English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  December 23/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 08/12-20: “‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgement is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.’Then they said to him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 22-23/2025
Fear of Saying “Merry Christmas” is a Shame Upon the Peoples, Institutions, and Nations of the Modern West/Elias Bejjani/December 24/2025
Israeli strike on vehicle near Sidon in Lebanon kills 3
Netanyahu seeks to get green light from Trump for Lebanon op, report says
Aoun says Lebanese Army is 'backbone of stability' in 'entire regionBanks Association strongly objects to long-awaited banking law draft
Banks Association strongly objects to long-awaited banking law draft
Depositors protest ahead of Baabda cabinet session
Hezbollah won't hand over 'single bullet' north of Litani, report says
Hezbollah says no longer present in South Litani, Haykal to declare it in January
Italy wants military to stay in Lebanon after peacekeepers leave
Geagea to Qassem: Ceasefire deal stipulates Hezbollah disarm across all Lebanon
How growing public support to disarm Hezbollah is forcing a reckoning in Lebanon

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 22-23/2025
Iran says missile program defensive, non-negotiable
Iran holds missile drills in various cities, state media say
Syrian forces seize SAM-7 anti-aircraft missiles from smugglers
Syrian government and SDF agree to de-escalate after Aleppo violence
Germany charges ex-Syrian agent with dozens of murders
Netanyahu says he’ll discuss Iran, next phase of Gaza plan with Trump
Netanyahu vows independence of commission of inquiry into Oct 7
Israeli military ‘examining’ killing of Palestinian teen
Jordanian field hospital in southern Gaza carries out complex procedure on Palestinian patient
Demolition ‘is a tragedy for all Palestinians’
Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access
Palestinian president affirms readiness to work on Trump’s peace plan
NGOs fear ‘catastrophic impact’ of new Israel registration rules
Turkiye expects second phase of Gaza ceasefire to start early 2026
Bondi Beach shooting suspect conducted firearms training with his father, Australian police say
Trump warns Maduro against playing ‘tough’ as US escalates pressure campaign on Venezuela
US signs new health deals with 9 African countries that mirror Trump’s priorities
Is the United States after Venezuela’s oil?

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 22-23/2025
Pakistan in Gaza: Jihad on Steroids/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute./December 22, 2025
Is crypto an opportunity or a threat?/Jean Tirole/Arab News/December 22, 2025
A year many in the Middle East will want to forget/Chris Doyle/Arab News/December 22, 2025
Clock is ticking on the next Palestinian genocide/Dr. Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/December 22, 2025
Selected Face Book & X tweets for /December 22, 2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 22-23/2025
Fear of Saying “Merry Christmas” is a Shame Upon the Peoples, Institutions, and Nations of the Modern West
Elias Bejjani/December 24/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/150449/
Remaining silent about saying “Merry Christmas” on the anniversary of the Nativity of the Incarnate Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and replacing it with “Season’s Greetings,” is no longer a mere social courtesy. Instead, it has become a malicious, undeclared policy, cultural submission, and a public concession by many Western nations and institutions that claim secularism and courage. In reality, fueled by cowardice, ignorance, and a lack of faith, they practice a form of “Dhimmitude” and deception under the guise of “neutrality.”
What is happening today in secular Western countries is not spontaneous. It is a political decision disguised to empty public opinion of the Name of Christ, to domesticate Christianity, and to turn it into a silent heritage that is forbidden from speaking Christ’s Name or naming Christian feasts openly and without complexes.
What we witness with anger and sorrow is the majority of Western nations disowning their roots—the values, civilization, progress, peace, and coexistence that grew from and with Christianity. They intentionally blind themselves to this history, erasing the mention of Christ Himself. In a cowardly duality, they desire the Christmas holiday while denying the Feast itself; they want the decorations but disown His Name; they want the traditions and the joy, yet they falsify the truth.
This duality regarding Christmas is absolute political hypocrisy and a deep-seated hostility toward Christian values, teachings, and symbols. Certainly, Christian teachings stand against the “fearful state.” What these practitioners of dhimmitude fail to realize is that the Holy Gospel does not know the language of “general greetings,” nor does it recognize the gray, lukewarm, and evasive discourse imposed by governments, corporations, and educational institutions.
In this clear, courageous, and direct context, we highlight the following Gospel verses:
“Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37)
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
“For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory.” (Luke 9:26)
What we say and believe regarding the absence of the phrase “Merry Christmas” is not just an opinion, but a direct condemnation. The shame Christians feel toward Christ in the public sphere is not “smart policy”; it is spiritual betrayal, ignorance, and a lack of faith. Christianity is not a timid minority, nor is it a guest in the West; it is the force that built its language, civilization, laws, calendar, and ethics.
Treating Christianity as a potential threat is not progress, but civilizational suicide. Therefore, saying “Merry Christmas” is not just a greeting; it is an act of faith, a testimony to the Truth and history, and a moral and political resistance against evil, the misguided, and those institutions that fear the Truth. It is a stand against a distorted discourse that wants a Christianity without Christ.
We call upon Christians, rulers, and institutions in the West to name Christian feasts by their proper names without shame. They should do so just as they interact with all other religions that name their feasts with pride and without restriction:
The Muslim says: “Ramadan Mubarak” “Adha Mubarak.”etc
The Jew says: “Happy Hanukkah” and names all his feasts.
The Hindu says: “Happy Diwali” and names all his feasts.
This is the case for all other faiths, and no one in the West asks them to change their names or apologize for them.
In summary, The fear of saying “Merry Christmas” is a disgrace to a West wrapped in a secularism that is supposed to respect religions. It is shameful that this phrase has become a source of fear in countries that claim freedom and pluralism. Ultimately, these are two simple words that carry no weapons or threats, yet they are avoided and replaced by meaningless phrases like “Season’s Greetings.” This cowardly concealment is not respect for others; it is fear and a lack of faith.
In conclusion, our duty is to reject humiliation and compromise, and to say with absolute freedom: Merry Christmas.
*The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: https://eliasbejjaninews.com

Israeli strike on vehicle near Sidon in Lebanon kills 3
Reuters/December 22, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese state media reported three people killed in an air strike near Sidon that Israel said had targeted Hezbollah operatives on Monday, days ahead of a deadline for Lebanon’s army to disarm the group near the border. Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group, which it accuses of rearming. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Monday’s strike on a vehicle was carried out by an Israeli drone around 10 kilometers from the southern coastal city of Sidon and “killed three people who were inside.”An Israeli military statement said the army “struck several Hezbollah terrorists in the area of Sidon.”Under heavy US pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, starting with the south. The Lebanese army plans to carry out the task south of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers from the border with Israel — by year’s end. The latest strike came after Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives on Friday took part in a meeting of the ceasefire monitoring committee for a second time, after holding their first direct talks in decades earlier this month, also under the committee’s auspices. In a meeting Monday with Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the goal of the negotiations was to “stop the hostilities, achieve Israel’s withdrawal, return prisoners held in Israel, and return southern residents to their villages.”“Lebanon awaits positive steps from the Israeli side,” Aoun added, according to a statement from his office. More than 340 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry reports.On Sunday, Israeli strikes in south Lebanon near the border killed one person and wounded another, as Israel also said it targeted Hezbollah members. Israel’s military has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas that it deems strategic.

Netanyahu seeks to get green light from Trump for Lebanon op, report says
Naharnet/December 22, 2025
Netanyahu will show U.S. President Donald Trump reports about Hezbollah's efforts to rebuild its militarily capabilities in a bid to obtain a green light to launch a military operation in Lebanon, pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper reported Monday.
The daily claimed that, based on Israeli media reports, Israel intends to divide south Lebanon to several areas where there would be a military presence in one area, alongside an economic buffer zone.

Aoun says Lebanese Army is 'backbone of stability' in 'entire region'
Naharnet/December 22, 2025
President Joseph Aoun on Monday told Italy’s visiting defense minister that the Lebanese Army is “the backbone of stability, not only in Lebanon but rather in the entire region.”He explained that the region “automatically gets affected by the security situation in Lebanon.” Accordingly, the president stressed the importance of “providing support to the army, whose missions are not only limited to the borders but rather to the whole of Lebanon.” “Any assistance offered by the Italian government to the Lebanese Army and Lebanese Armed Forces will be lauded and appreciated by the Lebanese state,” Aoun said. The president added that the choice of negotiations that Lebanon has adopted is aimed at “halting hostilities, achieving Israel’s withdrawal, releasing the Lebanese captives held in Israel and returning the southern residents to their villages and properties.”“Lebanon is awaiting positive steps from the Israeli side and we’re counting on friendly nations such as Italy to push for the success of the negotiation process and reaching positive results,” Aoun went on to say. “Lebanon is a country that loves peace and does not want war, and is rather working to preserve security, protect the border and extend state’s sovereignty,” the president said. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto for his part said that his country wants to keep its forces in the South Litani region following Israel’s withdrawal from the country by 2027, noting that “other European countries intend to take the same stance.”“This step is aimed at backing the Lebanese Army in its missions in the South, because Italy considers that the security of Lebanon, the region and the Mediterranean is achieved through enhancing the role of the Lebanese Army and security the necessary capabilities for it,” Crosetto said. He added that his country “will continue its contacts with the aim of consolidating stability in the South,” noting that “no one has an interest in the continuation of tensions in the South and Israel must realize this matter well.” Aoun for his part said that Lebanon welcomes the participation of Italy and other European countries in any force that would replace UNIFIL after it completes its withdrawal in 2027.

Banks Association strongly objects to long-awaited banking law draft
Naharnet/December 22, 2025
The Association of Banks in Lebanon has issued a statement expressing its "fundamental reservations and strong objection to the draft law presented to Cabinet concerning financial regulation and the handling of deposits, due to its provisions and procedures."ABL said the draft law’s provisions “constitute an unjustified and unacceptable infringement on the rights of banks and depositors, and lack sound legal and financial standards and established precedents for addressing banking crises in other countries."The Association emphasized that "any sound legal and financial approach to addressing the crisis, particularly concerning the so-called 'financial gap,' requires, as a prerequisite, a precise and transparent determination of the size of this gap at the Central Bank of Lebanon, based on audited and consolidated accounting data.”“It also requires a realistic financial simulation that takes into account the actual size of the losses and the true value of non-performing assets, which clearly demonstrates that the draft law leads to the write-off of banks' own funds and those next in line in the loss-bearing hierarchy stipulated in Law 23/2025, thus impacting depositors' funds," ABL warned. It argued that "the measures and solutions proposed in the draft law fail to consider the actual capacity of banks to meet their obligations to depositors." Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had on Friday published the long-awaited banking draft bill, which distributes losses from the 2019 economic crisis between banks and the state. The draft law is a key demand from the international community, which has conditioned economic aid to Lebanon on financial reforms. In a televised speech, Salam said "this draft law constitutes a roadmap to getting out of the crisis" that still grips Lebanon. The draft will be discussed by Cabinet on Monday before being sent to parliament, where it could be blocked.
The law stipulates that each of the state, the central bank, commercial banks and depositors will share the losses accrued as a result of the financial crisis. Depositors, who lost access to their funds after the crisis, will be able to retrieve their money, with a limit of $100,000, over the course of four years.
Salam said that 85 percent of depositors had less than $100,000 in their accounts. The wealthiest depositors will see the remainder of their money compensated by asset-backed securities. "I know that many of you are listening today with hearts full of anger, anger at a state that abandoned you," Salam said. "This bill may not be perfect... but it is a realistic and fair step towards restoring rights, halting the collapse."
'Banks are angry' -
The International Monetary Fund, which closely monitored the drafting of the bill, had previously insisted on the need to "restore the viability of the banking sector consistent with international standards" and protect small depositors.
"Banks are angry because the law opens the door to them sharing any part of the losses," said Sami Zougheib, researcher at The Policy Initiative, a Beirut-based think tank. He told AFP that banks would have preferred that the state bear full responsibility. The text provides for the recapitalization of failing banks, while the government's debt to the Central Bank will be converted into bonds. Salam said that the bill aims to "revive the banking sector" which had collapsed, giving free rein to a parallel economy based on cash transactions, which facilitate money laundering and illicit trade. According to government estimates, the losses resulting from the financial crisis amounted to about $70 billion, a figure that is expected to have increased over the six years that the crisis was left unaddressed. Since assuming power, Salam and President Joseph Aoun have pledged to implement the necessary reforms and legislation. In April, Lebanon's parliament adopted a bank restructuring law, as the previous legislation was believed to have allowed a flight of capital at the outbreak of the 2019 crisis. The new bill stipulates that politically exposed persons and major shareholders who transferred significant capital outside the country from 2019 onwards -- while ordinary depositors were deprived of their savings -- must return them within three months or face fines. The draft law could still be blocked by parliament even if Cabinet approves it. "Many lawmakers are directly exposed as large depositors or bank shareholders, politically allied with bank owners, and unwilling to pass a law that either angers banks or angers depositors," Zougheib said. Politicians and banking officials have repeatedly obstructed the reforms required by the international community for Lebanon to receive financial support.

Depositors protest ahead of Baabda cabinet session
Naharnet/December 22, 2025
Depositors gathered Monday on the presidential palace road, ahead of a ministerial session in Baabda that will discuss a long-awaited banking draft bill, which distributes losses from the 2019 economic crisis.The law stipulates that each of the state, the central bank, commercial banks and depositors will share the losses accrued as a result of the financial crisis. Depositors, who lost access to their funds after the crisis, will be able to retrieve their money, with a limit of $100,000, over the course of four years. The wealthiest depositors will see the remainder of their money compensated by asset-backed securities. "This bill may not be perfect... but it is a realistic and fair step towards restoring rights, halting the collapse," Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said. Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil criticized the bill saying it shows the government's inability to carry out any reform plan. "The law shows the confusion and lack of vision" of the government, he said. The draft will be sent to parliament after being discussed by Cabinet.

Hezbollah won't hand over 'single bullet' north of Litani, report says
Naharnet/December 22, 2025
Pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper said Monday that Hezbollah will not hand over a single bullet north of the Litani River. The daily said that according to sources the group intends to notify relevant parties of this decision. Hezbollah says the ceasefire with Israel does not cover areas north of the Litani. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Sunday the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel stipulates the disarmament of all armed groups "across Lebanon, not just south of the Litani."Geagea told Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem, in a statement, that the text of the ceasefire deal clearly says the disarmament should "start" south of the Litani river to later cover the entire Lebanese territory, and not that the disarmament would only cover the area south of the Litani. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Saturday that the first phase of the weapons monopolization plan south of the Litani River is "only days away from completion" and that the state will move to the second phase which will cover the areas between the Litani and Awali rivers in south Lebanon. The third phase will cover Beirut and Mount Lebanon and the fourth covers the Bekaa followed by remaining regions.

Hezbollah says no longer present in South Litani, Haykal to declare it in January
Naharnet/December 22, 2025
Hezbollah is no longer militarily present in the area south of the Litani River and monopolizing arms north of the Litani hinges on approving a national security strategy, sources close to Hezbollah told Al-Arabiya on Monday. Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal will meanwhile announce in early January the completion of the first phase of the arms monopolization plan, which is related to the South Litani region, sources told Al-Arabiya.

Italy wants military to stay in Lebanon after peacekeepers leave
AFP/December 22, 2025
ROME: Italy said Monday it intends to keep a military presence in Lebanon even after the UN peacekeeping force it belongs to leaves as planned from December 31, 2026. “Even after (the peacekeeping force) UNIFIL, Italy will continue to do its part, supporting with conviction the international presence and supporting the capacity development of the Lebanese armed forces,” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said during a visit to Lebanon, according to a statement. Asked by AFP if this meant Italy wanted to maintain a military presence in the country, a ministry spokesman confirmed that this was the case. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since 1978, remaining after Israel ended an occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000. Lebanon had wanted UNIFIL to stay. But the UN Security Council voted in August to allow only one final extension for UNIFIL after pressure from Israel and its US ally to end the mandate. UNIFIL is currently led by Italian Major General Diodato Abagnara and numbers 9,923 troops from 49 countries, according to the force’s website. Italy is the second biggest contributing country with 1,099 soldiers deployed after Indonesia which has 1,232 soldiers. Israel has hailed the termination of UNIFIL and urged the Beirut government to exert its authority after an Israeli military campaign which devastated Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. Under a truce between Israel and Hezbollah, the long-fledgling Lebanese national army has been deploying in southern Lebanon and dismantling Hezbollah’s infrastructure. “Support is needed to strengthen the Lebanese armed forces, so that they are in the best possible position to defend the country, ensuring security and respect for its borders,” Crosetto said in Monday’s statement. “We will guarantee our presence in multilateral and bilateral contexts,” he said.

Geagea to Qassem: Ceasefire deal stipulates Hezbollah disarm across all Lebanon
Naharnet/December 22, 2025
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel stipulates the disarmament of all armed groups "across Lebanon, not just south of the Litani." Geagea told Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem on Sunday that the text says the disarmament should "start" south of the Litani river to later cover the entire Lebanese territory. According to a report published Monday in pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper, Hezbollah intends to notify relevant parties that it will not hand over a single bullet north of the Litani River.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had said that the first phase of the weapons monopolization plan south of the Litani River is "only days away from completion" and that the state will move to the second phase which will cover the areas between the Litani and Awali rivers in south Lebanon. The third phase will cover Beirut and Mount Lebanon and the fourth covers the Bekaa followed by remaining regions. Hezbollah continues to resist calls to disarm, saying the ceasefire with Israel does not cover areas north of the Litani. Party officials continue to tie disarmament to Israel’s withdrawal from regions it occupies in the South.

How growing public support to disarm Hezbollah is forcing a reckoning in Lebanon
KHALED AL-KHAWALDEH/Arab News/December 22, 2025
DUBAI: Lebanon’s government recently instructed the army to prepare a plan to disarm all armed factions and restore the state’s monopoly on weapons. It was widely interpreted as a move to disarm Hezbollah.
However, despite international calls for Hezbollah to surrender what remains of its heavy arsenal, the move has triggered a political tit-for-tat that now threatens to plunge the country into a new civil war.
With Israeli airstrikes ongoing in the south and the US heaping on the pressure, President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have attempted to build public consensus around a weakened Hezbollah laying down its arms.
According to a recent Gallup poll, which surveyed a random sample of 1,010 people from across the country, excluding Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut and other cities like Baalbek, the Lebanese public is largely in favor of the moves.
Some 79 percent of respondents told Gallup they were in favor of the exclusive right of the Lebanese state to maintain arms, compared to just 19 percent who were against. Among Lebanese Shiites, who form the political base of Hezbollah, 69 percent said they were opposed to disarming non-state actors, compared to 29 percent who agreed — underlining the fragmented nature of Lebanese society and politics.
“The prolonged conflicts associated with Hezbollah’s growing influence in Lebanon and the broader region have left many Lebanese wary of further armed confrontations,” Dr. Mariam Farida, a lecturer and Middle East expert at Macquarie University, told Arab News.
“Nonetheless, despite the report indicating significant public support for Hezbollah to relinquish its arms, many Shiite residents remain hesitant.
“This support is rooted in a belief that Hezbollah’s arms serve as a necessary deterrent against external threats, particularly from Israel, and as a safeguard for their communities in the absence of a strong and capable Lebanese government.”
Since the November 2024 ceasefire, Israel has continued to bomb suspected Hezbollah positions across the country and to occupy five strategic hilltops in the south, despite its obligation to withdraw.
Farida said this was the main challenge with disarmament, which would require a confident Lebanese army to prove it was able to adequately defend Lebanon’s sovereignty. Nevertheless, she believes growing public support for the government’s disarmament moves was born from an increasing “collective desire to strengthen government institutions.”
This support is likely fueled by the multi-faceted crisis facing the country, which the International Monetary Fund characterizes as a severe, “man‑made” depression caused by years of mismanagement, corruption, weak governance, and an unsustainable economic model.
It is a notion that was echoed by Dr. Karim Bitar, lecturer in Middle East studies at Sciences Po Paris and professor at Saint Joseph University of Beirut, who says there is a growing frustration at Hezbollah’s inability to deliver tangible results for the Lebanese people.
“I think there are those that say it’s high time that Hezbollah engages in some self-criticism,” Bitar told Arab news.
“Because it went to war with Israel, without having fought corruption in Lebanon, without having built a resilient, strong, productive economy, without being able to protect people in south Lebanon and provide them places to hide from the bombings.”
Moreover, Bitar said there were growing questions of the group’s commitment to Lebanon and its security due to its assertive role in conflicts across the region and its involvement in political assassinations and corruption at home.
“The fact that Hezbollah was penetrated by Israeli intelligence adds to the grievances against the group, even from those who were initially quite supportive,” he said.
“They did not understand why Hezbollah felt compelled to go fight in Syria alongside the regime of Bashar Assad. Why so many political assassinations took place in Lebanon. Why Hezbollah used its weapons against other Lebanese.”
Bitar said the group, which initially had near-unanimous support for its fight to end Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, had over the years fallen victim to hubris, which had led to its downfall.
However, he acknowledged the important role that the group played in elevating Shiite communities, which had historically been disenfranchised.
Over the years, the group has played a significant social and civic role in Lebanon, particularly in underserved communities where state services are weak or absent.
Through its network of charities and social institutions, it runs hospitals, clinics, schools, and food assistance programs that provide healthcare, education, and basic support to thousands of families.
“The south and the Bekaa were impoverished and forgotten by central authorities, with the only exception of the Fuad Chehab presidency in the 1960s, who was the first and only president who tried to integrate these regions and offer some sort of support,” Bitar said.
“There was a very significant speech by (former Hezbollah leader) Hassan Nasrallah right after the 2006 war. He said, ‘We will never go back to the time when we were the shoe shiners,’ meaning Christian elites and Sunni elites would look down on Lebanese Shiites.”
Hezbollah has traditionally justified its need for weapons as part of a necessary “axis of resistance” to Israel, which defends Lebanon and supports the Palestinian cause.
However, many Lebanese are now critical of armed support for the Palestinian cause, with 10 percent of respondents telling Gallup they think their country should support Palestine through direct conflict with Israel, while 86 percent said it should not. Bitar said this was due in part to the lack of results from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, the destruction and displacement it wrought upon Lebanon, and to the increased internationalization of the Palestinian conflict. Many want to see their own country put first.
“Lebanon paid a very heavy price over the past decades,” Bitar said.
“Lebanon was a buffer state in international geopolitics, the country where all regional powers and international powers would settle their scores, and they realized that not only did it destroy Lebanon, but it did not in any significant way improve the lot of Palestinians. “The battle (for Palestinians) also takes place on US campuses in Manhattan, at universities in Europe to win public opinion, but also by consolidating a Lebanese economy that would really build a state that would be capable of defending itself.”Nevertheless, there are still many who see armed conflict with Israel as the only solution.In recent days, Saudi, French, and American officials held talks with the Lebanese army in Paris aimed at advancing mechanisms that would allow for the disarmament of Hezbollah. It is a controversial move that is likely to spark political backlash regardless of public support. Bitar said the Lebanese government must ensure it is able to sell the message of inclusivity and a country for all if the plan is to succeed. “There is a very thin line that should not be crossed,” he said.
“Shiites should have the impression that they will remain essential stakeholders in Lebanese politics and that if they give up their heavy arsenal, this would not mean that they will be relegated again and become second-class citizens like they were in the past.”

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 22-23/2025
Iran says missile program defensive, non-negotiable
Agence France Presse/December 22/2025
Iran insisted on Monday that its missile program was defensive in nature and designed to dissuade attack, while adding the existence of its arsenal was not up for debate. Israel had presented Iran's ballistic missiles, along with its nuclear programme, as the two main threats it sought to neutralise during the 12-day war the foes fought in June. "Iran's missile programme was developed to defend Iran's territory, not for negotiation," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press conference. "Therefore, Iran's defense capabilities, designed to deter aggressors from any thought of attacking Iran, are not a matter that could be talked about."Iran's ballistic capabilities put Israel within striking distance, and after Israel's unprecedented attacks that sparked the war in June, Tehran responded with waves of missiles and drones launched at Israeli cities. According to U.S. broadcaster NBC, Israel is growing increasingly concerned that Iran is seeking to rebuild and expand its missile production following the war, and may seek to attack it again to curtail those efforts. During a planned visit to the U.S. later this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is expected to present (President Donald) Trump with options for the US to join or assist in any new military operations", NBC reported, citing an unnamed source with direct knowledge of the plans and former U.S. officials briefed on them. Over the course of the recent war, Israel struck military sites, nuclear facilities and residential areas, killing more than 1,000 people. Israel reported more than 50 Iranian missile strikes inside its territory that killed 28 people. The U.S. briefly joined its ally in striking Iran's nuclear facilities before declaring a ceasefire. Iran once procured much of its weaponry from the United States, but following the break in diplomatic relations after its 1979 Islamic revolution, it had to develop its own domestic arms industry.

Iran holds missile drills in various cities, state media say
Reuters/December 22/2025
Iran held missile drills in various ‍cities on Monday, state media reported, citing unnamed sources and witnesses, in what was the second such reported exercise in a month. NBC News reported on Saturday that US President Donald Trump was to be briefed ⁠by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that any expansion of Iran’s ballistic missile program poses a threat that could necessitate swift action. Western powers regard Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal both as a conventional military threat to Middle East stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them. It denies any intent to build ‍atomic bombs. The Telegram channel of Iran’s public broadcaster and semi-official Nournews published videos of ‍what appeared ‍to be missile launches, without ⁠specifying the whereabouts. However, the outlets ‌said launches took place ⁠from the capital Tehran and ‍the cities of Isfahan and Mashhad. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity ⁠of the videos. State media later on Monday cited “informed sources” as denying that missiles ‌were tested and saying the circulated images were of “high-altitude aircraft.” No clarification regarding the conflicting reports was provided. NBC reported that Israeli officials are concerned that Iran is reconstituting nuclear enrichment sites the US bombed in ‍June, and were preparing to brief Trump for options on attacking the missile program again. Earlier this month, the navy of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) held a two-day exercise aimed at countering foreign threats, firing ballistic and cruise missiles at simulated targets.

Syrian forces seize SAM-7 anti-aircraft missiles from smugglers
Arab News/December 23, 2025
LONDON: Syrian security forces discovered a cache of SAM-7 anti-aircraft missiles on Monday in Al-Bukamal, a city near the border with Iraq. The Interior Ministry said the weapons, seized by the Internal Security Directorate during a raid on a house, would have been smuggled out of the country. Investigations are continuing to identify and arrest those responsible for the smuggling attempt, officials said. The ministry said it remains committed to efforts to combat smuggling and other illegal activities as part of its efforts to protect the security and stability of the nation, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported. The latest seizure comes just days after authorities intercepted what was described as a significant arms-smuggling shipment on Dec. 17 in the Damascus countryside. The weapons seized included rocket-propelled grenades destined for Lebanon. And on Dec. 20, a joint operation by security forces from the Damascus countryside and Daraa resulted in the arrest of five people accused of smuggling weapons to illegal groups in Syria, including the terrorist organization Daesh.

Syrian government and SDF agree to de-escalate after Aleppo violence
Reuters/December 23, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed to de-escalate on Monday evening in the northern city of Aleppo, after a wave of attacks that both sides blamed on each other left at least two civilians dead and several wounded.
Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing the defense ministry, said the army’s general command issued an order to stop targeting the SDF’s fire sources. The SDF said in a statement later that it had issued instructions to stop responding ‌to attacks ‌by Syrian government forces following de-escalation contacts.
HIGHLIGHTS
• SDF and Syrian government forces blame each other for Aleppo violence
• Turkiye threatens military action if SDF fails integration deadline
• Aleppo schools and offices closed on Tuesday following the violence
The Syrian health ministry ‌said ⁠two ​people ‌were killed and several were wounded in shelling by the SDF on residential neighborhoods in the city. The injuries included two children and two civil defense workers. The violence erupted hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Damascus that the SDF appeared to have no intention of honoring a commitment to integrate into the state’s armed forces by an agreed year-end deadline.
Turkiye views the US-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a ⁠terrorist organization and has warned of military action if the group does not honor the agreement.
Integrating the SDF would ‌mend Syria’s deepest remaining fracture, but failing to do ‍so risks an armed clash that ‍could derail the country’s emergence from 14 years of war and potentially draw in Turkiye, ‍which has threatened an incursion against Kurdish fighters it views as terrorists.
Both sides have accused the other of stalling and acting in bad faith. The SDF is reluctant to give up autonomy it won as the main US ally during the war, which left it with control of Daesh prisons and rich oil resources.
SANA, citing the defense ministry, reported earlier that the SDF had launched a sudden attack on security forces ⁠and the army in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods of Aleppo, resulting in injuries.
The SDF denied this and said the attack was carried out by factions affiliated with the Syrian government. It said those factions were using tanks and artillery against residential neighborhoods in the city.
The defense ministry denied the SDF’s statements, saying the army was responding to sources of fire from Kurdish forces. “We’re hearing the sounds of artillery and mortar shells, and there is a heavy army presence in most areas of Aleppo,” an eyewitness in Aleppo told Reuters earlier on Monday. Another eyewitness said the sound of strikes had been very strong and described the situation as “terrifying.”
Aleppo’s governor announced a temporary suspension of attendance in all public and private schools ‌and universities on Tuesday, as well as government offices within the city center.

Germany charges ex-Syrian agent with dozens of murders
Reuters/December 22, 2025
The accused, identified as Fahad A, is suspected of interrogating, torturing and killing inmates in Damascus prison under Bashar Assad German prosecutors have charged a suspected former member of Syrian intelligence with crimes against humanity and the torture ​and murder of dozens of prisoners held in a Damascus prison under Bashar Assad, a statement said on Monday. The accused, who was arrested in May and identified only as Fahad A. under German privacy rules, ‌was suspected ‌of working as a ‌guard ⁠in ​a prison ‌in the Syrian capital between the end of April 2011 and mid-April 2012, it said. “There, he participated in well over 100 interrogations during which prisoners were subjected to severe physical abuse, such ⁠as electric shocks or beatings with cables,” it ‌said. “On the orders of ‍his superiors, ‍the accused also abused inmates at night, ‍for example by hanging them from the ceiling, dousing them with cold water, or forcing them to remain in uncomfortable positions. ​As a result of such mistreatment and the catastrophic prison conditions, at ⁠least 70 prisoners died.” German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. Based on these laws, several people suspected of war crimes during the Syrian conflict have been arrested in the last few years in Germany, ‌which is home to around one million Syrians.

Netanyahu says he’ll discuss Iran, next phase of Gaza plan with Trump
Al Arabiya English/December 22/2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he ‍will discuss Iran’s nuclear activities during his visit next week with US President Donald Trump. Speaking at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel was aware Iran had been conducting “exercises” recently, without elaborating. Earlier on Monday, Iranian state media reported Iran had held missile drills in various ⁠cities during the day, the second such reported exercise in a month. Western powers regard Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal as both a conventional military threat to Middle East stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them. It denies any intent to build atomic bombs. Relations between eastern Mediterranean neighbors Israel, Greece and Cyprus have grown stronger over the past decade, with shared concerns over Turkey’s influence in the region. Despite “great achievements” during a 12-day war with Iran in June, Netanyahu said basic Israeli and US expectations ‍of Iran were unchanged, including lowering its uranium enrichment level. “Obviously it will be an item in our discussions,” he said of his ‍meeting with Trump next week, ‍adding, “We are not seeking confrontation with” ⁠Iran but rather, “stability, prosperity and peace.”Still, Netanyahu said the ‌focus of his discussions with Trump in ⁠Washington will be on moving to ‍the next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan as well as dealing with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. He cited Israel’s “desire to see a ⁠stable sovereign Lebanon” and efforts to prevent the blocking of international shipping by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia. Netanyahu, Mitsotakis and Christodoulides agreed to ‌deepen security cooperation, while Netanyahu said the three countries intended to advance an initiative to connect India to Europe via the Middle East by sea and rail. Christodoulides described the projects as offering a “southeastern gateway connecting Europe with the Middle East and beyond.”The three countries said they would seek to advance an undersea power cable project ‍to integrate their electricity grids with Europe and the Arabian Peninsula. Mitsotakis said Greece was a gateway for liquefied natural gas. “(It) is a new energy hub in southeastern Europe.” Interconnection projects, he said, remained a key priority for the three countries.Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Reuters after the press conference the trilateral meeting was important since it comes when there are “countries that are working to uproot regional stability.” ‌He did not identify the countries. With Reuters

Netanyahu vows independence of commission of inquiry into Oct 7
AFP/December 22, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed a government decision Monday to establish a commission of inquiry into the October 7 attack, assuring the public that it would not be subject to political influence. “Today the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved the bill to establish a special state commission of inquiry,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “This will be a balanced committee to investigate the events of October 7 and the circumstances that led to them.”“Contrary to what has been claimed, politicians will not serve on the commission. The composition of the commission will be determined on an equal basis: half by the coalition and half by the opposition,” he said. The opposition and much of the Israeli public have called for an independent inquiry into the events leading up to and including the 2023 Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Polls show more than 70 percent of Israelis want a state commission of inquiry independent of the government, like those set up in the past to investigate major state-level failings. The one established after the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war led to the resignation of then prime minister Golda Meir in June 1974. The decision to create a state commission rests with the government, but its members must be appointed by the president of the supreme court. But Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, one of the most right-wing governments in the country’s history, has accused the court of political bias.
The premier nonetheless vowed that “the commission will be made up of experts in security, academia, and law, as well as bereaved parents who will serve as observers.”A commission appointed only by the government or only by the president of the supreme court “would enjoy the confidence of only part of the public,” he said. The premier acknowledged that the mandate of the commission and the scope of the probe would be set by the government, noting that “this is not unusual” and that he would agree to being investigated. Netanyahu has never admitted responsibility for any of the decisions that led to the October 7 attack, despite repeated calls from the opposition to do so. Opposition leader Yair Lapid slammed the move, noting that it would allow the government to have “control over the hearings, the summoned witnesses, and the agenda.”“This is not an inquiry committee, this is a death certificate for the truth,” Lapid said during a meeting at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. The establishment of the commission will only be finalized after a vote in parliament.

Israeli military ‘examining’ killing of Palestinian teen
Reuters/December 22, 2025
QABATIYA, West Bank: The Israeli military said it was reviewing an incident in the occupied West Bank in which soldiers shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian who they said had thrown a brick at them, after CCTV ​footage appeared to show he was not doing so when shot. Asked about the video, an Israeli military spokesperson said: “A Palestinian suspected of hurling a block at IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) soldiers was shot. The incident is under review.” Palestinian officials said that Rayyan Mohammad Abu Mualla was shot and killed on Saturday in the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya, during a raid by the Israeli military. The Israeli military initially said on Saturday: “During IDF operational activity in the area of ‌Qabatiya, a ‌terrorist hurled a block toward the soldiers, who responded ‌with ⁠fire ​and eliminated ‌the terrorist.”CCTV footage showed two Israeli soldiers — one crouching and one standing on a lit street corner at dark — and a third soldier appearing to take position in an adjacent street leading to the same corner. A person is then seen walking down a street and as he reaches the corner, he is shot by the crouching soldier and falls back and onto the ground. The video does not appear to ⁠show him throwing a block or holding one. The video starts six minutes before the shooting, showing the streets ‌empty and then a military vehicle driving down ‍the street as one person peers off ‍a rooftop and another through a window as the soldiers arrive at ‍the scene. The person who is shot appears in the video three seconds before the shooting, and it is not possible to ascertain what the person was doing or holding before he is seen.The footage was obtained from the owner of the security camera and ​its location and date were verified by Reuters. The incident is partly obscured because of the angle of the camera and the ⁠low light. Abu Mualla’s mother, Ibtihal, said that the Israeli military had taken his body away.CCTV footage from around 22 minutes after the shooting appears to show his body being placed by soldiers on a stretcher and driven away in a military vehicle 11 minutes after that, 33 minutes after the shooting.
“They could have shot him in the leg, my son didn’t throw anything toward them,” said Mualla. “I want to bury my son with dignity,” she said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Since January, when Israel began stepping up raids in the northern West Bank, 53 Palestinian minors have been killed by Israeli forces, according to ‌the Palestinian health ministry. Israel says the raids are meant to tackle Palestinian militants and thwart attacks against Israelis.

Jordanian field hospital in southern Gaza carries out complex procedure on Palestinian patient
Arab News/December 22, 2025
LONDON: The Jordanian field hospital in southern Gaza performed a complex surgical procedure this week on a 21-year-old Palestinian patient suffering from an enlarged spleen caused by thalassemia. The hospital commander said that the operation was carried out by specialized medical, anesthesia, and operating-room teams, which provide advanced care to the people of Gaza amid challenging conditions. A general surgeon said that the patient needed urgent surgery due to dependence on weekly blood transfusions which had led to iron overload and heart complications. A successful splenectomy was performed after necessary preparations, according to the Jordan News Agency. Jordan runs two field hospitals in Gaza: one in the north, established in 2009, and another in Khan Younis in the south, which was created in November 2023. The hospital in southern Gaza includes specialized clinics that cover various medical fields. These include general surgery, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, anesthesia and intensive care, dermatology, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, pediatric and neonatal surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, plastic and burn surgery, and maxillofacial surgery. Additionally, a mobile prosthetics support unit is available. Jordan’s humanitarian initiatives in Gaza also include programs such as the land bridge for aid deliveries, the mobile bakery, and the evacuation of critical cases to Jordanian hospitals.

Demolition ‘is a tragedy for all Palestinians’
AFP/December 22, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israeli bulldozers tore through a four-story building in East Jerusalem on Monday, leaving scores of Palestinian residents unsure where to go after their doors were broken down in the middle of the night by authorities enforcing hasty evictions. The building was the latest in a series of residential structures to be razed as Israeli officials target what they describe as unauthorized construction in the city’s annexed east — a campaign that local Palestinian officials characterised as a “systematic policy” to displace residents. “The demolition is a tragedy for all residents,” said Eid Shawar, who lives in the building. Located in the Silwan neighborhood near the Old City, the building comprised a dozen apartments housing around 100 people, many of them women, children, and elderly residents. “They broke down the door while we were asleep and told us we could only change our clothes and take essential papers and documents,” said Shawar, a father of five. With nowhere else to go, Shawar, 38, said his seven-member family would have to sleep in his car. “They are destroying my bedroom,” lamented one woman, as she watched the heavy machines rip through the building. Three bulldozers began tearing down the structure early on Monday as residents looked on, their clothes and belongings scattered across nearby streets, an AFP journalist saw. Israeli police cordoned off surrounding roads, with security forces deployed across the area and positioned on the rooftops of neighboring houses.
By midday, a large part of the building had already been razed to the ground. Built on privately owned Palestinian land, the structure had been slated for demolition for lacking a permit, activists said. Two Israeli NGOs, Ir Amin and Bimkon, said the demolition was the largest carried out in 2025, adding in a statement that “around 100 East Jerusalem families have lost their homes.”Palestinians face severe obstacles in obtaining building permits due to Israel’s restrictive planning policies, according to activists, an issue that has fueled tensions in East Jerusalem and across the occupied West Bank for years.
The building’s destruction “is part of a systematic policy aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinian residents and emptying the city of its original inhabitants,” the Jerusalem governorate, affiliated with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, said in a statement. “Any demolition that expels residents from their homes constitutes a clear occupation plan to replace the land’s owners with settlers.”On Sunday, Israel approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, part of a rapid expansion, but considered illegal under international law. Jerusalem municipality, which administers both West and East Jerusalem, has previously said demolitions are carried out to address illegal construction and to enable the development of infrastructure or green spaces in the area. In a statement on Monday, the municipality said the demolition of the building in Silwan was based on a 2014 court order, and “the land on which the structure stood is zoned for leisure and sports uses and construction, and not for residential purposes.”“For a long period, the residents were granted extensions for the execution of the order and were offered various options in order to find a solution, but they declined to do so.”Activists, however, accuse Israeli authorities of frequently designating areas in East Jerusalem as national parks or open spaces to advance Israeli settlement interests. Silwan begins at the foot of the Old City, where hundreds of Israeli settlers live among nearly 50,000 Palestinians. The demolition there was “carried out without prior notice, despite the fact that a meeting was scheduled” on Monday to discuss steps to legalize the structure, Ir Amin and Bimkom said in their statement. “This is part of an ongoing policy,” they said. Meanwhile, residents and their relatives are worried. “You had children and even sick people like my brother, who is a cancer patient, living in the building,” Ashraf Sqafi said as he watched the demolition. “All this is very painful.”The status of Jerusalem remains one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tensions are constant in East Jerusalem and its Old City, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It swiftly annexed the area following the conflict. Those tensions have only intensified since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the devastating war in Gaza. Israel regards East Jerusalem as an integral part of its capital, while the Palestinians want to make the city the capital of their future state.
The UN deems Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem illegal, and does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access
AFP/December 21, 2025
JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Sunday welcomed the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to set January 4 as the deadline for Israel to respond to its petition seeking media access to Gaza. Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory. Israel has instead allowed, on a case-by-case basis, a handful of reporters to accompany its troops into the blockaded Palestinian territory. The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition to the supreme court last year, seeking immediate access for international journalists to the Gaza Strip. On October 23, the court held a first hearing on the case, and decided to give Israeli authorities one month to develop a plan for granting access. Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with their plan, but on Saturday it set January 4 as a final deadline. “If the respondents (Israeli authorities) do not inform us of their position by that date, a decision on the request for a conditional order will be made on the basis of the material in the case file,” the court said. The FPA welcomed the court’s latest directive. “After two years of the state’s delay tactics, we are pleased that the court’s patience has finally run out,” the association said in a statement. “We renew our call for the state of Israel to immediately grant journalists free and unfettered access to the Gaza Strip. “And should the government continue to obstruct press freedoms, we hope that the supreme court will recognize and uphold those freedoms,” it added. An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.

Palestinian president affirms readiness to work on Trump’s peace plan
Arab News/December 22, 2025
LONDON: President Mahmoud Abbas affirmed on Monday that the Palestinian Authority was ready to work with US President Donald Trump to achieve a comprehensive and just peace in line with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. Abbas emphasized the urgent need to implement Trump’s plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803 by enforcing the Gaza ceasefire, facilitating humanitarian aid, preventing displacement, ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and enabling the Palestinian government to take on its responsibilities while accelerating reconstruction efforts. The president highlighted the need to pressure the Israeli government to stop actions that undermine Palestinian institutions, violate Christian and Islamic holy sites, and threaten the two-state solution through settlement expansion, while also underscoring the importance of releasing withheld Palestinian tax revenues. He made the remarks during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Ramallah on Monday. He emphasized the vital role that Greece, with EU support, can have in promoting peace and stability in the region and beyond, according to Wafa news agency. Kyriakos emphasized that Trump’s 20-point peace plan offers a reliable and practical framework for addressing urgent needs on the ground. He reaffirmed Greece’s strong support for the two-state solution. Greece has not yet recognized Palestinian statehood. Kyriakos mentioned in September that his country would do so “at the right time.”

NGOs fear ‘catastrophic impact’ of new Israel registration rules
AFP/December 22, 2025
PARIS: New rules in Israel for registering non-governmental organizations, under which more than a dozen groups have already been rejected, could have a catastrophic impact on aid work in Gaza and the West Bank, relief workers warn. The NGOs have until December 31 to register under the new framework, which Israel says aims not to impede aid distribution but to prevent “hostile actors or supporters of terrorism” operating in the Palestinian territories. The controversy comes with Gaza, which lacks running water and electricity, still battling a humanitarian crisis even after the US-brokered October ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Palestinian militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism told AFP that, as of November 2025, approximately 100 registration requests had been submitted and “only 14 organization requests have been rejected... The remainder have been approved or are currently under review.”Requests are rejected for “organizations involved in terrorism, antisemitism, delegitimization of Israel, Holocaust denial, denial of the crimes of October 7,” it said.
‘Very problematic’
The amount of aid entering Gaza remains inadequate. While the October 10 ceasefire agreement stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the United Nations. The NGOs barred under the new rules include Save the Children, one of the best known and oldest in Gaza, where it helps 120,000 children, and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). They are being given 60 days to withdraw all their international staff from the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and Israel, and will no longer be able to send humanitarian supplies across the border to Gaza. In Gaza, Save the Children’s local staff and partners “remain committed to providing crucial services for children,” such as psychosocial support and education, a spokeswoman told AFP. The forum that brings together UN agencies and NGOs working in the area on Thursday issued a statement urging Israel to “lift all impediments,” including the new registration process, that “risk the collapse of the humanitarian response.” The Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (HCT) warned that dozens of NGOs face deregistration and that, while some had been registered, “these NGOs represent only a fraction of the response in Gaza and are nowhere near the number required just to meet immediate and basic needs.” “The deregistration of NGOs in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” it said. NGOs contacted by AFP, several of whom declined to be quoted on the record due to the sensitivity of the issue, say they complied with most of Israel’s requirements to provide a complete dossier. Some, however, refused to cross what they described as a “red line” of providing information about their Palestinian staff. “After speaking about genocide, denouncing the conditions under which the war was being waged and the restrictions imposed on the entry of aid, we tick all the boxes” to fail the registration, predicted the head of one NGO. “Once again, bureaucratic pressure is being used for political control, with catastrophic consequences,” said the relief worker. Rights groups and NGOs including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a term vehemently rejected by the Israeli government. “If NGOs are considered to be harmful for passing on testimonies from populations, carrying out operational work and saying what is happening and this leads to a ban on working, then this is very problematic,” said Jean-Francois Corty, president of French NGO Medecins du Monde.
‘Every little criticism’
The most contentious requirement for the NGOs is to prove they do not work for the “delegitimization” of Israel, a term that appears related to calling into question Israel’s right to exist but which aid workers say is dangerously vague. “Israel sees every little criticism as a reason to deny their registration... We don’t even know what delegitimization actually means,” said Yotam Ben-Hillel, an Israeli lawyer who is assisting several NGOs with the process and has filed legal appeals. He said the applications of some NGOs had already been turned down on these grounds. “So every organization that operates in Gaza and the West Bank and sees what happens and reports on that could be declared as illegal now, because they just report on what they see,” he told AFP. With the December 31 deadline looming, concerns focus on what will happen in early 2026 if the NGOs that are selected lack the capacity and expertise of organizations with a long-standing presence. Several humanitarian actors told AFP they had “never heard of” some of the accredited NGOs, which currently have no presence in Gaza but were reportedly included in Trump’s plan for Gaza. “The United States is starting from scratch, and with the new registration procedure, some NGOs will leave,” said a European diplomatic source in the region, asking not to be named. “They might wake up on January 1 and realize there is no-one to replace them.”

Turkiye expects second phase of Gaza ceasefire to start early 2026
Arab News/December 22, 2025
ANKARA: Turkiye expects the second phase ​of a Gaza ceasefire deal to begin early in 2026, ‌Foreign Minister Hakan ‌Fidan ‌said ⁠on ​Monday, ‌following talks with US, Qatari and Egyptian officials in Miami over ⁠the weekend. Speaking at ‌a press ‍conference ‍in Damascus, ‍Fidan said the discussions focused on obstacles to ​advancing the deal to its next ⁠phase, adding that the priority was for Gaza’s governance to be taken over by a Palestinian-led group. Representatives from the United ​States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye met on Friday in Miami to ‌review ‌the ‌next ⁠steps ​on ‌the Gaza ceasefire plan, according to a joint statement issued on ⁠Saturday by US ‌envoy Steve Witkoff. A ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10 after a two-year Israeli offensive on Gaza, but the truce has been under intense pressure. Israel has killed more than 400 people in the territory since it took effect and Hamas has also been accused of violating the agreement. Along with a cessation of hostilities, the first phase of the truce deal included a ramping-up of much-needed aid supplies, and the return of Israeli hostages, including the deceased, and Palestinian prisoners. The second phase is meant to see Israeli troops withdraw further, the establishing of an interim authority to govern the territory, the deployment of an international security force, and the disarming of Hamas. The statement on Saturday from the mediating countries said the first phase of the agreement has led to progress in distributing humanitarian supplies, the return of hostages, partial force withdrawals, and a reduction in hostilities. The talks on the second phase focussed on the new governing body in Gaza “to protect civilians and maintain public order,“ trade with neighboring countries, and infrastructure development.The war, which started after a Hamas attack on southern Israel, led to an Israeli military campaign that killed more than 60,000 Palestinians and sparked a vast humanitarian crisis. *With Reuters and AFP

Bondi Beach shooting suspect conducted firearms training with his father, Australian police say
AP/December 22, 2025
MELBOURNE, Australia: A man accused of killing 15 people at Sydney’s Bondi Beach conducted firearms training in an area of New South Wales state outside of Sydney with his father, according to Australian police documents released on Monday. The documents, made public following Naveed Akram’s video court appearance from a Sydney hospital where he has been treated for an abdominal injury, said the two men recorded footage justifying the meticulously planned attack. Officers wounded Akram at the scene of the Dec. 14 shooting and killed his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram. The state government confirmed Naveed Akram was transferred Monday from a hospital to a prison. Authorities identified neither facility. The 24-year-old and his father began their attack by throwing four improvised explosive devices toward a crowd celebrating an annual Jewish event at Bondi Beach, but the devices failed to explode, the documents said. Police described the devices as three aluminum pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb containing an explosive, gunpowder and steel ball bearings. None detonated, but police described them as “viable” IEDs. The pair had rented a room in the Sydney suburb of Campsie for three weeks before they left at 2:16 a.m. on the day of the attack. CCTV recorded them carrying what police allege were two shotguns, a rifle, five IEDs and two homemade Daesh group flags wrapped in blankets. Police also released images of the gunmen shooting from a footbridge, providing them with an elevated vantage point and the protection of waist-high concrete walls. The largest IED was found after the gunbattle near the footbridge in the trunk of the son’s car, which had been left draped with the flags. Authorities have charged Akram with 59 offenses, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder in relation to the wounded survivors and one count of committing a terrorist act. The antisemitic attack at the start of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration was Australia’s worst mass shooting since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state in 1996.
The New South Wales government introduced draft laws to Parliament on Monday that Premier Chris Minns said would become the toughest in Australia. The new restrictions would include making Australian citizenship a condition of qualifying for a firearms license. That would have excluded Sajid Akram, who was an Indian citizen with a permanent resident visa. Sajid Akram also legally owned six rifles and shotguns. A new legal limit for recreational shooters would be a maximum of four guns. Police said a video found on Naveed Akram’s phone shows him with his father expressing “their political and religious views and appear to summarise their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack.” The men are seen in the video “condemning the acts of Zionists” while they also “adhere to a religiously motivated ideology linked to Islamic State,” police said, using another term for the Daesh Group.
Video shot in October shows them “firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner” on grassland surrounded by trees, police said. “There is evidence that the Accused and his father meticulously planned this terrorist attack for many months,” police allege. An impromptu memorial that grew near the Bondi Pavilion after the massacre, as thousands of mourners brought flowers and heartfelt cards, was removed Monday as the beachfront returned to more normal activity. The Sydney Jewish Museum will preserve part of the memorial. Victims’ funerals continued Monday with French national Dan Elkayam’s service held in the nearby suburb of Woollahra, at the heart of Sydney’s Jewish life. The 27-year-old moved from Paris to Sydney a year ago. The health department said 12 people wounded in the attack remained in hospitals on Monday.

Trump warns Maduro against playing ‘tough’ as US escalates pressure campaign on Venezuela
AP/December 23, 2025
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: President Donald Trump on Monday delivered a new warning to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as the US Coast Guard steps up efforts to interdict oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea as part of the Republican administration’s escalating pressure campaign on the government in Caracas. Trump was surrounded by his top national security aides, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as he suggested that he remains ready to further escalate his four-month pressure campaign on the Maduro government, which began with the stated purpose of stemming the flow of illegal drugs from the South American nation but has developed into something more amorphous. “If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough,” Trump said of Maduro as he took a break from his Florida holiday vacation to announce plans for the Navy to build a new, large warship. Trump levied his latest threat as the US Coast Guard on Monday continued for a second day to chase a sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration describes as part of a “dark fleet” Venezuela is using to evade US sanctions. The tanker, according to the White House, is flying under a false flag and is under a US judicial seizure order. “It’s moving along and we’ll end up getting it,” Trump said. It is the third tanker pursued by the Coast Guard, which on Saturday seized a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries that US officials said was part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet. The Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper on Dec. 10, also part of the shadow fleet of tankers that the US says operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. That ship was registered in Panama. Trump, after that first seizure, said the US would carry out a “blockade” of Venezuela. Trump has repeatedly said that Maduro’s days in power are numbered. Last week, Trump demanded that Venezuela return assets that it seized from US oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a blockade against sanctioned oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency oversees the Coast Guard, said in a Monday appearance on “Fox & Friends” that the targeting of tankers is intended to send “a message around the world that the illegal activity that Maduro is participating in cannot stand, he needs to be gone, and that we will stand up for our people.”
Russian diplomats evacuate families from Caracas
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry started evacuating the families of diplomats from Venezuela, according to a European intelligence official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. The official told The Associated Press the evacuations include women and children and began on Friday, adding that Russian Foreign Ministry officials are assessing the situation in Venezuela in “very grim tones.” The ministry said in an X posting that it was not evacuating the embassy but did not address queries about whether it was evacuating the families of diplomats. Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil on Monday said he spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, who he said expressed Russia’s support for Venezuela against Trump’s declared blockade of sanctioned oil tankers. “We reviewed the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law that have been committed in the Caribbean: attacks against vessels and extrajudicial executions, and the unlawful acts of piracy carried out by the United States government,” Gil said in a statement.
The scene on a Venezuelan beach near a refinery
While US forces targeted the vessels in international waters over the weekend, a tanker that’s considered part of the shadow fleet was spotted moving between Venezuelan refineries, including one about three hours west of the capital, Caracas. The tanker remained at the refinery in El Palito through Sunday, when families went to the town’s beach to relax with children now on break from school. Music played on loudspeakers as people swam and surfed with the tanker in the background. Families and groups of teenagers enjoyed themselves, but Manuel Salazar, who has parked cars at the beach for more than three decades, noticed differences from years past, when the country’s oil-dependent economy was in better shape and the energy industry produced at least double the current 1 million barrels per day. “Up to nine or 10 tankers would wait out there in the bay. One would leave, another would come in,” Salazar, 68, said. “Now, look, one.”The tanker in El Palito has been identified by Transparencia Venezuela, an independent watchdog promoting government accountability, to be part of the shadow fleet. Area residents on Sunday recalled when tankers would sound their horns at midnight New Year’s Eve, while some would even send up fireworks to celebrate the holiday. “Before, during vacations, they’d have barbecues; now all you see is bread with bologna,” Salazar said of Venezuelan families spending the holiday at the beach next to the refinery. “Things are expensive. Food prices keep going up and up every day.”
Venezuela’s ruling party-controlled National Assembly on Monday gave initial approval to a measure that would criminalize a broad range of activities that could be linked to the seizure of oil tankers. Lawmaker Giuseppe Alessandrello, who introduced the bill, said people could be fined and imprisoned for up to 20 years for promoting, requesting, supporting, financing or participating in “acts of piracy, blockades or other international illegal acts against” commercial entities operating with the South American country. The Defense Department, under Trump’s orders, continues its campaign of attacks on smaller vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that it alleges are carrying drugs to the United States and beyond. At least 104 people have been killed in 28 known strikes since early September. The strikes have faced scrutiny from US lawmakers and human rights activists, who say the administration has offered scant evidence that its targets are indeed drug smugglers and that the fatal strikes amount to extrajudicial killings.

US signs new health deals with 9 African countries that mirror Trump’s priorities
AP/December 23, 2025
JOHANNESBURG: The US government has signed health deals with at least nine African countries, part of its new approach to global health funding, with agreements that reflect the Trump administration’s interests and priorities and are geared toward providing less aid and more mutual benefits.
The agreements signed so far, with Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda among others, are the first under the new global health framework, which makes aid dependent on negotiations between the recipient country and the US. Some of the countries that have signed deals either have been hit by US aid cuts or have separate agreements with the Trump administration to accept and host third-country deportees, although officials have denied any linkage. The Trump administration says the new “America First” global health funding agreements are meant to increase self-sufficiency and eliminate what it says are ideology and waste from international assistance. The deals replace a patchwork of previous health agreements under the now-dismantled United States Agency for International Development. US aid cuts have crippled health systems across the developing world, including in Africa, where many countries relied on the funding for crucial programs, including those responding to outbreaks of disease. The new approach to global health aligns with President Donald Trump’s pattern of dealing with other nations transactionally, using direct talks with foreign governments to promote his agenda abroad. It builds on his sharp turn from traditional US foreign assistance, which supporters say furthered American interests by stabilizing other countries and economies and building alliances.
A different strategy
The deals mark a sharp departure from how the US has provided health care funding over the years and mirrors the Trump administration’s interests. South Africa, which has lost most of its US funding — including $400 million in annual support — due in part to its disputes with the US, has not signed a health deal, despite having one of the world’s highest HIV prevalence rates. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, reached a deal but with an emphasis on Christian-based health facilities, although it has a slight majority Muslim population. Rwanda and Uganda, which each have deportation deals with the US, have announced the health pacts. Cameroon, Eswatini, Lesotho, Liberia and Mozambique also are among those that have signed health deals with the US. According to the Center for Global Development, a Washington think tank, the deals “combine US funding reductions, ambitious co-financing expectations, and a shift toward direct government-to-government assistance.”The deals represent a reduction in total US health spending for each country, the center said, with annual US financial support down 49 percent compared with 2024.
A faith-based deal in Nigeria, a lifeline for several others
Under its deal, Nigeria, a major beneficiary of USAID funds, would get support that has a “strong emphasis” on Christian faith-based health care providers. The US provided approximately $2.3 billion in health assistance to Nigeria between 2021 and 2025, mostly through USAID, official data shows. The new five-year agreement will see US support at over $2 billion, while Nigeria is expected to raise $2.9 billion to boost its health care programs. The agreement “was negotiated in connection with reforms the Nigerian government has made to prioritize protecting Christian populations from violence and includes significant dedicated funding to support Christian health care facilities,” the State Department said in a statement. The department said “the president and secretary of state retain the right to pause or terminate any programs which do not align with the national interest,” urging Nigeria to ensure “that it combats extremist religious violence against vulnerable Christian populations.” For several other countries, the new deals could be a lifeline after US aid cuts crippled their health care systems and left them racing to fill the gaps. Under its deal, Mozambique will get US support of over $1.8 billion for HIV and malaria programs. Lesotho, one of the poorest countries in the world, clinched a deal worth over $232 million. In the tiny kingdom of Eswatini, the US committed to provide up to $205 million to support public health data systems, disease surveillance and outbreak response, while the country agreed to increase domestic health expenditures by $37 million.
No deal for South Africa after disputes
South Africa is noticeably absent from the list of signatories following tensions with the Trump administration. Trump has said he will cut all financial assistance to South Africa over his widely rejected claims that it is violently persecuting its Afrikaner white minority. The dismantling of USAID resulted in the loss of over $436 million in yearly financing for HIV treatment and prevention in South Africa, putting the program and thousands of jobs in the health care industry at risk. Health compacts with countries that signed deportation deals. At least four of the countries that have reached deals previously agreed to receive third-country deportees from the US, a controversial immigration policy that has been a trademark of the Trump administration. The State Department has denied any linkage between the health care compacts and agreements regarding accepting third-country asylum seekers or third-country deportees from the United States. However, officials have said that political considerations unrelated to health issues may be part of the negotiations. Rwanda, one of the countries with a deportation deal with the US, signed a $228 million health pact requiring the US to support it with $158 million.
Uganda, another such country, signed a health deal worth nearly $2.3 billion in which the US will provide up to $1.7 billion. Also Eswatini, which has started receiving flights with deported prisoners from the US

Is the United States after Venezuela’s oil?
AFP/December 22, 2025
CARACAS: As US forces deployed in the Caribbean have zoned in on tankers transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil, questions have deepened about the real motivation for Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on Caracas. Is the military show of force really about drug trafficking, as Washington claims? Does it seek regime change, as Caracas fears? Could it be about oil, of which Venezuela has more proven reserves than any other country in the world? “I don’t know if the interest is only in Venezuela’s oil,” Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has offered to mediate in the escalating quarrel, said last week.The US president himself has accused Venezuela of taking “all of our oil” and said: “we want it back.”
What we know:
- Oil ties -
Companies from the United States, now the world’s leading oil producer, have pumped Venezuelan crude from the first discoveries there in the 1920s. Many US refineries were designed, and are still geared, specifically for processing the kind of heavy crude Venezuela has in spades.
Until 2005, Venezuela was one of the main providers of oil to the United States, with some monthly totals reaching up to 60 million barrels. Things changed dramatically after socialist leader Hugo Chavez took steps in 2007 to further nationalize the industry, seizing assets belonging to US firms.
And now? -
Down from a peak of more than three million barrels per day (bpd) in the early 2000s, Venezuela today produces about a million barrels per day — roughly two percent of the global total. US firm Chevron extracts about 10 percent of the total under a special license. Chevron is the only company authorized to ship Venezuelan oil to the United States — an estimated 200,000 barrels per day, according to a Venezuelan oil sector source. The South American country’s domestic industry has declined sharply due to corruption, under-investment and US sanctions in place since 2019. Analysts say the high investment required to rebuild Venezuela’s crumbling oil rigs would be unappetizing for US firms, given the steady global supply and low prices. According to Carlos Mendoza Potella, a Venezuelan professor of petroleum economics, Washington’s actions were likely “not just about oil” but rather about the United States “claiming the Americas for itself.”
“It’s about the division of the world” between the United States and its rivals, Russia and China,” he added. Venezuela exports about 500,000 barrels per day on the black market, mainly to China and other Asian countries, according to Juan Szabo, a former vice president of state oil company PDVSA.
Blockade. Trump on December 16 announced a blockade of sanctioned oil vessels sailing to and from Venezuela. Days earlier, US forces seized the M/T Skipper, a so-called “ghost” tanker transporting over a million barrels of Venezuelan oil, reportedly destined for Cuba. Washington has said it intends to keep the oil, valued at between $50 and $100 million. Over the weekend, the US Coast Guard seized the Centuries, identified by monitoring site TankerTrackers.com as a Chinese-owned and Panama-flagged tanker. An AFP review did not find the Centuries on the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list, but the White House said it “contained sanctioned PDVSA oil” — some 1.8 million barrels of it. On Sunday, officials said the Coast Guard was pursuing a third tanker, identified by news outlets as the Bella 1 — under US sanctions because of alleged ties to Iran. The PDVSA insists its exports remain unaffected by the blockade. This was critical, according to Szabo, as the company only has capacity to store oil for several days if exports stop.
Impact
Whatever Trump’s goal with Venezuelan oil, the blockade, if it continues, is likely to scare off shipping companies and push up freight rates. Szabo expects Venezuela’s oil exports will fall by nearly half in the coming months, slashing critical foreign currency income from Venezuela’s black market sales. This would asphyxiate the already struggling economy of Venezuela, piling more pressure on Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has tip-toed around explicitly demanding for Maduro to leave. While Trump has said he does not anticipate “war” with Venezuela, he did say Maduro’s days “are numbered.”US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Monday that the oil tanker seizures send “a message around the world that the illegal activity that Maduro’s participating in cannot stand, he needs to be gone.”

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 22-23/2025
Pakistan in Gaza: Jihad on Steroids
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute./December 22, 2025
If you want to disarm Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups and promote peace and coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, Pakistan is the wrong choice.
Pakistan, which does not recognize Israel, has already made it clear that it is "not ready" to disarm Hamas. According to Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar: "If the purpose of deploying an international stabilization force in Palestine is to disarm Hamas, then we are not ready for that, that's not our job. That is job of Palestinian law enforcement agencies."
Dar pointed out that Indonesia, whose government has offered 20,000 troops to the ISF, was also opposed to disarming Hamas.
Notably, not a single Arab or Islamic country has so far expressed readiness to take part in the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip. The Arabs and Muslims are prepared to send troops to the Gaza Strip, but only to act as "peacekeepers" and "monitors," not to interfere with the ability of Hamas to rearm, regroup and attack Israel again at some convenient time in the future. This, by complete coincidence, of course, is how Hamas also sees the role of the ISF.
"It is not surprising that Pakistan – one of the greatest sponsors of cross-border terrorism and a hub of global Jihadist organisations – contributed to the military build-up of Hamas.... Hamas has its ideological roots in Pakistan. It is not only organically linked with Islamabad, but also deeply entrenched in its Jihadist patterns. In fact, before 9/11, the open 'publicising jihad was part of the Pakistan Army's image building exercise to present itself as fighting worldwide for the glory of Islam....' Jihadism is an essential part of Pakistan's political culture." — The South Asia Democratic Forum, a Brussels-based think tank, November 3, 2023.
Pakistan's leaders, siding with South Africa in its prosecution of Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC), to which Israel, incidentally, is not a party, have also accused Israel of war crimes and genocide.
The assumption that Pakistan will help disarm Hamas or contribute to the deradicalization of Palestinians in Gaza is spectacularly misguided. The Trump administration seriously needs to reconsider its plan to allow Pakistan, and all countries with ideologies such as these, to play any role in a future Gaza Strip.
If you want to disarm Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups and promote peace and coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, Pakistan is the wrong choice.
Pakistan, it seems, has stepped forward, selflessly offering to be part of US President Donald J. Trump's proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) in the Gaza Strip. "We're very grateful to Pakistan for their offer to be part of it, or at least their offer to consider being a part of it," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on December 20.
Under Trump's 20-point peace plan to end the Gaza war, sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of Israel, the primary goal of the ISF is to create a secure, demilitarized, and "terror-free" Gaza Strip that poses no threat to its neighbors. The ISF would accomplish this by enforcing the dismantlement of the Palestinian terror groups' military infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons-production facilities. The Trump plan, in addition, calls for establishing an "interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace."
If you want to disarm Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups and promote peace and coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, Pakistan is the wrong choice.
Pakistan, which does not recognize Israel, has already made it clear that it is "not ready" to disarm Hamas. According to Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar:
"If the purpose of deploying an international stabilization force in Palestine is to disarm Hamas, then we are not ready for that, that's not our job. That is job of Palestinian law enforcement agencies....
"Prime Minister (Shebaz Sharif) had agreed in principle that we would also send forces [to Gaza], but we will decide only after knowing what the terms of reference, terms of action, and mandate will be... But as per my information, if it will include disarming Hamas, then even my Indonesian counterpart has formally expressed reservations."
Dar pointed out that Indonesia, whose government has offered 20,000 troops to the ISF, was also opposed to disarming Hamas.
Like most Arab and Islamic countries, Pakistan opposes disarming Hamas, possibly because it fears being accused by Arabs and Muslims of collaboration with Israel against a Palestinian "resistance" faction. Notably, not a single Arab or Islamic country has so far expressed readiness to take part in the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip. The Arabs and Muslims are prepared to send troops to the Gaza Strip, but only to act as "peacekeepers" and "monitors," not to interfere with the ability of Hamas to rearm, regroup and attack Israel again at some convenient time in the future.
This, by complete coincidence, of course, is how Hamas also sees the role of the ISF.
Last week, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, who leads a comfortable life residing in Qatar, said that the mission of the ISF should be limited just to sponsoring and monitoring the ceasefire agreement between his group and Israel. The international troops, he added, should be deployed only along the borders of the Gaza Strip, presumably to make sure that Israel does not prevent Hamas from rearming itself. International troops, he implied, were not wanted inside Gaza itself.
Pakistan's presence in the Gaza Strip will do the opposite of contributing to the deradicalization of the Palestinians there. It is worth noting that Pakistan voted against the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, and opposed the establishment of the State of Israel. The UN plan, accepted by Jewish leadership but rejected by Arab leaders, proposed dividing Mandatory Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states. Hamas, as well, does not recognize Israel's right to exist and seeks to replace it with an Islamist state through violence and terrorism.
In 2020, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry stressed that recognition of Israel was still not under consideration. Pakistan has also come out against the Abraham Accords signed between Israel and some Arab and Islamic states under the sponsorship of the first and second Trump administrations. In June 2025, in fact,
"Foreign Mini­ster Ishaq Dar,,, ruled out the possibility of Pakistan joining the Abraham Accords, stating that such a move would effectively mean abandoning the country's longstanding support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict and recognising Israel."
In 2020, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement that said:
"[T]he Prime Minister had clearly articulated Pakistan's position that unless a just settlement of the Palestine issue, satisfactory to the Palestinian people, was found, Pakistan could not recognize Israel. The Prime Minister had stressed that Pakistan's policy in this regard was rooted in Quaid-e-Azam's vision.
"The Prime Minister's remarks are an unequivocal reaffirmation of Pakistan's position on the subject, leaving no room for baseless speculation.
"For a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, Pakistan will continue to support a two-state solution... with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of Palestine."
Pakistan's leaders, siding with South Africa in its prosecution of Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC), to which Israel, incidentally, is not a party, have also accused Israel of war crimes and genocide.
Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a member of Pakistan Senate from the Jamaat-e-Islami political party, said: "I think this is not normalization, this is an occupation." Describing Israel as an "illegal country," Khan said Israel's "hegemonic design and approach" was a threat to the people of the region, the Middle East, peace and the future."
In 2020, Junaid S. Ahmad, research fellow at Turkey's Center for Islam and Global Affairs and director of Pakistan's Center for Muslim World Studies, commented on Pakistan's policy:
"Moral imperatives, religious obligation, Islamic solidarity and national interests are all aligned to reject any move to recognize Tel Aviv. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of not only the Palestinians but the country of Pakistan, its people, its future – and would also be a rejection of our faith."
In November 2023, the South Asia Democratic Forum, a Brussels-based think tank, reported:
"It is not surprising that Pakistan – one of the greatest sponsors of cross-border terrorism and a hub of global Jihadist organisations – contributed to the military build-up of Hamas.... Hamas has its ideological roots in Pakistan. It is not only organically linked with Islamabad, but also deeply entrenched in its Jihadist patterns. In fact, before 9/11, the open 'publicising jihad was part of the Pakistan Army's image building exercise to present itself as fighting worldwide for the glory of Islam.' The country's government, military and intelligence celebration of the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban – hailed as a 'strategic victory' worthy of a parliamentary eulogy of Osama bin Laden by the then Prime Minister Imran Khan – underlines that Jihadism is an essential part of Pakistan's political culture."
Unsurprisingly, last October thousands of Pakistanis took to the streets to voice support for Hamas and its leaders. The Turkish news agency Anadolu Ajansi reported:
"Waving Palestine flags, and carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans like 'Down with Israel,' 'Long live Palestine,' and 'Hamas we are with you,' many children carried portraits of deceased Hamas leaders, including Ismail Hanneyeh and Yahya Al sinwar."
The demonstration was organized by Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's mainstream religio-political party, whose leader called on the government to allow Hamas to open an office in Islamabad.
It is also worth noting that Pakistan's Islamic religious schools (madrassas) have been serving as fertile grounds for militant ideologies. These schools produce recruits for groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and create a Jihadi culture that fosters a strong anti-Western sentiment. As noted by the World Research of Political Science Journal,
"Some madrassas radicalize their pupils to the point where they are prepared to engage in violent acts that they perceive as being required by their religion. Madrassa students are occasionally instructed that it is their responsibility to put an end to any 'immoral' behavior and take up arms against any organization that veers from the straight path."
The Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007, already has its own Jihadi culture. Bringing Pakistanis into the Gaza Strip will only exacerbate the situation and strengthen this dangerous tide. The assumption that Pakistan will help disarm Hamas or contribute to the deradicalization of Palestinians in Gaza is spectacularly misguided. The Trump administration seriously needs to reconsider its plan to allow Pakistan, and all countries with ideologies such as these, to play any role in a future Gaza Strip.
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22145/pakistan-in-gaza
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Is crypto an opportunity or a threat?
Jean Tirole/Arab News/December 22, 2025
The fascination with cryptocurrencies shows no sign of fading. With the passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, known as the Genius Act, in July, US lawmakers added to the sense that crypto is here to stay. But look beyond the hype and an uncomfortable issue remains unresolved: Are cryptocurrencies a genuine innovation capable of serving the common good or a speculative threat to financial and social stability? Of course, not all cryptocurrencies are alike. Unbacked ones, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, have no underlying assets and derive their value purely from people’s belief that they have any. But backed cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, attempt to anchor their value through holdings of real-world assets, such as dollars or short-term government bonds.
Nonetheless, the same two questions apply to both categories: Are they viable? And, if so, do they benefit society? While humility requires that we not claim certainty about the answer to the first question, the second one must be met with a resounding no. Crypto innovation undoubtedly has some valuable features — including blockchain-based applications, smart contracts and decentralized finance — but the proliferation of private digital assets has also widened the gap between private and social interests. To be sure, the welfare implications of cryptocurrencies are more complex for dysfunctional countries where the state expropriates individuals or companies through financial repression or other means or uses transaction data to oppress political opponents or minorities. In these cases, crypto can technically replace dollar banknotes and offer lower transaction and concealment costs. But this specific use case does not vindicate cryptocurrencies, because other digital assets could do the same job. Unlike productive risk-taking, speculation in digital tokens creates little public benefit and causes a variety of harms
Bitcoin is the archetype of an unbacked cryptocurrency with no intrinsic value. Its valuation represents what economists call a pure bubble: it will collapse if confidence evaporates. But not all bubbles burst immediately. Gold has been trading for millennia at prices far above its “fundamental” value (which could be measured by the price that its industrial use would command if it stopped being held for speculative purposes). Yet history offers many examples of bubbles that ended in ruin — from the Dutch tulip mania of the 1630s to the South Sea Bubble of 1720 and the recurring stock market and real estate crashes that have been with us ever since. Could Bitcoin become the new gold? Possibly. But its value could also fall to zero. At most, we can be confident that very few of the hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrencies that have emerged will survive. It would be folly for regulated banks or insurance companies (whose losses are often borne by taxpayers) to speculate heavily in such assets without strict capital requirements.
The social damage stemming from unbacked crypto is clearer. Unlike productive risk-taking — such as research on vaccines or new technologies — speculation in digital tokens creates little public benefit and causes a variety of harms. One cost is a diversion of seigniorage. In traditional systems, the gains from issuing money flow to the community via the state; but with crypto, that privilege is privatized or wasted: issuers reap the windfall, while “mining” (running computations to process blockchain transactions) wastes vast amounts of energy and computing equipment.
Another problem is crime. Bitcoin and similar assets are notorious for facilitating tax evasion, money laundering and illicit finance. While hard currencies have long been used for the same purposes, the ease and global reach of crypto transactions lower the barriers for wrongdoing. Then there are the implications for macroeconomic policymaking. Central banks can stabilize economies and prevent financial contagion only if they control liquidity during crises. And unbacked cryptocurrencies lack any form of investor protection, as we saw with the initial coin offering craze a few years back. Heralded as a means of liberation from the power of financial intermediaries (from venture capital funds to banks), the direct issuance of securities to savers neglects the fundamentals of finance. Dispensing with trusted, well-capitalized and reputable intermediaries to monitor projects does not make markets freer; it makes them more fragile. Technological progress should improve financial efficiency, not roll back centuries’ worth of hard-won insights. Stablecoins were conceived as a response to the volatility of unbacked crypto. By pegging their value to the dollar or other safe assets, they promise the best of both worlds: the efficiency of digital tokens and the stability of traditional money. At first glance, this seems like progress. But financial history is full of supposedly safe innovations — money-market funds, structured securities, mortgage derivatives — that sowed the seeds of later crises. Stablecoins may do the same.
Proponents retort that stablecoins are fully backed by cash, bank deposits, Treasury bills or money-market funds and that these reserves are regularly audited. Yet recent episodes cast doubt on such assurances. Tether, the largest stablecoin, was fined for misrepresenting its reserves and has never undergone a full independent audit. Circle, whose USDC is the second-largest stablecoin, had 8 percent of its reserves tied up in Silicon Valley Bank when that institution failed in 2023. The crisis was resolved only because uninsured depositors like Circle were bailed out with public funds.
Looking ahead, one can anticipate that the industry will eventually invest in uninsured bank deposits, riskier interest rate bets and so forth. Institutions constrained to hold only low-yield securities often search for yield in disguise, taking hidden risks to increase. Relatedly, while the Genius Act forbids issuers from paying interest on stablecoins, platforms are not bound by the rule. This loophole allows platforms to operate like banks without meeting the corresponding capital and liquidity standards. They have become yet another addition to the growing shadow banking system of institutions that rely on implicit public backing but escape prudential supervision.
Politics further amplifies the risks. The current US administration’s endorsement of crypto is driven by a mix of personal financial interest, ideology and the need to reinforce global demand for dollars to finance America’s trade deficit. President Donald Trump has appointed regulators sympathetic to the industry to key oversight roles and the traditionally pro-industry Commodity Futures Trading Commission, rather than the Securities and Exchange Commission, is likely to take the lead on regulation.
All this ensures a light-touch approach that should worry other countries. If they attempt to regulate dollar-denominated stablecoins strictly, the US may accuse them of protectionism, as it has already done in response to the EU’s regulation of Big Tech under its digital market rules.
Even when reserves are genuine, small doubts can trigger big runs, as when Lehman Brothers’ collapse in 2008 led to mass redemptions from US money-market funds, forcing the Treasury and Federal Reserve to intervene. The same thing happened in 2020, when the start of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a “dash for cash.” A similar dynamic could easily occur with stablecoins if investors fear that the backing assets are insufficient or illiquid. Unfortunately, the Genius Act remains vague about stablecoin redemption rules.
Finally, stablecoins’ model of “narrow banking” — holding only safe assets like Treasuries — has systemic implications. If deposits migrate from banks to stablecoins, who will provide loans to businesses and households? By borrowing short and lending long, traditional banks perform the vital function of maturity transformation. Their activities are socially useful and the risks are made tolerable by capital requirements, supervision and deposit insurance. Stripping banks of deposits without replacing these safeguards would limit credit creation, increase financial vulnerability and weaken the real economy.
The future of money must be shaped by competition between private ingenuity and public purpose
That said, stablecoins reveal a legitimate demand for payments that are faster, cheaper and programmable (meaning they can execute automatically when contractual conditions are met). The competition to meet this demand pits three forms of digital money against one another: decentralized cryptocurrencies; privately sponsored currencies issued by corporations, such as Facebook’s short-lived Libra project; and state-backed digital versions of national money — which may take the form of public-private partnerships (Brazil’s Pix, India’s Unified Payments Interface) or a central bank digital currency.
Sadly, if the US Digital Asset Market Clarity Act passes, the US will have handcuffed its central bank and prevented it from competing with privately provided money. This is unfortunate because central banks do hold some competitive advantages. They define legal tender, can mandate participation by banks and fintech operators (as in Brazil or China) and ensure universal access. Above all, they embody the trust that our financial institutions badly need. While the design of state-backed digital versions of national money raises many complex questions, a few key principles are readily identifiable. First, they must offer inclusive, user-friendly, very low-cost transactions for households, companies and government entities alike. Second, they must encourage private sector innovation by opening application programming interfaces that third-party developers can build on.
Third, they must carry over existing laws on the privacy of bank accounts. Fourth, they must avoid disintermediation, because the state has very limited competence to lend to small and medium-size enterprises or supply a range of financial services. Finally, a cautious approach would limit individual holdings and treat them as insured bank deposits, because another long-standing economic principle is that not all deposits in institutions backed directly or indirectly by the state are meant to be insured or demandable. Public oversight, prudential regulation and clear accountability are indispensable. Innovation should enhance economic fundamentals, not erode them. Speculative unbacked tokens and lightly regulated stablecoins must be contained before they threaten financial stability and become part of the shadow banking sector. The future of money must be shaped by competition between private ingenuity and public purpose, not by rent seeking and dangerous speculative bubbles. If we remember that finance must serve society, not the other way around, the digital age of money can yet be a source of progress rather than peril.
*Jean Tirole, the 2014 Nobel laureate in economics, is Professor of Economics at Toulouse 1 Capitole University. Copyright: Project Syndicate

A year many in the Middle East will want to forget
Chris Doyle/Arab News/December 22, 2025
Just how will 2025 be remembered not least in the Middle East? Many will be craving amnesia. For Palestinians, another year of genocide and apartheid. Two ceasefires did not bear meaningful fruit. The drop in fatalities in Gaza after the Oct. 10 ceasefire plan, and the release of hostages and detainees were welcome. Yet the pitiful amount of aid Israel lets in still highlights the intention of those who pursued this genocide. The Israeli penchant for creating facts on the ground, making the temporary permanent, has had another outing in Gaza. Israel has split the enclave and taken over half of it. How long before settlements appear there? With the attention on Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his settler chums launched a huge land seizure program in the West Bank, with record numbers of new settlements, and a surge in settler violence.
Iran’s situation has deteriorated noticeably. Having lost Assad in Syria, it has seen both Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as the Houthis, weakened. Iran cannot assist its allies to the extent that it used to. Yet they remain a threat to Israel, as the May Houthi ballistic missile strike that hit Tel Aviv airport showed. Can Israel’s anti-ballistic systems manage to shield it from increasingly advanced weaponry in the future? If hope was on the menu, it was in Syria  But the war everyone had been speculating about at length for years, even decades, did come to pass. The Iran-Israel indirect cold war became a direct full-on hot one. A dozen days of Israeli bombing also included the US unloading its most potent non-nuclear ordnance on Iranian nuclear sites. Experts are divided as to whether this has intimidated Tehran. Will the Iranian regime double down on a nuclear option or retreat, wary of further bombardment? The experts have always flitted between those who overestimate the regime’s fragility and flexibility, and those who underestimate its strength and rigidity. Even UN sanctions were reimposed. Has this led to a regional powershift? To an extent. But the alliances are now more fluid, the interests less clearcut. Israel remains a massive threat to Lebanon. What is clear is that like it or not Hezbollah will not disarm voluntarily. Its leadership will insist on a major political victory before even contemplating doing so, and this must include a full Israeli withdrawal. The situation is stuck. It may not be for long.
Sudan has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. A war long ignored outside the region grabbed the headlines globally with horrific scenes in western Sudan. The attention did not last. The challenge for those who care will be how to strengthen international resolve to bring this to a peaceful and permanent conclusion. If hope was on the menu, it was in Syria. A year with no Assad at the helm was something to celebrate as happened on the anniversary. But nobody should be under any illusions as to the dangers lurking ahead. Ahmed Al-Sharaa has proved more than a capable diplomat. Perhaps the most startling scene, one that 12 months ago would have appeared inconceivable to all, was US President Donald Trump and Al-Sharaa sharing laughs in the Oval Office.
Global public opinion is outraged  All this came into sharp focus this December with the killing of American soldiers in Syria. Who knows who orchestrated this attack but the result is that the US is once again engaged in major bombings of Daesh in central Syria. Will this be a one-off or a trend? The Trump administration has certainly shaken up the scene. Netanyahu cannot have it all his own way. Trump ordered Israeli aircraft to stop bombing Iran. He compelled Netanyahu to issue a telephone apology to the emir of Qatar for having bombed Doha. Trump also opened direct talks with long-term US foes Hamas and Iran. Against the advice of many in his team, the US leader also announced he would lift sanctions against Syria. European diplomatic action remains largely hesitant, more focused on Russia-Ukraine than on the Middle East. One step forward was the UK-French recognition of Palestine, something that if done a decade ago might have made a difference. Once again — too little, too late. What is the point of recognizing a state if you are not prepared to stop it being bombed, starved, and dismantled through force?
Those states recognizing Palestine did so largely not because it was the right thing to do but because global public opinion is outraged. The chasm between the elite leaderships and the voting public is widening. Expect more boycotts, protests, and civil disobedience in 2026. How 2025 will fit into the Middle East historical timeline will depend on the unfinished business of so many conflicts, crises and wars. But the standout feature as we inch towards its end is how unrestrained powerful regional and international actors are — not least Israel. The task of reapplying restraint may be the great challenge of the years to come.
**Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London. X: @Doylech

Clock is ticking on the next Palestinian genocide
Dr. Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/December 22, 2025
Suppose we accept the fiction that none of us expected Israel to launch a full-scale genocide in Gaza — a premeditated campaign to erase the enclave and exterminate a significant portion of its inhabitants. Let us pretend that almost 80 years of relentless massacres were not a prelude to this moment, and that Israel had never before sought the physical destruction of the Palestinian people as outlined by the 1948 Genocide Convention. If we go so far as to accept the sterile, ahistoric claim that the Nakba of 1948 was “merely” ethnic cleansing rather than genocide — ignoring the mass graves and the forced erasure of a civilization — we are still left with a terrifying reality. Having witnessed the unmasked extermination that began on Oct. 7, 2023, who can dare to argue that its perpetrators lack the intent to repeat it?  The question itself is an act of charity, as it assumes the genocide has stopped. In reality, the carnage has merely shifted tactics. Since the implementation of the fragile ceasefire on Oct. 10, Israel has killed over 400 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more. Others have perished in the frozen mud of their tents. They include infants such as Fahar Abu Jazar, who, like others, froze to death. These are not mere tragedies; they are the inevitable results of a calculated Israeli policy of destruction targeting the most vulnerable.  During this two-year campaign of extermination, more than 20,000 Palestinian children were murdered, accounting for a staggering 30 percent of the total victims. This blood-soaked tally ignores the thousands of souls trapped beneath the concrete wasteland of Gaza, and those being consumed by the silent killers of famine and engineered epidemics.
The carnage has merely shifted tactics
The horrifying statistics aside, we bear witness to the final agonies of a people. We have watched their extermination in real-time, broadcast to every handheld screen on the planet. No one can claim ignorance; no one can claim innocence. Even now, we watch as 1.3 million Palestinians endure a precarious existence in tents ravaged by winter floods. We share the screams of mothers, the hollowed-out faces of broken fathers, and the haunted stares of children, and yet, the world’s political and moral institutions remain paralyzed. If Israel resumes the full, unrestrained intensity of this genocide, will we stop it? I fear the answer is no, because the world refuses to dismantle the circumstances that permitted this slaughter in the first place. Israeli officials never bothered to hide their intent. The systematic dehumanization of Palestinians was a primary export of Israeli media, even as Western corporate outlets worked tirelessly to sanitize this criminal discourse. The record of intent is undeniable. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir openly championed the “encouragement of migration” and demanded that “not an ounce of humanitarian aid” reach Gaza. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich argued that the starvation of 2 million people could be “just and moral” in the pursuit of military aims. From the halls of the Knesset to the pop charts, the refrain was the same: “Erase Gaza,” “Leave no one there.” When military leaders refer to an entire population as “human animals,” they are not using metaphors; they are issuing a license for extermination.
This was preceded by the hermetic siege — a decades-long experiment in human misery that began in 2006. Despite every Palestinian plea for the world to break this death grip, the blockade was allowed to persist. This was followed by successive wars targeting a besieged, impoverished population under the banner of “security,” always shielded by the Western mantra of Israel’s “right to defend itself.” In the dominant Western narrative, the Palestinian is the eternal aggressor. They are the occupied, the besieged, the dispossessed, and the stateless; yet they are expected to die quietly in the world’s “largest open-air prison.” Whether they utilized armed resistance, threw rocks at tanks, or marched unarmed toward snipers, they were branded “terrorists” and “militants” whose very existence was framed as a threat to their occupier.
Gaza’s water was toxic, its land a graveyard
Years before the first bomb of this genocide fell, the UN declared Gaza “uninhabitable.” Its water was toxic, its land a graveyard, and its people were dying of curable diseases. Yet, aside from the typical ritual of humanitarian reports, the international community did nothing to offer a political horizon, a just peace.
This criminal neglect provided the vacuum for the events of Oct. 7, allowing Israel to weaponize its victimhood to execute a genocide of sadistic proportions. Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant explicitly stripped Palestinians of their humanity, launching a collective slaughter directed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The stage is being set for the next phase of extermination. The siege is now absolute, the violence more concentrated, and the dehumanization of Palestinians more widespread than ever. As the international media drifts toward other distractions, Israel’s image is being rehabilitated as if the genocide never happened. Tragically, the conditions that fueled the first wave of genocide are being meticulously reconstructed. Indeed, another Israeli genocide is not a distant threat; it is an encroaching reality that will be finalized unless it is stopped.
The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was a legal vow to “liberate mankind from such an odious scourge.” If those words possess a shred of integrity, the world must act now to abort the next phase of extermination. This requires absolute accountability and a political process that finally severs the grip of Israeli colonialism and violence. The clock is ticking, and our collective voice — or silence — will make the difference.
**Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle. His latest book, ‘Before the Flood,’ will be published by Seven Stories Press. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net. X: @RamzyBaroud

Selected Face Book & X tweets for /December 22, 2025
Pope Leo XIV
Piety and charity, mercy and abandonment: these are the virtues of St. Joseph that the #GospelOfTheDay offers us in these last days of #Advent. These attitudes teach our hearts to encounter Christ and our brothers and sisters. They can also help us be for each other a welcoming manger, a hospitable home, a sign of God’s presence.

Michel Hajji Georgiou
Iraq has long been the master piece of maneuvers and geostrategic ambitions of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Without Iraq, nothing stands: not the terrestrial corridor to Syria, not the economy of bypassing sanctions, not the network of militias that assured Iran of a strategic depth in the Gulf. The powerful Shiite militias (PMF), funded, trained and supervised by the Guardians of the Revolution, have controlled for years the border areas of Al-Qaim/Boukamal, through which weapons, men and technology were transferred to Syria and Lebanon (... )
To read the fourth part of my article on the collapse of the Iranian Empire (French version), it's here:
https://levanttime.com/.../bca75420-016f-40fc-bad2...
The article translated into other languages is available on the website.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
This was an open letter to Ahmad al-Sharaa that I penned a year and eight days ago. It ruffled some feathers among my friends in Washington, who wondered why I was being nice to the Al-Qaeda guy. My response was that if he said he had changed, I would take his word for it and support his effort to build a Syrian democracy. A year has passed, and Sharaa has not even uttered the word “democracy.” He wants power for himself alone, forever, and promises better results than Assad. Once I realized that (a few weeks after my letter), my position shifted: Syria’s problem was not one person (Assad) but a whole culture of corruption and the absence of liberty and freedom. The spread of Islamism proved the absence of liberty. Sharaa’s brothers proved corruption. Equality died when a “constitution” re-endorsed that Syria is an Arab state, that Sharia is a source of legislation, that Islam is its religion, and that it is a requirement for the president. any Syrians, however, remain too emotional and have yet to wake up from their “Assad is gone” hangover and their false hope that what’s coming will by default be better than what came before. I just don’t see how. Maybe the future will not be as severely brutal, but there is no guarantee it will be better, given all the corruption and Islamism. Like always, I hope my pessimism proves to be wrong and wish Syrians all the best. (Letter, in Arabic, is in the first comment)