English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  December 20/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds
John 12:23-30/ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 19-20/2025
A Lebanese era of debauchery, immorality, corrupted MP's and presidents who are mere tools of ignorance and subservience./Elias Bejjani/December 18, 2024
Israel claims Amhaz's capture sabotaged 'secret Hezbollah naval unit'
Mechanism meeting: Security and economic tracks 'advance in parallel'
Netanyahu: Economic projects discussed to underscore mutual interest in removing Hezbollah threat
Egypt vows to prevent escalation between Lebanon and Israel
Aoun says priority for border residents' return, lauds Paris talks
Paris says Haykal has agreed to document Hezbollah disarmament
Rubio says US hopes talks between Lebanon and Israel lead to strong govt, Hezbollah disarmed
Lebanon ties ceasefire talks to return of displaced residents
A year into the new Middle East, concerns over Hezbollah and Syria's ideology remain/
Sarit Zehavi/Jerusalem Post/December 18/2025
US lifting of Syria sanctions may encourage refugee returns from Lebanon
Geagea accuses Aoun, Berri and Salam of 'collusion', warns against 'troika'
The Druze Founders’ Forum in Lebanon: We demand the inclusion of Ambassador Dr. Hisham Hamdan in the negotiating delegation with Israel, representing the Muwahhidun Druze community
La Plateforme des Fondateurs Druzes au Liban

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 19-20/2025
Hamas official says Miami talks must end Israel’s Gaza truce ‘violations’
How Israeli land grabs are redrawing the map of Palestine’s Jordan Valley
Syria welcomes lifting of US sanctions
Saudi Arabia welcomes US decision to lift Syria sanctions
Australia announces gun buyback as swimmers mourn Bondi shooting victims
Australia’s ‘Bondi hero’ Ahmed Al-Ahmed handed $1.65m collected from fundraising
Hamas says Miami talks must end Israel's Gaza truce violations
Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch visits Gaza for Christmas
Russian FM slams ‘brazen’ Western plan to deploy force to Ukraine
Ukrainian and Polish presidents show unity against Russia, address historical tensions
Putin says Moscow intent on pressing on in Ukraine
Ukraine says received 1,003 bodies from Russia
Putin tells his annual news conference that the Kremlin’s military goals will be achieved in Ukraine
Ukraine evacuates horses amid menacing Russia strikes

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 19-20/2025
What is the true meaning of Christmas?/gotQuestions.org/December 19/2025
Washington's Dangerous Courtship with Bangladesh's Islamist Bloc/Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury/Gatestone Institute/December 19, 2025
Europe is sleepwalking into the Muslim Brotherhood’s long game/Eran M. Teboul/The Jerusalem Post/December 18, 2025
Normalization with Saudi Arabia cannot begin while Mecca broadcasts antisemitic hate/Jerusalem Post/Editorial/December 19/2025
Middle Israel: An open letter to Australian PM Albanese, after Bondi Beach shooting - opinion/Amotz ASA-El/Jerusalem Post/December 19/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 19-20/2025
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.

Israel claims Amhaz's capture sabotaged 'secret Hezbollah naval unit'
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/December 19, 2025
Israel's military said Friday a man seized last year in Lebanon's Batroun was a Hezbollah operative who played a key role in planning a covert maritime force for the militant group. The Israeli army said special unit troops apprehended Imad Amhaz in November 2024 from the north Lebanese city of Batroun, and transferred him to Israel. "During his questioning, Amhaz stated that he held a central role in the 'covert maritime portfolio,'" which the Israeli military called "one of Hezbollah's most classified and sensitive projects."It said the portfolio's "core objective is the establishment of organized maritime terrorist infrastructure, under civilian cover, in the maritime domain against Israeli and international targets." The Israeli military added that it had disrupted the portfolio's advancement by dismantling its chain of command and through its questioning of Amhaz. In November 2024, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP that a preliminary probe found that Israeli commandos used a speedboat equipped with radar-jamming devices to abduct Amhaz. The official called his capture "a war crime that violated national sovereignty" because it involved the kidnapping of a Lebanese citizen in an area far from the fighting. Amhaz was studying to become a sea captain at the Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute (MARSATI) in Batroun, Lebanon's primary training college for the shipping industry. Israel says Amhaz was an "invisible" Hezbollah operative who joined the Lebanese armed group in 2004 and was trained in Iran in 2007. Hezbollah has not claimed Amhaz as a member of the group. A Hezbollah official meanwhile told The Associated Press that the group will not comment on the video released by the Israeli military of Amhaz, describing him as "a Lebanese citizen who was kidnapped." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.Despite a November 2024 ceasefire 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 areas of south Lebanon it deems strategic.Israel says the strikes target Hezbollah members and infrastructure, and aim to stop the group from rearming.

Mechanism meeting: Security and economic tracks 'advance in parallel'
Agence France Presse/December 19, 2025
Civilian and military representatives from Lebanon and Israel met on Friday as part of the 'Mechanism' committee monitoring implementation of the year-long Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said, noting that the "security and economic tracks" advanced "in parallel" in the talks. It was the second time civilian representatives from Lebanon and Israel have taken part in a committee meeting, which also includes the United States, France and the United Nations. "Together, participants reaffirmed that progress on security and political tracks remains mutually reinforcing and essential to ensuring long-term stability and prosperity for both parties," a U.S. Embassy statement read. The meeting took place near Lebanon's border with Israel, and was closed to the press. The statement said military participants gave "operational updates and remained focused on deepening the cooperation by finding ways to increase coordination through the Mechanism.""Civilian participants, in parallel, focused on setting conditions for residents to return safely to their homes, advancing reconstruction, and addressing economic priorities," the embassy added. It said they also "underscored that durable political and economic progress is essential to reinforcing security gains and sustaining lasting peace." According to Israeli media reports, Israel raised its level of participation in the Naqoura talks by sending Israeli Deputy National Security Adviser Yossi Draznin. The Lebanese side was meanwhile represented by Ambassador Simon Karam and the American side by the diplomat Morgan Ortagus. A source familiar with the details told Axios' Barak Ravid that "officially the meeting is focused on economic cooperation along the border, but less officially it is aimed at trying to prevent a resumption of the war."
Israel and Hezbollah clashed for more than a year after the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023. The hostilities escalated into two months of full-blown war, which a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end. Lebanese border areas were devastated by the war, with tens of thousands of people still displaced. Israel has repeatedly bombed the country despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure to prevent the group rearming. Earlier this month, Lebanon and Israel agreed to send civilian representatives to the committee's meetings, a move President Joseph Aoun has said was to avoid another war. Hezbollah strongly rejected the decision. Fearing further escalation and facing U.S. diplomatic pressure, Lebanon approved a plan for its army to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Israel, by the end of the year.

Netanyahu: Economic projects discussed to underscore mutual interest in removing Hezbollah threat
Naharnet/December 19, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday described the Mechanism meeting held in Naqoura as “a continuation of the security dialogue aimed at ensuring the disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese army.”“During the meeting, ways to promote economic projects were discussed in order to underscore the mutual interest in removing the Hezbollah threat and ensuring sustainable security for residents on both sides of the border,” Netanyahu added, in a statement released by his office. Friday’s gathering in Naqoura was the second meeting of the Mechanism after Israel and Lebanon appointed civilian members to a previously military-only committee. The group also includes the United States, France and the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed along the border. A statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said that military participants offered operational updates and remained focused on deepening the cooperation by finding ways to increase coordination through the Mechanism. It added that all participants agreed that a strengthened Lebanese Army “is critical to success.”The embassy added that civilian participants meanwhile focused on setting conditions for residents to return safely to their homes, advancing reconstruction, and addressing economic priorities. It added that they underscored that durable political and economic progress is essential to reinforcing security gains and sustaining lasting peace. The embassy also said that meeting participants reaffirmed that progress on security and political tracks remains mutually reinforcing and essential “to ensuring long-term stability and prosperity for both parties.”

Egypt vows to prevent escalation between Lebanon and Israel
Associated Press/December 19, 2025 
Egypt is doing all it can to prevent further escalation between Lebanon and Israel amid tension between the two sides over the disarmament process of Hezbollah, the Egyptian prime minister said Friday during a visit to the Lebanese capital. Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has been working for months to deescalate the regional tensions and Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly's visit to Beirut comes after similar trips to the small Arab nation by Egypt's foreign minister and intelligence chief. "Egypt will spare no effort in continuing its tireless endeavors to keep Lebanon away from any escalation," Madbouly told reporters during a joint briefing with his Lebanese counterpart Nawaf Salam. Madbouly's visit also focused on strengthening bilateral ties and addressing pressing regional developments. Madbouly's meetings in Beirut came as the committee monitoring the enforcement of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah a year ago held another meeting Friday. The Lebanese government has said that the army should have the whole border area south of the Litani River cleared from Hezbollah's armed presence by the end of the year. The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon in September 2024 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 U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Aoun says priority for border residents' return, lauds Paris talks
Naharnet/December 19, 2025 
President Joseph Aoun on Friday emphasized “the priority of the return of the border villages’ residents to their villages, homes and land as a gateway for discussing all the other details” with Israel, after the U.S.-led Mechanism committee held a second meeting in the presence of Lebanese and Israeli civilian officials. Aoun voiced his remarks in a meeting with Ambassador Simon Karam, the head of the Lebanese delegation to the Mechanism meetings, who briefed him on Friday’s discussions in Naqoura. “The meeting also involved a detailed demonstration of the Lebanese Army has accomplished in a documented manner and it was agreed on January 7, 2026 as a date for the next meeting,” the Presidency said. A U.S. Embassy statement said civilian participants at Friday's Mechanism meeting "focused on setting conditions for residents to return safely to their homes, advancing reconstruction, and addressing economic priorities." Separately, Aoun welcomed the U.S.-French-Saudi agreement announced yesterday in Paris to hold a special international conference to support the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces. "The Lebanese Army, the Internal Security Forces, and other security forces represent the fundamental guarantee of Lebanon's security, stability and sovereignty. Supporting them is an investment in Lebanon's stability and future, and in its ability to extend its sovereignty over all its territories and protect its borders," Aoun said. "We highly value the leading role of the United States, France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in this endeavor, and we look forward to broad international cooperation at this conference to provide the necessary support to modernize the capabilities of the army and security agencies and enhance their readiness," the president added. He affirmed: "We are committed to utilizing this support with the utmost transparency and responsibility, to build strong and modern security and defense institutions capable of protecting Lebanon and contributing to the establishment of security and stability.""Lebanon looks with great hope to this conference as a crucial step on the path to rebuilding the state, strengthening its sovereignty, and restoring its regional and international role," the president concluded.

Paris says Haykal has agreed to document Hezbollah disarmament
Agence France Presse/December 19, 2025
Lebanese Army chief General Rodolphe Haykal agreed to document the army's progress in disarming Hezbollah during talks Thursday with international envoys in Paris, the French foreign ministry said, as Beirut seeks to forestall expanded Israeli attacks. Israel and Hezbollah clashed for more than a year after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, and a November 2024 ceasefire was meant to put an end to the hostilities, but Israel has kept up its strikes, accusing the group of rearming. Fearing further escalation and facing diplomatic pressure from Washington, Lebanon approved a plan for its army to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Israel, by the end of the year. But Israel has questioned the effectiveness of the Lebanese military, and Hezbollah itself has repeatedly rejected calls to surrender its arms. Thursday's meetings showed "progress in implementing the plan to restore the Lebanese state's monopoly on weapons," French foreign ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said at a briefing. Haykal outlined the "specific needs of the Lebanese Armed Forces" to continue this work, Confavreux added. He said the officials agreed on the need to "seriously document these advances," adding they were "working on this within the framework of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism."Sources familiar with the talks said they were chaired by French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian and attended by U.S. and Saudi envoys Morgan Ortagus and Yazid bin Farhan, respectively.
"There is indeed this December 31 deadline. Our job is to support Lebanese efforts to meet it," Confavreux said. "And if it needs to be extended, partners will discuss it."For now, actions on the ground, such as dismantling weapons caches and tunnel networks, must be documented, he said. The ceasefire monitoring mechanism allows the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon to support the army's documentation efforts in the field, two sources familiar with the matter noted. French contingents are also expected to take part in the documentation effort. The participants agreed to create a joint task force to hold a conference in support of the Lebanese Army in early 2026, the Elysee said in a statement. Israeli strikes have killed about 340 people since the ceasefire began, according to an AFP tally of health ministry reports.
Israel also maintains troops in five border areas of southern Lebanon that it deems strategic.

Rubio says US hopes talks between Lebanon and Israel lead to strong govt, Hezbollah disarmed
Reuters/December 19, 2025
WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday the US hoped talks between Lebanese authorities and ⁠Israel would lead to a strong Lebanese government and see the ⁠Hezbollah militant group disarmed. “We are hopeful that talks between Lebanese authorities and Israelis will create outlines and a ⁠way forward that prevents further conflict,” Rubio told a press conference.

Lebanon ties ceasefire talks to return of displaced residents
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/December 19, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanon has made the return of displaced residents to their border villages a prerequisite for further discussions in ceasefire mechanism talks with Israel, Arab News has learned. President Joseph Aoun instructed Lebanon’s civilian representative, former ambassador Simon Karam, to raise the return of civilians to their homes and lands in southern Lebanon as a top priority during Friday’s meeting of the Military Technical Committee in Naqoura. The talks, attended by Lebanese and Israeli military and civilian representatives, are part of a UN-backed mechanism responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire. According to the US Embassy in Beirut, the civilian participants, who attended the 15th MTC meeting, focused on “setting conditions for residents to return safely to their homes, advancing reconstruction, and addressing economic priorities.”
While Karam raised the issue of safe civilian return during the meeting, no official response was issued by the Israeli delegation. However, an official source told Arab News that the atmosphere was “positive,” and no objections were recorded.
All parties agreed that “a strengthened Lebanese Armed Force, the guarantors of security in the South Litani Sector, is critical to success,” according to a statement from the US Embassy in Beirut. In parallel, the military participants presented operational updates and focused on “deepening the cooperation by finding ways to increase coordination through the mechanism,” according to the embassy’s statement.
The Lebanese army is scheduled to complete the disarmament south of the Litani River by the end of this month, according to the set plan, and will begin the next phases north of the river at the start of the new year. The official source told Arab News that the Lebanese army will not seek an extension beyond the end of this month to place all weapons south of the Litani River under its control.
The source added that the army will present progress at Monday’s Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace. “Hezbollah is not expected to comment on the handover of its weapons south of the Litani River, having agreed to the army’s plan. The responsibility now lies entirely with the official military institution,” the official source said. The Lebanese army organized a tour for Arab and foreign ambassadors south of the Litani River last week after Israeli skepticism regarding the Lebanese army’s slow progress in implementing its mission. The diplomatic delegation visited a Hezbollah facility that the Lebanese army had seized as part of its verification process. The visit aimed to ensure that the area was cleared of Hezbollah military infrastructure and to confirm that it was now under the army’s full control, except for positions occupied by the Israeli military. The US Embassy in Beirut said the mechanism committee aimed to advance coordinated efforts toward stability and a lasting cessation of hostilities. During the meeting, all participants reaffirmed that progress on the “security and political tracks” are “essential to ensuring long-term stability and prosperity” for Israel and Lebanon, with the next round of meetings to be held in 2026.
French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, who had planned to travel to Lebanon for the mechanism committee meeting on Friday, decided to postpone his participation to a session scheduled for Jan. 7. US envoy Morgan Ortagus will also attend, according to media reports. A four-party meeting was held in Paris on Thursday, bringing together representatives of France, the US, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. The meeting reviewed the work of the mechanism committee and explored ways to expand its scope following the inclusion of civilian representatives —Karam for Lebanon and Uri Resnik for Israel.
Participants agreed to form a tripartite working group to prepare for a conference in February aimed at supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces, although the venue has yet to be announced.
A statement from the Elysee Palace said the US, Saudi, and French envoys to Lebanon met with Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, Lebanon’s army commander, who briefed them on the implementation of the “Homeland Shield” plan, aimed at placing all weapons under state control. The envoys voiced their support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and praised the sacrifices made by its personnel. French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said that Gen. Haykal outlined the progress made on disarmament efforts and detailed the army’s needs to fulfill the mission. In a significant development, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee revealed for the first time the fate of Imad Amhaz, a Lebanese sea captain abducted by an Israeli commando unit from the coast of Batroun nearly a year ago.
Adraee said the covert naval operation, carried out about 140 km from Israel’s northern border under the direction of the Israeli Navy’s Intelligence Division, targeted Amhaz due to his alleged role in Hezbollah’s maritime operations.
He described Amhaz as a key figure in the group’s “secret maritime file” and a member of Hezbollah’s coast-to-sea missile unit, known as Unit 7900.
According to the Israeli narrative, Amhaz received military training in Iran and Lebanon and had acquired significant maritime expertise intended for naval operations. During interrogation in Israel, Amhaz allegedly confessed to holding a central role in Hezbollah’s covert maritime program and provided what Adraee described as “sensitive intelligence” about one of the group’s most classified projects — the establishment of a civilian-front infrastructure aimed at carrying out maritime attacks on Israeli and international targets.
Adraee claimed that Amhaz’s information, along with the targeted killing of other leaders linked to the file, had “crippled the project at a critical stage and prevented its advancement.”The Israeli military also accused Iran of supplying strategic guidance and material support for the development of Hezbollah’s maritime capabilities, vowing to “continue operating on multiple fronts and through various means to eliminate threats against Israeli citizens.”Adraee published a video clip allegedly showing Amhaz’s confessions and footage of the abduction operation. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held talks with senior Lebanese officials on Friday during a two-day official visit aimed at reinforcing bilateral ties and supporting Lebanon’s stability. During a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Nawaf Salam, Madbouly reaffirmed Cairo’s support for the Lebanese government’s efforts to extend state authority across all national territory. He commended the government’s efforts in consolidating internal stability, stating: “Egypt views Lebanon as a cornerstone of stability in the Middle East, and we are committed to helping keep it clear of any escalation.” Madbouly emphasized that “a strong state is the source of legitimacy,” reiterating Egypt’s firm support for Lebanon in the face of ongoing challenges. He condemned continued Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and the occupation of Lebanese territory, calling for “an immediate and unconditional withdrawal from all Lebanese land.”He also underlined the need for full, impartial implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and respect for the Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement.

A year into the new Middle East, concerns over Hezbollah and Syria's ideology remain
Sarit Zehavi/Jerusalem Post/December 18/2025
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-880702
Despite Israel’s remarkable military victory a year ago, questions regarding the jihadist narrative in Syria and Hezbollah's military capabilities remain.
This month, we mark one year since the fall of the Assad regime and the rise of the new government in Syria. This anniversary comes shortly after the one-year anniversary of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Has Israel – and the region – become safer since then?
At first glance, the answer appears to be affirmative. Israel’s military achievements have been phenomenal, and its subsequent policies have prevented terrorist organizations from flourishing beyond the border.
In Lebanon, the victory over Hezbollah was clear and decisive: the elimination of its entire leadership, including the new chief of staff about a month ago; an 80% reduction in rockets and aerial arsenal; the elimination or neutralization of command levels and field commanders thanks to the “pagers attack”; and the destruction of Hezbollah’s ability to carry out an invasion into Israel. All of this has been reinforced by ongoing daily Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah’s rehabilitation efforts.
Despite Syria's new leadership, Hezbollah, Sharaa has not abandoned radical Islamist ideology
In Syria, the new leadership is also fighting Hezbollah’s attempts to smuggle weapons into Lebanon, as well as battling ISIS. It appears that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is working to establish his position in the West as a leader seeking to bring prosperity and a new era to Syria.
But the reality in the Middle East is more complex.
Unfortunately, neither Hezbollah, despite its defeat, nor Sharaa, despite his victory, has abandoned its radical Islamist ideology. Hezbollah adheres to the radical Shi’ite ideology driven by Iran’s Islamic Revolution, while Sharaa does not deny his loyalty to al-Qaeda’s ideology. He commanded its Syrian branch, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), before taking control of the entire state. In an interview during the Doha Forum on December 6, Sharaa clarified that he is not, and never was, a terrorist. He implicitly accused the United States and Israel of terrorism when he said, “We saw the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the ones killed were innocent, and those who killed them labeled others as terrorists. So now, after 25 years, there is a better understanding of who is a terrorist.”The events surrounding Syria’s leadership transition this year exposed the depth of the problem. Syria is becoming an Islamist, anti-Israel state whose military reference scenario is war against Israel.  The chant “Khaybar Khaybar, O Jews” appears both in popular demonstrations and among military personnel – proof that extremist discourse has become embedded in the official narrative. Khaybar was a Jewish tribe defeated by the Prophet Muhammad during the early Islamic conquests of the Arabian Peninsula.
In celebrations in Damascus, flags of Syria and HTS (al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch) were waved alongside Hamas flags – evidence that Syria’s new regime, with unmistakable jihadist roots, is using hostility toward Israel as a central engine for building national identity and consolidating political power.
October 7 taught us not to underestimate threats of this nature. This is a declaration of intent by a young regime enjoying broad Western support and already receiving Turkish weaponry and American backing.
In Lebanon, it has become clear to all stakeholders in recent weeks that the Lebanese Armed Forces are not delivering – they do not enter private areas where Hezbollah stores its weapons and do not act seriously to disarm it. Despite its declarations of a disarmament plan, the Lebanese government is not truly willing to confront a group that insists it will not abandon its “resistance” path or its weapons.
In conclusion, despite Israel’s remarkable military victory a year ago, which indirectly contributed to the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, there is deep concern about how events may unfold. Will Hezbollah rebuild its military capabilities despite the IDF’s efforts to prevent it? And how can we prevent Syria from transforming into a jihadist state when, both in the streets and within the Syrian military, the jihadist narrative and hatred of Israel have already taken deep root, encouraged by the new regime? This is a wake-up call for the international community. Terrorism must not be allowed to flourish; there is no reason to lift sanctions on HTS nor to extend leniency to the Lebanese government or to Sharaa in Syria.

US lifting of Syria sanctions may encourage refugee returns from Lebanon
Associated Press/December 18, 2025
The move by the United States to lift sweeping sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return to their country and also help encourage investments, the head of the U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon said. The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to permanently remove the so-called Caesar Act sanctions after President Donald Trump previously temporarily lifted the penalties by an executive order. The vote came as part of the passage of the country's annual defense spending bill. An estimated 400,000 Syrian refugees have returned from Lebanon since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December in 2024 following a nearly 14-year civil war. UNHCR Lebanon Representative Karolina Lindholm Billing said that around 1 million remain in Lebanon. About 636,000 of them are officially registered with the refugee agency. Altogether, more than 1 million refugees have returned from neighboring countries 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 U.S. 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. U.S. 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.
While there has been a steady flow of returnees over the past year, other Syrians have fled the country since Assad's ouster by Islamist-led insurgents.
Many of them are members of religious minorities, fearful of being targeted by the new authorities. In particular, members of the Alawite sect to which Assad belonged and Shiites are fearful of being targeted in revenge attacks because of the support provided to Assad during the war. 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 kidnappings and sexual assaults on 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 Lebanon. "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." Also Thursday, U.N. deputy humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya urged donors to reverse a downward trend in funding for Syria. She said that while the United Nations reached 3.4 million Syrians with aid every month this year, it couldn't help millions of others because the 2025 U.N. appeal for Syria was only 30% funded.

Geagea accuses Aoun, Berri and Salam of 'collusion', warns against 'troika'
Naharnet/December 18, 2025
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday charged that the quorum for Thursday’s legislative session was secured due to the “collusion” of President Joseph Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, warning against the emergence of a new “troika.”"In some ways, the scene reminds us of past practices when the 'troika' was disastrous for the country, and I fear that this experience will be repeated, and I hope that this will not be the case," said Geagea at a press conference. Geagea stated that "the main excuse used by some MPs is that they do not want to obstruct legislation," adding that “parliament is being run incorrectly, and this will lead to a wrong outcome." "There is no conflict between us and Speaker Berri, but we disagree on the way parliament is being managed," Geagea clarified. Regarding the electoral law, Geagea said that "the only solution lies with the President of the Republic, and I am addressing him today with an open letter." He told President Aoun: "There is no way out except by sending a letter to parliament requesting that it convene within three days to discuss the letter and the urgent draft law. The parliamentary elections are in danger, and you are the last resort." Denying the “rumor” that the Lebanese Forces want to postpone the elections, Geagea stressed that “this is not true.”“We want them on time," he emphasized.

The Druze Founders’ Forum in Lebanon: We demand the inclusion of Ambassador Dr. Hisham Hamdan in the negotiating delegation with Israel, representing the Muwahhidun Druze community
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/150333/
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

La Plateforme des Fondateurs Druzes au Liban
Beyrouth, le 18 décembre 2025
Des informations circulent sur l'ajout de négociateurs civils libanais supplémentaires au mécanisme dans le sud du Liban. Nous sommes préoccupés par le fait que l'objectif ne soit pas de renforcer la délégation libanaise avec des experts, mais plutôt de répondre à des arrière-pensées liées au fait que le membre civil actuel appartient à une communauté spécifique, et que le respect du Pacte national et des règles de coexistence suppose la participation de communautés homologues.
La Plateforme des Fondateurs Druzes au Liban considère que ce discours est une hérésie et une action sans précédent dans les règles de négociation d'un État souverain avec d'autres parties souveraines. La Plateforme rejette le fait de transformer les négociations concernant les droits publics libanais en une occasion d'imposer des intérêts sectaires et politiques locaux étroits.
En outre, la Plateforme des Fondateurs Druzes réitère que la composante druze, qui a été un pilier fondamental dans la construction et l'établissement du Liban, rejette catégoriquement de considérer le Pacte national et la coexistence comme confinés à un cadre tripartite sectaire simplement parce qu'il constitue une majorité numérique. Les Druzes sont une composante avec leur propre spécificité religieuse, culturelle et historique au Liban et ne peuvent jamais être réduits à l'une des autres communautés ou composantes, quelle que soit leur taille.
Nous mettons en garde contre le glissement vers l'adoption de quotas basés sur la secte dans la représentation civile au sein du mécanisme et insistons pour que cela reste dans sa dimension libanaise globale. Nous ne considérons pas le membre civil actuel du mécanisme à travers son identité sectaire, mais plutôt à travers son identité libanaise, représentant les intérêts de tout le Liban, et pas seulement de la communauté à laquelle il appartient.
Nous avons toujours été les gardiens de l'entité libanaise et continuerons à jouer ce rôle, et nous n'accepterons pas les projets de monopolisation et de fragmentation motivés par des intérêts politiques locaux étroits.
En outre, nous exigeons l'ajout d'un autre civil pour renforcer la capacité de la délégation de négociation. Nous proposons fièrement le nom de l'ambassadeur Dr Hisham Hamdan, qui a participé à toutes les négociations internationales qui ont établi le système international actuel.
Nous proposons le nom de l'ambassadeur Hamdan parce qu'il est la personne appropriée pour protéger la représentation civile du sectarisme. Il est l'ambassadeur qui a prouvé, par reconnaissance universelle, être une référence libanaise dans le système des relations internationales et qui travaille pour le Liban sans discrimination ni favoritisme.
La Plateforme des Fondateurs Druzes au Liban

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 19-20/2025
Hamas official says Miami talks must end Israel’s Gaza truce ‘violations’
AFP/December 19, 2025
GAZA CITY: A top Hamas official said that talks in Miami on Friday to advance the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire must aim to end Israeli truce “violations” in the Palestinian territory. US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is to meet senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye in Florida on Friday, amid fears that efforts to reach the second stage of the deal are stalling. “Our people expect these talks to result in an agreement to put an end to ongoing Israeli lawlessness, halt all violations and compel the occupation to abide by the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement,” Hamas political bureau member, Bassem Naim, told AFP. 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 in moving to that phase of October’s agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was brokered by Washington and its regional allies, has so far been slow. The ceasefire also remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that at least 395 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the territory since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10. Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, with the Israeli military reporting three soldiers killed in the territory since the truce entered into force. Naim said the new talks should boost entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The talks should also focus on “the entry of aid, the opening of the Rafah crossing in both directions and the delivery of everything necessary for repairs and infrastructure rehabilitation,” Naim said. He said talks should also address “how to implement the remaining elements of the Trump plan in a way that achieves sustainable stability, launches a comprehensive reconstruction process and paves the way for a political track enabling Palestinians to govern themselves, culminating in a fully sovereign and independent state.”In the first phase of the Gaza deal, Palestinian militants committed to releasing the remaining 48 living and dead captives held in the territory. To date, they have released all of the hostages except for one body.But the Trump administration is now keen to proceed to the difficult second stage, with the provision for Hamas to lay down its weapons being a particular sticking point. Hamas’s Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said Sunday that the militant group had a “legitimate right” to hold weapons. Israel has repeatedly insisted Hamas “will be disarmed.”The ceasefire’s third phase includes plans for the reconstruction of the vast areas of Gaza levelled by Israel’s retaliatory military campaign for Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel.

How Israeli land grabs are redrawing the map of Palestine’s Jordan Valley
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/December 19/2025
LONDON: Israeli raids are not new to Tubas, a Palestinian governorate in the northern West Bank’s western Jordan Valley. But fears of de-facto annexation have intensified since November, after land confiscation orders were issued for a planned barrier dubbed the “Scarlet Thread.”On Nov. 26, Israeli security forces, backed by a helicopter that reportedly opened fire, sealed off the governorate and raided Tubas City and nearby towns, including Tammun, Aqqaba, Tayasir and Wadi Al-Fara — home to more than 58,000 people. The operation involved drones, aircraft, bulldozers and curfews, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA. At least 160 Palestinians were injured, OCHA said, while homes and infrastructure sustained extensive damage. The raids also displaced residents and disrupted essential services, including water supplies. In Al-Fara refugee camp, OCHA noted, Israeli forces seized at least 10 residential buildings, forcing at least 20 families to flee, and detained and interrogated dozens of Palestinians before withdrawing. The Palestinian Detainees’ Affairs Society said 29 young men were detained in the camp and later released, with the exception of one. Israeli military and internal security officials described the operation as part of a broad “counterterrorism” campaign. Locally, however, concerns have grown not only over the scale of the assault but also its timing, which coincided with new land confiscation orders in the Jordan Valley. Ahmed Al-Asaad, the Tubas governor, said the Israeli military has issued nine land confiscation orders to carve out a 22-kilometer settlement road that would isolate large areas of the Jordan Valley and extend to within 12 kilometers of the Jordanian border. Israeli soldiers take part in an operation in Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on November 26, 2025. (REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman) Although the orders were signed in August, Al-Asaad told Arab News that Palestinian landowners were not notified until Nov. 21, nearly three months later, and were given insufficient time to appeal. An Arabic-language notice obtained by Arab News via WhatsApp from Mutaz Bisharat, a Palestinian official overseeing Jordan Valley affairs in Tubas, stated that the Israeli military ordered the confiscation of Palestinian land “for military purposes.”Signed by Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli military in the West Bank, on Aug. 28, the order took effect “on the date of its signing” and remains in force until Dec. 31, 2027. It instructed those “in possession of the lands” to remove all equipment and vegetation within seven days. It also said objections could be filed within seven days of the notice’s publication date through Israeli liaison offices. Al-Asaad said landowners were given “only one week” to file objections, noting that two days fell on a weekend, while four days coincided with curfews during the first raid and two more during a second large-scale incursion. “As a result, residents were unable to prepare land ownership documents,” he said.

Syria welcomes lifting of US sanctions
AFP/December 19, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syria’s foreign ministry on Friday welcomed the permanent ending by the United States of the so-called Caesar sanctions, paving the way for the return of investment to the war-ravaged nation. The US Congress on Wednesday permanently ended the sanctions imposed on Syria under Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December last year. The Caesar Act, named after an anonymous photographer who documented atrocities in Assad’s prisons, severely restricted investment and cut off Syria from the international banking system. A foreign ministry statement in Damascus “welcomed” the step, calling it “an entrance to the phase of reconstruction and development.” It urged “all Syrians in the country and abroad to contribute in national recovery efforts.”US President Donald Trump had already twice suspended the implementation of sanctions against Syria in response to pleas from Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, allies of the new government headed by former jihadist Ahmed Al-Sharaa. But Sharaa had sought a permanent end to the sanctions, fearing that as long as the measures remained on the books they would deter businesses wary of legal risks in the United States, the world’s largest economy.

Saudi Arabia welcomes US decision to lift Syria sanctions
Arab News/December 19, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has welcomed the decision by the US to lift sanctions imposed on the Syrian Arab Republic under the Caesar Act, saying the move will support stability, prosperity and development in the country, and help fulfil the aspirations of the Syrian people. In a statement issued on Friday, the Kingdom praised the positive role played by US President Donald Trump in the process, beginning with his announcement during his visit to Riyadh in May 2025 of the decision to lift all sanctions on Syria, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The statement noted that the process culminated in President Trump’s signing of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026, which included the repeal of the Caesar Act, SPA added. Saudi Arabia also extended its congratulations to the Syrian leadership, government and people on the lifting of the sanctions, while expressing appreciation for the steps taken by Damascus to restore stability across the country. The Kingdom said these efforts would help create suitable conditions for rebuilding the Syrian state and its economy, as well as facilitate the return of Syrian refugees and displaced people to their homes.

Australia announces gun buyback as swimmers mourn Bondi shooting victims
AFP/December 19, 2025
SYDNEY: Australia will use a sweeping buyback scheme to “get guns off our streets,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Friday as hundreds plunged into the ocean to honor Bondi Beach shooting victims. Sajid Akram and his son Naveed are accused of opening fire on a Jewish festival at the famed surf beach on Sunday, killing 15 people in one of Australia’s deadliest mass shootings. Albanese vowed to toughen laws that allowed 50-year-old Sajid to own six high-powered rifles. “There is no reason someone living in the suburbs of Sydney needed this many guns,” he said. Australia would pay gun owners to surrender “surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms.”It would be the largest gun buyback since 1996, when Australia cracked down on firearms in the wake of a shooting that killed 35 people at Port Arthur. Australia will remember those slain at Bondi with a national day of reflection, the prime minister said. Albanese urged Australians to light candles at 6:47 p.m. (0747 GMT) on Sunday, December 21 — “exactly one week since the attack unfolded.”
High alert
Sydney remains on high alert almost a week on from the shootings. Armed police released seven men from custody Friday, a day after detaining them on a tip they may have been plotting a “violent act” at Bondi Beach. Police said there was no established link with the alleged Bondi gunmen and “no immediate safety risk to the community.”Many hundreds returned to the ocean off Bondi Beach on Friday in another gesture to honor the dead. Swimmers and surfers paddled into a circle as they bobbed in the gentle morning swell, splashing water and roaring with emotion. “They slaughtered innocent victims, and today I’m swimming out there and being part of my community again to bring back the light,” security consultant Jason Carr told AFP. “We’re still burying bodies. But I just felt it was important,” the 53-year-old said. “I’m not going to let someone so evil, someone so dark, stop me from doing what I do and what I enjoy doing.”Carole Schlessinger, a 58-year-old chief executive of a children’s charity, said there was a “beautiful energy” at the ocean gathering. “To be together is such an important way of trying to deal with what’s going on,” she told AFP. “It was really lovely to be part of it. I personally am feeling very numb. I’m feeling super angry. I’m feeling furious.”
Heroes
Meanwhile, a married couple who were shot and killed as they tried to stop the gunmen were laid to rest at a Jewish funeral home. Bondi locals Boris and Sofia Gurman were among the first killed as they tried to wrestle Sajid to the ground. “The final moments of their lives they faced with courage, selflessness and love,” rabbi Yehoram Ulman told mourners. “They were, in every sense of the word, heroes.”Father Sajid was killed in a gunfight with police, but his 24-year-old son Naveed survived. The unemployed bricklayer has been charged with 15 counts of murder, an act of terrorism, and dozens of other serious crimes. Authorities believe the pair drew inspiration from the Daesh group. Australian police are investigating whether the pair met with Islamist extremists during a visit to the Philippines weeks before the shooting.

Australia’s ‘Bondi hero’ Ahmed Al-Ahmed handed $1.65m collected from fundraising
Reuters/December 19, 2025
SYDNEY: A man credited with saving lives for wrestling a gun from one of the alleged attackers during a mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach received a cheque for more than $2.5 million Australian dollars ($1.65 million) on Friday, after tens of thousands of people contributed to a donation website.Ahmed Al-Ahmed hid behind parked cars before charging at one of the gunmen from behind, seizing his weapon and knocking him to the ground. Ahmed suffered gunshot wounds after apparently being fired on by a second perpetrator and remains in hospital after undergoing surgery. Ahmed, a Muslim father-of-two, was presented with an oversized cheque at his St. George hospital bed by Zachery Dereniowski, a social media influencer and co-organizer of the GoFundMe page, videos posted online showed. More than 43,000 people worldwide contributed to the fundraising, including billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman who gave $99,999 Australian dollars and shared the fundraiser on his X account. Australia's prime minister and the state premier have visited Ahmed in hospital to praise his bravery. When handed the cheque, Ahmed asks, “I deserve it?" to which Dereniowski says "every penny", the video shows. When asked what he would say to the people who donated, Ahmed said: "To stand with each other, all human beings. And forget everything bad ... and keep going to save life."He continued, raising his uninjured fist in the air: “When I saved the people I (did it) from the heart because it was a nice day, everyone enjoying celebrating, with their kids, women, men, teenager all, everyone was happy and they deserve, they deserve to enjoy,” , . “This country (is the) best country in the world, best country in the world, but we’re not going to stand and keep watching – enough is enough. God protect Australia. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.” The tobacco store owner did not say what he planned to do with the money. Ahmed, 43, left his hometown in Syria's northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia. Fifteen people were killed and dozens wounded on Sunday after two gunmen opened fire at people celebrating Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights at the famous beach. Authorities allege a 50-year-old father, who was shot dead by police, and his 24-year-old son, who was critically wounded, carried out the attack.

Hamas says Miami talks must end Israel's Gaza truce violations
Naharnet/December 19, 2025
A top Hamas official said that talks in Miami on Friday to advance the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire must aim to end Israeli truce "violations" in the Palestinian territory. U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is to meet senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in Florida on Friday, amid fears that efforts to reach the second stage of the deal are stalling. "Our people expect these talks to result in an agreement to put an end to ongoing Israeli lawlessness, halt all violations and compel the occupation to abide by the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement," Hamas political bureau member, Bassem Naim, told AFP. 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 in moving to that phase of October's agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was brokered by Washington and its regional allies, has so far been slow. The ceasefire also remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that at least 395 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the territory since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10. Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, with the Israeli military reporting three soldiers killed in the territory since the truce entered into force. Naim said the new talks should boost entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The talks should also focus on "the entry of aid, the opening of the Rafah crossing in both directions and the delivery of everything necessary for repairs and infrastructure rehabilitation," Naim said. He said talks should also address "how to implement the remaining elements of the Trump plan in a way that achieves sustainable stability, launches a comprehensive reconstruction process and paves the way for a political track enabling Palestinians to govern themselves, culminating in a fully sovereign and independent state."In the first phase of the Gaza deal, Palestinian militants committed to releasing the remaining 48 living and dead captives held in the territory. To date, they have released all of the hostages except for one body. But the Trump administration is now keen to proceed to the difficult second stage, with the provision for Hamas to lay down its weapons being a particular sticking point. Hamas's Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said Sunday that the militant group had a "legitimate right" to hold weapons. Israel has repeatedly insisted Hamas "will be disarmed".The ceasefire's third phase includes plans for the reconstruction of the vast areas of Gaza levelled by Israel's retaliatory military campaign for Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel.

Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch visits Gaza for Christmas
AFP/December 19, 2025
JERUSALEM: Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, arrived in Gaza Friday for Christmas Mass at the Holy Family Parish in Gaza City, which hosts the Palestinian territory’s only Roman Catholic church. The senior churchman “arrived in Gaza today for a pastoral visit to the Holy Family Parish, on the eve of the Christmas celebrations,” his office said in a statement. It said the visit “reaffirms the enduring bond of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza with the wider Diocese of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.”During his visit, Pizzaballa will review developments in humanitarian response on the ground in the Gaza Strip as well as rehabilitation efforts. He will also lead an anticipated Christmas Mass at the Holy Family Parish on Sunday, the statement said. During his last visit to Gaza in July, Pizzaballa brought in 500 tons of food for residents suffering from shortages caused by Israeli restrictions on goods entering the devastated territory. Pizzaballa and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Theophilos III, were visiting after Israeli fire hit the Holy Family Church, killing three people. A famine declared in Gaza in August is now over thanks to improved access for humanitarian aid, the United Nations said on Friday, also warning that the food situation there remained “critical.”About 1,000 of 2.2 million Gaza inhabitants are Christians, most of them Orthodox. The Latin Patriarchate says 135 Catholics live in Gaza. They sought shelter inside the compound of the Holy Family Church in the first days of the war between Israel and Hamas.Some members of the Greek Orthodox church joined them in the compound owned by the Roman Catholic church.

Russian FM slams ‘brazen’ Western plan to deploy force to Ukraine
AFP/December 19, 2025
CAIRO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday slammed a European proposal to create a multinational force to police any potential peace deal in Ukraine as a “brazen” threat to Russia. “This is not so much about security as it is about yet another attempt, you know, a brazen one... to carry out the military development of Ukrainian territory as a springboard for creating threats to the Russian Federation,” Lavrov said, during a visit to Egypt. Leaders of Kyiv’s key European allies — including Britain, France, Germany and Italy — said this week they were ready to deploy a European-led “multinational force Ukraine” to “assist in the regeneration of Ukraine’s forces, in securing Ukraine’s skies, and in supporting safer seas, including through operating inside Ukraine.”Moscow has repeatedly railed against the idea of Western troops being deployed to Ukraine, warning that it would consider them “legitimate targets” for Russia’s armed forces. Ukraine is pushing for strong security guarantees if it signs up to a deal to end the four-year war, including Western military commitments that it sees as necessary to prevent Russia from invading once again.

Ukrainian and Polish presidents show unity against Russia, address historical tensions
AP/December 19, 2025
WARSAW: The Ukrainian and Polish presidents met in Warsaw on Friday to underline their countries’ unity in the face of Russia. They also signaled progress on historical reconciliation, which had caused tension in bilateral relations in the past. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was welcomed by his Polish counterpart, Karol Nawrocki, at the Presidential Palace for a visit intended to ensure that relations with key ally Poland remain stable, regardless of any change in power in Warsaw. Poland’s liberal government is a solid backer of Ukraine, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk acting as one of the most visceral advocates of Kyiv in international fora. But presidential election results this year indicate that the previous, nationalist Law and Justice party might return to power in 2027. Nawrocki, who won elections with the backing of Law and Justice, has been playing hard to get. He has requested that Ukrainians demonstrate gratitude for Polish support since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and insisted that Kyiv should not be allowed to join the European Union unconditionally. Speaking during a press conference on Friday, Nawrocki signaled that he was happy with Zelensky’s visit. He said the presence of the Ukrainian president in Warsaw was good news for Warsaw and Kyiv and bad news for Moscow. “In strategic matters, our strategic cooperation in the field of security issues, Poland, Ukraine, countries of the region, countries filled with democratic values are together and this has never been in doubt,” Nawrocki said. Nawrocki said Poland supported efforts to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine as well as further sanctions against Russia and action against its shadow fleet. Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to share its expertise on drone defense and welcomed Polish businesses to participate in Ukraine’s reconstruction.
European funds
Zelensky expressed his gratitude for Poland’s support, including for backing a massive interest-free loan from the European Union to Ukraine. European leaders had agreed earlier on Friday to provide 90 billion euros ($106 billion) to meet Kyiv’s military and economic needs for the next two years. “If Russia drags out this war — and that is exactly the signal the entire world hears from Moscow, as they continue to threaten us — we will use these funds for defense, if the war continues,” Zelensky said in Warsaw. “If the world compels Russia to make peace, we will use these funds exclusively for the reconstruction of our country.”The Ukrainian leader also commented on news that Russia had deployed its latest nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system to Belarus. “This poses a threat to many European countries, including Poland, Germany, and others,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine had shared information about the Oreshnik with Western countries.He said that Ukraine urged its allies to impose sanctions on companies that produce components used in the Oreshnik system but has not seen any results yet.
Historical wounds
The two presidents struck a conciliatory tone on the topic of the exhumation of Polish victims lying in mass graves in the Ukrainian region of Volhynia. During World War II, Polish-Ukrainian relations in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia were marked by violent interethnic conflict. Armed formations on both sides, including the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and Polish underground forces, were involved in attacks and reprisals that led to large-scale civilian casualties among both Poles and Ukrainians. The historical tragedy has been a major source of tension between the two countries. Polish authorities estimate tens of thousands of Poles were murdered. In January, Poland and Ukraine reached an agreement under which Ukraine will allow the exhumation of some Polish victims, which was considered a major breakthrough. Exhumations have already taken place this year in the village of Puzhnyky in Ukraine’s western Ternopil region, uncovering the remains of at least 42 people believed to be victims of the Volhynia massacres, and at Lviv-Zboiska. Further permissions were granted by both sides for exhumations at other locations. Nawrocki, however, asked for more concessions from Ukraine. Representatives of Ukrainian and Polish institutions dealing with historical memory met on Friday alongside the presidents.“The Ukrainian side is ready to meet Polish expectations to accelerate work on this matter,” Zelensky said. “We respect the Polish perspective on the history of our nations. We honor your memory of what happened and expect the same respect for our Ukrainian memory.”

Putin says Moscow intent on pressing on in Ukraine
Naharnet/December 19, 2025 
Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday said the ball was in the court of the West and Kyiv in talks to end the war in Ukraine, while hailing Moscow's recent battlefield gains and threatening more. Speaking during his annual end-of-year news conference -- a staple of his 25-year rule -- Putin told Russians that Moscow was intent on pressing on in Ukraine, striking a confident tone.The 73-year-old repeatedly says that Moscow will seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian by force if talks fail. Putin said Friday he did not feel personally responsible for the tens of thousands of people killed since Moscow launched its offensive, which has become Europe's worst conflict since World War II. "We did not start this war," he said, repeating a frequent narrative pushed by Moscow throughout the conflict. "We do not consider ourselves responsible for the loss of life."
Putin ordered the all-out assault in Ukraine in February 2022, sending troops and tanks towards Kyiv. He also denied dragging out settlement talks and turning down proposals -- claiming Moscow had agreed to "some compromises" -- without elaborating. "The ball is now fully and completely on the side of our Western opponents... first of all the head of the Kyiv regime and their European sponsors," Putin said. The United States, Ukraine and Europeans have been refining a proposal first put forward by Washington last month that many saw as heeding most of Moscow's core demands for how the conflict should end.
'Our troops advancing' -
Putin said that Russia's recent advances in Ukraine should force Kyiv to agree to a deal -- that original version of which included Ukraine ceding land to Moscow. Russia and Washington are also pushing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold a presidential election, with Putin saying Russia could halt long-range strikes on voting day. Listing a string of cities and towns in eastern Ukraine now eyed by the Russian army, the Kremlin chief said he was certain Moscow would soon capture more settlements. "Our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact," Putin said. "I'm sure that before the end of this year we will still witness new success," he added. The Russian army made its biggest advance in Ukraine in a year in November, AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War showed. Speaking at the same time from an event in Cairo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned a European proposal to send a multinational force to police any potential peace deal in Ukraine as a "brazen" threat to Russia. And Putin also warned of "severe" consequences if the EU used Russia's frozen assets to fund Ukraine's recovery and defense, after Brussels failed to approve a plan to tap the funds. In another message to the West, Putin said that Russia would not attack other countries -- as long as it was treated "with respect" -- without clarifying what he meant. As he spoke, Zelensky said on a visit to Warsaw that Russia would come for Poland if Ukraine fell.
- Downplays economy woes -
The four-and-a-half-hour long televised event -- a mix of questions from the press and call-ins from Russia's 12 time zones -- is a fixture of the Russian political calendar, generating frenzied media coverage in the weeks leading up to it. The Kremlin said almost three million people had sent questions to Putin and security was heavy in Moscow during the event. Putin mused on everything from geopolitics to regional development issues to his views on love and family life, at times pledging to intervene to fix the problems of citizens caught up in local bureaucracy. He downplayed the economic costs of the war for Moscow, even as the Central Bank trimmed interest rates amid slowing growth. Russia has lived under massive Western sanctions for almost four years, while ramped up military spending has strained the public finances and caused prices to surge.

Ukraine says received 1,003 bodies from Russia
AFP/December 19, 2025
KYIV: Kyiv said on Friday that it had received from Russia more than 1,000 remains of people that Moscow said were Ukrainian soldiers killed fighting the Kremlin’s army. The exchange of prisoners of war and the remains of killed soldiers is one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between Kyiv and Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022. “Today, repatriation activities took place. 1,003 bodies, which the Russian side claims belong to Ukrainian servicemen, have been returned to Ukraine,” Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said in a statement on social media. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky confirmed an exchange between Moscow and Kyiv had taken place, writing on Telegram that the Russian side had received the remains of 26 killed Russian soldiers. Medinsky said the exchange was made possible as part of agreements struck between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul earlier this year. Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since Russia invaded, though neither side regularly publishes data on their own casualties.

Putin tells his annual news conference that the Kremlin’s military goals will be achieved in Ukraine
AP/December 19, 2025
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin emphasized Friday that Moscow’s troops were advancing across the battlefield in Ukraine and voiced confidence the Kremlin would achieve its goals militarily if Kyiv doesn’t agree to Russia’s conditions in peace talks. Speaking at his tightly orchestrated annual news conference that lasted over four hours, Putin declared that Russian forces have “fully seized strategic initiative” and would make more gains by year’s end. In the early days of the conflict in 2022, Ukraine’s forces thwarted an attempt by Russia’s larger, better-equipped army, to capture the capital of Kyiv. But the fighting soon settled into grinding battles, and Moscow’s troops have made slow and steady progress over the years. Putin frequently touts this progress — even though it’s not the lightning advance many expected. “Our troops are advancing all across the line of contact, faster in some areas or slower in some others, but the enemy is retreating in all sectors,” Putin said at the live news conference, which is combined with a nationwide call-in show that offers Russians across the country the opportunity to ask questions of their leader. Putin, 73, has ruled the country for 25 years and uses the event to cement his power and air his views on domestic and global affairs. This year, the news conference took place against the backdrop of a peace plan in Ukraine put forward by US President Donald Trump. Despite the extensive diplomatic push, Washington’s efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv. While the event has previously focused heavily on domestic questions — and has offered Putin a chance to expound on topics from the price of eggs to water cuts — Ukraine dominated it this year. Since it is highly choreographed, that could reflect the Kremlin’s desire to assuage the public after nearly four years of fighting.
Russian demands remain unchanged
Putin reaffirmed that Moscow was ready for a peaceful settlement that would address the “root causes” of the conflict, a reference to the Kremlin’s tough conditions for a deal. The Russian leader wants all the areas in four key regions captured by his forces, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He has also insisted that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow’s forces haven’t captured yet. Kyiv has publicly rejected all these demands. The Kremlin has also insisted that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO and warned that it wouldn’t accept the deployment of any troops from members of the military alliance members and would view them as “legitimate target.”Putin also has repeatedly said Ukraine must limit the size of its army and give official status to the Russian language — demands he has made from the outset of the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed readiness to drop Ukraine’s bid to join NATO if the US and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees similar to those offered to alliance members. But at the same time, he has emphasized that Ukraine believes NATO membership remains the best security guarantee. ″The United States don’t see us in NATO, for now,” Zelensky said this week. “Politicians change.”Putin rebuffed Western claims about purported Russian plans to attack European nations as “sheer nonsense” aimed at deflecting public attention from domestic problems.
He particularly singled out NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte for his statements about the Kremlin’s aggressive intentions, pointing out Trump’s recently published national security strategy that doesn’t name Russia as a direct adversary. “How can you prepare NATO for a war with Russia if the main member of NATO doesn’t consider us as an enemy?” Putin said. He alleged that European elites “impudently” backed Trump’s Democratic rival Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and now hope the US political landscape will change after the midterm elections to Congress, helping raise pressure on the White House.
Putin warns any seizure of Russian assets will backfire
As it faces grinding Russian advances across the front line and relentless attacks on its energy facilities, Ukraine is on the verge of bankruptcy — and it desperately needs more cash from its Western allies. On Friday, European Union leaders agreed to provide a massive interest-free loan, but they failed to bridge differences with Belgium that would have allowed them to use frozen Russian assets to raise the funds. The leaders tried to reassure Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are held, that they would protect it from any retaliation from Moscow if it backed the plan, but the leaders eventually opted to borrow the money on capital markets. Putin said using Russian assets to help Kyiv would have amounted to “robbery,” adding that the move would have spooked investors, “dealing not only an image blow but undermining confidence in the eurozone.”
Putin says troop numbers are strong
Putin told the audience the flow of volunteer soldiers has remained strong, topping 400,000 this year. It was not possible to independently verify that claim since little is known about the recruitment effort. But the government offers relatively high pay and extensive benefits that have helped swell troop ranks. The Kremlin says that it exclusively relies on volunteers to fight in Ukraine, but some media reports and rights groups have said that military officers often coerce conscripts into signing military contracts. Asked by a soldier’s widow about the slowness in paying out a pension, Putin apologized and vowed that the issue would be quickly solved — an exchange typical of the annual event, which the Russian leader often uses to show his command of a wide array of subjects and his ability to solve problems. The news conference featured questions from journalists in the Gostinny Dvor amphitheater as well as via video link from across the country. One young man in a red bow tie who held a placard saying he wanted to get married used his question to Putin to propose to his girlfriend.

Ukraine evacuates horses amid menacing Russia strikes
AFP/December 19, 2025
NOVOMYKOLAIVKA: With a generous handful of hay and some firm nudges, stud farm workers in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region coax a bay horse onto a lorry that will evacuate the animal to safety. The danger for the stud farm has been creeping closer for months, with Russia pounding the region with air strikes that kill civilians and pose a mortal threat for the animals. The state-owned stud farm currently houses 130 horses, some of which had already been evacuated from elsewhere in Zaporizhzhia or from the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine’s central east.
“We are currently transferring the horses at this stud farm to other stud farms in Ukraine,” director of the state-owned enterprise “Horse Breeding of Ukraine” Vitaliy Brovko told AFP. At the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, the farm’s stables were hit with a missile, leaving one horse wounded and others traumatized. “They didn’t go into the stables for two weeks, and day and night, they ran to the stables, turned around and ran back,” Mykhailo Sych, a branch director at the “Horse Breeding of Ukraine” told AFP. The threat has been looming ever since. “There have been cases where horses had miscarriages from stress,” the horse farm worker Oleksandr Konyakhin told AFP. “Now there are no strikes, only explosions can be heard, and the horses have gradually gotten used to it,” Konyakhin added. Animals have suffered along with people throughout the almost four-year war, with Russian strikes hitting stables and zoos. In October, a Russian drone attack sparked a fire on a farm in Ukraine’s northeast. The blaze killed some 13,000 pigs. A month prior, seven horses were killed in the Kyiv region during a large-scale Russian attack which hit an equestrian club. “Ukrainian animals have once again become targets of Russian missiles and drones,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said on X condemning the attack in September. “The world cannot stand aside while a terrorist state takes lives — human or animal — every single day,” it said. Zoos across Ukraine have been damaged throughout the war, with one attack killing a ram in the Odesa zoo in June. In the Zaporizhzhia stud farm, the evacuations continued, with over a dozen transports already carried out. “If the situation worsens, we will evacuate the entire stud farm,” Vitaliy Brovko said.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 18-19/2025
What is the true meaning of Christmas?
gotQuestions.org/December 19/2025
https://www.gotquestions.org/Christmas-true-meaning.html
The true meaning of Christmas is love. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love. The real Christmas story is the story of God’s becoming a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Savior! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself (1 John 4:8). Why do we celebrate Christmas each year? Out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by giving each other gifts, worshiping Him, and being especially conscious of the poor and less fortunate.
The true meaning of Christmas is love. God loved His own and provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. "But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Washington's Dangerous Courtship with Bangladesh's Islamist Bloc
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury/Gatestone Institute/December 19, 2025
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22129/us-bangladesh-islamists
Instead of reinforcing the country's fragile democratic foundations or supporting groups resisting extremism, US officials have embarked on a sweeping outreach campaign to Bangladesh's most powerful Islamist movements -- groups long tied to violence, sectarian hatred, and the darkest chapters of the nation's past. The result is an emerging strategic catastrophe: the legitimization of a coalition that once presided over genocide and now seeks to impose a Taliban-style political order on the world's fourth-largest Muslim-majority nation.
With Islamists and their partners dominating the polls, these meetings amount to quiet recognition of a looming Islamist ascendancy.
US officials also met repeatedly with the hardline party Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), which openly vows to enforce sharia law nationwide and says it admires the Taliban model.
Bangladeshi media report that in 2025 alone, diplomats from at least 35 nations - from the US and UK to China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Japan, and EU states - have sought meetings with Jamaat. Even the group's student wing is reportedly being introduced to Western delegations.
The Yunus-led interim administration has since allowed extremist actors to regain legitimacy while presiding over intensifying attacks on Hindus, Christians, political opponents, and independent journalists.
Bangladesh is being pushed toward a destiny shaped not by democratic consensus, but by militant pressure.
Washington's belief that Jamaat-e-Islami or its Islamist allies can evolve into "responsible stakeholders" mirrors the same strategic delusions that once empowered the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Islamist factions from Yemen to Tunisia.
The question is no longer whether Bangladesh's future is at risk, but whether Western policymakers are willing to recognize the disaster they are helping to create before it is irreversible.
Instead of reinforcing the country's fragile democratic foundations or supporting groups resisting extremism, US officials have embarked on a sweeping outreach campaign to Bangladesh's most powerful Islamist movements -- groups long tied to violence, sectarian hatred, and the darkest chapters of the nation's past. This month, an elderly Hindu couple in Bangladesh were murdered in their home, their throats slit. This week, an Islamist group targeted offices of India's High Commission in Bangladesh, causing India to suspend visa services there.
Bangladesh is standing at the edge of a historic transformation, and, sadly, Washington is taking a perilous gamble.
Instead of reinforcing the country's fragile democratic foundations or supporting groups resisting extremism, US officials have embarked on a sweeping outreach campaign to Bangladesh's most powerful Islamist movements -- groups long tied to violence, sectarian hatred, and the darkest chapters of the nation's past. The result is an emerging strategic catastrophe: the legitimization of a coalition that once presided over genocide and now seeks to impose a Taliban-style political order on the world's fourth-largest Muslim-majority nation.
In recent months, US diplomats in Dhaka and visiting delegations from Washington have dramatically intensified their engagement with Bangladesh's Islamist forces, most prominently the Jamaat-e-Islami. In early 2025, US Embassy officials traveled to Sylhet to meet local Jamaat leaders -- a party directly implicated in mass murders, systematic rape, and repression during the 1971 Liberation War.
This Sylhet visit, not an isolated incident, appears part of a sustained pattern of US interactions with Jamaat and its affiliates as Bangladesh approaches elections in February 2026 -- the first since the 2024 uprising that toppled the government that was headed by the Awami League.
With Islamists and their partners dominating the polls, these meetings amount to quiet recognition of a looming Islamist ascendancy.
Jamaat's long record leaves little room for doubt about its intentions. Its diaspora networks have supported extremist causes for decades; its senior leadership has publicly championed anti-Hindu, anti-Christian, and anti-Jewish rhetoric; and its notorious student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, was once ranked by Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre as the world's third-most violent non-state armed group. Human rights reports from Australia and Canada have documented Jamaat-linked murders, petrol bombings, and sweeping attacks on Hindu neighborhoods.
Yet US engagement continues -- and is growing.
Throughout 2025, former ambassadors, senior US officials, and representatives of publicly-funded American institutions such as the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) held repeated meetings with Jamaat leaders.
The involvement of the IRI and NDI -- two vehicles of the US political establishment -- marks a deeper policy continuity. For nearly two decades, these institutions have facilitated Western engagement with Islamist movements across the Middle East, North Africa, and now South Asia.
In March, a US delegation sat down with Jamaat's top brass at its headquarters. By June, the US Embassy had invited a formal Jamaat delegation for discussions on "internal democracy" and "minority rights" -- language astonishingly at odds with the group's ideological DNA.
In July, Tracey Ann Jacobson the US chargé d'affaires in Dhaka, paid a high-profile visit to Jamaat's leader, Shafiqur Rahman, a man who has called Jews "the enemy of humanity" and hailed Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar as a "hero". Months later, Rahman received a US visa to meet American Jamaat networks and reportedly engaged with both governmental and non-governmental actors across the United States.
US diplomats have not limited their attention to Jamaat. US officials also met repeatedly with the hardline party Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), which openly vows to enforce sharia law nationwide and says it admires the Taliban model. A coalition between Jamaat and IAB -- increasingly likely under the caretaker government -- would cement the Islamists' grip on the political order.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), itself long aligned with Jamaat, has participated in dialogues with American officials in London and Washington, while BNP-Jamaat lobbying expenditures in the US run into the millions.
From the early years of the "Arab Spring" to the rise of the 2012-13 Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt and the empowerment of Al-Islah in Yemen, Washington's faith in "moderating" Islamists has produced a trail of destabilized societies, collapsing pro-Western partners, and has emboldened extremist networks. IRI staff have met Jamaat, BNP and IAB figures multiple times throughout 2025, including joint meetings with NDI personnel. These efforts coincide with the interim regime of Muhammad Yunus – a government openly favoring Islamist inclusion - and its attempts to cultivate Republican-aligned American institutions for international legitimacy.
A global race to court Jamaat
American overtures are part of a wider international scramble. Bangladeshi media report that in 2025 alone, diplomats from at least 35 nations - from the US and UK to China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Japan, and EU states - have sought meetings with Jamaat. Even the group's student wing is reportedly being introduced to Western delegations. The message from foreign capitals appears clear: Jamaat may soon govern Bangladesh, and preparing for that eventuality has become a diplomatic priority.
An interim administration that enables extremism
The collapse of the Awami League government in 2024, after Jamaat-backed protests, opened the door for Islamist normalization. The Yunus-led interim administration has since allowed extremist actors to regain legitimacy while presiding over intensifying attacks on Hindus, Christians, political opponents, and independent journalists. In August 2024, a report released by the United Nations, stated that BNP and "some members, supporters and local leaders" of Jamaat-e-Islami were found to have committed a series of violent attacks against political opponents as well as "members of the Hindu community".
UN reports continue to log rising Islamist violence, including BNP–Jamaat-linked assaults on minorities.
Bangladesh is being pushed toward a destiny shaped not by democratic consensus, but by militant pressure.
Washington's belief that Jamaat-e-Islami or its Islamist allies can evolve into "responsible stakeholders" mirrors the same strategic delusions that once empowered the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Islamist factions from Yemen to Tunisia. The results of those experiments -- repression, sectarianism, and regional instability -- are now well documented, yet the United States appears ready to repeat history in Bangladesh, a country of 180 million people perched between South Asia's nuclear-armed rivals.
By legitimizing a theocratic alliance with a record steeped in blood, the US is not moderating Islamists; it is emboldening them. The question is no longer whether Bangladesh's future is at risk, but whether Western policymakers are willing to recognize the disaster they are helping to create before it is irreversible.
**Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is an award-winning journalist, writer, and editor of the newspaper Blitz. He specializes in counterterrorism and regional geopolitics. Follow him on X: @Salah_Shoaib
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Europe is sleepwalking into the Muslim Brotherhood’s long game
Eran M. Teboul/The Jerusalem Post/December 18, 2025
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-880533
The Muslim Brotherhood’s long-term strategy exploits democracy itself, and Europe is still refusing to confront the threat.
The late Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the leading intellectuals of the Muslim Brotherhood, said this in Doha, Qatar, in 2007: “Islam will conquer Europe without resorting to the sword or fighting. The conquest will be through da’wah and ideology”. True believers in his book, “have to spread Islam to the best of their ability, multiply their numbers”. This prophecy was a calculated evaluation of the structure of European countries. Qaradawi understood their vulnerabilities and how they can be exploited. He advocated Da’wah, which comprises education, charity, and social aid, meant to bring others closer to Islam; Ideology, promulgated through religious and political institutions, and echoed through media platforms; and Fertility, based on the shrinking birthrate among European Christians, compared with larger Muslim families.
A Triangle of Conquest.
Qaradawi was an archetypal member of the Muslim Brotherhood: he was twice offered the global leadership but turned it down. He was shrewd enough about deniability that he repeatedly claimed not to be a member. He also shared the Brotherhood’s Palestinian Achilles’ heel, in that his caution deserted him on that subject, and he made extreme statements that left him banned from visiting Britain or France. The gradualist approach had served Qaradawi’s successors well until November 24, when Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Designation of certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.”Thus began a process that may lead initially to the proscription of the Brotherhood’s affiliates in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. This is not an outright ban on the Brotherhood in America, but nor is it likely to remain confined to just three branches.
When the Egyptian and Emirati authorities, for example, warned Western officials over the past thirty years or more of the Brotherhood danger that was incubating in London and elsewhere, they were told there was no evidence to support their claim.
If you don’t look for evidence, you often won’t find it. The US will now be looking hard and is likely to develop information that sharpens existing concerns and leads to an expansion of what is currently envisaged under the Executive Order.
It is not just the White House that is engaged. Ted Cruz already introduced draft legislation in Congress in July, advocating more sweeping action against the Brotherhood, and that is now under active legislative consideration.Another Texan, Governor Greg Abbott, has gone after the Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations at the state level, then written to Treasury Secretary Bessent to follow up at the federal level. The Republicans have got their teeth into this issue.
Muslim Brotherhood is more entrenched in Europe
Europe, however, is another matter.
The Brotherhood is more entrenched there, and European governments lack the authority and audacity that characterize the Trump administration and the like-minded majorities in Congress and on the Supreme Court. Europe fits Qaradawi’s prophecy closely. The basic freedoms and rights given by European democracies are the enabler – the path – for Qaradawi’s conquest to take place. Freedom of speech appears to allow endless, vexatious, and intimidatory protests against Israel. Freedom of religion is exploited to permit hate preaching, which, even when it is highlighted, seems too hot a potato for the police and courts to handle. Freedom of the press allows for the propagation of conducive messaging, made much more effective by Turkish influence, Qatari money, and ubiquitous penetration by Al Jazeera of the Western media sector. Freedom of association is exploited by charities and political action groups, whilst the right to privacy offers a firewall for activities hostile to the host nation
Then there is the freedom to vote, with more and more candidates and policymakers, either Islamists or reliant on Islamist endorsement to win elections. The Brotherhood has no problem with elections that lead to power, but has famously been accused of favouring “one man, one vote, one time” when it comes to being removed from office. They deny this, but their fundamental argument that God’s authority overrides any human constitution or mandate conclusively points that way. Liberal principles for protecting minorities, celebrating multiculturalism, and rejecting racism have all contributed to creating conditions that some Islamists explicitly say can lead to the conquest of Europe. Or reconquest, as Islamists have never forgotten that the Caliphate once included large swathes of southern Europe. But why not start at home? Qaradawi was imprisoned four times before having to leave Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood is proscribed as a terrorist organization in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and, most recently, in Jordan in April. Its members were either arrested or deported. This is easier to enforce in autocratic regimes, lacking the rights and privileges enjoyed in democracies, but our failure to listen to friendly Arab warnings could cost us. Austria is the only European country to ban the Brotherhood, and this has not led to any catastrophic breach in community relations. It is Muslims who suffer most from Islamist bullying, which usurps their voices and stifles their freedoms.
Britain has recently proscribed Palestine Action, and Germany has moved against Muslim Interaktiv. It is hoped that Trump’s new policy galvanizes the debate across the Atlantic, and a cascade of European states will now take legal steps against this menace. The Muslim Brotherhood has enjoyed the tightrope walk between being a political actor and posing a clear security threat. Developments in the US suggest that it is no longer sustainable. Germany is likely to act soon, as it has proved through policy and law enforcement that radical Islamism will not be tolerated, especially since October 7, 2023. Britain and France have not made up their minds, but stand at a political crossroads. They and all other Western nations must get serious about addressing this threat before it is too late. Eran M. Teboul is the CEO and co-founder of Hetz for Israel. Eran is an expert on national security and on forming global partnerships. His work with governments and security agencies resulted in policy and counterterrorism outcomes across Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Edmund Fitton-Brown is a veteran British diplomat who served at numerous postings in the Middle East, culminating as the UK’s ambassador to Yemen from 2015 to 2017 and later coordinated UN expert panels on counterterrorism. He is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
**Eran M. Teboul is the CEO and co-founder of Hetz for Israel. Eran is an expert on national security and on forming global partnerships. His work with governments and security agencies resulted in policy and counterterrorism outcomes across Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

Normalization with Saudi Arabia cannot begin while Mecca broadcasts antisemitic hate
Jerusalem Post/Editorial/December 19/2025
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-880721
In a weekly sermon delivered at Mecca two days before the Bondi Beach terror attack the preacher called on God to punish the Jews and portrayed Israel as a cruel “Zionist enemy."
Saudi Arabia cannot ask the world to treat it as a partner for peace while a sermon broadcast from Mecca vilifies Jews and sanctifies their enemies. Normalization is not a trophy but a test. If it is meant to change the Middle East, it must also change the global community.
In an op-ed published this week, Dr. Edy Cohen, an expert in the Arab world, described the weekly sermon delivered from Islam’s holiest site two days before the antisemitic terrorist attack in Sydney. The preacher, Sheikh Salih bin Abdullah bin Humaid, called on God to punish the Jews and portrayed Israel as a cruel “Zionist enemy,” while praising the Palestinian struggle. Regardless of any operational connection, sermons such as these provide moral justification. They tell millions of listeners that hostility to Jews is not prejudice; it is righteousness. They intentionally blur the distinction between anti-Israel rhetoric and anti-Jewish hatred, and their impact extends far beyond the Gulf region.
Such rhetoric matters now because normalization with Saudi Arabia is again being discussed in strategic circles, often as if it is a transactional mega-deal. Public reporting and US policy discussions have described a package that could include US security guarantees, advanced weapons, and civilian nuclear cooperation in exchange for Riyadh establishing ties with Israel. If that is the framework, then antisemitic incitement is not a side issue; it is a threat multiplier.
MBS speaks the language of reform but consolidates power through repression
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) likes to speak the language of reform. In 2017, he told Reuters he wanted “moderate Islam” and vowed to eradicate extremism. Yet he has also consolidated power through repression, including waves of detentions of prominent clerics and public figures. In Saudi Arabia, religion is not separate from the state; it is administered. That is why it isn’t easy to accept the claim that a Mecca sermon is mere freelancing. Saudi authorities have long regulated mosque preaching, including requiring imams to commit to not using Friday sermons for making inflammatory remarks – and to dismissing preachers who cross official redlines.
In 2023, the Saudi cabinet established a body linked to the king to supervise the imams and religious affairs of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. In other words, what is said from those pulpits should be treated as state-signaled messaging, not a rogue flourish.
MBS’s own words on normalization underline the point. In September 2023, he told Fox News: “Every day we get closer,” while stressing that “the Palestinian issue is very important.” In September 2024, he publicly declared that Saudi Arabia would not recognize Israel without an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital. Riyadh is not offering peace for free. Israel should not be asked to accept hate for free. Israel should want peace with Riyadh. A serious relationship could help deter Iran, deepen regional cooperation, and open doors that have been closed for decades. Nevertheless, The Jerusalem Post has repeatedly said normalization should not be at any cost, especially not at the expense of Jewish dignity and safety. We argued that explicitly in our September 26, 2023, editorial: “Netanyahu must not let his coalition interfere with Saudi normalization,” and in a later editorial: “Normalization with Saudi Arabia is not at any cost.”So, what must be nonnegotiable? Saudi Arabia must first end official, or state-tolerated, antisemitic incitement, especially from platforms tied to the holy sites. This entails establishing unambiguous guidelines, enforcing them, and publicly denouncing any instances of transgression.
Second, any normalization track should include measurable benchmarks on education and religious discourse. Saudi Arabia has shown it can revise textbooks when it chooses to, and researchers have documented the removal of some classic anti-Jewish tropes and modern antisemitic conspiracies from Saudi curricula. That progress makes a Mecca sermon that curses Jews more baffling. Third, the US should use its leverage honestly. If defense guarantees, advanced aircraft, and nuclear cooperation are on the table, then so is a demand for the basic dignity and safety of Jews in Israel and the Diaspora.
Normalization can still occur and remain historical. But if the price is to normalize the idea that Jews may be cursed from the world’s most revered pulpit, while diplomats applaud “progress,” then the deal is not peace; it is a mirage, and it will not protect anyone.

Middle Israel: An open letter to Australian PM Albanese, after Bondi Beach shooting - opinion
Amotz ASA-El/Jerusalem Post/December 19/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/150341/
Now, as you stare at 15 bodies in your own living room, it’s not too late for you to change course, and tell your people six words – Australia is at war, with jihadism.
Following this week’s Hanukkah massacre in the land you rule, you must assume this Israeli, like millions of Jews worldwide, has written you off. He hasn’t. In fact, like millions of other Jews, he has some good things to say about you.
First, you had a tough childhood, having been raised by a single mother who worked as a cleaner and didn’t tell you that the man who fathered you was actually alive. Despite this unfair starting point, you became the prime minister of a continent. We Jews respect this kind of self-made career, part of a heritage of social mobility that harks back to antiquity.Yet, our subject right now is not your background, but your record, and on that front, too, two things should be said in your favor.
Albanese's record in combating antisemitism
First, when you learned that Iran had masterminded attacks on a synagogue in Melbourne and a kosher restaurant in Sydney, you confronted the ayatollahs. Calling a spade a spade, you expelled the Iranian ambassador. If all victims of Iranian subversion had taken similar actions, the world would be a safer place.
Second, you backed the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Jewish state. That is what this Israeli has been advocating for decades, along with millions of my countrymen who voted over the years for Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Ehud Olmert. Like you, we think such a settlement is just, practical, and urgent.
Even so, over the past two years, you lost us.
The bodies of the victims of Hamas’s massacre were still unburied when a multitude emerged in Sydney’s most iconic location, and there, in front of cameras and microphones, so the whole world would hear, waved fists and shouted, “Gas the Jews.”We Jews are born with sensors that make us hear such delirium from afar, and grasp its warning even in languages we don’t know. And English we do know. As someone whose four grandparents were gassed in Auschwitz, take it from me: These people were out to kill us.
Some Australians were trying to explain this to you, but you were unimpressed. No arrests were made, and no leaders were called to task, let alone tried and jailed. Effectively unanswered by you, the Sydney Opera House rally signaled the beginning of an antisemitic nightmare that culminated in what you now face.It was an attitude, an affinity for the perceived weak, underscored by your foreign minister’s refusal during a visit to Israel to visit Kibbutz Be’eri, and the family of the Hamas massacre’s Australian victim. Underlying all this was your government’s delusion that what happened on October 7 was essentially a clash between moral equals, and that its antagonists’ conflict was distant from Australia’s shores. They weren’t equal, and it wasn’t distant.
As events on your own streets made plain, the conflict was not about nationalism, as your actions suggested, but about jihadism. That’s what demonstrators on your soil meant when they shouted “Muhammad’s army will return,” and that’s what “globalize the intifada” and “from the river to the sea” mean. It’s certainly what Hamas meant when it ordered babies beheaded and women raped.
And the jihadists knew you a lot better than you knew them. They knew they could use you and your colleagues as useful idiots. They are progressives, they said of you, we will tell them Israel is fighting innocent freedom seekers, victims of colonialism, imperialism, apartheid, genocide, misogyny, homophobia, global warming – you name it, they’ll buy it. And buy it they did.
The people who – in front of your eyes – were targeting our children, and did so from behind their own children, deliberately, as a strategy, were actually accusing us of doing what they themselves were doing, and you never called their lie.
Listen well, Anthony: that’s how it started in Europe. Antisemites marched in the streets, synagogues were torched, and Jews were shamed, boycotted, and accused. The accusations were absurd, but the free world refused to fight for its values – not politically, certainly not militarily, not even rhetorically.
It all happened in broad daylight, but the free world did nothing – not because it agreed with the antisemites, but because it refused to believe it had an enemy, an enemy that would settle for nothing less than war, the war over the free world’s life.
Freedom’s enemies knew this, and that calculation is what made them use the Jews as their Armageddon warm-up act. Targeting the Jews, they knew, would keep the free world sedated while its enemies consolidated their power and prepared for the real war, the apocalypse they were determined to unleash.
That is jihadism’s current ploy. That is how you became its hostage, and your country its stage. And that is the enemy you must now help unmask, target, and defeat.
There are, of course, many differences between what happened in my grandparents’ Europe and what happened between your Australia and our war. The biggest difference is that this time the Jews are fighting back. That is why the mobs you faced were not out to change any Israeli policy, as your actions implied, but to deny us Israelis’ right to fight. On the battlefield, they told themselves, Israel defeats us, but with Australians like you, we might defeat them from the rear.
Now, as you stare at 15 bodies in your own living room, it’s not too late for you to change course, and tell your people six words – Australia is at war, with jihadism – and the rest of civilization another six words: we are all in this together.
In between these statements, you can say two words to us Israelis, especially to those of us who have spent a lifetime fighting for peace: forgive me.
www.MiddleIsrael.net
**The writer, a Hartman Institute fellow, is the author of Ha’Sfar Ha’Yehudi Ha’Aharon (The Last Jewish Frontier, Yediot Sefarim 2025), a sequel to Theodor Herzl’s The Old New Land.
 

Selected Face Book & X tweets for /December 19, 2025