinal: He was chosen for this rank on September 30, 2023, due to his theological experience and deep interest in the Middle East, serving as a Cardinal on essential files concerning Eastern affairs, Eastern Churches, and interreligious dialogue.
His Qualities in Pastoral Service
Pope Leo XIV is known for being close to the people, simple in his dealings, and averse to pretense and ostentation. He tends to listen before passing judgment and believes that the Church is a house of healing for the wounded, not an institution of superiority. He also pays great attention to youth and the social and humanitarian role of the Church, blending liturgical conservatism with openness to cultural and spiritual dialogue.
Personal Characteristics
Humility and a clear spirit of prayer
Theological wisdom and ability for profound dialogue
A calm yet firm reformatory vision
Love for peace and building bridges between peoples
A special attachment to Oriental spiritualities and contemplative silence
His Achievements
Establishing initiatives to support the suffering Churches in the Middle East
Promoting Ecumenical and Christian–Islamic Dialogue
Supporting studies of Eastern heritage and Oriental spiritualities
Launching educational programs for youth in several countries
His Election as Pope of the Catholic Church
The American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected Successor of Saint Peter on May 8, 2025, taking the name Leo XIV, in a move that reflected the desire of the Holy See to promote dialogue and peace, support the Churches in the Middle East, and stimulate the process of spiritual and pastoral reform within the universal Church.
The Anticipated Visit to Lebanon and His Spiritual Connection to Saint Charbel
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV is preparing for a historic visit to Lebanon, a visit awaited by the Lebanese due to its spiritual and national importance amid the country's circumstances.
1. Lebanon as a Message During his anticipated visit, the Pope will affirm that Lebanon is not merely a country, but a message founded on freedom, coexistence, and respect for humanity. His speeches are expected to carry messages of support for spiritual, religious, and civil institutions in Lebanon.
2. Supporting Christians in Lebanon His Holiness places great importance on the steadfastness of Christians in Lebanon and their role in protecting the unique Lebanese model. His visit will be an occasion to renew the solidarity of the universal Church with them and to call for the protection of their presence and mission.
3. Annaya and Saint Charbel — A Key Stop in the Visit Program Pope Leo XIV holds a special spiritual relationship with Saint Charbel Makhlouf, whom he considers a “symbol of hope, silence, and prayer in a troubled world.” According to the official program, His Holiness will visit the Monastery of Saint Maron - Annaya to spend time in prayer and contemplation at the tomb of Saint Charbel, seeking his intercession for Lebanon and the world. This stop, although not yet materialized, is considered one of the most prominent points of the anticipated visit because it reflects the depth of the link between the Holy See and Lebanese spirituality.
A Prayer for Christians and Peace in Lebanon
O Lord of peace and mercy, We bow before your greatness and raise Lebanon and its people to you, especially the Christians who carry the roots of faith and the message of witness. Illuminate their hearts with strength from you, Protect them from fear and division, And grant them the courage of steadfastness and the hope of the Resurrection. Bless Lebanon with its mountains, plains, and seas, Spread the spirit of peace throughout its regions, And fill its homes with tranquility and love. By the intercession of Saint Charbel and all the saints, We ask you to heal our blessed country, And that it may transform into a land of light, glory, and coexistence.

The Layers of Pope Leo XIV’s Inaugural Journey
Charles Chartouni/This Is Beirut/November 01/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/149769/
Lebanon epitomizes the enduring legacy of a waning Middle Eastern Christianity, its resistance to cultural and political Islamization, and its striving to engage in political modernization.
Pope Leo XIV’s first foreign trip is striking and prompts a closer look at what motivated his choice of destinations. To those versed in Church history, his decision to travel first to Turkey and Lebanon may appear obvious, but it remains thrilling.
Contemporary Turkey harbors the most important venues of paleo-Christian history. Turkey represents the historical landmark of the Christian divide between the Eastern and Western aisles of the Church in 1054. The country is the most emblematic site of the geopolitical divides that set the Muslim world apart from Europe and its Christian roots. Turkey is also the venue of the first genocide that eradicated Armenian, Greek, and Syriac Christianity. Finally, it is the seat of the imperial legacy of a conquering Islamic caliphate and the witness to its demise in 1922.
How difficult it is for Vatican diplomacy to sift through the different layers of this complex history and its multiple sedimentations. None of these aspects is likely to be overlooked or set aside if Pope Leo’s journey is to bear fruit despite the cultural, political, and epistemological differences that will frame its narratives
The visit to Lebanon does not compare with the Turkish journey because of their geopolitical mismatch. One is an erstwhile caliphate and imperial power, while the other is a small political entity that emerged as a territorial state after its unraveling. Yet, Lebanon epitomizes the enduring legacy of a waning Middle Eastern Christianity, its resistance to cultural and political Islamization, and its striving to engage in political modernization based on cultural and political pluralism, constitutional statehood, and civil equality.
This legacy owes much to Maronite religious irredentism, its deep roots in the Syriac and Antiochian traditions, and a firm sense of Christian inclusiveness that transcends denominational divisions while maintaining resistance to Islamic cultural and political dominance. It also owes to the quixotic and paradoxical conflation between the tradition of otherworldly asceticism and the historical trajectory of religious, cultural, social, and political emancipation. This is reflected throughout Lebanon’s history, including the formation of the Maronite Patriarchate in 687, its union with the Vatican in 1182, the cultural renaissance in Lebanon triggered by the founding of the Maronite College in Rome in 1584, the political and linear dynamic that ushered in the proto-national medieval emirate from 1523 to 1842 and its political derivatives—the double Maqamiyya from 1843 to 1861 and the Mutasarrifiyya from 1861 to 1918—and the ultimate creation of Greater Lebanon in statehood in 1920.
Lebanon’s predicament recapitulates the lofty promises of the Arab region’s unique liberal democracy and its tragic defeat at the hands of the totalitarian narratives of Arabism and Islamism. Lebanon has become the federating homeland of the retreating Christian Churches in the Middle East, which are struggling to regain their spiritual and moral autonomy and rebuild their historical agency. It is no coincidence that ecclesial federating structures, theological academies, social and educational ministries, and patriarchal sees have relocated to Lebanon at a time when migration is taking its toll.
Lebanon’s demise marks the twilight of a dissipating Oriental Christianity, while rampant Islamization is overhauling what remains of religious and cultural pluralism in the contemporary Middle East, and the crises of Islamic modernity are at their peak. The Church of Rome is navigating its way through this tidal change and attempting to map its new coordinates, with Lebanon at the center of this endeavor. Intellectual and operational ministries have been navigating a new era and its manifold challenges for the last century, with uneven fortunes.
The visit to Turkey was prompted by the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 325, the first ecumenical council, which settled the Christological controversies, established the basis of ecumenical theology, promulgated early canon law, and mandated the uniform observance of Easter’s date. It provided an opportunity to celebrate the first model of working ecumenism, which continues to serve as a paradigm for contemporary ecumenical efforts and achievements. The Nicene Creed remains the enduring cornerstone of ecumenism and the pivotal narrative of Christian unity.
The open-air museum of Cappadocia, with its hundreds of cave churches dating back to the 4th century, testifies to Turkey’s centrality in early Christian history and its rootedness in the theology and ecclesiology of the first centuries, which played a formative role in the formalization of the Kerygma and the theological traditions of the early churches. The same is true of the Syriac and Antiochian Churches and the Turoyo mountains with their monasteries, the systematic obliteration of the Armenian religious legacy culminating in the genocide, and the destruction of the Hellenic Church and its Byzantine formative heritage.
Throughout the twentieth century, popes continued visiting Turkey to uphold its historical Christian legacy and to emphasize the ecumenical role of the Phanar Patriarchate, its federating function within the Orthodox Churches, and the importance of sustaining ecumenical engagement. Nonetheless, the lingering presence of Ottoman Islamism and its inherent negationism weighs heavily on diplomatic efforts and distorts the very meaning of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, particularly given the semantic discrepancies at the intellectual, political, or religious level. It should not be forgotten that the Turkish legacy encapsulates Islamic imperialism and religious supersessionism in its various forms, as well as its impact on a truncated modernity and its connection to the bloody and destructive legacy of Ottoman imperialism.
Unfortunately, the absence of intellectual and epistemological premises for a working dialogue does little to support a diplomacy of peace-making and restorative justice. The Islamist regime in Turkey is reinvesting itself in subversive Islamism, challenging European continental peace, the foundational principles of European democracy, and the systemic equilibria of European security and its strategic anchors. Moreover, the regime openly discriminates against its substantive religious and ethnic minorities. As a result, the message of constructive dialogue and ecumenical spirituality is unlikely to resonate in Islamist Turkey and would mostly be instrumentalized to serve shifting political goals, where moral considerations are entirely absent.
The visit to Lebanon comes at a critical juncture, as the country has lost its bearings and struggles to regain political normalization and implement institutional reforms. Regional peace is fragile, civil stability is at risk, and Iranian power politics fuel a steady stream of Shiite extremism and subversive strategies of domination. The extraterritoriality of Shiite politics is closely tied to Iranian power politics and serves to challenge both regional stability and civil peace in Lebanon.
The Lebanese national and civil narratives that have shaped political life are disputed unequivocally by the Shiite political mainstream at a time when Hezbollah’s war of choice has dragged the country into an open-ended cycle of wars and its highly destructive outcomes. The Pope’s spiritual and moral authority, along with the peacekeeping diplomacy of the Apostolic See, appears to have little impact on a political scene where concepts such as interreligious and political dialogue, peace-making and rational conflict resolution have no resonance in an environment impervious to these norms and their influence on the actual course of politics.
The unsettled strategic issues, the revanchism of the Islamic regime in Tehran, and the ideological panopticon that shapes the Shiite political narrative make peace-making difficult, whether within the bounds of international diplomacy or track-two diplomacy and its civil society actors. The Shiite opposition, far from being absent, is still cowed by the extremists and their will to foreclose the public space. The spiritual, charitable, and peacemaking dimensions of Pope Leo’s visit, along with his close attention to ecumenical, peaceful, and reform-oriented Lebanon, are at the top of his agenda, alongside the highly compromised future of the Christian presence in Lebanon.
However fraught with imponderables, Pope Leo’s missionary zeal and his experience with tremendous hardships as the general superior of the Augustinian Order worldwide have prepared him to navigate the troubled waters of an unstructured and conflict-prone postmodernity and to confront the challenges of cultural, political, and societal transitions. Like all his predecessors, he is also adept at channeling spiritual resources to promote the ‘ministry of reconciliation’ (2 Corinthians 5:11–21) and peace-making. The contemporary papacy continues its odyssey in a transforming world.
****
2 Corinthians 5:11–21 (NRSV)
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 01-02/2025
Israeli carrier Israir in talks to buy 2 Airbus A330 aircraft
AP/December 02, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israeli carrier Israir said on Monday it was working to acquire two widebody Airbus A330 aircraft for a total of $80 million as it seeks to expand its long-haul routes to help offset a push by Wizz Air into the Israeli market. Israir said it was negotiating through several channels to finalize the purchase, while it is also engaged in advanced talks with local tourism group Issta to consider an allocation of seats for 10 years in exchange for an advance of about $35 million. It noted that at this stage, there is no certainty the deal will be completed, and the company continues to explore additional financing sources. Wizz said on Sunday it was planning to establish a hub in Israel by April, a move Israir objects to since it would be a direct competitor. Israir has a fleet of about 21 aircraft that it owns and leases and flies mostly domestically and to Europe. It maintains a 14 percent market share at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. It said the move is part of a series of strategic adjustments the carrier is implementing in light of Wizz Air’s expanding activity in Israel. Israir plans to fly to Asia and other transatlantic destinations. It has already received permission to begin nonstop flights to New York from Tel Aviv starting in March. “This strategic move is a natural continuation of the company’s passenger-traffic growth achieved in 2025, with more than 2 million passengers on international routes,” Israir said. “The move will strengthen Israir’s market position and enable us to expand our operations to major global destinations, while adapting to market conditions and passenger needs.” Airbus earlier on Monday confirmed it faced an industrial quality issue with metal panels on some A320-family jets, in its latest challenge after a recall to fix a computer glitch. Israir said it was not affected.

Netanyahu invited to White House in ‘near future’: Israeli PM’s office
AFP/December 01, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited by US President Donald Trump to visit the White House “in the near future” during a phone call on Monday, his office said. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening, spoke with US President Donald Trump,” the premier’s office said in a statement. “Trump has invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to a meeting at the White House in the near future.”“The two leaders stressed the importance and obligation of disarming Hamas and demilitarising the Gaza Strip, and discussed expanding the peace agreements,” Netanyahu’s office said.

Netanyahu holds phone call with Trump shortly after Syria warning
Al Arabiya English/01 December/2025
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with US President Donald Trump on Monday, the prime minister’s office said, shortly after Trump warned Israel against destabilizing Syria. Netanyahu’s office said they discussed disarming Palestinian militant group Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip. They also discussed Israel establishing ties with countries that do not recognize it. Trump also invited Netanyahu to meet at the White House in “the near future,” the prime minister’s office said, without specifying a date. Earlier on Monday, Trump warned Israel against destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces in the south of the country. “It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Trump has been pushing for a security pact between Israel and Syria since Syrian opposition forces overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad a year ago. But tensions have risen over hundreds of strikes by Israel on Syria. In the deadliest so far, Israeli forces killed 13 people on Friday in an operation in southern Syria, saying they targeted a militant group. Trump said he was “very satisfied” with Syria’s performance under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who made a historic visit to the White House in November. The US president said al-Sharaa “is working diligently to make sure good things happen, and that both Syria and Israel will have a long and prosperous relationship together.”Trump added that the United States was “doing everything within our power to make sure the Government of Syria continues to do what was intended” to rebuild the war-torn country. With agencies

Trump warns Israel not to ‘interfere’ in Syria
Al Arabiya English/01 December/2025
US President Donald Trump warned Israel on Monday against destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces in the south of the country. “It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Shortly after Trump’s social media post, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli prime minister held a phone call with the US president. Trump said he was “very satisfied” with Syria’s performance under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who made a historic visit to the White House in November. Trump has been pushing for a security pact between Israel and Syria since al-Sharaa’s coalition overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad a year ago. But tensions have risen over hundreds of strikes by Israel on Syria. In the deadliest so far, Israeli forces killed 13 people on Friday in an operation in southern Syria, saying they targeted a militant group. Trump said al-Sharaa “is working diligently to make sure good things happen, and that both Syria and Israel will have a long and prosperous relationship together.”He added that the United States was “doing everything within our power to make sure the Government of Syria continues to do what was intended” to rebuild the war-torn country. Good relations between Syria and Israel would add to his efforts for a wider Middle East peace following the fragile Gaza ceasefire in October, added Trump.
With AFP

Syrian authorities arrest Assad-era militia leader on war crimes charges
Arab News/December 01/2025
LONDON: Syrian security forces on Monday arrested Sami Oubari, former leader of the National Defense Militia in Aleppo, who is accused of committing crimes against civilians while Bashar Assad was president of the country. The Internal Security Forces and the General Intelligence Directorate have been investigating Oubari for alleged abuses and violations during the civil war, which began in 2011 and ended with the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. He is accused of “suppressing early peaceful protests, helping establish and lead the National Defense Militia from 2012 to 2017, and overseeing various violations, including arbitrary checkpoints, detentions and the looting of displaced residents’ properties in 2016,” said Col. Mohammed Abdel Ghani, head of Internal Security in Aleppo. Oubari was appointed head of public relations for the National Defense Militia in 2017. He fled to Lebanon after Assad was ousted almost a year ago. “He was arrested after reentering the country clandestinely, following close monitoring and tracking of his movements,” Abdel Ghani said. Security forces will continue to pursue individuals believed to be guilty of wartime violations, he added. Authorities said the arrest of Oubari reflects their commitment to ensuring those guilty of serious violations during the Assad era are held accountable, as well as efforts to enhance social trust and stability, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.

Syria launches first official print newspaper since fall of Assad
SANA/December 01, 2025
DAMASCUS: The Syrian Arab Republic’s state-owned newspaper Al-Thawra Al-Souria (The Syrian Revolution) — previously known as Al-Thawra — was relaunched on Monday under the slogan “A New Identity … A New Era.”The publication is returning to print for the first time since 2020 to offer an integrated platform combining print, digital and interactive formats.A ceremony for the relaunch took place at the National Center for Visual Arts in Damascus. Former President Bashar Assad’s regime stopped printing dailies during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing rising printing costs and distribution challenges.
FASTFACT
A ceremony for the relaunch took place at the National Center for Visual Arts in Damascus.Information Minister Hamza Al-Mustafa said at the relaunch ceremony that the return to print marks a reclaiming of Syria’s voice after decades of censorship, describing it as “a statement of presence and identity.”He added that the newspaper aims to mirror citizens’ daily lives, concerns and aspirations, offering a space for free and responsible discussion. Highlighting the broader media strategy, Al-Mustafa said the relaunch is part of Syria’s vision for professional and accountable journalism that bridges society and state institutions. He also announced plans to reactivate other state newspapers, including Al-Hurriya (Freedom), which will focus on the economy and political affairs, and Al-Mawqif Al-Riyadi (Sport’s Outlook), as a comprehensive sports platform, alongside new provincial media initiatives. Al-Thawra’s editor-in-chief, Nour Al-Din Ismail, described the relaunch as “the birth of a newspaper worthy of the sacrifices and struggles of Syrians over the past 14 years,” highlighting that the initiative opens a “new stage based on transparency, dialogue and responsible freedom of expression.”The newspaper traces its legacy to Syria’s historic press, with roots in state media that once served as a tool of public discourse and later faced decades of strict censorship. The relaunch reflects broader efforts to revive print journalism in the country, complementing digital platforms while reinforcing national identity and public trust in media.

US and Syrian forces conduct strikes on ISIS weapons storage facilities in Rif Damashq
The Arab Weekly/December 01/2025
The US military said on Sunday that it recently destroyed 15 sites containing Islamic State (ISIS) weapons caches in southern Syria.
US Central Command said it and Syrian forces identified and destroyed the storage facilities across the Rif Damashq province during multiple air strikes and ground detonations that were conducted from November 24 to November 27. “The combined operation destroyed over 130 mortars and rockets, multiple assault rifles, machine guns, anti-tank mines and materials for building improvised explosive devices,” CENTCOM said in a statement. ISIS, the extremist group that once imposed hardline Islamist rule over millions of people in Syria and Iraq, was largely crushed by a US-led coalition several years ago, but has managed to rebuild and regroup. Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said on Sunday the operation ” ensures gains made against ISIS are lasting.” US President Donald Trump vowed to do everything he could to make Syria successful after November 10 talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who until recently was sanctioned by Washington as a foreign terrorist. Syria carried out nationwide pre-emptive operations targeting ISIS cells in the days before the talks in Washington, the Syrian government said at the time. One of Sharaa’s chief aims in the meeting with Trump was to push for full removal of the toughest US sanctions against the country. During the meeting, the US Treasury Department announced a 180-day extension of its suspension of enforcement of the so-called Caesar sanctions, but only the US Congress can lift them entirely.

Palestinian Authority receives $90m in support from Saudi Arabia
Arab News/December 01, 2025
LONDON: The Palestinian Authority on Monday received $90 million from Saudi Arabia as part of the Kingdom’s support for the Palestinian government. Estephan Salameh, minister of planning and international cooperation and acting minister of finance, received the tranche at the Saudi Embassy’s headquarters in Amman during a meeting with Saudi Ambassador to Jordan and non-resident envoy to Palestine Prince Mansour bin Khalid bin Farhan Al-Saud. Salameh commended Saudi Arabia for its financial and political support for the rights of Palestinians, and the establishment of an independent state, according to Wafa news agency. Prince Mansour highlighted Saudi Arabia’s efforts as a co-chair, alongside France, of the high-level international conference in New York City that supported the Palestinian cause and the implementation of the two-state solution. During the September conference, several countries recognized Palestinian statehood, including the UK, France, Australia and Canada. He said that the tranche of a grant is part of the Saudi leadership’s commitment to support the Palestinian government and help it meet its financial obligations. Prince Mansour affirmed support for strengthening the resilience of the Palestinian people and for supporting key sectors such as health and education, Wafa added. In September, Saudi Arabia announced the launch of an emergency international coalition to provide direct funding to the Palestinian Authority and pledged $90 million in support.

Israeli president says will consider country’s ‘best interests’ on Netanyahu pardon
AFP/01 December/2025
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Monday he would focus only on Israel’s “best interests” when he weighs Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon on corruption charges. “It will be handled in the most correct and precise manner. I will consider solely the best interests of the State of Israel and Israeli society,” Herzog said in a statement. Netanyahu announced Sunday he had submitted a pardon request, saying the long-running cases were tearing Israel apart. US President Donald Trump also wrote to Herzog last month, seeking a pardon for Netanyahu. The premier has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the proceedings. Netanyahu and his wife Sara stand accused in one case of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors. The premier is also accused of seeking to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets in another two cases. Since the cases have exposed deep divisions in Israeli society between his backers and opponents, Netanyahu said he was seeking a pardon to help “lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs.”Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the ongoing court cases and made no admission of guilt on Sunday in announcing his bid for a pardon. Before a hearing Monday, attended by Netanyahu, protesters against and in support of the prime minister chanted slogans outside the courthouse in Tel Aviv, including some dressed in bright orange prisoner-style jumpsuits. “He should be standing on trial just like every other citizen in Israel,” protester Paula Keusch told AFP. But pro-Netanyahu demonstrator Rafael Shamir said: “If the good of the country leads Netanyahu to request a stay of the trial, then I support him.”

Settlers uproot more olive trees south of Hebron
AFP/December 01, 2025
HEBRON: Israeli settlers uprooted about 850 olive trees and grapevines on Monday belonging to a Palestinian family southeast of Yatta, south of Hebron, a local activist has told Palestinian news agency WAFA. Anti-settlement activist Osama Makhamreh said that armed colonists from Susiya — which was illegally established on land south of Hebron — stormed property at Khirbet Khallat Al-Hummus, southeast of Yatta, under the protection of the occupation army. The settlers uprooted olive trees and grapevines, destroyed the contents of a room in an agricultural building, and vandalized barbed-wire fences. Violence in the West Bank has increased since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.
BACKGROUND
The UN said that October had been the worst month for settler violence since it began recording incidents in 2006. The UN said that October had been the worst month for settler violence since it began recording incidents in 2006, with 264 attacks that had caused casualties or damage to property. More than 500,000 Israelis currently live in settlements in the West Bank — which has been occupied since 1967 — along with 3 million Palestinians. Three Italians and a Canadian were treated at a Jericho hospital on Sunday after being attacked by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, one of the group told the Agence France-Presse news agency. Italy’s Foreign Ministry in Rome said that “three Italian international volunteers were attacked last night by Israeli settlers,” adding that they were “still in shock from the incident.”Riyad Eid, director of the Jericho government hospital, said: “Four foreigners arrived at the hospital this morning after being beaten by settlers, according to what they reported. “They were suffering from bruises on the face … and on the chest, and one of them was beaten in a sensitive area. They were examined, given X-rays and ultrasound scans, provided with the necessary treatment and then discharged.” One of the four, who had visible bruising and did not wish to be identified, told AFP that three of the people were from Italy and one from Canada. They had been staying in the Duyuk area on the western edge of Jericho in the central West Bank. They said: “We were asleep at night … 10 masked settlers came, two of them had guns, some of them had sticks. They kicked me multiple times in the face, in the ribs, in the hip. “It lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. And then they took all of our things. They stole my passport, my phone, my wallet, my bank cards, and then they left.
“We had to have X-rays, (and) painkillers. Our friend was beaten more severely than we were.”Italy’s Foreign Ministry added that “the settlers reportedly entered their home, attacked the volunteers, and stole all their personal belongings.”Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is reported to be “following the incident,” while in close contact with Italy’s consul general in Jerusalem.

Israel’s Netanyahu appears in court after pardon request backed by Trump
Reuters/December 01, 2025
TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in court on Monday for the first time since asking the country’s president for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial, a move backed by close ally US President Donald Trump. Opposition politicians have come out against the request, with some arguing that any pardon should be conditional on Netanyahu retiring from politics and admitting guilt. Others have said the prime minister must first call national elections, which are due by October 2026, before requesting any pardon. Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister, said he would support ending the trial if Netanyahu were to agree to withdraw from politics “in order to pull Israel out of this chaos.”“This way, we can put this behind us, unite and rebuild the country together,” said Bennett, who led a coalition government that won the 2021 election, ousting Netanyahu from office. Netanyahu won the election the next year to return to power. Polls show Bennett as the most likely to head the next government if Netanyahu departed.
Indicted on bribery, fraud charges in 2020
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, was indicted back in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust after years of investigations. His trial began in 2020. The prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and made no admission of guilt in his request for a pardon, with Netanyahu’s lawyers stating that he believed that the legal proceedings, if completed, would end in a complete acquittal. A small group of demonstrators gathered outside Monday’s Tel Aviv court hearing, some of them wearing orange prison-style jumpsuits and calling on Netanyahu to go to prison. Ilana Barzilay, one of the demonstrators outside the court, said she believed it was unacceptable that Netanyahu asked for a pardon without pleading guilty or taking any responsibility. In a letter to President Isaac Herzog that was released on Sunday, lawyers for Netanyahu said that frequent court appearances were hindering the prime minister’s ability to govern. A pardon would also be good for the country, they said. Pardons in Israel have typically been granted only after legal proceedings have concluded and the accused has been convicted. There is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial. Trump sees Netanyahu’s case as ‘political’ Allies of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition have backed his request, which came two weeks after Trump wrote to Herzog asking him to consider pardoning Netanyahu, calling the cases against him a “political, unjustified prosecution.”In recent elections, Netanyahu’s rivals have made his legal cases a central campaign issue. Many polls indicate that his coalition, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, would struggle to win enough seats to form the next government.

Ahmad Al-Sharaa: Liberation of Aleppo was gateway to Syria’s freedom
Arab News/December 01, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa attended a celebration in Aleppo commemorating the first anniversary of the city’s liberation from the regime of Bashar Assad. Aleppo was the first city to rise up against the regime in 2011. Other cities followed suit. The alliance, led by Al-Sharaa, entered Aleppo on Nov. 29 last year and swiftly took control of Syria’s second city. Al-Sharaa said that the city’s liberation marked the beginning of the liberation of the entire Syrian Arab Republic, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported. “Our people made great sacrifices until we reached the achievements we celebrate today,” he told Saturday’s celebration rally. “Aleppo was reborn, and with its rebirth, all of Syria was reborn. In moments like these, a new history for all of Syria was being written, through Aleppo and its proud citadel,” Al-Sharaa told hundreds of people gathered outside the city’s famous monument. Shortly afterwards, he appeared at the top of the citadel’s tower near a huge Syrian flag. The president said that when Aleppo was liberated, he was certain that Damascus would be freed as well. “From the walls of Aleppo, we saw Damascus liberated, and from the walls of this citadel, we saw the fighters in the heart of Damascus. For us, Aleppo was the gateway to entering all of Syria. “After Aleppo was liberated, smiles returned to the faces of Syria’s children.”Al-Sharaa said that “hope returned to the entire nation that Syria would once again come back into its embrace,” when Aleppo was liberated. “Today is not merely a celebration of Aleppo, but a marker of a new history being written for all of Syria and for the entire region. “With this liberation,” he said, “a long road is ahead of us for its rebuilding and restoration.”He said that the reconstruction of Aleppo is a firm and essential part of rebuilding the Syrian Arab Republic. On Sunday, Al-Sharaa met with civil and military representatives in Aleppo province. In his speech, Al‑Sharaa congratulated the residents on the liberation of Aleppo and emphasized the need for collective efforts to rebuild the governorate and strengthen its institutions. Interior Minister Anas Khattab and the governor of Aleppo, Azzam Al‑Gharib, attended the meeting.

Jordanian authorities seize 1.2 million illicit pills, arrest drug gang
Arab News/December 01, 2025
LONDON: Jordanian authorities on Monday announced that they had foiled a major drug smuggling operation, seizing 1.2 million illicit pills concealed in a road roller and arresting 10 suspects in a series of raids northeast of the capital, Amman. The anti-narcotics department had been monitoring the drug network for two months after receiving intelligence regarding a planned cross-border shipment, according to the Petra news agency. They learnt that the suspects were stockpiling narcotics in a warehouse in Al-Rusaifa, a city in the Zarqa Governorate northeast of Amman, concealing the pills in a secret compartment built into a heavy vehicle.On Sunday, anti-narcotics units raided a warehouse and several other locations in Al-Rusaifa, rounding up all suspects and seizing the hidden drugs, with a street value of millions of US dollars, Petra added.

White House says ‘very optimistic’ on chances of Ukraine deal
AFP/02 December/2025
The White House said Monday it was “very optimistic” of a deal being reached to end the Russia-Ukraine war, as US envoy Steve Witkoff heads to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin. “I think the administration feels very optimistic,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She said that President Donald Trump and his team “have been working so hard on this effort and they all really want to see this war come to an end.”“Just yesterday... they had very good talks with the Ukrainians in Florida and now of course Special Envoy Witkoff is on his way to Russia.” For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our dedicated page. Witkoff, a business friend of Trump who has become his roving global fixer, met Ukrainian negotiators on Sunday alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and again on Monday. The Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said the talks “achieved significant progress” but that some issues remained unresolved. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while trying carefully not to anger Trump, has refused US-backed calls for Ukraine to cede hard-fought territory that Russia has not been able to seize. A US plan, also presented to the Ukrainians a week earlier in Geneva without their input, would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognize the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian. The United States in turn would offer some form of guarantees to Ukraine, but the steps would stop short of Kyiv’s ambition to join NATO, the transatlantic alliance that considers an attack on one an attack on all. Washington pared back the original plan following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but the current contents remain unclear. Witkoff has faced criticism in the past for his travels to Moscow, where he has entered talks without the usual professional staff that would be routine for US diplomacy with the veteran Russian leader. The envoy will be joined in Russia by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who has helped spearhead his diplomacy on the Middle East. As Witkoff heads to Russia, Zelenskyy has been seeking support from European allies.French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday with Zelenskyy that any plan to end the war can only be finalized with the involvement of Ukraine and European powers. Zelenskyy for his part warned not to let Russia “perceive anything it could consider as a reward for this war.”NATO foreign ministers will also meet this week in Brussels for an annual meeting but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is skipping the talks, instead sending his deputy Christopher Landau.

Europeans rally round Ukraine as Trump envoy heads to Moscow
Reuters/01 December/2025
European leaders rallied to show support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday after US-Ukrainian talks to revise a peace proposal that initially favored Russia, while US special envoy Steve Witkoff headed to Moscow to brief the Kremlin. Zelenskyy was warmly received by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and the two joined a call with about a dozen other European leaders including those of Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland and the European Union.Zelenskyy told a joint press conference with Macron after their meeting that Kyiv’s priorities in peace talks were to maintain sovereignty and ensure strong security guarantees, and that territorial disputes remained the most complicated.He called on Ukraine’s Western allies to ensure Russia was not rewarded for the war it started, and said he hoped to hold talks with US President Donald Trump after Witkoff has visited Russia this week. Macron told reporters that only Ukraine could decide on its territories in peace negotiations with Russia.Earlier, Zelenskyy made clear that Ukrainian and US negotiators had not yet fully hammered out revisions to the proposed US plan, despite two rounds of talks to adjust terms that initially endorsed Russia’s main wartime demands. There were “some tough issues that still have to be worked through,” Zelenskyy posted following Sunday’s US-Ukrainian talks at a Florida luxury golf resort built by Trump’s fellow real estate magnate Witkoff. Witkoff left the talks to travel to Moscow, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. US and Ukrainian officials have yet to make public any amendments they have so far agreed to the 28-point plan which Washington presented to Kyiv less than two weeks ago. Kyiv and its European allies have been pushing for revisions to terms, which called for Ukraine to give up more territory than Russia has seized, curb the size of its army, renounce joining NATO and be barred from hosting Western troops. Ukraine says that would amount to capitulation, and leave it prone to eventual conquest by Russia, which invaded in 2014 and 2022. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who hosted the talks at Witkoff’s Shell Bay club near Miami, said on Sunday Washington was “realistic about how difficult this is, but optimistic, particularly given the fact that we’ve made progress.”“There’s more work to be done. This is delicate,” Rubio said. “There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there’s another party involved here ... that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week, when Mr. Witkoff travels to Moscow.”
Difficult juncture for Kyiv
The intensified negotiations have arrived at a difficult juncture for Kyiv, which has been losing ground at the eastern front while facing the biggest corruption scandal of the war. Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, who had also led the Ukrainian delegation at peace talks, resigned on Friday after anti-corruption investigators searched his home. Two cabinet ministers have been fired and a former business partner of Zelenskyy has been named as a suspect. Trump, who promised to swiftly end the war, has expressed frustration that a deal seems to be elusive. “Ukraine’s got some difficult little problems,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, referring to the graft scandal. He repeated his view that both Russia and Ukraine wanted to end the war and said there was a good chance a deal could be reached. Meanwhile, Russia has shown no sign of backing off its maximalist demands while its forces continue to make slow progress on the 1,200-km (750-mile) front line. At least four people were killed and 40 wounded, 11 of them seriously, when Russian missiles struck car repair shops in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Monday. “Everyone fell to the floor, then we started to figure out where the employees were. I ran upstairs and saw that one guy was fine, but he was a bit covered in shrapnel,” said Vitalii Kovalenko, owner of a service station, adding that all his employees survived. Russia said on Monday its forces had captured another settlement in eastern Ukraine, Klynove in the Donetsk region. Reuters could not independently verify the situation there. Moscow has been saying it is on the verge of seizing the ruined city of Pokrovsk, its biggest prize in nearly two years. Meanwhile, it has been bombarding Ukrainian cities nightly with long-range strikes, mainly targeting energy infrastructure, frequently leaving Ukrainians in cold and darkness as the war’s fourth winter sets in. Ukraine, for its part, has been launching long-range strikes to target Russia’s oil exports. On Monday the Kremlin denounced Ukrainian attacks on a Russian oil-exporting terminal that serves a pipeline from Kazakhstan, and on two tankers in the Black Sea.

Putin-Witkoff talks risk piling pressure on Ukraine, EU’s top diplomat warns
AFP/01 December/2025
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned Monday that talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff risk ramping up pressure on Ukraine to make concessions. “I am afraid that, you know, all the pressure will be put on the weaker side, because that is the easier way to stop this war when Ukraine surrenders,” Kallas told journalists.US President Donald Trump’s pointman Witkoff is set to meet Putin in Moscow on Tuesday after Washington’s representatives sat down with Ukrainian negotiators in Florida. Europe has been largely sidelined by the United States in Trump’s latest drive to bring an end to the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, sparking fears of a lopsided deal. Ukraine has been locked in talks with Washington to hammer out a possible peace plan after an initial US proposal heavily favored Russia. Kallas reiterated that the coming week could be “pivotal” in the diplomatic efforts, but insisted Russia showed no real sign of wanting peace. “In this war there is one aggressor and one victim,” she said after a meeting of EU defense ministers in Brussels. “Our job is to do all we can to support the victim and not reward the aggressor.”She renewed calls for the EU to agree a new mammoth loan for Ukraine funded by Russian frozen assets, as opposition from key player Belgium stalls the plan. “Multi-year funding would be a game-changer for Ukraine’s defense,” she said. “It will definitely strengthen European position vis a vis Moscow. That’s very clear. We need to move on with this.”

White House says Trump MRI was preventative, president in excellent health
Reuters/01 December/2025
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that a recent MRI conducted on President Donald Trump was preventative in nature and revealed that he was in good cardiovascular health. Speaking to reporters at a press briefing at the White House, Leavitt said men of Trump’s age benefited from such screenings. “President Trump’s cardiovascular imaging was perfectly normal, no evidence of arterial narrowing, impairing blood flow or abnormalities in the heart or major vessels,” Leavitt said of the 79-year-old president. “The heart chambers are normal in size. The vessel walls appear smooth and healthy, and there are no signs of inflammation or clotting. Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health. His abdominal imaging is also perfectly normal,” Leavitt said. Trump underwent a magnetic resonance imaging scan during a recent medical evaluation, but did not disclose the purpose of the procedure, which is not typical for standard check-ups. The lack of details raised questions about whether full information regarding the president’s health is being released in a timely fashion by the White House. Trump is sensitive about his age and well-being. He personally attacked a female New York Times reporter on social media last week over a story she co-wrote examining the ways that Trump’s age may be affecting his energy levels

Saudi Arabia, Russia sign mutual visa-waiver agreement
Al Arabiya English/01 December/2025
Saudi Arabia and Russia signed a mutual visa-waiver agreement in Riyadh on Monday, allowing citizens of both countries to enter visa-free for tourism, business and family visits, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Monday. The agreement was signed by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on the sidelines of the Saudi-Russian Investment and Business Forum. Under the deal, holders of all types of passports – diplomatic, special/official, and ordinary – will be allowed visa-free entry for up to 90 days. The visa exemption, however, does not apply to visitors traveling for work, study, residency, or Hajj. The move marks the first time Saudi Arabia has granted visa-exemption privileges to holders of regular passports from any country. According to the SPA, the agreement aims to boost tourism flows, expand economic and cultural cooperation, and increase public engagement between the two countries.

Iran, Turkey agree to build $1.6 billion strategic trade rail link between Asia and Europe
Al Arabiya English/01 December/2025
Iran’s transport minister Farzaneh Sadegh said the rail line would transform the southern section of what was once the Silk Road into an “all-rail corridor ensuring the continuity of the network between China and Europe”.

The planned route will cover around 200 kilometres. The project is expected to take three to four years to complete.
The Arab Weekly/December 01/2025
Iran and Turkey have agreed to begin constructing a new joint rail link to serve as a strategic gateway between Asia and Europe, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday. The planned route, known in Iran as the Marand-Cheshmeh Soraya railway transit line and running towards Turkey’s Aralik border region, will cover around 200 kilometres. It will cost roughly $1.6 billion and is expected to take three to four years to complete, Iranian authorities have said. Earlier this month, Iran’s transport minister Farzaneh Sadegh said the rail line would transform the southern section of what was once the Silk Road into an “all-rail corridor ensuring the continuity of the network between China and Europe”.It would also ensure “fast and cheap transport of all types of cargo with minimal stops”, she added. At a joint press conference on Saturday with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Araghchi said “emphasis was placed on the need to remove barriers to trade and investment between the two countries”.“The two countries also stressed the importance of the rail link … in the region and expressed hope that the construction of this line can start as soon as possible,” he added. The ancient Silk Road was a vast system of trade routes that for centuries linked East Asia to the Middle East and Europe, allowing the flow of goods, culture and knowledge across continents. In 2013, China announced the construction of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, officially known as the “New Silk Road”, a project that aims to build maritime, road, and rail infrastructure to boost global trade. Iran has been seeking to expand infrastructure and trade with neighbouring countries as part of efforts to revitalise an economy strained by decades of international sanctions.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 01-02/2025
Why Qatar Should Have No Role in Gaza
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/December 01/2025
The meeting underscores Qatar's apparent eagerness to play a central role in post-war Gaza. As a long-time supporter and funder of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, the Qatari regime's main goal seems to be ensuring that Hamas remains in power in the Gaza Strip. Hamas describes itself as "one of the wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine."One does not need to be an "expert" to understand that Qatar, despite its attempt to present itself as a neutral mediator between Israel and Hamas over the past two years, continues to be affiliated with the extremist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Unfortunately, this ideology considers non-Muslims (and Israel) as Enemy No. 1. In his October 19 column in the Qatari government daily Al-Sharq, Ahmad al-Muhammadi, an imam and preacher in Qatar's Waqf Ministry, explained that the enmity between the Muslims and the Jews and Christians is existential and deeply rooted, and presented Islam as the truth and Christianity and Judaism as falsehood and heresy. He went on to call on Muslims to beware of slogans of tolerance that are aimed at uprooting belief in Islam, and asserted that Islam is "a religion that neither compromises nor reconciles."
"Qatari Shura Council member Essa Al-Nassr said that October 7 was the beginning of the end of the Zionist state, presenting this as a divine promise mentioned in the Quran. He added that there can be no peace with the Jews, because their faith condones 'deception, the violation of agreements and lies' and they are 'slayers of the prophets.'" — MEMRI, September 15, 2025.
Researcher and political analyst Eitan Fischberger recently uncovered a series of posts in which Majed al-Ansari, advisor to the Qatari prime minister and spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, openly praised suicide bombings and called for Tel Aviv to burn.
In a recent speech, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, said that the five Hamas members Israel killed in an airstrike in Doha last September were "our brothers."
Qatari Education Minister Lowlah al-Khater has called Israel and the West an "ugly, racist, and vile civilization" She described Israel and its Western backers as a "mixture of ugliness, entrenched racism, and vile materialistic civilization."
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are said to be "frustrated" by Washington's growing concessions to Qatar, their regional rival and a longtime supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"It's a mistake to rely on Qatar, which backs the Muslim Brotherhood... [Qatar] will undermine deradicalization efforts and try to ensure that Hamas remains in the picture and returns to power in the not-so-distant future." — Unnamed Saudi diplomatic source, Israel Hayom, October 12, 2025.
Bringing Qatar into the Gaza Strip is effectively placing the fox inside a chicken coop. If Qatar is allowed to play a civilian or security role inside the Gaza Strip, this privilege would be seen by many Palestinians as a reward for Hamas and other Islamist terror groups. It will allow the terrorists worldwide to rearm and regroup, and enable Qatar to continue reasserting the policies of the Muslim Brotherhood throughout the Middle East – as well as in the US, where it has already exorbitantly bought influence. That purchase includes "economic commitments worth at least $1.2 trillion" in the US, the $400 million "flying palace" Boeing 747 jet, and "at least $100 billion" pumped into US universities.
One does not need to be an "expert" to understand that Qatar, despite its attempt to present itself as a neutral mediator between Israel and Hamas over the past two years, continues to be affiliated with the extremist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Unfortunately, this ideology considers non-Muslims (and Israel) as Enemy No. 1. Pictured: Qatar's then Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani holds hands with then Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during their visit to the Islamic University in the Gaza Strip on October 23, 2012.
Delegations from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey met in Cairo on November 25 to discuss implementation of the second phase of US President Donald J. Trump's plan for ending the war in the Gaza Strip, which erupted with the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
According to media reports, the meeting included the heads of the Egyptian and Turkish intelligence agencies, along with the prime minister of Qatar. They discussed "ways to intensify joint effort to ensure the successful implementation of the second phase of the plan," which includes the disarmament of Hamas, the establishment of a transitional Palestinian governance committee, and the deployment of an International Stabilization Force in the Gaza Strip.
The meeting underscores Qatar's apparent eagerness to play a central role in post-war Gaza. As a long-time supporter and funder of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, the Qatari regime's main goal seems to be ensuring that Hamas remains in power in the Gaza Strip. Hamas describes itself as "one of the wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine."Qatar is the only Arab country that hosts the entire leadership of Hamas and that has been providing political and financial aid to the terror group since 2007.
In 2012, former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani was the first leader of a country to visit Gaza under Hamas rule. He pledged $400 million in assistance, and that same year Hamas was permitted to open a political office in Doha.
It is this Qatari (along with Iranian) support that enabled Hamas to stay in power for the past 18 years and launch its October 7, 2023 massacre, which resulted in the murder of some 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, the wounding of thousands, and the kidnapping of 251 hostages, the remains of two of whom have yet to be returned by Hamas.Without Hamas, Qatar would lose a critical means of influence not only in the Palestinian areas but also in the region. The assumption that Qatar could play a role in maintaining peace or launching a process of deep deradicalization in the Gaza Strip is delusional.
One does not need to be an "expert" to understand that Qatar, despite its attempt to present itself as a neutral mediator between Israel and Hamas over the past two years, continues to be affiliated with the extremist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Unfortunately, this ideology considers non-Muslims (and Israel) as Enemy No. 1. In his October 19 column in the Qatari government daily Al-Sharq, Ahmad al-Muhammadi, an imam and preacher in Qatar's Waqf Ministry, explained that the enmity between the Muslims and the Jews and Christians is existential and deeply rooted, and presented Islam as the truth and Christianity and Judaism as falsehood and heresy. Stating that anyone who thinks this enmity – which he said stems from a variety of reasons involving a combination of faith, interests, history and geography – is transient is deluding himself, he went on to clarify that it would continue as long as Islam exists and "as long as the communities of unbelief persist in their deviation."He stressed that a devout Muslim "realizes that today's conflict between Islam and its enemies is not just a battle over borders or interests, but a battle over values, ways of action, and the future." He went on to call on Muslims to beware of slogans of tolerance that are aimed at uprooting belief in Islam, and asserted that Islam is "a religion that neither compromises nor reconciles."Such statements by Qatari officials should not surprise anyone. Since Hamas's October 7 massacre and throughout the Gaza war, Qatar, its media, and institutions affiliated with it have consistently expressed unreserved support for Hamas and for terrorism and armed violence against Israel. This support finds expression on all levels: in statements by officials and religious clerics, in the media and in Qatar's education system.
According to an investigative report by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI):
"Despite its ostensible role as a mediator between Hamas and Israel, Qatar, which has for years sheltered Hamas leaders within its borders and funded this organization with billions of dollars, has taken a blatantly pro-Hamas and anti-Israel line, as reflected in statements by members of the royal family and by Qatari politicians. Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the mother of the Qatari Emir and the chair of the Qatar Foundation, implied that Israel had fabricated reports about Hamas' atrocities, and accused Israel of spreading false historical narratives that 'have taken over the collective mind of the world.' After the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 massacre, Sheikha Moza eulogized him, saying that 'he will live on' while Israel will perish. Shortly after the October 7 massacre, Sheikha Hind, the Emir's sister and CEO of the Qatar Foundation, condemned Israel's 'murder and destruction' in Gaza while making no mention of the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. Qatari Shura Council member Essa Al-Nassr said that October 7 was the beginning of the end of the Zionist state, presenting this as a divine promise mentioned in the Quran. He added that there can be no peace with the Jews, because their faith condones 'deception, the violation of agreements and lies' and they are 'slayers of the prophets.'
"Al-Jazeera, Qatar's flagship media network, has been operating as a propaganda outlet in the service of Hamas. It expresses unreserved support for this organization, justifying its October 7 attack, showing footage from it obtained from the terrorists' bodycams, and celebrating it as a victory that has brought pride and honor to the Islamic nation. The network has provided an unlimited platform for messages and threats by Hamas' leaders and spokespersons, and for their calls on Muslims worldwide to join the jihad against Israel. To wit, Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar described Al-Jazeera as 'the best pulpit that accurately gives voice to our positions...'
"Moreover, it has been shown that some Al-Jazeera reporters took an active part in Hamas' October 7 invasion of Israeli localities, and some even served as Hamas field commanders. On their personal social media accounts and various other online platforms, Al-Jazeera's presenters and reporters are even more explicitly pro-Hamas and anti-Israel. They have openly praised Hamas and its October 7 attack, and expressed hope that this attack presages the complete liberation of Palestine and Israel's demise.
"A similar line is taken by other Qatari media and journalists, which likewise support and glorify Hamas and terror against Israel in general. This is conveyed in reports, opinion pieces, cartoons and even poems published by the various outlets, which describe October 7 as 'a magnificent and historic day' and call for further attacks of this sort, and claim that Israel's demise is a divine promise and is therefore inevitable. The articles also encourage Hamas to continue its missile attacks on Israel and kidnap more Israelis, and oppose the disarming of this organization."
Researcher and political analyst Eitan Fischberger recently uncovered a series of posts in which Majed al-Ansari, advisor to the Qatari prime minister and spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, openly praised suicide bombings and called for Tel Aviv to burn. In one post, al-Ansari praised the Second Intifada – the 2000-2005 Palestinian terror campaign – against the "Zionist enemy" and its "martyrdom operations" -- a euphemism for terrorist attacks.
In a recent speech, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, said that the five Hamas members Israel killed in an airstrike in Doha last September were "our brothers."
Qatari Education Minister Lowlah al-Khater has called Israel and the West an "ugly, racist, and vile civilization" She described Israel and its Western backers as a "mixture of ugliness, entrenched racism, and vile materialistic civilization."
Qatar poses a threat not only to Israel and the West, but also to many Arabs who are opposed to Islamist terror groups.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are said to be "frustrated" by Washington's growing concessions to Qatar, their regional rival and a longtime supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood. According to an October 12 report in the newspaper Israel Hayom:
"Over the past month, several key moderate Gulf states—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain—have found themselves sidelined. While they support Trump's initiative to end the war, they are unhappy with the major concessions made to Qatar, still their regional rival and a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that undermines Arab regimes. They are also uneasy about Washington's expanding defense agreements with Doha."
An unnamed Saudi diplomatic source told the newspaper: "It's a mistake to rely on Qatar, which backs the Muslim Brotherhood." He warned that "excessive Qatari involvement in the next stages of the plan and Gaza's reconstruction will cause Trump's plan to collapse," adding:
"Qatar's interests are different, it will undermine deradicalization efforts and try to ensure that Hamas remains in the picture and returns to power in the not-so-distant future."
Bringing Qatar into the Gaza Strip is effectively placing the fox inside a chicken coop. If Qatar is allowed to play a civilian or security role inside the Gaza Strip, this privilege would be seen by many Palestinians as a reward for Hamas and other Islamist terror groups. It will allow the terrorists worldwide to rearm and regroup, and enable Qatar to continue reasserting the policies of the Muslim Brotherhood throughout the Middle East – as well as in the US, where it has already exorbitantly bought influence. That purchase includes "economic commitments worth at least $1.2 trillion" in the US, the $400 million "flying palace" Boeing 747 jet, and "at least $100 billion" pumped into US universities.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22082/qatar-role-in-gaza
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
**Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

Can Trump really ban the Muslim Brotherhood?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/01 December/2025
Since their emergence, modern Arab nation-states have found themselves in constant tension with transnational ideological movements that challenge their authority and pull loyalties beyond national borders. Chief among these groups is the Muslim Brotherhood, a cross-border organization whose ideas and objectives clash with most governments in the region, including those that permit it limited parliamentary or cabinet participation.
The Brotherhood resembles other ideological currents with formal party structures such as the Baathists, communists, and Arab nationalists, along with socialist and Nasserist offshoots. All promote political concepts that undermine existing state systems. Unsurprisingly, none of these movements ever succeeded sustainably in power, and those that briefly did were unable to hold onto it.
President Donald Trump shocked many observers when he directed the State Department and Treasury Department to prepare a report recommending a ban on dealings with the Muslim Brotherhood and the pursuit of certain branches in the region. The first entities likely to be targeted are its branches in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. Once the 45-day review is complete, these branches could be designated terrorist organizations, placing their leaders and activists on sanctions lists. It is a significant development given that the Brotherhood remains the Arab world’s largest and most active political movement.
Just days earlier, the governor of Texas designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. It is unclear how large or influential the group is within the state, but the move serves as both a symbolic beginning and an early test case for pursuing the Brotherhood inside the United States. Such a step is unusual. The US Constitution protects freedom of thought, belief, and political association. This is why the Communist Party has operated legally for a century and why neo-Nazi groups are permitted to exist as political movements, unlike in Europe. Yet those movements are marginal, while the Brotherhood enjoys a wider reach inside the US and growing influence among a rapidly expanding Muslim community. Its presence on American university campuses dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, but it grew significantly over the past decade and opened channels of cooperation with both major political parties.
The Brotherhood does not present itself as a subversive movement, like communism, but as an extension of America’s Muslim communities, mirroring established political organizations such as Jewish groups and their lobbying arm, AIPAC. In reality, the Brotherhood’s ideology is deeply hostile to the West. Yet this has not prevented it from partnering with Western institutions or benefiting from political and financial support. Publicly, the movement claims to uphold democratic principles and the peaceful rotation of power, a narrative that is inconsistent with its historical record and ideological foundations. Over the decades, the Brotherhood demonstrated remarkable flexibility: it cooperated with leftists, Arab nationalists, and Khomeinists, and its Iraqi branch even worked with the US occupation before reentering politics and government.
Calls to ban the Muslim Brotherhood intensified after the September 11 attacks, citing its role as an ideological incubator for extremist groups. But those calls found little traction in Congress or the White House until now. What changed? Most likely the Brotherhood’s global reaction to the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and the fact that Hamas is itself a Brotherhood organization. This shifted public sentiment sharply and placed the movement under renewed scrutiny. The broader American and Western mood has also turned decisively against political Islam, making legislative pushback far more likely. This shift does not contradict Washington’s recent outreach to the Syrian president, despite his extremist background, because he is viewed as separate from organized political Islamist movements.
A notable paradox lies in Israel’s position: while it wages war against Hamas, the Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch, it permits another Brotherhood-linked party to operate legally and allows Palestinian citizens of Israel to serve in the Knesset. They have even joined governing coalitions in the past.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational movement fundamentally opposed to the concept of the nation-state. Its strongest base of activity remains the Arab region, where it maintains significant support despite official denials. As an opposition force, it presents itself as an alternative to ruling systems. Yet in the rare instances where it held power, its governance record was poor both politically and economically – whether in Egypt, where it ruled for only one year, or Sudan, where it governed for three decades.
The broader idea of internationalism – unifying peoples or states under a single ideological project – has collapsed globally. Its strongest manifestations, communism and socialist internationalism, are long gone.
What remains unclear is whether Trump’s proposed ban will extend to Brotherhood-linked organizations that were established in the United States under distinctly American names. Internationally, Washington is likely to target fundraising networks, distribution channels, and the movement’s extensive media platforms. The US has done this before: in its global campaign against Iranian-affiliated organizations, it severed financial pipelines and shut down radio stations, television channels, websites, and social media networks.
Such a ban would be quietly welcomed by many Arab governments, including those that still permit the Brotherhood to participate in politics. For these states, the movement poses a direct threat to national stability. It presents itself as a domestic alternative and enjoys external extensions that reinforce it.

The IDF whistleblower testimonies appearing to confirm claims of Israeli war crimes in Gaza
KHALED AL-KHAWALDEH/Arab News/December 01, 2025
DUBAI: Unarmed and unaware of their impending fate, two teenage boys pushed a handcart along a Gazan street when, without warning, a shot rang out. One of the boys fell to the ground, shot in the head by an Israeli soldier with no discernible provocation.
This is just one of dozens of examples of alleged war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza revealed in a new documentary, “Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War,” which features the accounts of active and former combatants turned whistleblowers. “If they walk too fast, they’re suspicious. If they walk too slow, they’re suspicious, they’re plotting something,” one soldier, whose identity is hidden, tells the interviewer, as he describes the incident of the two teenage boys. “If three men walk and one is lagging, then that is two-to-one military formation. You can incriminate everyone. I can incriminate the whole strip if I want.”The hour-long film, produced by documentary filmmaker Benjamin Zand, recounts several instances of civilians being killed, wholesale destruction of infrastructure without justification, and acts of vandalism. It raises questions about the morality and ultimate aims of the Israeli military at a time when it has come under heavy scrutiny and has even been accused of genocide by a UN independent commission of inquiry — accusations it strenuously denies. “We made ‘Breaking Ranks’ because we wanted to understand how decisions were being made, particularly decisions that resulted in horrific acts against Gazan civilians, as described by the soldiers themselves,” Zand told Arab News. “We hope the film helps bring much-needed transparency to a conflict where so much remains hidden. “When soldiers describe acts that caused immense harm to civilians, those accounts deserve to be heard and examined, not sensationalized, not politicized, but understood as part of the factual record.”Through these testimonies, the documentary questions the Israel Defense Forces’ claim of being a modern professional military and instead paints a picture of a brazen, vengeful, and at times depraved entity, acting with impunity.
Some of the whistleblowers expressed remorse for their actions, which included using human shields, defecating on Palestinian property, burning homes, killing paramedics, and using drones to blow up unarmed men walking the streets. “In hindsight, I am disgusted with myself, but at the time, I thought this house was going to get destroyed anyway, so I might as well do what I want,” one whistleblower said in the film. “It’s crazy to think that people do such extreme things not out of revenge but just because they can.”
However, others like Lt. Col. B, an air force officer who did not share his real name, appeared to have little remorse. “If you ask me, I would have pushed them all into the sea on Oct. 7,” he said, referring to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that left 1,200 dead, saw 250 taken hostage, and triggered Israel’s retaliation against Gaza.
“(I’d have) given them snorkels and had them swim to Egypt.”
Tom Giles, controller of current affairs at the UK broadcaster ITV, which aired the film, said the documentary charts the “growing disillusionment and shame of some about the war.”However, prominent Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg said he believed the documentary would do little to bring about a moral reckoning in a society that denies any criminal responsibility for its actions in Gaza. “There’s a general sense that, yes, of course, bad things happened, crimes were committed,” Goldberg told Arab News. “But I think most Israeli Jews will tell you that you can’t blame individual soldiers. “Generally, they will raise Oct. 7, 2023, and say, well, after what was done to us, how could you blame anybody?” There does not seem to be any acknowledgment among Israelis that the war in Gaza was in any way genocidal, said Goldberg. Even “reasonable” Israelis had become almost fanatical in their defense of the war, in part due to the personal loss. “Israel is fully committed to denying the nature of its campaign in Gaza. We can’t face any consequence of owning up to what we did in Gaza because that would mean that we were wrong,” he said.
“I know people who have friends and sons and acquaintances in Gaza, these people you would consider utterly sensible, but once you start talking to them about it, then they just shut off. What are they going to say? My son is a war criminal?”The documentary has faced criticism from pro-Israel writers like Adam Levick, editor of CAMERA-UK, the UK division of the US-based Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, which monitors media portrayals of Israel. Levick said the film lacked hard evidence, was based on a selection of hand-picked testimonies, and although it chronicled individual crimes, was unable to substantiate systemic problems with the IDF’s conduct. Zand told Arab News this kind of criticism was inevitable, adding that the film had not attempted to represent the entire Israeli military but had instead given soldiers a chance to speak for themselves. “What I can say is that ‘Breaking Ranks’ presents the testimonies of soldiers who took part in the Gaza war and who describe, in their own words, actions that had devastating consequences for civilians,” he said. Indeed, Yuval Ben Ari, an infantryman who spent more than 50 days in Gaza, and Yotam Vilk, an armored corps officer who spent 269 days in the enclave, appear to be under no illusion about the corruption of the military in which they served. Vilk said Israeli troops are trained to kill only when a target is considered to have the clear intent, means, and ability to cause harm, yet this training was consistently ignored in Gaza. One whistleblower describes an incident in which his platoon killed 111 people, all of them unarmed, and his feelings of dismay when he learned that no one had even checked whether or not they were armed.
In another instance, a soldier describes a whole building being demolished, killing scores of civilians, because one man was seen on the roof hanging out laundry and was suspected of being a “spotter.”The soldier told the interviewer: “The man was just standing there hanging jerseys. There is no intent, no means, and no ability. This man, what can he do to you?”
The documentary also examines allegations of widespread looting, vandalism, and even the practice of using Palestinian civilians as human shields to map potentially boobytrapped Hamas tunnels — known as the “mosquito protocol.”
One soldier said the practice spread like wildfire and almost every company in the IDF had at least one Palestinian human shield — many of them picked up and forced to walk into the tunnels where they are used as a GPS tracker. “As a platoon, we eventually decided we were not going to use human shields anymore,” the soldier said. “Many said they were committing war crimes, and it was against international law. But the battalion commander came and said we don’t have to worry about international law, only the IDF spirit.”While much of Israeli society appears to be caught in a doom loop of denial over its military’s alleged conduct in Gaza, Goldberg believes reality is quickly catching up with them, as more evidence emerges and international opinion hardens.
“The general approach is denial. We are denying it,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s going to last us very long because I don’t think anybody’s rooting for us at the moment. And as proof accumulates, we’re going to have to face up to the consequences of our actions, which is exactly what we’re trying not to do.” The IDF has repeatedly said it operates in accordance with international law, targets Hamas rather than civilians, prohibits coercion, and investigates specific allegations when they are raised. However, it has not published a dedicated rebuttal of the allegations raised in the film.

Gaza cannot wait for a roadmap to peace
Hani Hazaimeh/Arab News/December 01, 2025
More than a month after the ceasefire came into effect, Gaza remains suspended between devastation and despair. The bombs may have stopped falling but nothing has truly stopped dying — not the health system, not the education sector, not the economy, not the social fabric, and certainly not the hope of 2 million Palestinians, who have endured a level of destruction that would break any society. Gaza is not recovering; it is barely breathing. And yet the world behaves as though time is on its side.
The truth is simple and brutal: without a comprehensive, enforceable, UN-sponsored roadmap, Gaza will not heal. It will collapse.
The suffering of Gaza’s civilians is not confined to hospital corridors — though those remain harrowing. It is woven into every aspect of daily life. Homes remain uninhabitable, water systems shattered, families displaced, schools destroyed and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. This is not a crisis that can be patched together with scattered humanitarian convoys or occasional political statements. This is a society that needs a full reconstruction plan — political, social, economic and institutional — guided by international guarantees and implemented without obstruction.
Politically, Gaza remains trapped in limbo. Palestinians have no clarity about governance, reconstruction authority or the long-term vision for their future. This vacuum is dangerous. It invites fragmentation, fuels instability and ensures that recovery is impossible. A UN roadmap must define a political horizon, backed by international consensus, that respects Palestinian rights and ensures that Gaza’s civilians never again become collateral in geopolitical bargaining. Without political clarity, every humanitarian initiative will be temporary, every reform fragile and every reconstruction effort reversible.
The humanitarian picture is equally desperate. Yes, hospitals lack medicine. But households also lack clean water, electricity, heating, sanitation and food security. Families still sleep in tents. Children navigate sewage-filled streets. Vulnerable groups — the elderly, the disabled, women and children — face unimaginable hardship. Gaza cannot rebuild its society if aid trickles in unpredictably, if fuel is rationed, if water systems remain broken or if the international community continues to make exceptions, rather than commitments.
Socially, the fabric of society has been shredded. Families are separated. Trauma is universal. Parents watch their children struggle with nightmares, fear and hunger. Communities that once relied on extended family networks and neighborhood solidarity now survive in scattered, overcrowded shelters. A roadmap must prioritize mental health support, social services, trauma rehabilitation and community rebuilding. War destroys buildings, but it also fractures hearts — and those wounds require long-term care.
The education sector, a lifeline for Gaza’s youth, is in ruins. Schools have been flattened, teachers displaced or killed, and students have lost months — in some cases years — of learning. Gaza’s children already faced enormous psychological and social pressures; now they face the possibility of losing their entire future. A roadmap must immediately restore schooling, rebuild educational infrastructure and invest in psychosocial support for students and educators. Without this, an entire generation risks being left behind — a loss not only for Gaza but for humanity.
Economically, Gaza is paralyzed. Businesses destroyed, livelihoods lost, markets disrupted and infrastructure gutted. No society can stand on international aid alone. Gaza needs a path toward self-sufficiency — the reopening of trade routes, the revival of agriculture, the rebuilding of industry and the restoration of employment. A roadmap must address the economic dimension with urgency because, without economic recovery, poverty and instability will deepen, making lasting peace impossible.
Without a comprehensive, enforceable, UN-sponsored roadmap, Gaza will not heal. It will collapse. All these crises intersect. A child who cannot attend school today will face limited opportunities tomorrow. A parent who cannot work will struggle to provide food or medicine. A community without clean water will face disease outbreaks that overwhelm hospitals. A society without political clarity will remain vulnerable to endless cycles of conflict. This is why focusing on one sector — even the crucial health sector — is insufficient. Gaza needs a full, multilayered recovery plan that addresses the totality of destruction and the totality of human need.
Most importantly, Gaza needs this plan now. Not after diplomatic committees deliberate. Not after geopolitical powers weigh strategic interests. Not after more families lose loved ones to preventable causes like hunger, disease or despair. Every day of delay adds to the death toll, the trauma, the uncertainty and the collapse. Every day without a roadmap pushes Gaza deeper into irreversible decline. The international community must stop pretending that time will heal Gaza. Time cannot heal wounds that continue to bleed. Only action — decisive, unified and principled action — can offer Palestinians a path out of this humanitarian abyss. The ceasefire may have created a pause, but pauses are not solutions. They are opportunities. And so far, the world is wasting this one. A UN-sponsored roadmap is not merely a bureaucratic exercise. It is the only way to restore dignity, security, stability and hope to a population that has suffered enough for several lifetimes. It must guarantee unrestricted humanitarian aid, political clarity, educational renewal, economic reconstruction and social healing — all under international protection and enforcement. Gaza’s civilians are not asking for miracles. They are asking for life — a life where they can rebuild their homes, return to school, seek medical care, restore their livelihoods and dream without fear.
**Hani Hazaimeh is a senior editor based in Amman. X: @hanihazaimeh

Maduro on Trump’s Clock
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/ December 01/2025
It was the year 2000. Saddam Hussein was driving the car himself. His guest, Hugo Chavez, was in the passenger’s seat. The Iraqi president took his Venezuelan counterpart on a tour of Baghdad that included the banks of the Tigris river. The two men discussed their dream of a “multipolar world,” denounced American hegemony, and agreed to coordinate regarding oil prices. In those days, those who raised their fist in defiance of America found friends across the world. Chavez forged an “intimate friendship” with Muammar Gaddafi, who was imitating Fidel Castro’s attempt to set fire to the cloak America had laid across the continents. Nuri al-Masmari, the Libyan chief of protocol and the “shadow of the Colonel,” recalls a visit Castro had made to Libya. “Gaddafi admired Castro and helped him a great deal. On the last day of his visit to Libya, Aisha, the Colonel’s mother, passed away. I asked the Cuban leader if he wanted to offer his condolences, so he came to the Colonel’s office. He said to him: ‘I’m astonished; your mother has died and you have been so calm?’ Muammar replied: ‘This is fate, and her time had come.’” A strong thread tied the two men together: hostility to America.
Nicolas Maduro murmurs so the guards won’t hear him. Castro was lucky he didn’t fall into their hands. Chavez was lucky that cancer got to him before the Marines. Castro had Soviet immunity, which remained in force even after the great collapse. Today, the Soviet Union sighs in museums. Vladimir Putin sits on the throne of Catherine the Great and Peter the Great, not on that of Lenin and Stalin. The invasion of Ukraine was a limited stab to the body of the West, regardless of its connotations. A slain empire the size of the Soviet Union deserves sharper and more sweeping vengeance, but these times are not like those times. When Donald Trump announced the closure of Venezuelan airspace, security chiefs huddled around Maduro. They reiterated their determination and expressed confidence. Still, he smelled apprehension. What does Trump want? No one knows precisely what he wants. Does he want a deal? At what price? Does he want to strike? What could be done in retaliation?
He was troubled by the claims that his regime had become a vast narcotics factory. He remembered that just a year earlier, the name of Syria’s president had been Bashar al-Assad, and that he had been accused of mass-producing Captagon. He knows that some of his supporters say “Maduro forever” and “Maduro or we burn the country,” but such slogans are not enough when you are facing America, mistress of the fleets and home to the world’s largest economy. Aggravating the battle is the difficulty of predicting the direction of the winds unleashed by the man with a red tie sitting in the Oval Office, who can launch tweets that do more damage than missiles. It is not easy to be America’s enemy, especially when you’re close by. Your misfortune doubles in line with the American policeman’s eagerness to punish you for your policies and the words of hostility you direct at the world’s sole superpower.
It is agonizing to be America’s enemy. It has a digital memory and never forgets. It killed the Soviet Union with the model it offered, with open windows and media. It did not fire a bullet nor spill a drop of blood. And where is Saddam Hussein? Where is Muammar Gaddafi? Where is Qassem Soleimani? Where is Osama bin Laden? Where is “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi”?
They accuse him of all sorts of things. They accuse him of overseeing a narcotics business that poisons millions of Americans, of rigging elections and embracing the slogan “the palace or the grave,” of spinning threads with Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and all of America’s enemies- the enemies of its model, its role, and its hegemony. They also accuse him of being responsible for the persistence of a sea of poor people in a land that sleeps atop a sea of oil, and for causing the migration of millions of Venezuelans in protest against the same dark game repeating itself. It is not easy for a man who sees himself as heir to the dreams of Simon Bolívar and the path laid by Castro and Chavez, to find himself accused of manufacturing and exporting narcotics. The currency has deteriorated, the aura has deteriorated, and the balance is nearing depletion. Anger comes to him. I am not Manuel Noriega. America invaded his country, Panama, then took him away, tried him, and imprisoned him. Venezuela is not Panama, and I am not Noriega. There are bullets in my pistol, and I am saving the last one for my temple. I will not allow the media to delight at seeing me in the defendant’s cage, nor will I allow this foreign-backed opposition to occupy the streets and uproot this defiant regime. I am of the people. I was a bus driver; I lived in the neighborhoods of Caracas. I have known the suffering of its inhabitants. I took the path of labor unions and embraced the Bolivarian dream. When Chavez’s cancer returned, he realized I was the man who could be trusted with the fortress and shielding it from the winds blowing from Washington. A real mandate does not come from ballot boxes. It comes from the spirit of the nation. Trump has a peculiar temperament and style. He considered the export of narcotics a kind of export of terrorism. The Trump administration personally accused Maduro of running the “Cartel of the Suns” and designated it a foreign terrorist organization. The American president hinted at “an imminent ground operation” after blood was spilled from the smuggling boats into Caribbean waters.
The omens of a storm pile up. The man who sent bombers to pound Iranian nuclear facilities might not hesitate to use them to strike drug factories. The regime’s apparent helplessness could tempt the opposition to paralyze the country in order to get rid of Chavez’s heir. Can Maduro strike a deal with the man in the White House? Or would he prefer to satisfy Bolivar and Chavez, insisting on the palace or the grave? Maduro breathes on Trump’s time. And the American president is full of surprises.

Is Europe flexible enough to solve its polycrisis?
Chris Doyle/Arab News/December 01, 2025
What is Europe in the 21st century? Where is it heading? Is it part of a West whose historic identity was forged at the height of the Cold War? Europe is shifting from what has been seen as a peace bloc for at least 30 years to a war footing. But does it want war, let alone is it ready for it? Western Europe has been spared major war on its territory since 1945. An open continent is closing, putting up barriers to create “Fortress Europe.” Debates surround how much more expansion the EU can handle, with Montenegro, North Macedonia and Moldova getting ever closer to joining. But Turkiye’s accession is frozen, as too many buy into the fear of what having such a large majority-Muslim state in the EU could entail. The far right is upending certainties. Its populist streak profits from marketing fears of untrammeled immigration. Might we see a far-right president of France in 2027? The opinion polls suggest that the next president may be the leader of the far-right National Rally, Jordan Bardella. In Britain, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has opened up a massive lead in the polls. All this could swing European allegiances globally. Viktor Orban of Hungary is already very close to Russia. Typically, far-right parties are attracted to improving ties with Moscow while destroying the EU from within. The EU is not popular across the continent. Brussels arouses suspicion of a gargantuan and unaccountable hegemon that trounces the aspirations and concerns of nation states. It is easy to whip up hatred against it. It is seen as impervious to dramatic change, away from its expansionist, integrationist agenda. Outside powers such as Russia adopt hybrid warfare to undermine the bloc’s unity, typically with success. Debates on how to respond to Russia center on a choice of confrontation or appeasement. Is this the choice?
Academics refer to an increasingly multipolar world, a shift from the unipolar world of the 1990s. Yet, in many ways, the multipolar world has been with us for many years and what we are faced with now is a world without poles. Alliances are fluid, as are interests. Sometimes the Trump and Putin administrations appear to be close; at other times, the two superpowers engage in a jingoistic joust boasting of their ever more lethal arsenals.
Europe is caught in between. Some states want to continue to hitch European security to the American juggernaut. Others push for a more independent European military and security architecture, noting the impact of isolationism in the US and debates over just how committed America’s leaders are to their collective, mutual security. NATO, whose role had been questioned by some within Europe as the Russian threat seemingly receded, is back as the primary military alliance. Is it the security model that is required? The European component of NATO is much stronger than it was five years ago. Serious capability gaps remain after two decades of underinvestment. Defense spending had plummeted. But this is changing, albeit too slowly for some. Defense companies must be very grateful for Russia’s actions and the subsequent increased threat perception. Even now, cyber and drone defenses in Europe are way behind where they should be. Many European militaries are not adapting to the way wars are now being fought. Procurement is also debilitatingly slow. Many hoped that standing armies had become a thing of yesteryear. Yet national service is now making a return. President Emmanuel Macron of France last week unveiled plans for a 10-month voluntary national service to commence next summer. The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Belgium, Germany, Poland and Romania have already adopted such schemes, while many Baltic and Scandinavian states have opted for conscription. Opinion polls increasingly show greater support for national service, but the challenge is that this is not the case with the young. Many hoped that standing armies had become a thing of yesteryear. Yet national service is now making a return. Yet, like turning a tanker in a storm, Europe is the global snail in terms of adapting to geopolitics. US irritation with the lack of defense spending by its NATO allies did not start with President Donald Trump, but it is only now that most states are addressing this issue. For years, European leaders have failed to determine in their own minds whether China is a foe or a friend, a threat or an opportunity. And even though Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, shock and surprise still seemed to accompany its later aggression in 2022. Is Europe going to get its act together? Was this the rude awakening it needed? The doomsayers enjoy pointing to its decline but Europe still has its strengths. Germany, France and the UK remain major global economies. The EU is still a huge trading bloc, even if the cost of living is still the big priority among voters. But it is a bloc that likes to stick to the rules, while the dynamic powers and the disruptive states are breaking and ignoring them. The likes of Trump and Vladimir Putin embrace disorder and uncertainty and try to make a strength out of it.With all the challenges ahead, can Europe address its polycrisis? Is it flexible and dynamic enough to do so? The jury is out.
**Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London. X: @Doylech

Selected Face Book & X tweets for /December 01, 2025
Roger Bejjani
Reminder to those who are excited:
Lebanese Front was "Lebanese" not a Christian Front.
Lebanese Forces are Lebanese and not Christian Forces.
Bachir had said well: we were attacked as Christians but we defended ourselves as Lebanese.
Insisting that the FL is a Christian party or the largest Christian party plays against the interests of the FL who want to be national. All of Bachir's and Samir's political speeches have taken a national dimension and not sectarian.
We must aim to make FL the largest Lebanese political party, thus attracting Lebanese of all faiths. Restricting him to Christians despite his national speech, is a strategic mistake.

@followers
@highlight
@everyone