English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  December 19/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water
John 07/37-39:”On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 18-19/2025
A Lebanese era of debauchery, immorality, corrupted MP's and presidents who are mere tools of ignorance and subservience./Elias Bejjani/December 18, 2024
The Necessity of Severing Diplomatic Relations Between Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran and Expelling the Iranian Ambassador/Elias Bejjani/December 13/2024
Video Interview Link with Dr. Charles Chartouni from "Spot Shot" Youtube Platform
Video link of an important interview with Journalist Ahmad Al-Ayoubi from Voice of Lebanon
Paris meeting parties agree to hold February army aid conference, foreign experts may inspect sites with army
Parliament convenes despite LF, Kataeb boycott
Series of Israeli strikes target east and south Lebanon
Report: Israel tells US it has no deadline for using force in Lebanon
Reports: US optimistic on Mechanism talks, Netanyahu doesn't intend to go to war
Israel attacking Lebanon every 4 hours on average: Research
French, Saudi and US officials push Hezbollah disarmament plan
Israel Launches Intense Airstrikes in Lebanon as Deadline Looms to Disarm Hezbollah
The Druze Founders’ Platform in Lebanon: We propose Ambassador Hamdan
Diaspora vote issue highlights Lebanon’s national divide/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/December 18, 2025
Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah: December 8–14, 2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 18-19/2025
US, Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt to hold Gaza talks in Miami
UN, Aid Groups Warn Gaza Operations at Risk from Israel Impediments
Worn Banknotes, Tobacco Taxes: How Hamas Pays Its Members
Rubio Says US Sanctioning ICC Judges for Targeting Israel
EU to Slash Asylum Cases from 7 Nations Deemed Safe
Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Faces Foreign Aid Shortfall of up to 50 billion Euros Next
US Imposes Sanctions on Vessels Linked to Iran, Treasury Website Says
Lifting of US Sanctions on Syria Could Spur Refugee Returns, Says UN Official
Russia Says It Hopes Trump Does Not Make 'a Fatal Mistake' on Venezuela
Trump says ‘getting close to something’ ahead of US, Russia talks on Ukraine

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 18-19/2025
Europe Is in Decline. Good./Anton Jäger/The New York Times/December 18/2025
The Starving Artist vs. A.I.: Guess Who Is Winning?/Caitlin Petre and Julia Ticona/The New York Times/December 18/2025
Sudan… What Remains of the 'December Revolution'?/Osman Mirghani/Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
What Palmyra attack means for Syria’s security apparatus/Hassan Al-Mustafa/Arab News/December 18, 2025
Migration issue undergoes major transformation in 2025/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 18, 2025
When tragedy becomes an Israeli political weapon/When tragedy becomes an Israeli political weapon/Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/December 18, 2025
Selected Face Book & X tweets for /December 18, 2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 18-19/2025
A Lebanese era of debauchery, immorality, corrupted MP's and presidents who are mere tools of ignorance and subservience.
Elias Bejjani/December 18, 2024
Berri's success today in securing a quorum for the parliamentary session confirmed that Salam, Aoun, and the majority of the corrupt MP's are mere tools of ignorance, acting according to Hezbollah's dictates.

The Necessity of Severing Diplomatic Relations Between Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran and Expelling the Iranian Ambassador
Elias Bejjani/December 13/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/150192/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eKHFG0jauY&t=4s
What is known as the “Islamic Republic of Iran” is not the name of a normal state seeking balanced relations with its surroundings, but rather a mullah-led, expansionist, sectarian, and terrorist regime that, since its establishment in 1979, has been built on exporting Shiism, chaos, violence, sectarianism, and fanaticism under the slogan of “exporting the revolution.” This regime has never recognized the borders or sovereignty of states, but instead has treated the countries of the region as open arenas of influence. Lebanon has been—and continues to be—one of its most prominent victims.
Thus, Lebanon does not suffer from Iran’s criminality and terrorism as a geographically distant regime, but rather suffers from it as a regime effectively residing within its territory, imposing its decisions, paralyzing the state, confiscating the future, security, and coexistence of its people, and assassinating sovereignists and free individuals through its military, sectarian, terrorist arm, falsely and deceitfully called Hezbollah.
It is necessary to recall that Lebanon and the Lebanese people—particularly the Shiite community—did not choose the Iranian regime, nor were they behind the emergence of the Iranian terrorist proxy, Hezbollah. Iranian hegemony over Lebanon never came with the consent of the Lebanese people, nor even with the consent of the Shiite community itself, which has been abducted, confiscated, and turned into a hostage in the hands of Hezbollah, along with the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people.
Hezbollah was born under the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, with the direct sponsorship of the Hafez al-Assad regime, which facilitated and sponsored the violation of Lebanese land, institutions, and security agencies by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. At that stage, Hezbollah was not merely a resistance organization, but a closed ideological project whose goal was first to fully control the Shiite community, then to use that control to dominate the Lebanese state and transform Lebanon into an arena and base for Iran’s expansionist wars.
Under the false slogan of “resistance,” pluralism within the Shiite community was abolished, the community was politically, militarily, and financially subjugated, and turned into a human reservoir for an Iranian project that has nothing to do with its people, Lebanon, or Lebanese interests.
In 2005, the Syrian occupation army was forced to withdraw from Lebanon under the pressure of the Independence Intifada and international resolutions. However, the Lebanese did not regain their sovereignty, because the occupation did not end—it merely changed its form and tools. Instead of the state returning to its people, guardianship was transferred from Damascus to Tehran.
At that pivotal moment, Hezbollah replaced the Syrian army—not merely as a military force, but as a direct instrument of Iranian occupation. It gradually transformed from an armed militia into a state within the state, then a state above the state, and finally the state itself.
Since then, Hezbollah—composed of Lebanese mercenaries—has decided war and peace, paralyzed the parliamentary system in all its forms, imposed or toppled governments, dominated security and military decision-making, paralyzed the judiciary, and used state institutions as a superficial façade for its external project. Thus, Lebanon is no longer a partially hijacked state, but a fully confiscated one.
More dangerous than the occupation itself is the arrogance of Iranian rhetoric. Senior Iranian officials, led by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have never attempted to conceal their interference in Lebanese affairs. On the contrary, they have openly boasted that Lebanon is part of their “axis,” that its decision is not independent, and that Hezbollah’s weapons are a red line decided in Tehran, not Beirut. These are not verbal slips, but a systematic official policy reflecting a condescending view of Lebanon, its people, constitution, and institutions, as if the Lebanese are incapable of governing their own country and in need of a “Supreme Jurist” to rule them from abroad.
Today, after Hezbollah’s military and political defeat, and after the issuance of clear international resolutions aimed at ending the state of illegal weapons and restoring Lebanese sovereignty, Iran insists on rejecting the new reality. Iran is not defending Lebanon, nor the Shiite community, but rather its last foothold on the Mediterranean coast. Therefore, it refuses to hand over Hezbollah’s weapons—which are, in reality, its own—refuses to return decision-making to the state, refuses to abide by international resolutions, and insists on keeping Lebanon, through Hezbollah, hostage to its regional project, even at the cost of what remains of the country.
Accordingly, there is no meaning or legitimacy for any diplomatic relations between Lebanon and a state that occupies its political decision, possesses an armed militia on its territory, openly interferes in its internal affairs, and treats its institutions with contempt.
Since diplomatic relations between states are based on parity and mutual respect—not on a relationship between a sovereign state, a regional master, and an affiliated militia—severing Lebanese–Iranian relations and immediately expelling the Iranian ambassador becomes an obvious sovereign step, not provocation or hostility, but a national rescue duty. There can be no liberation of the state while the embassy of an occupying power remains, and no sovereignty with a militia obeying foreign orders.
Lebanon will not be a state as long as Hezbollah is the state. It will not be independent as long as decisions of war and peace are made in Tehran. It will not rise as long as it remains occupied by weapons, terrorism, and Iran’s sectarian ideology. Therefore, cutting relations with Iran is not the end of the problem, but its correct beginning.
What is required, clearly and without hesitation, is: to prosecute Hezbollah’s leaders as war criminals and traitors, to completely disarm this Iranian terrorist proxy, to dismantle all its security, social, cultural, intelligence, and financial institutions, to officially designate it as a terrorist organization, as it is classified in dozens of countries around the world, and most importantly to prevent any ideologically indoctrinated Hezbollah member from entering state institutions, especially security and military ones.
Without this, Lebanon remains merely a name on a map, not a truly sovereign, free, and independent state.

Video Interview Link with Dr. Charles Chartouni from "Spot Shot" Youtube Platform
December 18, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/150313/
The Baabda presidential Palace and the Ministry of Defense in the Line of Fire: Charles Chartouni Reveals Nasrallah’s Protection from the Patriarch’s Mantle to the Hariri Mystery!
Political writer and university professor Charles Chartouni released a series of sharp positions and analyses regarding the political and security situations in Lebanon and the region.
Chartouni viewed the Lebanese judiciary as having turned into a tool in the hands of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, pointing to a clear schism between the judiciary and security apparatuses. He considered that Hezbollah still controls Lebanon, speaking of weapons drop-off operations carried out by the U.S. Army at the Hama base for decades. He asserted that the weapons reaching Hezbollah currently arrive through the Port of Tripoli and Lebanese-Syrian border crossings, in addition to weapons from Turkey and Iran.
In a security context, Chartouni stated that the Lebanese Army is infiltrated, describing UNIFIL forces as complicit, and noting the presence of Israeli tanks on the Lebanese border. He added that while Turkey and Iran each have their roles in the Middle East, the Israeli intervention remains decisive.
He also pointed out that Israel is waiting for a clearly defined settlement with Iran via the United States, emphasizing that Tel Aviv has not fully linked its security calculations to Washington. He noted that both America and Israel have their own specific calculations, mentioning the possibility of an alternative under the name of the Lebanese State, which could be Israel following the failure of the Lebanese State's functions.
Chartouni revealed that Israel handed the Lebanese Army specific maps in southern Lebanon, considering that timeframes are narrowing and that any upcoming targeting might not affect the Party, but rather the Presidential Palace and the Ministry of Defense. He also stated that Army Commander Rudolf Heikal and President Joseph Aoun were barred from visiting the United States, and that a clear message reached him stating that Aoun’s visit is not possible except after signing a peace treaty with Israel.
Politically, Chartouni said that Gebran Bassil and Michel Aoun are working in the interest of Hezbollah, touching upon previous positions related to the protection of "the Patriarch’s mantle," and raising questions about Faisal Salman’s relationship with Hezbollah, in addition to what happened with the late President Rafic Hariri.
Chartouni concluded by indicating that he was subjected to attacks by the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces during a certain phase for political reasons.

Video link of an important interview with Journalist Ahmad Al-Ayoubi from Voice of Lebanon, through which he exposes the heresies, obscenity, greed, and depravity of Berri, as well as the bias of Aoun and Salam, to Berri’s games, and his appeasement at the expense of the Constitution.
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/150303/
Video-Link for an interview with Lawyer Ahmad Al-Ayoubi from Voice of Lebanon (VDL) Youtube platform
Date: December 18, 2025 Source: Voice of Lebanon (VDL)
Berri’s Overreach: Nabih Berri has hit rock bottom and has become intolerable; he must stop his tyranny and extortion.
Political Pressure: Joseph Aoun and Nwaf Salam pressured numerous MPs to attend today’s parliamentary session.
Resource Extortion: Berri is blackmailing the state to secure his share of oil and gas wealth from exploration companies.
Iran’s Primary Asset: Berri has become Iran’s “man number one” now that Hezbollah’s [underground/hidden] agenda has been exposed. He seeks to trade the status of weapons for constitutional dominance by the Shiite Duo over the state and governance.
Hezbollah’s Power Grab: Hezbollah sensed the state’s retreat and launched an offensive against its institutions.

Paris meeting parties agree to hold February army aid conference, foreign experts may inspect sites with army
Naharnet/December 18, 2025
Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal met Thursday in Paris with French army chief Fabien Mandon ahead of a key meeting with U.S., French and Saudi officials to discuss ways of assisting the army in its mission to boost its presence in the border area. The Paris meeting will discuss reinforcing the ceasefire mechanism with French, U.S. and possibly other military experts along with UNIFIL forces, reports said. Mandon said his talks with Haykal tackled the “strategic environment and security challenges in Lebanon and its region.”“Our two armies maintain a historic cooperation that is exemplified in the areas of training, capabilities, and joint exercises,” he wrote on X. “The presence of the French armed forces alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces is guided by a common objective: to contribute to maintaining stability and lasting peace, in respect of Lebanon's sovereignty,” Mandon added.Haykal later said that the army is exerting major efforts to "safeguard Lebanon's security and stability and implement the first phase of its plan for the South Litani region within the specified timeframe." The French Foreign Ministry meanwhile announced that the parties of the Paris meeting agreed to organize a conference for supporting the Lebanese Army in February. Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on southern and northeastern Lebanon on Thursday as a deadline looms to disarm Hezbollah along the tense frontier. The strikes came a day before a meeting of the committee monitoring the enforcement of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah a year ago. It will be the second meeting of the mechanism after Israel and Lebanon appointed civilian members to a previously military-only committee. The group also includes the U.S, France and the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed along the border. The Lebanese government has said that the army should have cleared all the border area south of the Litani river from Hezbollah’s armed presence by the end of the year. The Israeli military claimed Thursday’s strikes hit Hezbollah infrastructure sites and launching sites in a military compound used by the group to conduct training and courses for its fighters. The Israeli military added that it struck several Hezbollah military structures in which weapons were stored, and from which Hezbollah members operated recently. “This is an Israeli message to the Paris meeting aiming to support the Lebanese Army,” Speaker Nabih Berri said about the strikes.“The fire belt of Israeli airstrikes is to honor the mechanism’s meeting tomorrow,” Berri added sarcastically during a parliament meeting in Beirut.

Parliament convenes despite LF, Kataeb boycott
Naharnet/December 18, 2025
A parliamentary session convened Thursday with the attendance of 67 MPs -- barely meeting the required quorum --, despite a boycott by the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb MPs in protest against Speaker Nabih Berri's refusal to amend the electoral law regarding expatriate voting rights. The session will discuss a loan by the World Bank for the reconstruction of war-hit regions in Lebanon. LF leader Samir Geagea said Wednesday that any MP who attends the legislative session would give Berri "a blank check", whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Series of Israeli strikes target east and south Lebanon
Agence France Presse/December 18, 2025
Israeli strikes targeted Thursday heights in Jouroud al-Hermel in eastern Lebanon and several other regions in the south. In the east, the strikes targeted Zaghrine. In the south, the Israeli military struck Iqlim al-Tuffah, al-Jabbour and al-Rihan heights, and Zawtar near the Litani river. Despite the November 2024 ceasefire that was supposed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has kept up strikes on Lebanon and has also maintained troops in five southern areas it deems "strategic". The Israeli military said it targeted "terror infrastructure sites in multiple areas across Lebanon" including "a military compound used by Hezbollah to conduct training and courses" for the Iran-backed group's members. In another statement, the military also said: "A short while ago, the IDF struck a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of Taybeh in southern Lebanon."Lebanon's health ministry said four people were wounded in the Taybeh strike. But the NNA reported that the strike wounded several employees in Lebanon's state electricity company, as their truck was passing next to the targeted vehicle. The attacks come as the ceasefire monitoring committee, which includes the United States and France, are set to meet on Friday. On Tuesday, two people were killed in Israeli strikes, one of them 30 kilometers south of Beirut. Around 340 people have been killed by Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the ceasefire agreement went into force, according to an AFP tally of health ministry reports.

Report: Israel tells US it has no deadline for using force in Lebanon
Naharnet/December 18, 2025
Israel has informed Washington that it has “no deadline for using force in Lebanon,” sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel. “Iran is succeeding in smuggling arms and funds to Hezbollah,” a U.S. official told the channel.“The priority is for disarming Hezbollah,” the official said, adding that “the Lebanese Army is making the best possible effort but concern exists.”

Reports: US optimistic on Mechanism talks, Netanyahu doesn't intend to go to war
Naharnet/December 18, 2025
The U.S. is optimistic over the Mechanism meeting that will be held on Friday and will push for a “serious and fruitful dialogue” between Lebanon and Israel, diplomats told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper. Several regional diplomatic sources meanwhile agreed, in remarks to the same daily, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not seem to be in favor of going to an all-out war after the holidays, “not only for military reasons, but rather because the war option has become invalid for electoral exploitation as the date of the Israeli legislative elections expected in October nears.”“Accordingly, Israel is likely to settle for localized strikes against Hezbollah that might take the form of lightning military operations if needed, especially in the Baalbek-Hermel regions, with the aim of keeping Lebanon under calculated security pressure without descending into a comprehensive confrontation,” the sources added.

Israel attacking Lebanon every 4 hours on average: Research
Arab News/December 18, 2025
LONDON: Israel is attacking Lebanon at a rate equal to one strike every four hours despite the reaching of a ceasefire more than a year ago, new data has shown. ACLED, the independent conflict monitoring organization, recorded 1,846 Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the beginning of the ceasefire with Hezbollah. Only two days each month since then has not seen an Israeli attack on average, Sky News reported. In recent weeks, Israeli has ramped up cross-border strikes, with December seeing an average of six per day, or one every four hours. It is the fastest pace of attacks by Israel since May. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon said the ceasefire has been violated more than 10,000 times, or once every 53 minutes on average. That figure includes more than 2,500 ground activities by the Israel Defense Forces and more than 7,800 violations of Lebanese airspace. UNIFIL has discovered more than 360 weapon and ammunition caches south of the Litani river. These are reported as ceasefire violations. The discovery of the caches is proof that Hezbollah is seeking to rearm in the south, Israel has claimed. But Kandice Ardiel, UNIFIL’s deputy spokesperson, said: “None of these weapon caches were guarded. They had no obvious signs of recent use and were presumably abandoned. Many were even destroyed already, or half-destroyed.”According to UN figures, at least 127 civilians in Lebanon have been killed by Israeli strikes since the beginning of the ceasefire. Israel has argued that the ceasefire agreement stipulates Hezbollah’s complete disarmament, not only in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah disputes this, and has conditioned its disarmament on Israel’s complete withdrawal from Lebanese territory. Israel was supposed to withdraw from Lebanon by Jan. 27 this year, with a later extension to Feb. 18. But Israel has instead ramped up its presence in Lebanon, constructing a new base in February. Four other bases are held by Israel in Lebanon, on hilltops across the south. The Lebanese government has raised objections to the Israeli bases with the UN, which found that two sections of Israel’s new border wall cross into Lebanese territory. More than 64,000 Lebanese remain displaced from their homes. One resident of the now-destroyed town of Aita Al-Shaab said: “Anyone who comes to rebuild is attacked (by Israel).”

French, Saudi and US officials push Hezbollah disarmament plan
Reuters/December 18, 2025
PARIS/BEIRUT: French, Saudi Arabian and American officials held talks with the head of the Lebanese army on Thursday in Paris aimed at finalizing a roadmap to enable a mechanism for the disarmament of the Hezbollah group, diplomats said.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024, ending more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that severely weakened the Iran-backed militants. Since then, the sides have traded accusations over violations with Israel questioning the Lebanese army’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah. Israeli warplanes have increasingly targeted Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and even in the capital. Speaking after the meeting, France’s foreign ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said the talks had agreed to document seriously with evidence the Lebanese army’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah as well as strengthening the existing ceasefire mechanism.
CEASEFIRE AT RISK
With growing fear the ceasefire could unravel, the Paris meeting aimed to create more robust conditions to identify, support and verify the disarmament process and dissuade Israel from escalation, four European and Lebanese diplomats and officials told Reuters. With legislative elections due in Lebanon in 2026, there are fears political paralysis and party politics will further fuel instability and make President Joseph Aoun less likely to press disarmament, the diplomats and officials said. “The situation is extremely precarious, full of contradictions and it won’t take much to light the powder keg,” said one senior official speaking on condition of anonymity. “Aoun doesn’t want to make the disarming process too public because he fears it will antagonize and provoke tensions with the Shiite community in the south of the country.”With the Lebanese army lacking capacity to disarm Hezbollah, the idea would be to reinforce the existing ceasefire mechanism with French, US and possibly other military experts along with UN peacekeeping forces, the diplomats and officials said. The parties agreed to hold a conference in February to reinforce the Lebanese army, Confavreux said.

Israel Launches Intense Airstrikes in Lebanon as Deadline Looms to Disarm Hezbollah
Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on southern and northeastern Lebanon on Thursday as a deadline looms to disarm Hezbollah along the tense frontier. The strikes came a day before a meeting of the committee monitoring the enforcement of a US-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah a year ago. It will be the second meeting of the mechanism after Israel and Lebanon appointed civilian members to a previously military-only committee. The group also includes the US, France and the UN peacekeeping force deployed along the border.
In Paris, Lebanon’s army commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal is scheduled to meet on Thursday with US, French and Saudi officials to discuss ways of assisting the army in its mission to boost its presence in the border area. The Lebanese government has said that the army should have cleared all the border area south of the Litani river from Hezbollah’s armed presence by the end of the year. The Israeli military said the strikes hit Hezbollah infrastructure sites and launching sites in a military compound used by the group to conduct training and courses for its fighters. The Israeli military added that it struck several Hezbollah military structures in which weapons were stored, and from which Hezbollah members operated recently. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the intense airstrikes stretched from areas in Mount Rihan in the south to the northeastern Hermel region that borders Syria.
Shortly afterward, a drone strike on a car near the southern town of Taybeh inflicted casualties, NNA said. “This is an Israeli message to the Paris meeting aiming to support the Lebanese army,” Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said about the strikes.
“The fire belt of Israeli airstrikes is to honor the mechanism’s meeting tomorrow,” Berri added during a parliament meeting in Beirut. The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon in September last year that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion. Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes since then, mainly targeting Hezbollah members but also killing 127 civilians, according to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Over the past weeks, the US has increased pressure on Lebanon to work harder on disarming Hezbollah.

The Druze Founders’ Platform in Lebanon: We propose Ambassador Hamdan
Beirut, December 18, 2025
Reports are circulating about adding additional Lebanese civilian negotiators to the mechanism in southern Lebanon. We are concerned that the purpose is not to strengthen the Lebanese delegation with experts, but rather stems from a background that the current civilian member belongs to a specific community, and that respecting the National Covenant and the rules of coexistence presupposes the participation of counterpart communities.
The Druze Founders’ Platform in Lebanon considers this talk to be heresy and an unprecedented action in the negotiation rules of a sovereign state with other sovereign parties. The Platform rejects turning negotiations concerning public Lebanese rights into an opportunity to impose narrow sectarian and local political interests. Furthermore, the Druze Founders’ Platform reiterates that the Druze component, which was a fundamental pillar in the building and establishment of Lebanon, categorically rejects considering the National Covenant and coexistence as confined to a sectarian tripartite framework simply because it constitutes a numerical majority. The Druze are a component with their own religious, cultural, and historical specificity in Lebanon and can never be reduced to any of the other communities or components, regardless of their size.
We warn against slipping into adopting sectarian-based quotas in civilian representation within the mechanism and insist on keeping it within its comprehensive Lebanese dimension. We do not view the current civilian member in the mechanism through his sectarian identity, but rather through his Lebanese identity, representing the interests of all Lebanon, not just the community he belongs to. We have always been guardians of the Lebanese entity and will continue in this role, and we will not accept projects of monopolization and fragmentation driven by narrow local political interests behind them.
Furthermore, we demand the addition of another civilian to enhance the negotiating delegation's capability. We proudly propose the name of Ambassador Dr. Hisham Hamdan, who participated in all the international negotiations that established the current international system.
We propose Ambassador Hamdan's name because he is the right person to protect civilian representation from sectarianism. He is the ambassador who has proven, by universal acknowledgment, to be a Lebanese reference in the system of international relations and works for Lebanon without discrimination or favoritism.
*The Druze Founders’ Platform in Lebanon

Diaspora vote issue highlights Lebanon’s national divide
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/December 18, 2025
The Lebanese Forces and Kataeb Party decided to boycott the parliamentary plenary session scheduled for Thursday. The main reason was to protest Speaker Nabih Berri’s refusal to allow a debate on a proposed amendment to the electoral law that would allow Lebanese citizens living abroad to vote in all 128 seats in the 2026 elections, rather than being restricted to six specific seats as currently legislated. The Christian parties’ goal was to block the session’s quorum, the most-used tactic in Lebanese parliamentary votes and which has already blocked parliamentary progress since September. The diaspora vote issue highlights the sectarian divide the current political system creates. More than 225,000 expatriates were registered across 59 countries for the last elections in 2022. This was nearly a threefold increase from 2018. If we analyze these figures, we notice that the largest concentrations are in France, the UAE, the US, Canada and Australia. But it is not their country of residence or adoption that matters — it is their voting patterns. Diaspora votes are mostly influenced by sect. Expatriates mostly vote for change candidates and that is more prominent among Christian, Sunni and Druze voters than within the Shiite diaspora. So, we understand why the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb are in direct opposition to Hezbollah and Amal. The unleashing of this pro-reform momentum, from six parliament seats to 128, represents a clear loss of influence and power for the latter. This is why Berri’s goal is to isolate these voters into what has been referred to as a “diaspora district” to preserve the domestic status quo — or domestic chaos to be more accurate.
A sectarian political system that needs to keep a constant balance is an invitation for foreign meddling.
The proposed change to the diaspora vote, which is a legitimate request from the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb, shows Lebanon’s persistent and deep national divide. Although the justification is not the same, it is in a way the same root issue as granting Lebanese rights to the Palestinians who established themselves in the country in the 1960s, as this broke the balance between the various sectarian groups. A sectarian political system that needs to keep a constant balance is not only a recipe for sclerosis and stagnation, but also an invitation for foreign meddling and potentially violent shows of force. Each group looks for support to gain an advantage over the other. This was the essence of the role of Hezbollah’s arsenal until the last Israeli military intervention, which rendered it obsolete. It is now clear that Lebanon needs to go beyond the expatriate vote and work an election law into the design of a new political system. In short, Lebanon needs to move towards its second republic, or Taif 2.0. Hopefully it will not need five constitutions like France, its original sponsor, to find stability. The time is now, as all international supporters have concluded that the current system does not work. US envoy Tom Barrack said it bluntly last month: “Lebanon is a failed state.” And indeed it is. It is operational thanks to the resourcefulness of its people, who have learned to bypass the government, but this cannot be sustained in a highly volatile geopolitical and economic environment.
The Lebanese people need to demand the establishment of a new political system. I maintain that at the top of the list should be a federation. Although this is not a bulletproof solution, much more must be done to find stability. This would at least put the right foundations in place. It would also avoid the current blockages caused by sectarian positions, such as the one surrounding the expatriate vote. Letting the people solve their problems and establish their own rules at the local level would dissipate problems and, I am convinced, bring the Lebanese closer together.
Lebanon is not an independent state. It is still hooked into the regional balances of power, which hold it on a leash. We must also recognize that, if it were not for the Christian Lebanese, there would not be the same nationalistic attachment that is growing today within other communities, such as the Sunnis. They have made Lebanon special. We need to recognize this and celebrate it — and this is the core of the expatriate vote issue. The Christians planted the seed of love for the nation. As a Sunni, I am happy to see today’s youth from across religious beliefs share and celebrate short videos of Bashir Gemayel’s declarations of courage and love for Lebanon. We must also never forget history and who killed him, along with so many other fighters for independence.We must understand that Lebanon is still not an independent state. It is still hooked into the regional balances of power, which hold it on a leash, not to mention the chains of its sectarian political system. A new political system is the only way to free it and let it thrive, and federalism is the only solution. Lebanese must also be aware that the clock is ticking. Let us remember that Barrack also said that the Lebanese army will not be able to disarm Hezbollah. Moreover, in the summer, he warned that “if Lebanon does not move, it will return to Bilad Al-Sham.” This remark clearly implies that if Lebanon does not solve its issues, it is at risk of falling under Syria’s influence once again. Even worse for Lebanon, some interpreted it as being reabsorbed into a larger Syrian identity. The new leadership in Damascus is busy stabilizing its own territory and is genuine in its support for the future of Lebanon. Unfortunately, Hezbollah’s actions could become an invitation for interference. This is why the real debate should be focused on a new political system that would bring a solution to all the current risks. The easiest way forward is through a shift toward a federation, preserving each community’s interests and decision-making while binding them under the Lebanese flag.
**Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah: December 8–14, 2025
جدول بالهجمات الإسرائيلية على حزب الله ما بين08 و14 كانون الأول/2025
David Daoud/FDD's Long War Journal/December 17, 2025 |
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/150300/
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted numerous operations throughout Lebanon against Hezbollah between December 8 and December 14, 2025. Israeli activities last week were concentrated in south Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah assets and personnel on both sides of the Litani River. In contrast to the preceding three weeks, Israel intensified its operations, resuming targeted killings of Hezbollah personnel.
The IDF conducted operations in 36 Lebanese locales, some of them more than once. These activities included:
Airstrikes: 25
Artillery strikes: Two
Detonations: Three
Drone strikes: Two
Ground activities: Three
Mortar strikes: One
Naval operations: One
Quadcopter activities: Three
Beqaa Governorate
Western Beqaa District: Wadi Zlaya
Nabatieh Governorate
Bint Jbeil District: Aitaroun, Braasheet, Safad Al Bateekh, Yaroun, and Yater
Hasbaya District: Mjaydiyyeh
Marjayoun District: Khiam, Meiss Al Jabal, Tel Hamames, and Wazzani
Nabatieh District: Adaisseh,Ansar, Azza,Houmine-Roumine,Iqlim al Tuffah, Jbaa, Mount Rafia, Roumine, and Zefta
South Lebanon Governorate
Jezzine District: Aramta, Aiyshiyyeh, Jarmaq, Mahmoudiyeh, Mount Safi, Rahyan, and Sujod
Sidon District: Baysariyyeh, Irkay, Tebna, Tuffahta, Wadi Bnaafoul, and Zrariyeh
Tyre District: Dhayra, Jwaya, and Labbouneh-Naqoura
Casualties
Between December 8 and December 14, Israeli operations in Lebanon killed three people, all Hezbollah operatives, and wounded one unidentified individual.
December 8, 2025: No casualties were reported.
December 9, 2025: No casualties were reported.
December 10, 2025: No casualties were reported.
December 11, 2025: No casualties were reported.
December 12, 2025: No casualties were reported.
December 13, 2025: No casualties were reported.
December 14, 2025: Three Hezbollah operatives were killed, and one unidentified person was wounded.
Chronology of Israeli operations against Hezbollah, December 8–14, 2025
December 8
No operations were reported.
December 9
At 12:03 am, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted the Iqlim al Tuffah region in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District.
At 12:26 am, NNA Lebanon reported that waves of Israeli airstrikes continued to target the wadi between Azza and Roumine in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District, Irkay in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District, and the heights of Mount Safi in the Jezzine District. Additionally, two Israeli airstrikes targeted wadi Zefta in the Nabatieh District.
At 12:13 am, the IDF released a statement claiming that the preceding strikes had targeted “Hezbollah terror infrastructure,” including a “Radwan Force [commando] unit training and exercise compound” used to “plan and execute terror initiatives against IDF troops and the State of Israel’s citizens.” The IDF said it also attacked several military posts and a launch site belonging to Hezbollah—all of which “violated the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
NNA Lebanon reported that at 3:30 am, Israeli troops entered Adaisseh in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District and detonated a house located on the main road.
NNA Lebanon reported that, overnight, an Israeli ground patrol entered the outskirts of Khiam in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District and detonated a house in the area of wadi Asafeer.
At 11:33 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces directed gunfire from their post in Tel Hamames in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District toward the Marjayoun Valley.
December 10
At 5:22 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli troops directed gunfire toward the outskirts of Yaroun in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
At 5:53 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces positioned in the Tel Hamames post directed gunfire toward the Marjayoun Valley in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District.
December 11
At 9:04 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli ground patrol detonated a house on the outskirts of Meiss al Jabal in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District.
December 12
At 10:17 am, NNA Lebanon reported that four Israeli airstrikes targeted Wadi Zlaya in the Beqaa Governorate’s Western Beqaa District.
At 10:18 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted Mahmoudiyeh, Jarmaq, and Aiyshiyyeh in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Jezzine District.
At 10:19 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted the area between Zrariyeh in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District and Ansar in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District, and between Tuffahta and Baysariyeh in the Sidon District.
At 10:21 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted Tebna and Wadi Bnaafoul in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District.
At 10:24 am, NNA Lebanon reported that a series of Israeli airstrikes targeted Mount Rafia and Jbaa in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District, and the outskirts of Sujod, Rihan, and Aramta in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Jezzine District.
At 10:23 am, the IDF released a statement claiming that it had targeted another compound belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Force commando unit used for military training and exercises. The IDF said it had also targeted additional military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, whose “existence violated the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
At 11:33 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted the wadi between Houmine and Roumine in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District. Additionally, an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive on the road to Labbouneh, south of Naqoura, in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Tyre District.
At 5:53 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli gunboat directed gunfire toward the waters opposite the coast of Naqoura.
At 6:22 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive near a fishing boat in Naqoura.
At 9:27 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery targeted Wazzani in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District and the outskirts of Mjaydiyyeh in the Hasbaya District.
December 13
At 11:09 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli mortar strikes targeted the outskirts of Dhayra, and an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive on Naqoura in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Tyre District.
December 14
NNA Lebanon reported that at 11:15 am, an Israeli airstrike targeted a motorbike in the Tayr Harma area of Yater in the Nabatieh District’s Bint Jbeil District. The strike killed one person and wounded another. The IDF later claimed the target was a Hezbollah operative “involved in efforts to restore Hezbollah’s infrastructure.”Hezbollah-affiliated social media later announced the death of Hezbollah operative Mohammad Ali Ibrahim Salim, whose nom de guerre was Ali Haidar, from Yater.
At 12:40 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle between Safad al Bateekh and Braasheet in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District. The strike killed one person. The IDF later claimed the target was a Hezbollah operative who acted as the organization’s local representative, responsible for liaising between Hezbollah and residents on military and financial matters, in addition to working to use local private properties for military purposes. Hezbollah-affiliated social media later announced the death of Hezbollah operative Ihsan Fares Zeineddine, whose nom de guerre was Ahmad, from Safad al Bateekh. Hezbollah later gave Zeineddine a military funeral in his hometown
At 2:07 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in Jwaya in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Tyre District. The strike killed one person. The IDF later released a statement claiming that it had targeted and killed Hezbollah operative Zakariyyah Yahya al Hajj, “a senior Hezbollah figure […] who oversaw the operations of agents in Lebanon’s security establishments” and also allegedly “acted to suppress criticism by Hezbollah’s opponents in Lebanon.” Hezbollah-affiliated social media announced the death of Hezbollah operative Zakariyya Yahya Al Hajj, whose nom de guerre was Abu Yahya, from Jwaya.
At 2:11 pm, the IDF released a statement on the preceding strikes, saying that it had targeted and killed three Hezbollah operatives involved in efforts to restore Hezbollah’s infrastructure in “violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
At 4:10 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped fragmentation explosives on a house in the Selm-Ghabeh Road area on the southern outskirts of Aitaroun in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/12/17/israeli-operations-in-lebanon-against-hezbollah-december-8-14-2025/

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 18-19/2025
US, Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt to hold Gaza talks in Miami
AFP/December 18, 2025
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will hold talks with senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye in Miami on Friday on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, a White House official told AFP on Thursday. Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, an interim authority is to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilization force is to be deployed. But progress has so far been slow in moving to the following phase of October’s agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was brokered by Washington and its regional allies. Turkiye said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would attend the talks. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty would also be there, the Axios news outlet reported. “Turkiye will continue to fight determinedly on every front to ensure that what is happening in Gaza is not forgotten, that justice is served,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a speech on Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on December 29, Axios said, as the US president pushes for a longer-term deal. Trump said in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday that the Gaza truce had brought peace to the Middle East “for the first time in 3,000 years.”But the ceasefire remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are playing for time. Israel said it had struck and killed the head of weapons production in Hamas’s military wing in the Gaza Strip last weekend, a move that reportedly sparked Trump to warn of jeopardizing the truce. Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner played a key role in the shuttle diplomacy that led to the deal to end the Gaza war, which was sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel. The US pair are also involved in talks to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and will meet Russian officials in Miami over the weekend.

UN, Aid Groups Warn Gaza Operations at Risk from Israel Impediments
Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
The United Nations and aid groups warned on Wednesday that humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, were at risk of collapse if Israel does not lift impediments that include a "vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized" registration process. Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days, said the UN and more than 200 local and international aid groups in a joint statement, Reuters reported. "The deregistration of INGOs (international aid groups) in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services," the statement read. "INGOs run or support the majority of field hospitals, primary healthcare centers, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilization centers for children with acute malnutrition, and critical mine action activities," it said.
SUPPLIES LEFT OUT OF REACH: GROUPS
While some international aid groups have been registered under the system that was introduced in March, "the ongoing re-registration process and other arbitrary hindrances to humanitarian operations have left millions of dollars’ worth of essential supplies - including food, medical items, hygiene materials, and shelter assistance - stuck outside of Gaza and unable to reach people in need," the statement read. Israel's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement. Under the first phase of US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group began on October 10. Hamas released hostages, Israel freed detained Palestinians and more aid began flowing into the enclave where a global hunger monitor said in August famine had taken hold. However, Hamas says fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza than was agreed. Aid agencies say there is far less aid than required, and that Israel is blocking many necessary items from coming in. Israel denies that and says it is abiding by its obligations under the truce. "The UN will not be able to compensate for the collapse of INGOs’ operations if they are de-registered, and the humanitarian response cannot be replaced by alternative actors operating outside established humanitarian principles," the statement by the UN and aid groups said. The statement stressed "humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political," adding: "Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay."

Worn Banknotes, Tobacco Taxes: How Hamas Pays Its Members
Gaza: Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
More than two months after a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in Gaza, the group has steadily reasserted some security control in areas under its authority. Yet for Gaza’s residents, daily economic hardship and deteriorating living conditions show little sign of easing. Hamas’s popular base, made up of its members, their families, and supporters, remains a key pillar of its strength. Nearly two years of war with Israel have partially disrupted the group’s ability to consistently pay salaries. During the war, Israel sought to dry up Hamas’s financial network by killing figures responsible for transferring money inside Gaza, as well as raiding currency exchange companies in the occupied West Bank that Israeli authorities said were linked to Palestinian factions. According to field sources and Hamas officials who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, the group faced difficulties and delays in paying salaries regularly at leadership, field and other levels due to security conditions. It has since resumed partial payments to all its members, including leaders and fighters from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, while paying lower rates to its preaching and social apparatus, described as civilian elements.
Where does Hamas get its money?
Sources agree that Hamas has managed to preserve some of its financial resources, including commercial activities inside and outside Gaza. One Hamas source said these business revenues generate income for the group alongside funds received from supporting parties such as Iran and others. They added that such external support fluctuates, sometimes declining, increasing or arriving with delays for reasons related to the donors. The source said Hamas faces growing difficulties in transferring funds into Gaza, forcing those overseeing salary payments to rely on whatever cash remains accessible in their reserves or to collect revenues from their own commercial sources.
How are salaries paid?
Sources who receive some of these payments told Asharq Al-Awsat, on condition of anonymity, that salaries and stipends were sometimes paid regularly each month but were also delayed by periods ranging from six weeks to two months. A Hamas source said salary rates varied and did not exceed 80 percent at best, particularly for leaders and operatives in the Qassam Brigades and at the political level. Lower percentages were paid to the preaching and social apparatus and other bodies, alongside allocations for activities aimed at supporting the population and what the group calls its popular base. The source said the lowest rates were paid to government employees at both civilian and military levels, reaching 60 percent at most before declining in recent months to around 35 percent. Several sources said Hamas continues to pay stipends to the families of its members and leaders killed over decades of its activities, as well as to prisoners and wounded fighters.
They added that the group also supports families whose salaries were cut by the Palestinian Authority, continues to provide social assistance and allocates funds to projects aimed at supporting its popular base, including food aid, water provision and communal kitchens, in coordination with foreign institutions.Asked how salaries are delivered, Hamas sources said payments are made through tight networks and by hand to avoid Israeli monitoring of electronic wallets and banks.
Worn banknotes and tobacco taxes
As Hamas relies on manual delivery, questions remain over how it secures cash under Israel’s blockade. A Hamas source said the process was complex and could not be disclosed for security reasons. Local sources outside Hamas said the group depends heavily on traders to obtain cash, alongside its existing cash reserves and revenues from businesses it operates. One source said Hamas often pays worn banknotes to government employees in particular, and to a lesser extent to Qassam fighters and political figures. This forces recipients to manage on their own as most traders refuse to accept damaged or worn currency. Hamas has encouraged some small traders, especially fruit and vegetable sellers, to accept such notes in exchange for continued support and access to goods at lower prices. Another source said Hamas has imposed taxes on certain goods, such as tobacco products, to raise funds, noting that most cigarette traders deal in cash rather than electronic wallets, which many Gaza residents now rely on.
Israeli accusations against Iran
On Dec. 7, Israel accused Iran of supporting what it described as a banking network transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hamas. Israel said the network consisted of Gaza-based money changers residing in Türkiye who exploit the country’s financial infrastructure for what it called terrorist purposes. According to Israel, the network operated in full cooperation with the Iranian regime, transferring funds to Hamas and its leaders and managing wide ranging economic activity involving receiving money from Iran, storing it and transferring it to Hamas via Türkiye.
Israel published the identities of three individuals, including an official in Hamas’s financial apparatus and two money changers from Gaza, claiming they worked under the direction of Khalil al-Hayya. Sources familiar with the two men told Asharq Al-Awsat they have lived outside Gaza for many years. One was known to work with various Palestinian factions and had previously smuggled funds for them, including through tunnels along the Egyptian border, while also operating as a businessman in multiple fields beyond currency exchange. Hamas sources dismissed the accusations as baseless, saying the group has its own methods for transferring funds. They said Hamas often faces difficulties moving money from abroad into Gaza, a problem that also affects the West Bank due to Israeli pursuit and Palestinian Authority security pressure, though conditions there are better than in Gaza for transferring funds. Sources from other Palestinian factions said they are also suffering financial crises and difficulties paying salaries and stipends to their members and leaders. They said they sometimes distribute food aid and other assistance to help their members and families cope with harsh economic conditions, with most of the support coming through institutions backed by Iran or other parties.

Rubio Says US Sanctioning ICC Judges for Targeting Israel
Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the US was sanctioning two judges of the International Criminal Court for targeting Israel. "Today, I am designating two International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, pursuant to Executive Order 14203," Rubio said in a statement, referring to the order President Donald Trump signed in February sanctioning the ICC, Reuters reported. "These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel's consent," he said. The United States and Israel are not members of the ICC. The US sanctions in February include freezing any US assets of those designated and barring them and their families from visiting the United States.

EU to Slash Asylum Cases from 7 Nations Deemed Safe
Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
The European Union on Thursday said it would drastically reduce asylum claims from seven nations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia by considering them safe countries of origin, prompting widespread outrage from human rights groups on International Migrants' Day. An agreement between European Parliament and the European Council, or the group of the 27 EU heads of state, said that the countries would be considered safe if they lack “relevant circumstances, such as indiscriminate violence in the context of an armed conflict.”Asylum requests by people from Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Kosovo, India, Morocco and Tunisia will be "fast-tracked, with applicants having to prove that this provision should not apply to them,” read the announcement of the agreement. “The list can be expanded in the future under the EU’s ordinary legislative procedure.”In 2024, EU nations endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s failed asylum system. The rules were meant to resolve the issues that have divided the 27 countries since well over 1 million migrants swept into Europe in 2015, most fleeing war in Syria and Iraq. Under the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which goes into force in June 2026, people can be sent to countries deemed safe, but not to those where they face the risk of physical harm or persecution. According to The Associated Press, Amnesty International EU advocate Olivia Sundberg Diez said the new measures were “a shameless attempt to sidestep international legal obligations" and would endanger migrants. French MEP Mélissa Camara said the safe countries of origins concept and others agreed to by the Council and Parliament “opens the door to return hubs outside the EU’s borders, where third-country nationals are sometimes subjected to inhumane treatment with almost no monitoring” and “undoubtedly places thousands of people in exile in situations of danger.”Céline Mias, the EU director of the Danish Refugee Council said that "we are deeply worried that this fast-track system will fail to protect people in need of protection, including activists, journalists and marginalized groups in places where human rights are clearly under attack.”Alessandro Ciriani, an Italian MEP with the European Conservatives and Reformists group, said the designation sends a firm message that the EU has toughened its borders. “Europe wants enforceable rules and shared responsibility. Now this commitment must become operational: effective returns, structured cooperation with third countries and real measures to support EU member states,” he said. He said that clear delineations of safe and unsafe nations would rid the EU of “excessive interpretative uncertainty” that led to a kind of paralysis for national decision makers over border controls.
The measures also allows individual nations within the bloc to designate other countries safe for their own immigration purposes.

Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Faces Foreign Aid Shortfall of up to 50 billion Euros Next
Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
Ukraine is facing a foreign aid shortfall of 45-50 billion euros ($53-59 billion) in 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday, Reuters reported. He added that if Kyiv did not receive a first tranche of a loan secured by Russian assets by next spring, it would have to significantly cut drone production.
Speaking in Brussels as EU leaders were set to take a decision on Moscow's seized sovereign wealth, Zelenskiy said this would mean that Ukraine would have far fewer drones than Russia, and would not be able to conduct long-range strikes on Russian energy facilities.

US Imposes Sanctions on Vessels Linked to Iran, Treasury Website Says
Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on 29 vessels and their management firms, the Treasury Department said, as Washington continues targeting Tehran's "shadow fleet" it says exports Iranian petroleum and petroleum products, Reuters reported. The targeted vessels and companies have transported hundreds of millions of dollars of the products through deceptive shipping practices, Treasury said. Thursday's action also targets businessman Hatem Elsaid Farid Ibrahim Sakr, whose companies are associated with seven of the vessels cited, as well as multiple shipping companies.

Lifting of US Sanctions on Syria Could Spur Refugee Returns, Says UN Official
Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
The head of the UN refugee agency in Lebanon said Thursday that the move by the United States to lift sweeping sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return to their country. The US Senate voted Wednesday to permanently remove the so-called Caesar Act sanctions after the administration of President Donald Trump previously temporarily lifted the penalties by executive order. The vote came as part of the passage of the country's annual defense spending bill. Trump is expected to sign off on the final repeal Thursday. An estimated 400,000 Syrian refugees have returned from Lebanon since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024 following a nearly 14-year civil war, UNHCR Lebanon Representative Karolina Lindholm Billing said, with around 1 million remaining in the country. Of those, about 636,000 are officially registered with the refugee agency.
The UN refugee agency reports that altogether more than 1 million refugees and nearly 2 million internally displaced Syrians have returned to their homes since Assad’s fall. Refugees returning from neighboring countries are eligible for cash payments of $600 per family upon their return, but with many coming back to destroyed houses and no work opportunities, the cash does not go far. Without jobs and reconstruction, many may leave again. The aid provided so far by international organizations to help Syrians begin to rebuild has been on a “relatively small scale compared to the immense needs,” Billing said, but the lifting of US sanctions could “make a big difference.”The World Bank estimates it will cost $216 billion to rebuild the homes and infrastructure damaged and destroyed in Syria's civil war. “So what is needed now is big money in terms of reconstruction and private sector investments in Syria that will create jobs,” which the lifting of sanctions could encourage, Billing said. Lawmakers imposed the wide-reaching Caesar Act sanctions on Syria in 2019 to punish Assad for human rights abuses during the country’s civil war. Despite the temporary lifting of the sanctions by executive order, there has been little movement on reconstruction. Advocates of a permanent repeal argued that international companies are unlikely to invest in projects needed for the country’s rebuilding as long as there is a threat of sanctions returning. New refugees face difficulties While there has been a steady flow of returnees over the past year, other Syrians have fled the country since Assad was ousted by Islamist-led insurgents. Many of them are members of religious minorities fearful of being targeted by the new authorities — particularly members of the Alawite sect to which Assad belonged and Shiites fearful of being targeted in revenge attacks because of the support provided to Assad during the war by Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Hundreds of Alawite civilians were killed in outbreaks of sectarian violence on Syria’s coast in March. While the situation has calmed since then, Alawites continue to report sporadic sectarian attacks, including incidents of kidnapping and sexual assault of women. About 112,000 Syrians have fled to Lebanon since Assad’s fall, Billing said. Coming at a time of shrinking international aid, the new refugees have received very little assistance and generally do not have legal status in the country. “Their main need, one of the things they raise with us all the time, is documentation because they have no paper to prove that they are in Lebanon, which makes it difficult for them to move around,” Billing said. While some have returned to Syria after the situation calmed in their areas, she said, “Many are very afraid of being returned to Syria because what they fled were very violent events.”

Russia Says It Hopes Trump Does Not Make 'a Fatal Mistake' on Venezuela
Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that it hoped that US President Donald Trump's administration did not make a fatal mistake over Venezuela and said that Moscow was concerned about US decisions that threatened international navigation.
Trump on Tuesday ordered a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela as Washington tried to increase pressure on Nicolas Maduro's government. There has been an effective embargo in place after the US seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week, with loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil staying in Venezuelan waters rather than risk seizure. "We hope that the D. Trump administration, which is characterized by a rational and pragmatic approach, will not make a fatal mistake," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry said that Venezuela was a friendly country to Russia, and that Moscow hoped the US would not wade into a situation that would have "unpredictable consequences for the entire Western Hemisphere".Russia quoted Simon Bolivar, a brilliant Venezuelan military tactician who liberated much of South America from centuries of Spanish rule, as saying that every nation had the right to choose its own rulers and that other countries should respect this. Russia, the ministry said, wanted a normalization of dialogue between Washington and Caracas, and reaffirmed Russia's "solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of the trials they are going through."Russia supports "the Maduro government's course aimed at protecting the national interests and sovereignty of the Motherland."

Trump says ‘getting close to something’ ahead of US, Russia talks on Ukraine
Reuters/December 18, 2025
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he believes talks toward ending the war in Ukraine are “getting close to something” ahead of a US meeting with Russian officials this weekend. During an Oval Office event, Trump told reporters, “I hope Ukraine moves quickly.”Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner plan to meet a Russian delegation in Miami this weekend, a White House official said, as they continue trying to coax an agreement out of both Russia and Ukraine to end Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Witkoff and Kushner met a Ukrainian delegation over two days in Berlin on Sunday and Monday and US officials said they came away with a belief that the two sides are not far apart, although the thorniest issue, Russia’s insistence on gaining Ukrainian territory in any settlement, remains outstanding. Opinion polls in Ukraine have shown that few Ukrainians are willing to accept territorial concessions, which remain a key Russian condition for ending its war. The Russians have shown little willingness to compromise on their demands. “I hope Ukraine moves quickly because Russia is there,” Trump said, an apparent reference to recent Russian gains on the battlefield. Ukraine could receive security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense pledge under a proposed peace deal with Russia — an unprecedented offer aimed at ending the war sparked by Moscow’s 2022 invasion.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 18-19/2025
Europe Is in Decline. Good.
Anton Jäger/The New York Times/December 18/2025
Among contemporary European writers, the novelist Michel Houellebecq is not known for his optimism. In his oeuvre spanning three decades, a leitmotif has been the inexorability of human decline, from the quality of internet pornography to European civilization itself. “France has given up on progress,” he wrote in 2014. “We are all not only tourists in our own country, but also willing participants in tourism.”
Today, Houellebecq’s comments sound darkly prophetic. Economic growth across the continent, long anemic, has dwindled toward nought, with even Germany’s industrial behemoth slumping. Dynamism has disappeared, replaced by painful dependencies: Europe’s technology comes from America, its critical minerals from China. The continent’s transformation into an arid playpen for tourists, with its economies geared to serve the visitors, is no longer the stuff of dyspeptic speculation.
It is important not to mischaracterize this development. Complaints about the European Union’s failure to produce its own Silicon Valley and comparisons of gross domestic product with a country of over a billion people are not fair proofs of decline. Yet it is undeniable that Europe has been “provincialized,” as the German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer once termed it. The negotiations to end the war in Ukraine show that the bloc has been steadily reduced to a second-rate participant in world affairs. In President Trump’s eyes, it is “decaying” and at risk of “civilizational erasure.”A paradigmatic acknowledgment came last year from the former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi. In a quietly blistering report, Draghi — widely credited for saving the euro after the financial crisis — enumerated the woes of the European economy, from lack of so-called competitiveness to lagging productivity.
Yet many of the remedies in circulation today are likely to aggravate the disease they purport to cure. The far right offers a familiar prescription: a racial cordon around the continent. Europe’s center, in turn, vaguely gestures at a strategy of renewal through remilitarization and technological advances. The left, for its part, either rails against European overreach or welcomes the continent’s retreat. What is needed is a new “politics of decline,” to borrow a phrase from the historian Eric Hobsbawm, one that looks both inward and outward.
Internally, it requires a break with the austerity fetish that has gripped European policymakers since the 1990s. It is with good reason that the economic historian Adam Tooze has castigated E.U. technocrats as “the Taliban of neoliberalism” for their intransigent attachment to market principles in an age that has declared them obsolete. On the political front, that would mean conscious centralization and pooling of sovereignty. This would be a major break from business as usual: Fragmentation has long held sway in Europe, stymying the development of genuinely continental policy. Bringing together countries in common endeavor would be paramount, with the proviso of democratic accountability that European institutions have generally scanted. After all, it is unlikely that the entities that would be tasked with Europe’s relaunch could do so without public support.
Externally, there would need to be an ambitious rethinking of foreign policy priorities. In the past decade, the hope that the European Union could win some measure of military or financial independence from America has proved illusory. Instead, the continent has slid into ever deeper dependence on the United States. Yet such a drift will accelerate rather than halt the decline E.U. leaders bemoan; bulk buying American weapons and energy, for instance, will not make European industry world leading again.
If Europe is to reinvent itself, it must think in more heterodox ways. Mostly, it will have to contemplate something considered beyond the pale in Brussels: critical integration with China. “Critical” is meant in both senses of the term. On the one hand, such engagement is vitally necessary for the fight against climate change, an effort now mostly led by China. Yet it should also be conditional, involving neither submission to Beijing nor blindness toward its grim record on trade or labor rights. Export controls, where necessary, can go together with cooperation.
Europe should pay heed to Britain, an exemplar of decline in the 20th century. In the postwar world, as its empire was crumbling, the country saw two paths in front of it. It could serve as a sort of butler to the United States, fastening its economy and foreign policy to American imperatives. Or it could become a kind of greater Sweden, retaining its industrial base, welfare state and relative diplomatic autonomy. Eventually, after a tussle, Britain opted for the first route, forgoing national independence for the special relationship.
Europe need not become a supersize version of Britain. No longer in the driver’s seat of history, it can shed its damaging delusions of grandeur. On geopolitics and climate mitigation, it can meet its targets even if it no longer gets to be the star player. That will require downsizing some expectations: The aim should be what British soccer fans call midtable stability, rather than league leadership. This will be a bitter pill to swallow, particularly for the continent’s elite. Some may prefer the seductions of apocalypticism to realism, not least Houellebecq. In his 2010 novel, “The Map and the Territory,” he grimly presaged a Europe where “the triumph of vegetation is total” and the continent’s factories are devoured by the wilderness. In a striking echo, Josep Borrell Fontelles, a former vice president of the European Commission, has described Europe as a “garden” surrounded by a hostile “jungle.”
The continent’s center and far right, despite their differences, clearly agree on some essentials. Yet that Europe should become either a wasteland or a gated community is not divinely decreed. Cut down to size, Europe may find that a pleasant public allotment in the suburbs of the new global order might be more than enough.

The Starving Artist vs. A.I.: Guess Who Is Winning?
Caitlin Petre and Julia Ticona/The New York Times/December 18/2025
It’s a perilous moment for creative life in America. While supporting oneself as an artist has never been easy, the power of generative A.I. is pushing creative workers to confront an uncomfortable question: Is there a place for paid creative work within late capitalism? And what will happen to our cultural landscape if the answer turns out to be no? As sociologists who study the relationship between technology and society, we’ve spent the last year posing questions to creative workers about A.I. We’ve talked to book authors, screenwriters, voice actors and visual artists. We’ve interviewed labor leaders, lawyers and technologists. Our takeaway from these conversations: What A.I. imperils is not human creativity itself but the ability to make a living from creative endeavor. The threat is monumental but the outcome is not inevitable. The actions that artists, audiences and regulators take in the next few years will shape the future of the arts for a long time to come. In a short span of time, A.I.-generated content has become ubiquitous. Prose written in A.I.’s unmistakably tedious style is pervasive, while in recent months, newer tools like Sora 2 and Suno have filled the internet with hit country songs and squishy mochi-ball cats.
The question that often surrounds the introduction of a generative A.I. model is whether or not it’s capable of producing art at a level that competes with humans. But the creative workers we spoke with were largely uninterested in this benchmark. If A.I. can produce work that’s comparable to that of humans, they felt, that’s only because it stole from them. Karla Ortiz, an illustrator, painter and concept artist, described the moment she witnessed A.I. churning out art in her style. “It felt like a gut punch,” she said. “They were using my reputation, the work that I trained for decades, my whole life to do, and they were just using it to provide their clients with imagery that tries to mimic me.”
The proponents of A.I. often claim that, as good as it may get, the technology will never be able to match the talent and ingenuity of superlative human-made art. Amit Gupta is the co-founder of Sudowrite, an A.I. tool designed for writing. He believes that A.I. “will help us get to the 80 percent mark, maybe the 90 percent mark” of human writing quality, “but we’re still going to be able to discern that last bit.” Anyone with an iPhone can take a very good photo, Gupta has pointed out, but “there are still photographs that hang in museums; they’re not the photographs that you and I took.”
Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, similarly talked about how A.I. will eventually replace the “median human” in most fields, but not the top performers. However, there’s a problem with this line of reasoning: Sui generis artistic prodigies are few and far between. Artists, like most people trying to do something hard, tend to get better with lots of practice. Someone who is, to borrow Mr. Altman’s phrase, a “median” writer in their 20s might turn into a great one by their 40s by putting in ample time and work.
The creative grunt work that A.I. stands to replace most quickly is what helps emerging artists improve, not to mention pay their bills. In the early years of her career, Ms. Ortiz supported herself coloring comics and making art for video game companies. Coming from a lower-middle-class background in Puerto Rico, Ms. Ortiz said, she “would have not been able to live as an artist had I not had those jobs that a lot of folks today can’t find” because the would-be employers use A.I. instead. If an A.I. colors comics, takes notes in the TV writers’ room, and sifts through the slush pile at a publishing house, how will young creative workers master their medium — and scrape together a living while doing so?
This is not a novel phenomenon; the starving artist is a cliché for a reason. Creative and cultural labor markets have long been beset by an imbalance between supply and demand: There are more people who want to write, paint, direct, act and play music than there are paying jobs doing those things. As a result, most artists aren’t paid especially well for their most creatively fulfilling work. Historically, this has advantaged those with the connections to score, say, a coveted unpaid internship at an art gallery or a film studio — and the independent wealth to pay for food and rent while completing it.
A.I. did not create these inequalities. But it may well exacerbate them if the technology eliminates the kind of entry-level jobs that allow early-career artists to make connections and a living, however meager, in artistic fields. Indeed, there is a prevailing fear that A.I. will be used as a pretext to eliminate jobs even if its outputs are unimpressive. When generative A.I. is put into actual practice, “its functionality is so limited and so disappointing and so mediocre,” said Larry J. Cohen, a TV writer who serves on the A.I. task force for the Writers Guild of America East. But because A.I. is surrounded by what Mr. Cohen called “a complete reality distortion field,” its mediocrity may not actually matter. Studios may use A.I. anyway because they are too nervous to miss the bandwagon.
There’s a scholarly term for this: institutional isomorphism. In a 1983 paper, the sociologists Paul DiMaggio and Walter Powell confronted an apparent puzzle: Why do organizations in a field so often resemble one another in structure, practices and products, even when it might be advantageous to differentiate themselves? DiMaggio and Powell argued that when organizations are operating in an environment of uncertainty, especially one in which “technologies are poorly understood,” they look to see what other organizations are doing and copy them. The result of this mimicry is that over time, certain modes of operation become taken for granted as the correct and legitimate ones within an organization, even if they do little to advance its aims. Given that generative A.I. certainly qualifies as a “poorly understood” technology, we shouldn’t be surprised to see this kind of isomorphic process unfolding within media industries. In contract negotiations for W.G.A.E. unions, the guild’s executive director, Sam Wheeler, has seen media companies resist demands for A.I.-related worker protections with a stubbornness usually reserved for dollars-and-cents issues, such as employee health care costs. Companies dug their heels in about A.I. even when they seemed to have no concrete ideas about how they would actually use it. Wheeler has been struck by how “the lack of a plan” has been coupled with “the certainty that one will present itself.” And when that plan eventually emerges, the last thing executives will want is to be hamstrung by union rules.

Sudan… What Remains of the 'December Revolution'?
Osman Mirghani/Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2025
The trajectories of every country that underwent what came to be known as the “Arab Spring,” deviated radically from initial aspirations. In most cases, the result was the nightmare of war and fragmentation, from Syria to Yemen, Libya and finally Sudan. Sudan joined late but did not escape this cruel fate, and the flames of war replaced the promise of change. Tomorrow is the seventh anniversary of Sudan’s “December Revolution.” People will mark the date, but not with the same idealism. With weary eyes, they see things from a different perspective. Daily survival has replaced politics, fear has replaced hope, and mere survival has replaced slogans.The “December Revolution” succeeded in uniting people, or at least the majority, around opposition to what they did not want. However, it could not bring them together around a project for what they did want: the form of the state, its identity, the nature of governance, and how Sudan should be governed. With the absence of such unity, the doors to all forms of conflict was opened. Sudan was not allowed to undertake its experiment under conditions that allow for a smooth transition. Many rode the wave of the revolution without having made sacrifices, while political disagreements, exclusionary rhetoric, power struggles, and the race for seats dissipated the momentum of this moment and created a climate conducive to war. In this fragile atmosphere, regional rivalries, political financing, and security interests also played a role in turning Sudan into a proxy battlefield.
Political and civil elites bear real responsibility for undermining the “December Revolution.” Large segments of the elite prioritized trivial ideological and partisan conflicts instead of seeking to build basic national consensus. Exclusionary rhetoric and accusations of treason prevailed. Rather than managing disagreement as a natural feature of a complex transition, their preoccupation with these power struggles prevented these elites from developing an inclusive national project that could balance the demands of revolutionary justice with the requisites of stability.
Worse still, some elites, either deliberately or out of political naivete, entered short-sighted alliances with armed factions, most dangerously the Rapid Support Forces, thinking they could use them to contain the army and shift the balance of power in their favor. In reality, however, they fueled the ambitions of the RSF commander, who sought to take power and replace the army. Instead of being a central part of the solution, these elites, at many junctures, became an integral part of the problem.
The painful paradox is that these actors, rather than reassessing their experience, have persisted in the same discourse: exclusion, political bickering, losing bets on the role of the armed forces, and entanglement in regional alignments. All of this comes after it had become clear that regional actors are playing a dangerous role in fueling the war and perpetuating it by supplying the Rapid Support Forces with arms in pursuit of their own agendas and interests.
With the advent of war, a new world has taken shape. New equations have been imposed, things have changed, and concerns and priorities have shifted. The forces of the revolution have themselves fragmented. Some have stood with the army, while other factions have allied with the Rapid Support Forces. Many of the revolution’s youths have been either displaced and taken refuge in, or overwhelmed by the struggle for daily sustenance and the burdens of conflict.
Those betting on turning back the clock are deluding themselves. The slogans of the revolution, most of which were never implemented, will not allow for reproducing the previous political landscape, nor returning these same figures, equations, and sources of legitimacy. The “December Revolution” has ended: its forces have disintegrated, it has lost much of its influence, and society has been changed by war, displacement, and the cruel conditions imposed upon it. Today, it will not see things through the prism of 2018.
Times of war are not times for rhetorical heroism. War is a testing moment for all. Today, we do not need to revive sloganeering but to adapt to a new state of affairs and take on a more realistic, less romantic, mindset. In other words (perhaps shocking but necessary) a shift from a “revolutionary project” to a “salvation project” is needed. We must work within the realm of current possibilities and acknowledge that we are in a different phase. The project that is needed is one that places the nation above all other considerations, operates on the principle of the state-first, and recognizes that there can be no democracy without a legitimate monopoly on violence and functional institutions that create bulwark against chaos.
There is an urgent need for an inclusive project, forged through comprehensive national dialogue that does not exclude anyone, to determine how Sudan is governed, not who governs. The decision of who rules should be left to the people. The old formulas have failed, and the Sudanese people are exhausted by this cycle of turbulent transitional periods, short-lived democratic experiments, and recurrent coups. More than ever, they dream of security and stability, of a safe homeland that can finally be free from the burdens of war, exclusionary struggles in politics and for seats of power, and the failures of elites.

What Palmyra attack means for Syria’s security apparatus
Hassan Al-Mustafa/Arab News/December 18, 2025
I recently engaged in a conversation with a journalist who has visited Syria multiple times since the fall of former President Bashar Assad’s regime and spent an extended period there. He shared his observations, particularly regarding armed fighters — especially foreign ones — the behavior of armed groups aligned with the new government and the efforts of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense to bring these groups under a unified central authority and prevent security lapses or legal violations. The friend, instinctively assessing the situation through a journalist’s lens, voiced concern over a profound ideological issue within the armed groups, long shaped by closed religious discourses, rigid extremism and deep suspicion of those who disagree with them, often escalating to the exclusion or elimination of others through violence. These extremist ideas within disparate armed groups were amplified by the fall of Assad rather than contained, as some might have anticipated, driven by a heightened sense of power. This was clearly reflected in the events on the Syrian coast involving Alawite communities and in Sweida with the Kurds, where armed groups aligned with the new regime — some of them part of its structure — carried out violent acts against civilians, thus deepening the crisis.
This does not imply that the coastal region and Sweida were free of armed groups opposed to the state that violated the law and fueled sectarian and regional tensions; such groups are equally part of the problem and contribute to the complexity of the situation.Extremist ideas within armed groups were amplified by the fall of Assad rather than contained, as some might have anticipated
For its part, the Syrian government, as reflected in speeches by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, appears to be moving toward laying the foundations of a more moderate state and distancing itself from the violent legacy of the former ruling political class. This shift, however, has proven difficult for some of Al-Sharaa’s supporters and former armed allies to accept. The task entrusted to the Syrian president is immense and highly perilous, yet he appears determined to pursue it. A closer look at his policies, foreign visits and rhetoric in international forums shows that he is navigating a complex political minefield — despite growing regional and international backing, the path ahead remains arduous. He faces opposition not only from terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and Daesh, but also from former allies who once fought alongside him. From this perspective, the shooting near Palmyra on Saturday was not a passing security incident but a revealing moment that exposed a structural weakness within the security apparatus — one that must be urgently addressed to prevent it from jeopardizing any future security cooperation between Damascus and Washington.
The terrorist operation resulted in the deaths of three Americans and the wounding of Syrian personnel, underscoring not only the continued threat posed by extremist ideology within armed factions but also raising a fundamental question about how such thinking can be dismantled. It further calls into question the commitment of leaders below the presidency to advancing the principles of a civil state. These are deep-rooted challenges that cannot be resolved in the near future.
The gravity of the operation is amplified by its occurrence within the context of counterterrorism efforts against Daesh, which is a critical point of convergence between Syrian and American interests. Targeting American military personnel thus goes beyond inflicting casualties and strikes at the core of the institutional trust upon which any lasting security cooperation depends.
Such coordination is not built on situational necessity but on disciplined, cohesive institutions operating under a clear professional doctrine and exercising effective control over their forces before confronting an adversary. The Palmyra operation revealed that these conditions have yet to be fully met within the Syrian security apparatus. In a telegram addressed to US President Donald Trump, Al-Sharaa strongly condemned the incident and reaffirmed the commitment of Damascus to safeguarding security and stability in Syria and across the region. The task entrusted to the Syrian president is immense and highly perilous, yet he appears determined to pursue it. For his part, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani told his American counterpart, Marco Rubio, during a phone call that the Palmyra attack was intended to destabilize bilateral relations. Rubio, meanwhile, described the attack as a renewed challenge in the fight against terrorism and stressed the importance of cooperation with Syria to reinforce counterterrorism efforts.
Trump, who vowed “serious retaliation” on Daesh, reaffirmed his support for his Syrian counterpart, stating that his trust remains intact. This endorsement grants the Syrian government a pivotal opportunity — one that must be fully leveraged to rebuild credible security institutions founded on a national civilian-military doctrine and clearly detached from extremist religious affiliations. Meeting this challenge will require a clear strategic vision, the integration of foreign expertise, lessons drawn from the counterextremism experiences of allied Arab states and the forging of a renewed national identity for the army and security forces. Although the challenges facing the Syrian government may seem natural and even expected, they remain serious and deeply complex. It is therefore in the interest of Syria and its neighbors to pursue swift, coordinated and practical solutions. These challenges are further aggravated by the presence of extremist elements and foreign fighters who infiltrated pro-government formations during Syria’s civil war. The absence of a clear legal framework to address their status — whether through rehabilitation, reintegration, accountability or expulsion — has turned them into a persistent vulnerability within the security apparatus.At the same time, critical gaps in specialized expertise, particularly in preventive security, intelligence analysis and VIP protection, have limited the state’s capacity to anticipate and neutralize threats, leaving security agencies largely reactive. This structural weakness cannot be overlooked and addressing it will require sustained effort and considerable time.
*Hassan Al-Mustafa is a Saudi writer and researcher interested in Islamic movements, the development of religious discourse, and the relationship between Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iran. X: @Halmustafa

Migration issue undergoes major transformation in 2025
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 18, 2025
The year 2025 has witnessed a significant shift in the way migration is viewed and politicized across the world. The convergence of several factors, such as large-scale armed conflicts, accelerating climate impacts and economic pressures, has made migration one of the key issues on the global agenda. In the past, migration was mostly analyzed from a humanitarian perspective. But in 2025, migration debates heavily entered geopolitics, the racial and religious demographic and even the US’ national security strategy. So, migration is no longer just an episodic crisis that needs to be managed for a short time; instead, it will impact global governance and shape the political and economic landscape well into 2026 and beyond. Armed conflict played a significant role in migration in 2025. The wars in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen and Ukraine collectively displaced tens of millions of people, destabilized regional markets and amplified the strategic calculations of neighboring states. Prolonged bombardment, infrastructure collapse and restrictions on humanitarian access created some of the most severe internal displacement crises of the decade, forcing families to move repeatedly in search of safety, temporary shelter or caloric survival.
Sudan is experiencing the fastest-growing displacement crisis in the world, with mass violence and famine conditions forcing populations out of their homes. Yemen’s protracted conflict has eroded essential services. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to sit at the center of Europe’s largest displacement crisis since the Second World War, with millions of refugees dispersed across the continent and millions more displaced internally. These conflicts have together reshaped the humanitarian, economic and political systems on a global scale. It will impact global governance and shape the political and economic landscape well into 2026 and beyond
The second issue that was a major driver of migration in 2025 was climate change. Across South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Latin America, climate-linked floods, rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns uprooted communities that were already vulnerable to insecurity and poverty. What has made this year distinct from preceding years is not only the magnitude of climate-related displacement but the frequency of repeated internal movements. In many cases, people were not simply fleeing from one point to another, they were moving repeatedly within short time frames. This cyclical movement introduced a new challenge to humanitarian systems, which were designed to deal with discrete emergencies rather than recurring climate shocks. It also created a new challenge to legal systems, which are not adequately equipped to protect people who have been displaced by environmental issues rather than conflicts. This is partially why the international community this year confronted severe funding shortfalls that limited their capacity to respond effectively. As humanitarian budgets shrank, essential services such as food assistance, shelter provision, medical care and sanitation support have had to be reduced. This increases the likelihood of secondary displacement and deepens the protracted nature of crises. Instead of being proactive, humanitarian organizations are now mostly in a reactive position, unable to keep pace with global displacement.
This year has also witnessed sweeping policy transformations in Europe that have redefined the meaning of migration governance. A series of national and regional measures have reshaped border regimes, asylum procedures and return policies. Several European states have tightened asylum rules, expanded the list of designated “safe countries of origin,” accelerated border procedures and adopted new frameworks intended to increase deportations and discourage irregular arrivals.
Nevertheless, at the same time, many of these same countries introduced reforms to attract skilled labor and regularize long-term residents in order to address domestic labor shortages in aging economies. This dual strategy seems to prioritize economic and security issues rather than humanitarian obligations. Humanitarian organizations are now mostly in a reactive position, unable to keep pace with global displacement. The shifting policy environment in Europe also appears to frame migration not as a social or humanitarian issue but as a security concern intertwined with border protection, counterterrorism and regional stability. In addition, migration control has become a bargaining tool in domestic politics and international relations.
From an economic perspective, migration in 2025 produced complex effects. In many host countries, refugees and labor migrants contributed to key sectors experiencing workforce shortages, such as healthcare, eldercare, agriculture and logistics. Yet, at the same time, rapid and large-scale arrivals strained some public services, fueled political tensions and strengthened far-right narratives around identity and security. Demographically, this year has also reaffirmed the significance of migration for countries facing aging populations, declining fertility and shrinking workforces. Looking to the future, the transformation and structural forces that defined 2025 when it comes to global migration are unlikely to change. The issue of migration will continue to influence diplomatic relationships, national security strategies, labor market planning and demographic futures. This is why countries that develop coherent, effective and forward-looking policies that respect rights will be better positioned to navigate the next year and even the coming decade.
This year should be considered a major one when it comes to global migration, as it has revealed that this issue is not peripheral but that it shapes economic systems, political identities and international relations. As we enter 2026, policymakers, scholars and global institutions must recognize that the era of viewing migration as a temporary emergency has passed. Migration is now a major and structural driver of global change amid a rapidly shifting international landscape.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh

When tragedy becomes an Israeli political weapon
Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/December 18, 2025
Tragedies are not meant to be moments for scoring political points. When acts of terrorism occur, responsible leaders seek to calm tensions, unite their societies, express solidarity with victims’ families and visit the injured as a public display of empathy. Sadly, this kind of leadership was conspicuously absent in the response of Israel’s prime minister to Sunday’s deadly attack in Australia.
Before the facts were known, Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to make politically motivated and demonstrably false claims. He initially asserted that the tragedy would have been far worse had it not been for a heroic Jewish Australian who disarmed the attacker. Within hours, evidence showed that the true hero was Ahmed Al-Ahmed, an Australian Muslim who was shot in the shoulder and hand while bravely wrestling the gun away from the assailant.
Instead of expressing gratitude to a man who saved lives, Netanyahu compounded his error by further politicizing the attack. Even before the motive behind the violence had been established, the Israeli leader publicly attacked Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, linking the atrocity to Canberra’s decision — which was taken alongside France, the UK, Canada, Portugal and others — to recognize the state of Palestine. Instead of expressing gratitude to a man who saved lives, Netanyahu compounded his error by further politicizing the attack
Reading from a letter he had sent to the Australian leader, Netanyahu accused Albanese of weakness and claimed, without evidence, that recognizing Palestinian self-determination had encouraged antisemitic violence. This assertion is not only unfounded but also deeply irresponsible. Nearly 80 percent of UN member states recognize Palestine, including four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. To suggest that such recognition fuels terrorism is to distort reality for political gain. Albanese, by contrast, responded with restraint and statesmanship. Refusing to trade insults, he emphasized national unity and solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community during a moment of profound grief. When directly asked whether he agreed that there was a link between recognizing Palestine and the Bondi Beach attack, Albanese was unequivocal: “No, I don’t.” He added that most of the world continues to see a two-state solution as the only viable path to peace in the Middle East. The missteps did not end there. Israeli officials, including figures associated with what is often described as a world-class intelligence apparatus, rushed, without evidence, to blame Iran for the attack. Subsequent findings pointed in a very different direction: Daesh symbols were reportedly found in the attackers’ vehicle and information emerged suggesting links to Daesh training in the Philippines. Any student of Middle Eastern politics knows that Sunni extremist groups such as Daesh are bitter enemies of Shiite-majority Iran. Yet the facts once again took a back seat to political narrative. The Australia attack became yet another occasion to deflect responsibility, attack allies and spread misinformation
This was not always Israel’s approach. In the 1990s, following deadly attacks at home, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin famously argued that Israel must fight terrorism as if there were no peace process, while pursuing peace as if there were no terrorism. A similar sentiment was once expressed by Menachem Begin, the founder of Likud. Both leaders understood that grief should not be exploited to derail the pursuit of peace. That wisdom appears absent today. For Netanyahu, every tragedy seems to present an opportunity, not for reflection or reconciliation, but for political maneuvering and the advancement of an antipeace agenda. The Australia attack became yet another occasion to deflect responsibility, attack allies and spread misinformation. Terrorism is a scourge that must be condemned without qualification. Exploiting innocent blood to score political points, misidentifying heroes, falsely accusing governments and misrepresenting the facts only deepens divisions and dishonors the victims. Leadership is tested in moments of tragedy. In this case, the contrast between responsible statecraft and cynical politicking could not be clearer.
**Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He is the author of “State of Palestine Now: Practical and Logical Arguments for the Best Way to Bring Peace to the Middle East.”
X: @daoudkuttab

Selected Face Book & X tweets for /December 18, 2025
Pope Leo XIV
Peace exists; it wants to dwell within us. #Peace has the gentle power to enlighten and expand our understanding; it resists and overcomes violence. Peace is a breath of the eternal: while to evil we cry out “Enough,” to peace we whisper “Forever.” Into this horizon the Risen One has led us.

Pope Leo XIV
Saint Augustine described our hearts as restless. That restlessness is oriented towards heaven, whose doors are open to us as a result of the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we enter into the dynamism of His love and grace, Jesus will be victorious in us—not just at the hour of our death, but also today, right now, and every day hereafter. #GeneralAudience

Nadim Koteich
When $37 billion flows through a pipeline during a war, while 40,000 troops mass on the border, it reveals what actually holds the Middle East together: not ideology, not solidarity, not historical grievance, but the cold logic of mutual benefit.

charles chartouni
*The assassination of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro at his home, is a flagrant act of Terror targeting a Jewish professor. The resurgence of Islamist terror is ominous
*The arrest of lawyer Antoine Saad due to his political positions is a condemnation of this cowardly authority that submits to the dictates of the Shiite fascists. George Aqqais, your ambiguous stance is nothing but malice.
*Adel Nassar, Suhail Aboud, Imad Martinos, you either legal and judicial references, or the Nabih Berri mafia represented by the public prosecutors of the Shiite fascism, Zaher Hamadeh and Hassan Hamdan, you have to choose.

Bechara Gerges
Mar Charbel, among the most introverted of living hermits, has become, in historical and spiritual terms, one of the most outward reaching saints of all: a figure whose silent withdrawal from the world ultimately touched, and continues to touch, every one of us..

General Yaarob Sakhr
The masculine and sovereign stances of #يوسف_رجّي, purely so, reflect the general Lebanese mood; and therefore, they must be enshrined in the Lebanese government's policy toward #ايران, which completely contradicts #مصالح_لبنان_العليا, due to its blatant interference in Lebanon's affairs and exposing it to dangers, and its playing the role of the brazen #المحرض in #تمرد_حزبللاه_على_الدولة.