English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For December 24/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless
you believe that I am he
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John
08/21-27/:”Again he said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will search for me,
but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’Then the Jews
said, ‘Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am
going, you cannot come”?’He said to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above;
you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in
your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.’They
said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Why do I speak to you at all? I
have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true,
and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.’They did not understand
that he was speaking to them about the Father.”
Titles For The
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on
December 23-24/2025
Fear of Saying “Merry Christmas” is a Shame Upon the Peoples,
Institutions, and Nations of the Secular West/Elias Bejjani/December 24/2025
Washington Institute/Video-Link/Lebanon's Outlook on Sovereignty Disarmament
&Peace A Discussion with Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi
Lebanese soldier among those killed in Monday Israeli strike: army
Source to Asharq Al-Awsat: Investigators suspect Israeli abduction in
disappearance of retired security officer Ahmad Shukr
Ministers convene for second day to discuss banks draft bill
Israel claims Lebanese soldier killed in strike was also Hezbollah member
Fadlallah, Hashem seek Qatar's support in Doha
Hezbollah says no longer present in South Litani, Haykal to declare it in
January
BDL governor recommends Cabinet subject draft law to thorough and constructive
review before submitting it to parliament
Lebanese President Aoun receives calls from Turkish and Jordanian leaders
Israeli and US reservations: Lebanon border mechanism talks move forward without
France
Gas routes and regional rivalries shape Lebanon's energy future—The details
Syrian Close to Assad-era Commander Killed in Lebanon
Pharmacists' Syndicate Warns Against Gap Law
Hezbollah 'Dissatisfied' with Iran Funding, Demands $2 Billion for
Reconstruction
Geagea: LF Ministers to Reject Financial Regularization Law
IMF Reservations Fuel Dispute Over Financial Gap Law
Lebanon Denies Israel’s Claim Linking Killed Soldier to Hezbollah
Why was Sharaa Invited to Washington, but not Aoun?/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This
is Beirut/December 23, 2025
Israel’s Objectives and Syria’s New Calculations/Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al-Awsat/December
23/2025
Lebanon and Gaza: Managing the Conflict Instead of Ending It/Sam Menassa/Asharq
Al-Awsat/December 23/2025
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on
December 23-24/2025
Netanyahu ‘sought plan to evade responsibility for Oct. 7 attack
Israeli Defense Minister Says No Plan to Resettle Gaza After Hinting at One
Israel defense minister vows to stay in Gaza, establish outposts
Israeli settlers forcibly enter Palestinian home in latest West Bank attack
Ex-aide says Netanyahu asked him to make plan to evade Oct. 7 responsibility
Australia PM to invite Israeli president to visit
Palestinian Authority says Israel tightening control over West Bank with new
settlements
Palestine Action hunger strikers launch legal action against UK govt
Palestinian president affirms efforts to release Marwan Barghouti from Israeli
prison
Gaza’s tiny Christian community tries to capture the holiday spirit during the
ceasefire
Gazans fear renewed displacement after Israeli strikes
Syrian forces seize SAM-7 anti-aircraft missiles from smugglers
Syrian government and SDF agree to de-escalate after Aleppo violence
Houthis, Yemen government to exchange nearly 3,000 prisoners: officials
Trump warns Maduro against playing ‘tough’ as US escalates pressure campaign on
Venezuela
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on
December 23-24/2025
'Every Parent's Worst Nightmare': China's TikTok Deal - Great for China,
Not for America/ Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute./December 23, 2025
Netanyahu’s 2025 gains under threat/Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/December 23, 2025
Freeing Marwan Barghouti could benefit both Israelis and Palestinians/
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/December 23, 2025
Oman, India show the benefit of ‘economic statecraft’/Dr. Diana Galeeva/Arab
News/December 23, 2025
Selected Face Book & X tweets for /December 23, 2025
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on
December 23-24/2025
Fear of Saying “Merry Christmas” is a
Shame Upon the Peoples, Institutions, and Nations of the Secular West
Elias Bejjani/December 24/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/12/150449/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_ISc0vPkZw
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
Washington Institute/Video-Link/Lebanon's Outlook on
Sovereignty Disarmament &Peace A Discussion with Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi
Washington Institute Youtube Platform/December 23/2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF4y8lLa-OM&t=11s
For Lebanon, 2024 was dominated by the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel,
while 2025 has been highlighted by the election of a new president, the
formation of a new government, the launch of a U.S.-led mechanism to support the
army’s commitments on disarming nonstate militias, and the expansion of that
process to include civilian representatives from Lebanon and Israel. In the wake
of a moving visit by Pope Leo focused on the theme of peace, many are hoping
that 2026 will be a year of historic breakthroughs.
To discuss critical issues on Lebanon’s foreign policy agenda—including the
disarmament process, the potential for peace, and the state of U.S.-Lebanon
relations—The Washington Institute is pleased to announce a virtual Policy Forum
discussion with H.E. Youssef Raggi, who has served since February as the
republic’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants. A career member of the
diplomatic corps since 1992, he previously led Lebanon’s missions in Jordan,
Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, and South Korea.
Lebanese soldier among those killed in Monday Israeli
strike: army
AFP/December 23, 2025
BEIRUT: A Lebanese soldier was among three people killed in an Israeli air
strike on a car in the country’s south, the army said Tuesday, denying Israeli
claims that he was also a Hezbollah operative. 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 (six miles) from the southern coastal city of
Sidon and “killed three people who were inside.”The Lebanese army said on
Tuesday that Sergeant Major Ali Abdullah had been killed the previous day “in an
Israeli airstrike that targeted a car he was in” near the city of Sidon. The
Israeli army said it had killed three Hezbollah operatives in the strike, adding
in a statement on Tuesday that “one of the terrorists eliminated during the
strike simultaneously served in the Lebanese intelligence unit.”A Lebanese army
official told AFP it was “not true” that the soldier was a Hezbollah member,
calling Israel’s claim “a pretext” to justify the attack.
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 complete the group’s disarmament 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. The committee comprises
representatives from Lebanon, Israel, the United States, France and the United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). 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.
Source to Asharq Al-Awsat: Investigators suspect Israeli
abduction in disappearance of retired security officer Ahmad Shukr
LBCI/December 23, 2025
Lebanese judicial authorities are increasingly leaning toward the possibility
that Israel was behind the disappearance of a retired General Security officer a
week ago, following what they describe as an intelligence-style luring
operation, a senior Lebanese judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The source said investigations suggest the case may be linked to suspicions
surrounding the 1986 disappearance of Israeli air force navigator Ron Arad in
South Lebanon. This file has long carried intelligence sensitivities. According
to the source, the Information Branch of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (ISF)
has intensified its inquiries since the disappearance of retired Capt. Ahmad
Shukr was reported in the Bekaa region about a week ago. Investigators have been
reviewing surveillance camera footage and analyzing telecommunications data,
which led them to preliminary leads indicating that Shukr was subjected to a
carefully planned entrapment operation. The judicial source said the operation
appears to have begun in Shukr's hometown of Nabi Chit in northern Bekaa, before
his trail went cold at a location very close to the city of Zahle. Security
efforts are now focused on that area to determine his fate.
With conflicting accounts emerging about the circumstances surrounding Shukr's
disappearance, the hypothesis of Israeli involvement has gained ground over
other explanations, based on what the source described as initial findings from
the ongoing investigation. Strengthening the security and intelligence angle are
suspicions that non-Lebanese individuals allegedly connected to the incident are
involved. The source said early investigative information and surveillance
indicate that the luring operation was carried out by two Swedish nationals, one
of whom is of Lebanese origin. The two reportedly arrived in Lebanon via
Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport just two days before the incident.
One of the two individuals left Lebanon through the airport on the same day
Shukr disappeared, a detail that investigators view as raising serious questions
about his potential role. The second individual, also of Lebanese origin, is
believed to have participated in the operation and is still thought to be inside
Lebanon. Records from airport, land, and sea crossings show no evidence that he
has left the country, unless he did so illegally. The judicial source did not
rule out the involvement of additional individuals inside Lebanon, suggesting
that others may have participated in monitoring Shukr and preparing the
conditions that led to his disappearance.
Ministers convene for second day to discuss banks draft
bill
Naharnet/December 23, 2025
Ministers convened Tuesday for, a second day in a row, to discuss a long-awaited
banking draft bill that would distribute 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 all their money, with a limit of $100,000, over the course of four
years. Those who have less than $100,000 in the banks constitute 85% of the
depositors.The wealthiest depositors will see the remainder of their money
compensated by asset-backed securities. The draft, if approved by the ministers,
will be sent to parliament. On Monday, ministers convened at the presidential
palace with President Joseph Aoun attending the meeting, while some depositors
gathered on the Baabda road to protest the bill. Ministers voiced their remarks
and met again on Tuesday at the Grand Serail.
Israel claims Lebanese soldier killed in strike was also
Hezbollah member
Agence France Presse/December 23, 2025
The Israeli army on Tuesday claimed that a Lebanese soldier killed in a drone
strike on a car in the Sidon district was also a Hezbollah operative. It claimed
the strike killed three Hezbollah members in total, “including one who served
concurrently in the Lebanese Army's intelligence unit and another who was
working with an air defense unit (belonging to Hezbollah) in the Sidon area.”The
Lebanese Army meanwhile categorically denied the Israeli claim, describing it as
“erroneous and misleading information” aimed at “questioning the army’s creed
and the performance of its members.”The army also called for dismissing the
reports that “question the army’s role in this critical and extraordinary
period.”A Lebanese army official had earlier told AFP it was "not true" that the
soldier was a Hezbollah member, calling Israel's claim "a pretext" to justify
the attack. The Israeli army alleged that the three men “were planning attacks”
against Israeli forces and were also “attempting to rebuild (Hezbollah) military
infrastructure in the Sidon area of southern Lebanon.”
The Israeli army added that it “views the cooperation between the Lebanese Army
and … Hezbollah with utmost seriousness and will continue to act to eliminate
any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.”The Lebanese Army meanwhile
issued a statement saying that the slain man was a first sergeant who served in
the anti-armor regiment of the army’s Support Brigade. 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
Hezbollah, 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. Under heavy U.S. pressure
and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming
Hezbollah, starting with the south.
The Lebanese Army plans to complete 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. President Joseph Aoun said Monday that 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."Israel
has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas that it deems strategic.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.
Fadlallah, Hashem seek Qatar's support in Doha
Naharnet/December 23, 2025
Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah and Amal MP Qassem Hashem met Tuesday with Qatar's
Parliament Speaker Hassan bin Abdullah Al-Ghanem in Doha. Al-Ghanem voiced
Qatar's support and "love" for Lebanon and the Lebanese people. The visit of
Fadlallah and Hashem is part of an official parliamentary mission to discuss the
challenges that Lebanon is facing and seek Qatar's support. "The region is going
through a period of great instability due to the rising threats from (Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's government. This situation demands maximum
cooperation and coordination between the people and the nations of the region,"
Fadlallah said.
Hezbollah says no longer present in South Litani, Haykal to
declare it in January
Naharnet/December 23, 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.
BDL governor recommends Cabinet subject draft law to
thorough and constructive review before submitting it to parliament
LBCI/December 23, 2025
The Banque du Liban (BDL) governor issued a formal statement outlining his
position on the proposed Financial Stability and Deposit Repayment Law, known as
the FSDR bill, expressing broad support for its framework while calling for
clearer and binding commitments from the state. Invoking Articles 71 and 72 of
the Monetary and Credit Law, the governor said the government formally consulted
him during the drafting process and that he actively participated in the
deliberations of the ministerial committee tasked with preparing the bill. He
said he supports the overall structure of the FSDR bill and its core principles,
particularly efforts to reduce the financial deficit by eliminating irregular
claims, the clear classification of deposits into small, large, and very large
categories, and a phased repayment mechanism combining cash payments with
asset-backed financial instruments, in line with available liquidity. He also
endorsed the principle of sharing financial burdens and responsibilities among
the state, BDL, and commercial banks. The governor stressed that the strength
and sustainability of the law must be measured against two key criteria:
fairness in distributing financial burdens among all parties, and realistic
implementation.
While affirming that the draft law respects the principle of fairness, he said
further clarification and reinforcement are needed regarding the state’s
obligations. As the final entity to use these funds over many years, he said the
state’s contribution must be explicitly defined, measurable, legally binding,
and linked to a clear and credible timetable. The governor emphasized that
deposit repayment is a guaranteed legal right, not a political option or
discretionary measure. However, he said exercising that right requires a
repayment program grounded in financial credibility, which depends on the
availability of assets, actual liquidity, and a repayment schedule that can be
realistically implemented.He noted that the proposed timeline for cash
repayments is ambitious and may need adjustment, if necessary, without
infringing on depositors’ rights, to ensure regular, uninterrupted payments and
full completion over time.
Given the exceptional importance of the FSDR bill, which he described as the
most significant financial legislation since the adoption of the Monetary and
Credit Law in 1963, the governor recommended that the Cabinet subject the draft
law to a thorough and constructive review before submitting it to parliament, to
strengthen its fairness, credibility, and practical enforceability.
Lebanese President Aoun receives calls from Turkish and
Jordanian leaders
LBCI/December 23, 2025
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun received a phone call from Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which they discussed several issues of mutual
interest, as well as the broader situation in the region. During the call,
Erdogan reaffirmed Turkey’s support for Lebanon across various sectors and
expressed his country’s commitment to strengthening and developing bilateral
relations. Aoun thanked the Turkish president for Ankara’s stance toward Lebanon
and underscored the importance of further enhancing cooperation between the two
countries. Separately, Aoun also received a phone call from Jordan’s King
Abdullah II, during which they reviewed the latest regional developments as part
of ongoing coordination and consultation between Beirut and Amman. Jordan’s
state news agency Petra reported that the discussions also covered bilateral
relations, with King Abdullah reiterating Jordan’s support for Lebanon’s efforts
to preserve its security, stability, and sovereignty. Aoun thanked the Jordanian
monarch for his country’s continued attention to Lebanon, particularly its
support for the Lebanese Army, highlighting the importance of such backing amid
current regional challenges.
Israeli and US reservations: Lebanon border mechanism talks
move forward without France
LBCI/December 23, 2025
Efforts to involve France in the political negotiations of the border security
mechanism have stalled amid unannounced Israeli and U.S. objections, according
to LBCI. LBCI first reported on December 8 that attempts were underway to bring
France into the political track of the talks. France had been expected to be
represented by Anne-Claire Legendre, adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron
on Middle East and North Africa affairs. The matter did not materialize, and the
issue was later discussed during a meeting between U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon
Michel Issa and French presidential envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian. While
the reasons for the rejection have not been officially stated, they can be
inferred from the strained state of Israeli-French relations. Tel Aviv has grown
increasingly uncomfortable with France's recent positions, including its role
alongside Saudi Arabia in drafting a United Nations resolution on a two-state
solution. Paris and Tel Aviv have also clashed repeatedly over the war in Gaza.
Israel and the United States have further taken issue with France's parallel
channels of communication with Iran and Hezbollah. The next meeting of the
mechanism is scheduled for January 7. According to LBCI, there is a tendency
among the parties involved to issue a joint official statement ahead of the
meeting, acknowledging the achievements of the Lebanese Army south of the Litani
River and endorsing the transition to subsequent phases of the process.The most
recent meeting, held on December 19, included a political session attended by
U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus and head of the Lebanese delegation Ambassador Simon
Karam. Israel was represented by Yossi Draznin, deputy head of the National
Security Council adviser's office, and Uri Resnick, deputy head of the foreign
policy division at the National Security Council. The meeting was preceded by a
technical-military session involving officers from Lebanon, Israel, the United
States, France, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Discussions on future priorities revealed differing approaches between the two
sides. The Lebanese delegation clearly emphasized the need to create safe
conditions for residents to return to their villages and lands, alongside
credible support for the reconstruction of homes, as a necessary entry point
before addressing other issues. However, the Israeli representative said Israel
could not repeat what it had done in South Lebanon after 2006, stressing the
need for a more cautious and innovative approach. In that context, the Israeli
side presented several economic proposals, including the establishment of a
financial or security zone along the border. Israel argued that such a zone
would provide strategic depth and reduce the risk of cross-border attacks by
Hezbollah.
Gas routes and regional rivalries shape Lebanon's energy
future—The details
LBCI/December 23, 2025
Talk has long centered on Lebanon's potential to become a future producer and
exporter of natural gas, but the debate is no longer limited to whether gas
exists or can be extracted. The more pressing question is the fate of any future
production and whether it would remain a limited domestic resource or evolve
into a strategic asset capable of transforming Lebanon's economy. At the heart
of the discussion are supply routes, which have historically been the subject of
competition, conflict, and competing proposals. One option under consideration
is Lebanon's possible accession to the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, a regional
framework that brings together countries of the eastern Mediterranean to enhance
cooperation on natural gas production, regulation, and marketing. The forum
includes several key players, notably Greece, Israel, and Cyprus, whose
relationship is rooted in long-standing strategic and economic interests.
Economically, the three countries coordinate plans to transport gas from Israel
through Cyprus and onward to Europe via Greece. Their cooperation extends beyond
energy corridors into technology and investment, with a growing number of
Israeli companies expanding or investing in both Cyprus and Greece.
Such projects depend heavily on security and stability, an objective pursued by
the three countries through intensified joint military exercises and
intelligence and security cooperation. These efforts are aimed at safeguarding
electricity and gas networks, protecting ports and communications
infrastructure, enhancing maritime surveillance, and, critically, securing
offshore gas fields and installations. Beyond shared economic interests, a
broader regional dimension binds the three states, centered on tensions with
Turkey. Greece, Israel, and Cyprus have differences with Ankara on several
issues, and their alignment has implications for Turkey, which is itself a key
transit route for gas supplies to Europe. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has alluded to these tensions without explicitly naming Turkey. A
historical narrative also plays a role in the partnership, with Netanyahu
portraying the three countries as ancient states with deep historical roots, a
framing that reinforces their political alignment. For now, Lebanon remains on
the sidelines, observing the evolving regional energy landscape as it weighs its
options. Multiple choices lie ahead, each carrying its own political and
economic costs and calculations, as Beirut considers how best to position itself
in the race for eastern Mediterranean gas.
Syrian Close to Assad-era Commander Killed in Lebanon
This is Beirut/December 23, 2025
A former Syrian intelligence officer who was close to one of ousted ruler Bashar
al-Assad's top army commanders was killed in Lebanon, a judicial official said
Tuesday, with the army announcing it had arrested a suspect. It was the first
confirmation since Assad's ouster in December last year of a former Syrian
government official being present in Lebanon, though many in Syria believe
Assad-era figures are hiding in the neighboring country. The judicial official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the body of Ghassan al-Sukhni
was found near the house where he was staying in the Kesrwan area, north of
Beirut. Lebanon's army announced in a statement on X that it had arrested the
alleged perpetrator, who it said killed Sukhni "following a financial
dispute."The judicial official said Sukhni "sought refuge in Lebanon after the
fall of the Assad regime" and was a former Syrian intelligence officer closely
associated with Suhail al-Hassan. Nicknamed "The Tiger," Hassan led Syria's
special forces under Assad and was frequently described as the former ruler's
"favorite soldier."He was responsible for key military advances by the Assad
government in 2015 during Syria's civil war. The Assad family exercised control
over Lebanese affairs for decades and was accused of assassinating numerous
officials in Lebanon who expressed opposition to its rule.Lebanon and Syria have
committed to turning a new page on ties since his ouster, but issues including
Damascus's demand that Beirut release Syrian nationals held in Lebanese jails
remain key sticking points. nAFP
Pharmacists' Syndicate Warns Against Gap Law
This is Beirut/December 23, 2025
Pharmacists Syndicate warns draft gap law risks pension and union funds,
undermining decades of pharmacists’ rights. ©Houna Loubnan
The Pharmacists’ Syndicate on Tuesday issued a statement warning that the draft
gap law threatens the protection of union and pension fund deposits and
infringes on long-established rights, representing decades of pharmacists’
labor. Speaking to Houna Loubnan, Pharmacists’ Union President Abdul Rahman
Marqabawi stressed that the union’s funds, held in a pension fund at banks,
belong collectively to all pharmacists and should not be treated as individual
accounts. “We were waiting for justice for pharmacists in this matter, and we
will not accept this,” he said.Marqabawi underscored that the union’s position
on the bill is “clear” and indicated that the statement is only a first step. He
revealed plans to convene other unions soon “to launch a unified movement for
all free unions in defense of pension rights.”
Hezbollah 'Dissatisfied' with Iran Funding, Demands $2
Billion for Reconstruction
This is Beirut/December 23, 2025
Hezbollah has reportedly requested $2 billion from Iran for reconstruction
efforts, double the amount Tehran had initially planned to provide, citing a
shortage of funds, according to The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation. The report
noted that “despite Hezbollah continuing to purchase weapons, and despite the
economic situation not affecting its ground units, salaries, personnel
capabilities, recruitment, or training, the group remains dissatisfied.”
Hezbollah has pressed for more external and government involvement in
reconstruction of Lebanon’s south, rather than funding the effort itself,
highlighting the limits of the group’s financial capacity.
Financial Obstacles
Despite ongoing support from Iran, Hezbollah has faced severe financial losses
following its 2024 war with Israel. The report added, “the war with Israel
resulted in significant losses and a decline in the weapons stockpile that was
assembled over two decades in a short period, prompting Hezbollah to demand
additional funding from Iran, as rebuilding those capabilities requires enormous
financial resources.”Following military confrontations with Israel in June 2025,
Tehran itself has encountered major economic difficulties, including steep
international sanctions. These economic difficulties have been compounded by
domestic crises, including a severe water shortage, high inflation, and
disruptions to energy exports such as halted gas supplies to Iraq. The strain on
Iran’s finances has limited the amount available for reconstruction and military
rebuilding in southern Lebanon.
Despite internal challenges, the report noted that Tehran has managed to
continue transferring significant funds to the militant group; “Over the past
five months, Iran has transferred about $1 billion to Hezbollah via smuggling
routes passing through northern Iraq, Syria and Turkey, despite an unprecedented
internal water crisis, frequent power outages, and severe air pollution.”
Geagea: LF Ministers to Reject Financial Regularization Law
This is Beirut/December 23, 2025
Chief of the Lebanese Forces (LF) party, Samir Geagea, confirmed on Tuesday that
LF ministers will vote against the Financial Regularization Law in the Council
of Ministers, citing its failure to return depositors’ funds. In his remarks at
the Graduates’ Body dinner at the party headquarters in Maarab, Geagea said,
“the criterion is simple: does this law return people’s deposits or not? It does
not, and for that reason, we oppose it.”He criticized provisions for deposits
below $100,000, noting that monthly payouts are minimal, and denounced the
treatment of larger deposits, which are converted into financial certificates
with unclear rescheduling timelines. “No one clearly specifies where these funds
will come from,” he added. Geagea emphasized that his opposition is practical,
not ideological, rejecting what he called a “cosmetic law” that offers minor
relief while leaving the bulk of funds unresolved. On security, Geagea
reiterated that Lebanon cannot achieve stability while armed groups,
particularly Hezbollah, operate outside state control. “There is no choice but
between a real state that monopolizes weapons or the current reality of crises
and collapse,” he said, calling for all weapons to be under state authority.
IMF Reservations Fuel Dispute Over Financial Gap Law
This is Beirut/December 23, 2025
Nidaa al-Watan reported Tuesday that controversy persists over the leaked draft
Financial Gap Law, amid claims that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is
dissatisfied and has raised reservations. While the draft is expected to be
circulated to ministers ahead of a possible Cabinet vote, political and
diplomatic circles cited by the newspaper suggest that Lebanon would be better
served by postponing any IMF agreement until after resolving the issue of
Hezbollah’s weapons, arguing that progress on this front could ease
international pressure and soften IMF conditions. According to Nidaa al-Watan,
banking risk expert Mohammad Fahili cautions that the debate is unfolding “on
shaky ground,” noting the absence of any official IMF document detailing the
alleged remarks. He says the leaks nonetheless expose key points of contention,
including how the “guaranteed minimum” for depositors should be calculated, the
hierarchy of losses between shareholders and depositors, and demands for audits
to trace irregular pre-2019 profits, including financial engineering operations.
The report adds that the core dispute centers on the recapitalization of Central
Bank (BDL). Fahili warns that without credible guarantees to restore the central
bank’s capital and revenues, it risks remaining “part of the problem rather than
part of the solution,” raising broader questions about whether satisfying the
IMF could come at the cost of further harming depositors, the banking sector,
and the wider economy.
Lebanon Denies Israel’s Claim Linking Killed Soldier to Hezbollah
This is Beirut/December 23, 2025
The Israeli Army on Tuesday claimed that a Lebanese soldier killed in an Israeli
strike near the southern city of Saida on Monday was linked to Hezbollah,
describing the alleged coordination as a “serious matter”.
In a statement posted on X, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said
Israeli forces carried out what he described as “precise targeting operations”
in southern Lebanon, killing three individuals whom the military identified as
members of Hezbollah. According to the Israeli account, one of those killed in
airstrikes near the city of Saida was allegedly affiliated with Lebanon’s
military intelligence while simultaneously operating within Hezbollah. Another
individual was said to be active in the group’s air defense unit in the Saida
area. The Israeli military claimed the targets were involved in what it
described as “terrorist planning” against Israeli forces and in efforts to
rebuild Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in southern Lebanon. An initial
investigation, according to the statement, indicated overlapping roles between
at least one of the slain individuals and official Lebanese military structures.
The Israeli army said it views such activities as a “grave violation” of
existing understandings between Israel and Lebanon and reiterated that it would
continue operations aimed at neutralizing what it considers threats to Israeli
civilians. Lebanon’s Office of the Minister of Defense rejected the claims,
stating, “The soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers of the army have
one loyalty: the homeland.” Major General Michel Mansour added that the recent
accusation is “false and a malicious attack on the army” and “a stab in the back
of the army’s heroes who protect the homeland.”
Previous Accusations
Israel has accused the Lebanese army of either cooperating with Hezbollah in
transporting and concealing weapons in the past. In November, the Israeli army
claimed it had observed cooperation between Lebanese army forces and Hezbollah
members in southern Lebanon, according to a report by Haaretz.
Israel alleged that Hezbollah equipment had been transported using Lebanese army
vehicles and that Lebanese forces had turned a blind eye to the entry of
Hezbollah engineering equipment into sites previously used by the militnat
group.
The Ceasefire The accusations come amid heightened tensions along the
Israel-Lebanon border since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, a
period marked by sustained cross-border hostilities between Israeli forces and
Hezbollah. The clashes subsided following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement in
November 2024, which aimed to disarm Hezbollah starting with areas south of the
Litani River. Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of rebuilding its military
capabilities and infrastructure in southern Lebanon, while Lebanon’s authorities
have consistently denied institutional coordination between the state’s military
and the group. For its part, Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the
ceasefire, citing the occupation of five hilltop positions in southern Lebanon
by Israeli troops, as well as ongoing airstrikes and deadly ground incursions
into Lebanese territory.
Diplomatic Discussions
Amid heightened diplomatic efforts, representatives from France, Saudi Arabia,
the U.S., and Lebanon met in Paris last week to finalize a roadmap for disarming
Hezbollah. The discussions focus on establishing a verification framework to
document and support the Lebanese army’s efforts to remove Hezbollah’s heavy
weapons and military infrastructure and to strengthen the ceasefire mechanism to
prevent further escalation. A broader conference to reinforce the Lebanese
military and address reconstruction is also planned for February. The Israeli
accusations could carry significant diplomatic and security consequences for
Lebanon, particularly as international partners assess their military and
financial support for the Lebanese army.
Why was Sharaa Invited to Washington, but not Aoun?
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This is Beirut/December 23, 2025
For all his efforts, Joseph Aoun deserves Washington’s active support to enable
him to accomplish even more. Until late 2024, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa
was a U.S.-designated terrorist with a $10 million bounty on his head for
leading the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. By contrast, Lebanese
President Joseph Aoun, who served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF)
until his election in January 2025, was widely regarded as one of America’s most
reliable partners in the region, especially in the fight against ISIS. So why
has the White House rolled out the red carpet for Sharaa, who met President
Trump at the White House last month, the first such visit by a Syrian leader in
nearly 80 years, while Aoun has yet to receive a similar invitation? The answer
lies in Washington’s often counterproductive politics that interfere with sound
policies.. Sharaa benefited from intense lobbying by influential regional
players, including Qatar and Turkey, with their Islamist leanings, alongside
Saudi Arabia, which successfully pushed for forgetting his al-Qaeda past. These
nations helped secure Sharaa’s meetings with Trump in Riyadh and Washington and
sanctions relief. No comparable lobby exists for Aoun. In fact, his election as
Lebanon’s 14th president since independence was driven largely by U.S. pressure,
overriding Saudi Arabia’s preference for Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.
Washington secured Aoun’s ascent to the presidency, but he lacked the external
advocacy needed to elevate his profile inside the White House. Sharaa’s
supporters in Washington marketed him as a counterterrorism partner, framing his
invitation to the White House as a step toward Syria joining the fight against
ISIS. Yet a month after the Syrian president’s November 10 meeting with
President Trump, two U.S. servicemen on a joint patrol with Sharaa’s forces were
shot dead. Questions arose about the reliability of troops under Sharaa’s
command.
Reports have suggested significant terrorist infiltration within Sharaa’s
security apparatus, with some estimates indicating thousands of former ISIS
members could remain embedded. By contrast, the U.S. has fought ISIS alongside
Syria’s Kurdish allies since 2014 without a single incident of betrayal.
With Damascus offering limited clarity on these issues, Syria’s Kurds and
Lebanon’s army have emerged as the more dependable options, potentially serving
as a “Plan B” if Sharaa’s counterterrorism efforts falter. Another key yardstick
in Washington is willingness to engage Israel, seen as a measure of commitment
to peace and stability. Early on, Sharaa appeared open to dialogue, sending
Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to meet Israeli officials indirectly in Paris
and other capitals while he was still consolidating power. As his international
standing grew, however, Sharaa’s rhetoric cooled to vague references to
“security arrangements,” as enthusiasm for deconfliction faded. By the time he
returned from Washington, Sharaa’s tone had shifted markedly. In Doha, he
rejected the terrorist label, claiming his group never targeted civilians, and
instead labeled the U.S. and Israel as the true aggressors in Iraq, Afghanistan,
and Gaza. While Sharaa grew bolder against U.S. and Israeli interests, Aoun
moved in the opposite direction, demonstrating tangible commitment. Shortly
after taking office, Aoun expressed openness to peace with Israel, though
initially tied to the Arab Peace Initiative and the elusive two-state solution.
By October 2025, Aoun urged direct civilian talks with Israel. On December 3,
Lebanon’s president appointed former ambassador Simon Karam to head Lebanon’s
first civilian-led talks with Israel in four decades.
A second round of these talks took place on December 19, with both sides
confirming a focus on border security, resident safety, and economic growth. A
third round is scheduled for January 9. Lebanon now outpaces more than 15 Arab
governments in the number of public civilian engagements with Israel.
Aoun has instructed the LAF to cooperate with the Israel Defense Forces on
enforcing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, as outlined in the November 2024
Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. He has pushed the LAF to dismantle as much
Hezbollah weaponry as possible, despite severe resource constraints and
Hezbollah’s ongoing rearmament outpacing both LAF efforts and IDF strikes. While
Israel can escalate its operations, the LAF needs robust U.S. support to
intensify disarmament against the pro-Iran militia.
Aoun has proven himself a steadfast partner against ISIS, dispatched officials
for direct talks with Israel, and worked to restore as much of Lebanon’s
independence as possible. He may well be Lebanon’s most pro-U.S. president since
Camille Chamoun’s term from 1952 to 1958.
Yet Washington’s Islamist-influenced lobby appears to favor Sharaa as the man of
the hour. The lobby often presses the Lebanese to defer to the Syrian president.
Though still learning the presidency, Aoun has adapted quickly, and his
intentions align with U.S. interests. For all his efforts, he deserves
Washington’s active support to enable him to accomplish even more. A stronger
Aoun would help detach Lebanon from the region’s endless conflicts. Lebanon’s
independence from Iran, Turkey, and Gulf influence—while maintaining peace with
all, including Israel—should have been secured long ago. However, it is not too
late. If Aoun is committed to this path, he must receive the full backing needed
to make it a reality.
Israel’s Objectives and Syria’s New Calculations
Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 23/2025
On December 19, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed the National Defense
Authorization Act, which included the permanent repeal of the Caesar Act. Nearly
a month earlier - before this step lifted the crippling sanctions imposed on
Damascus under the former regime - Ahmad al-Sharaa visited the White House,
becoming the first Syrian president to do so in the history of relations between
the two countries. The visit followed a meeting with Trump in Riyadh, arranged
at the initiative of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Al-Sharaa’s representatives have since held direct and indirect talks with
Israel. He has visited Moscow, is preparing a trip to China, and represented
Syria at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This diplomatic surge
is unfolding within a complex regional equation surrounding Syria, one whose
most dangerous element lies in Israel’s heavy objectives, as Tel Aviv appears
the external actor most intent on intervening against Damascus.
Beyond its unsuccessful efforts to obstruct the repeal of the Caesar sanctions,
the Israeli military has carried out more than 600 operations inside Syrian
territory since Dec. 8, 2024 - an average of two strikes a day - often on what
critics describe as flimsy pretexts. Yet Israel’s calculations toward Damascus
are broader and more intricate, and can be distilled into five core pillars.
First, the Israeli government insists that Syria’s recognition of Israeli
“sovereignty” over the Golan Heights is an indispensable prerequisite for any
peace agreement. Trump recently reaffirmed his recognition of Israeli
sovereignty over the Golan, boasting that he had “given” the territory to
Israel, despite the UN General Assembly’s December 2, 2025 vote in favor of an
Egyptian-backed resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from the occupied Golan
to the June 4, 1967 lines.
Second, Israel is determined to retain control of the disengagement zone
established by the 1974 agreement. Its forces entered the area just hours after
opposition forces moved into Damascus, seizing roughly 400 additional square
kilometers of Syrian territory. The aim is to entrench a buffer zone stripped of
heavy weaponry stretching from south of Damascus toward Israel, including Mount
Hermon, alongside what effectively amounts to a no-fly zone. Under this vision,
the Syrian army’s presence would be limited to lightly armed security and police
units tasked solely with maintaining internal order.
Third, while Israel rejects the prospect of southern Syria becoming a sphere of
influence for Ankara, its political establishment believes a workable modus
vivendi with Türkiye is possible, based on mutual recognition of each side’s
“legitimate security interests” in Syria. Tel Aviv acknowledges Türkiye’s
existential security priorities in northern Syria, particularly regarding the
Kurdish issue and preventing the emergence of separatist entities. In return, it
expects Turkish recognition that southern Syria - from Damascus to the Golan -
is a vital Israeli security zone in which the expansion of armed factions is
unacceptable.
Fourth, Israel insists on unrestricted freedom of action for its air force in
Syrian airspace. The objective is no longer limited to striking weapons
shipments bound for Hezbollah. Fifth, Israel treats what it calls the “Druze
priority” as a cornerstone of its Syria strategy. This approach is driven by
pressure from Druze communities inside Israel, an integral component of its
security establishment, as well as by a geopolitical ambition to transform
Sweida and Jabal al-Arab into a secular “social buffer zone” that would prevent
militias or radical organizations from advancing toward Israel’s borders. To
this end, Israel seeks recognition of a special status for the Druze that would
guarantee a degree of self-administration, using the issue to justify direct
military intervention and the retention of strategic areas such as the summit of
Mount Hermon.
By contrast, President al-Sharaa’s strategy rests on three pillars. The first is
prioritizing economic stability, abandoning radical rhetoric, and focusing on
reconstruction at an estimated cost of $216 billion. The second is consolidating
international legitimacy through a security partnership with Washington that
redefines Syria as a “partner in counterterrorism.” This has taken shape through
Syria’s joining of the international coalition against ISIS and was
operationalized in the joint “Eagle Eye” operation targeting the group. The
third pillar is a firm commitment to preventing Syria’s fragmentation into
separate entities.
As 2025 draws to a close, Syria stands at a crossroads shaped by lofty national
ambitions and complex regional crosscurrents. While Tel Aviv seeks to impose a
rigid security reality and Türkiye aspires to inherit the roles once played by
Iran and Russia, Damascus finds strategic depth in an Arab umbrella led by Saudi
Arabia and in the Trump administration’s desire to see the “Syrian model”
succeed. From Damascus’ perspective, the objective is clear: to ensure that
Syria’s stability flows from the strength and cohesion of the state, not from
subservience to the dictates of geopolitics.
Lebanon and Gaza: Managing the Conflict Instead of Ending
It
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 23/2025
It is difficult to understand developments on the two burning fronts of Lebanon
and Gaza in isolation from the outcomes of Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to
Washington. The visit is unlikely to generate magical solutions to these deeply
complex crises, but it could determine whether the growing impression (which we
have from diplomatic leaks) that the global trajectory is moving toward partial
or incremental settlements. This impression was reinforced by the statements of
US envoy Tom Barrack, for example, who described Lebanon’s demand to disarm
Hezbollah by force as “unrealistic,” and warned that it could lead to civil war.
as well as reports about an Egyptian initiative to “freeze the arms.” The
American Ambassador in Beirut, Michel Issa, and President Joseph Aoun are also
reportedly on the same page, on the premise of confining armament to the state
without destabilizing security.
If these indications are accurate, the area south of the Litani River could be
transformed into a demilitarized zone that the Lebanese army is deployed to.
However, in this scenario, the issues are the security belt, the economic zone,
and the force that would replace UNIFIL would not be resolved. The prevailing
conclusion is that the complete disarmament of southern Lebanon that meets
Israel’s security needs, but it seems that it would be coupled with a proposal
Israel may reject: transferring heavy and precision back missiles to Iran, while
medium and light weapons are maintained north of the Litani and “containment.”
If this conclusion is valid, it would mean that the US approach is to neutralize
the direct threat to Israel without addressing the issue of illegal weapons in
Lebanon as a foundational sovereignty problem. Even if heavy weapons are removed
from the equation and the south is neutralized, Lebanon will remain hostage to
an armed party capable of obstruction that can impose its will. In the Lebanese
experience, weapons have never been a mere military tool. Arms are always used
for political ends.
The problem becomes even more difficult with the assumption that Hezbollah would
be rendered a Lebanese party fully integrated into the political game. This
proposal ignores the party’s ideological nature: it did not emerge as a local
movement. It cannot adapt and evolve; it is organically linked to a regional
project led by Iran: weapons, doctrine, and geopolitical function are
inseparable. The party’s identity is linked to Tehran, and that is not
negotiable.
For Israel, this formula is likely to be handled with cautious pragmatism, an
interim arrangement that reduces risks on the northern front without providing a
conclusive solution. Keeping Hezbollah’s arms north of the Litani means
postponing the threat rather than eliminating it, making any acceptance
conditional on the right to intervene militarily when necessary.
In Gaza, the success of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan
depends on several factors: the US role, the nature of the international
stabilization force, Netanyahu’s position, Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and the
role of the Palestinian Authority. The outcome may be either partial
implementation, cosmetic measures that perpetuate the status quo, or failure and
chaos. In fact, Gaza has become divided into two zones: one under Israeli
control, where reconstruction under international supervision can begin, and
another under Hamas control, which is in a state of paralysis and will remain so
until we see a resolution of the arms issue. Although Arab states have declared
they will not confront Hamas militarily, they support efforts to strip it of its
political legitimacy. For its part, Hamas insists on maintaining the weapons and
advances ambiguous alternatives such as freezing them. Egypt and Turkey prefer
separating forces and postponing disarmament, while Israel insists on remaining
in the Strip along the “yellow line” to prevent Hamas from rearming.
The problem in Lebanon and Gaza is one and the same: weapons remaining in the
hands of non-state actors. In Lebanon, this is a fundamental sovereignty crisis;
in Gaza, it is an obstacle to the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian
state that is compounded by the hardline taken by Israel’s religious right,
which rejects any viable settlement. If the option of containment consolidates
in Lebanon and Hamas is left in control of part of Gaza, the US strategic
objective would not have failed. However, we would be facing a political
impasse: how can we deal with ideological non-state actors that have a social
base and links to Iran without pushing Lebanon to implosion, bringing a new
bloodbath to Gaza, or dragging the region into a broader confrontation.
The problem is not the shift from the term “disarmament” to “containment,” but
the absence of a comprehensive vision that addresses the weapons of Hezbollah
and Hamas as a crisis of statehood, not merely a threat on Israel’s border. The
piecemeal approach, which reflects newly emerging complexities in
decision-making in Washington, keeps Lebanon and Gaza in a fragile gray zone.
They would be managed and rendered elements of a broader basket of regional
priorities, where stability is assessed as the capacity to prevent implosion,
not the emergence of a fully sovereign state in Lebanon and a stable Palestinian
state in the future. Hope for a better future for Lebanon and Gaza cannot come
from containment, which aggravates the division between a state that administers
and a militia that decides, managing the conflict instead of ending it. Instead,
the two-state solution must be revived because it is the only framework that can
neutralize Hamas, Hezbollah, and extremist settlers alike rather than containing
or appeasing them. As long as weapons remain outside the state and settler
violence continues, every ceasefire will remain fragile, and peace will remain
distant.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
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December 23-24/2025
Netanyahu ‘sought plan to evade responsibility for
Oct. 7 attack
AP/December 23, 2025
JERUSALEM: A former close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that
immediately following the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered Israel’s
two-year war in Gaza, the Israeli leader instructed him to figure out how the
premier could evade responsibility for the security breach. Former Netanyahu
spokesperson Eli Feldstein, who faces trial for allegedly leaking classified
information to the press, made the explosive accusation during an extensive
interview with Israel’s Kan news channel Monday night.
FASTFACT
Feldstein said Netanyahu looked ‘panicked’ when he made the request. He was
later told to omit the word ‘responsibility’ from all statements. Critics have
repeatedly accused Netanyahu of refusing to accept blame for the deadliest
attack in Israel’s history. But little is known about Netanyahu’s behavior in
the days immediately following the attack, while the premier has consistently
resisted an independent state inquiry. Speaking to Kan, Feldstein said “the
first task” he received from Netanyahu after Oct. 7, 2023, was to stifle calls
for accountability. “He asked me, ‘What are they talking about in the news? Are
they still talking about responsibility?’” Feldstein said. “He wanted me to
think of something that could be said that would offset the media storm
surrounding the question of whether the prime minister had taken responsibility
or not.”He added that Netanyahu looked “panicked” when he made the request.
Feldstein said he was later told by people in Netanyahu’s close circle to omit
the word “responsibility” from all statements. Netanyahu’s office called the
interview a “long series of mendacious and recycled allegations made by a man
with clear personal interests who is trying to deflect responsibility from
himself,” Hebrew media reported.
Israeli Defense Minister Says No Plan to Resettle Gaza
After Hinting at One
Asharq Al Awsat/December 23/2025
Israel's defense minister denied any intention to resettle the Gaza Strip on
Tuesday after earlier remarks that suggested Israel would one day want to do so,
comments at odds with US President Donald Trump's plan for the Palestinian
enclave. Defense Minister Israel Katz, speaking at a settlement in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the military would never leave all of Gaza and
planned to station a type of unit - Nahal - that has historically played a role
in establishing Israeli communities, including settlements. After some Israeli
media reported the comment as a plan to resettle Gaza, where Israel dismantled
settlements in 2005, Katz issued a statement saying "the government has no
intention of establishing settlements in the Gaza Strip". According to the
US-backed peace plan signed by both Israel and Hamas in October, the Israeli
military will gradually withdraw completely from the coastal enclave and Israel
will not re-establish civilian settlements there. The plan nevertheless
provides for an Israeli "security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza
is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat." Hamas spokesperson Hazem
Qassem said that Katz's announcement was "a clear violation of the ceasefire
agreement" and "completely goes against" Trump's peace plan.
WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out the
possibility of re-establishing settlements in Gaza throughout the two-year Gaza
war, although some ultra-nationalist members of his coalition seek to reoccupy
Gaza. Katz made his initial comments in the West Bank settlement of Beit El -
near the Palestinian Authority's administrative headquarters of Ramallah - where
he announced 1,200 housing units would be built. "When the time comes, in
northern Gaza ... we will establish Nahal (military) units instead of the
(Israeli) communities that were displaced. We will do so in the right way at
the right time," he said. In his statement clarifying the remark, Katz said
"the reference to the integration of Nahal ... in the northern Gaza Strip was
made in a security context only."
NETANYAHU, TRUMP PLAN TO MEET NEXT WEEK
The comments point to complications facing Trump's Gaza plan, ahead of his
meeting next week with Netanyahu at the White House. Trump's plan secured a
ceasefire in October and the release of the remaining living hostages seized in
the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led raids into southern Israel. But there has been
little sign of progress towards the other goals. Hamas has so far refused to
disarm, as required by the plan, which also foresees the establishment of a
transitional authority and the deployment of a multinational force. Katz, in his
comments at Beit El, said: "We are located deep inside Gaza and we will never
leave all of Gaza. There will never be such a thing. We are there to protect, to
prevent what happened." "We don't trust anybody else to protect our citizens,"
he said, pointing to what he said was also a need to be also in Lebanon and
Syria. Israeli settlement building in the West Bank - part of the territory
where Palestinians aim to establish a state - has accelerated under Netanyahu.
Palestinians and the international community for the most part consider the
settlements to be illegal. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical
ties to the land. Speaking about the West Bank, Katz said: "Netanyahu's
government is a settlements government... it strives for action. If we can get
sovereignty, we will bring about sovereignty... We are in the practical
sovereignty era," Katz said. "There are opportunities here that haven't been
here for a long time." Israel is heading into an election year in 2026 and
settlers make up part of Katz and Netanyahu's Likud party voter base. A
Palestinian official condemned Katz's initial comments, calling them a dangerous
escalation.
Israel defense minister vows to stay in Gaza, establish
outposts
AFP/December 23, 2025
JERUSALEM: Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday vowed Israel will remain in
Gaza and pledged to establish outposts in the north of the Palestinian
territory, according to a video of a speech published by Israeli media. His
remarks, reported across Israeli media, come as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire
between Israel and Hamas holds in Gaza. Mediators are pressing for the
implementation of the next phases of the truce, which would involve an Israeli
withdrawal from the territory. Speaking at an event in the Israeli settlement of
Beit El in the occupied West Bank, Katz said: “We are deep inside Gaza, and we
will never leave Gaza — there will be no such thing.”“We are there to protect,
to prevent what happened (from happening again),” he added, according to a video
published by Israeli news site Ynet. Katz also vowed to establish outposts in
the north of Gaza in place of settlements that had been evacuated during
Israel’s unilateral disengagement from the territory in 2005. “When the time
comes, God willing, we will establish in northern Gaza, Nahal outposts in place
of the communities that were uprooted,” Katz said, referring to
military-agricultural settlements set up by Israeli soldiers.
“We will do this in the right way and at the appropriate time.”Katz’s remarks
were slammed by former minister and chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, who accused
the government of “acting against the broad national consensus, during a
critical period for Israel’s national security.”“While the government votes with
one hand in favor of the Trump plan, with the other hand it sells fables about
isolated settlement nuclei in the (Gaza) Strip,” he wrote on X, referring to the
Gaza peace plan brokered by US President Donald Trump. The next phases of
Trump’s plan would involve an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of
an interim authority to govern the territory in place of Hamas and the
deployment of an international stabilization force. It also envisages the
demilitarization of Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas, which the group
has refused. On Thursday, several Israelis entered the Gaza Strip in defiance of
army orders and held a symbolic flag-raising ceremony to call for the
reoccupation and resettlement of the Palestinian territory.
Israeli settlers forcibly enter Palestinian home in latest West Bank attack
AP/December 23, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian home in the south of the
Israeli-occupied West Bank overnight, breaking in and killing sheep, a
Palestinian official said Tuesday. It was the latest in a surge of attacks by
settlers against Palestinians in the territory in recent months. Israeli police
said they arrested five settlers.The settlers killed three sheep and injured
four more, smashed a door and a window of the home, and fired tear gas inside,
sending three Palestinian children under the age of 4 to the hospital, said Amir
Dawood, who directs an office documenting such attacks within a Palestinian
governmental body called the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission. Police
said they arrested the five settlers on suspicion of trespassing onto
Palestinian land, damaging property and dispensing pepper spray, not tear gas.
They said they are investigating. CCTV video from the attack in the town of As
Samu’, shared by the commission, showed five masked settlers in dark clothing,
some with batons, approaching the home and appearing to enter. Sounds of
smashing are heard, as well as animal noises. Another video from inside shows
masked figures appearing to strike sheep in the stable. Photos of the aftermath,
also shared by the commission, show smashed car windows and a shattered front
door. Bloodied sheep lie dead as others stand with blood staining their wool.
Inside the home, photos show broken glass and the furniture ransacked. Dawood
said it was the second settler attack on the family in less than two months. He
called it “part of a systematic and ongoing pattern of settler violence
targeting Palestinian civilians, their property and their means of livelihood,
carried out with impunity under the protection of the Israeli occupation.”During
October’s olive harvest, settlers across the territory launched an average of
eight attacks daily, the most since the United Nations humanitarian office began
collecting data in 2006. The attacks continued in November, with the UN
recording at least 136 by Nov. 24. Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem
and Gaza — areas claimed by the Palestinians for a future state — in the 1967
war. It has settled over 500,000 Jews in the West Bank, in addition to over
200,000 in contested East Jerusalem. Israel’s government is dominated by
far-right proponents of the settler movement, including Finance Minister Bezalel
Smotrich and Cabinet Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the nation’s police
force. Earlier this week, Smotrich said the Israeli cabinet had approved a
proposal for 19 new Jewish settlements, another blow to the possibility of a
Palestinian state.
Ex-aide says Netanyahu asked him to make plan to evade
Oct. 7 responsibility
Associated Press/December 23, 2025
A former close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately
following the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered Israel's two-year war in
Gaza, the Israeli leader instructed him to figure out how the premier could
evade responsibility for the security breach.Former Netanyahu spokesperson Eli
Feldstein, who faces trial for allegedly leaking classified information to the
press, made the explosive accusation during an extensive interview with Israel's
Kan news channel Monday night.Critics have repeatedly accused Netanyahu of
refusing to accept blame for the deadliest attack in Israel's history. But
little is known about Netanyahu's behavior in the days immediately following the
attack, while the premier has consistently resisted an independent state
inquiry.Speaking to Kan, Feldstein said "the first task" he received from
Netanyahu after Oct. 7, 2023, was to stifle calls for accountability. "He asked
me, 'What are they talking about in the news? Are they still talking about
responsibility?'" Feldstein said. "He wanted me to think of something that could
be said that would offset the media storm surrounding the question of whether
the prime minister had taken responsibility or not."He added that Netanyahu
looked "panicked" when he made the request. Feldstein said he was later told by
people in Netanyahu's close circle to omit the word "responsibility" from all
statements. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in
southern Israel and took 251 hostages back to Gaza. Israel then launched a
devastating war in Gaza that has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza,
according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between
civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and
children.
Netanyahu's office called the interview a "long series of mendacious and
recycled allegations made by a man with clear personal interests who is trying
to deflect responsibility from himself," Hebrew media reported. Feldstein's
statements come after his indictment in a case where he is accused of leaking
classified military information to a German tabloid to improve public perception
of the prime minister following the killing of six hostages in Gaza in August of
last year.Feldstein is also a suspect in the "Qatargate" scandal, one of two
close aides to Netanyahu accused of accepting money from Qatar while also
working for the prime minister.
Australia PM to invite Israeli president to visit
Agence France Presse/December 23, 2025
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said his government would
invite Israel's president to visit, after a mass shooting in Sydney targeting
the Jewish community. "Prime Minister Albanese advised President (Isaac) Herzog
that, upon the recommendation of the Australian government, the Governor-General
of Australia will issue an invitation in accordance with protocol to President
Herzog to visit Australia as soon as possible," said a post on the leader's X
account.
Palestinian Authority says Israel tightening control over West Bank with new
settlements
LBCI/December 23, 2025
The Palestinian Authority condemned on Tuesday Israel's plan to approve 19
settlements in the occupied West Bank, accusing it of tightening its control
over Palestinian land.In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian foreign
ministry described the move as a "dangerous step aimed at tightening colonial
control over the entirety of Palestinian land," calling it a continuation of
"apartheid, settlement, and annexation policies that undermine the inalienable
rights of the Palestinian people."AFP
Palestine Action hunger strikers launch legal action
against UK govt
Arab News/December 23, 2025
LONDON: Hunger strikers from Palestine Action in the UK have launched legal
action against the government, accusing it of abandoning the policy framework
for prison safety, The Independent reported. A pre-action letter was sent to
Justice Secretary David Lammy by a legal firm representing the activists. It
came as several imprisoned members of the banned organization — including one
who has refused food for 51 days — were hospitalized due to their deteriorating
health while on hunger strike. They say they have sent several letters to Lammy,
who is also deputy prime minister, but have received no response.
He was urged in the latest letter to respond within 24 hours as the issue is a
“matter of urgency.”The letter added: “Our clients’ health continues to
deteriorate, such that the risk of their dying increases every day.”An “urgent
meeting” is needed “with the proposed defendant to discuss the deterioration of
our clients’ health and to discuss attempts to resolve the situation,” it said.
Seven of the Palestine Action prisoners have been admitted to hospital since the
hunger strike was launched on Nov. 2, including 30-year-old Amu Gib and Kamran
Ahmed, 28. They are being held in prisons across the country. Two members of the
group have been forced to end their hunger strike due to health conditions: Jon
Cink, 25, ended on day 41, while 22-year-old Umer Khalid finished on day 13.
Gib, now on day 51, was hospitalized last week and reportedly needs a wheelchair
due to health concerns. Dr. James Smith, an emergency physician, warned
journalists last Thursday that some of the imprisoned activists “are dying” and
need specialized medical care. In a letter signed by more than 800 doctors,
Smith said the hunger strikers were at “very high risk of serious complications,
including organ failure, irreversible neurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias
and death.”The strikers are demanding that Palestine Action, which is classified
as a terrorist organization, be de-proscribed. They are also urging the
government to shut down defense companies with ties to Israel, among other
demands. In response to the latest letter, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson
said: “We strongly refute these claims. We want these prisoners to accept
support and get better, and we will not create perverse incentives that would
encourage more people to put themselves at risk through hunger strikes.”
Palestinian president affirms efforts to release Marwan
Barghouti from Israeli prison
Arab News/December 23, 2025
LONDON: President Mahmoud Abbas emphasized the Palestinian Authority’s efforts
to support calls for the release of senior Fatah leader and Central Committee
member Marwan Barghouti from an Israeli prison. Tuesday, Abbas received Fadwa
Barghouti, his wife, at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, affirming
that his release has always been a top priority for both the presidency and the
Fatah movement. Abbas praised Barghouti, who has been in Israeli prisons since
April 2002 after receiving five life sentences plus 40 years for his conviction
of carrying out deadly attacks on Israelis during the peak of the Second
Intifada of 2000. Hamas proposed Barghouti’s name on the list of prisoners to be
exchanged for Israeli captives, but Israel declined to release him in October.
The 66-year-old national figure also served over four years in prison in 1978
for political activism. Analysts have long seen him as a potential presidential
candidate if and when he is released from prison. His family accused Israel
Prison Service officers of having beaten him unconscious. In August, the Israeli
far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted video footage
showing him visiting Barghouti in prison and making threatening remarks to him.
Gaza’s tiny Christian community tries to capture the holiday spirit during the
ceasefire
AP/December 23, 2025
GAZA: Attallah Tarazi recently received Christmas presents that included socks
and a scarf to shield him against the Gaza winter, and he joined some fellow
Palestinian Christians in a round of hymns. “Christ is born,” the group sang in
Arabic. “Hallelujah.”The presents and hymns offered the 76-year-old a taste of
the holiday in a devastated Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire has provided some
relief, but the losses of the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing struggles of
displaced people are dampening many traditional festivities. Tarazi and much of
the rest of Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community are trying to capture
some of the season’s spirit despite the destruction and uncertainty that
surround them. He clings to hope and the faith that he said has seen him through
the war. “I feel like our joy over Christ’s birth must surpass all the
bitterness that we’ve been through,” he said. He’s been sheltering for more than
two years at the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza, where a church group
including choir members toured among displaced people this Christmas season, he
said.“In such a glorious moment, it’s our right to forget all that’s war, all
that’s danger, all that’s bombardment.”But for some, the toll is inescapable.
This will be the first Christmas for Shadi Abo Dowd since the death of his
mother, who was among those killed in July when an Israeli attack hit the same
Catholic church compound where Tarazi lives and which has been housing displaced
people. Israel issued statements of regret and said it was an accident. Abo Dowd
said his son was wounded in the assault that also hurt the parish priest. Ahead
of Christmas, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa,
paid a visit to the Holy Family Parish. A patriarchate statement said the visit
marked the beginning of Christmas celebrations in “a community that has lived
and continues to live through dark and challenging times.”
Suffering and a state of ‘no peace and no war’
Abo Dowd, an Orthodox Christian who observes Christmas on Jan. 7, said he does
not plan to celebrate beyond religious rituals and prayers. “There’s no feast,”
he said. “Things are difficult. The wound is still there,” he said. “The
suffering and pain are still there.”He added: “We’re still living in a state of
no peace and no war.”Israeli strikes have decreased since the ceasefire
agreement took effect in October, but deadly attackshave not entirely ended.
Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of breaking the truce and the more
challenging second phase has yet to be implemented. The war began when Hamas-led
militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and
taking about 250 hostages. Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed nearly 71,000
Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not
differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths
were women and children. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run
government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records
viewed as generally reliable by the international community. Israel’s offensive
in Gaza has also caused widespread destruction and displaced the vast majority
of the territory’s some 2 million residents. Highlighting some of the many
struggles and needs of the enclave and its people was torrential rain that
recently flooded displacement camps and collapsed already badly damaged
buildings. “I always tell my children, ‘God only gives the toughest battles to
his strongest soldiers,’” Abo Dowd said. “We’re holding onto our Christian faith
and onto our country, and we love our country.”He and others know of many
Christians among those who fled Gaza during the war and more who hope to leave
if given the opportunity. He worries about the effect on the Christian presence
and on Gaza’s social fabric. “It’s a tragedy,” he said. His children would like
to study abroad. “They’re young. What will they stay to do? There’s no future.”
A Christmas without many familiar faces
The departure of many relatives and friends means Christmas doesn’t feel the
same for 23-year-old Wafa Emad ElSayegh. He and family members gathered with
others at Gaza’s Greek Orthodox church compound to put up decorations. But the
absence of friends who escaped Gaza fueled his nostalgia.
“We used to be together in everything,” said ElSayegh, who’s now staying with
his family at the home of an aunt who left Gaza during the war. His favorite
part of Christmas was the togetherness — the family gatherings, the celebratory
events that he said drew Christians and some Muslims, and the excitement of
children receiving gifts.“There would be celebrations, songs and an
indescribable joy that we, unfortunately, haven’t felt in a long time,” he said.
And with many relatives away, he said the usual Christmas atmosphere cannot be
recreated.
Joy amid the pain
Elynour Amash, 35, is trying to bring some of that cheer to her children
“through decorating and lighting the tree so they can feel that joy is possible
despite all pain.”“My children feel a little bit of joy, like breathing after a
long period of suffocation,” she said in written responses to The Associated
Press. “They’re happy they’re celebrating without fear of a nearby explosion and
because some chocolates and sweets have returned to their lives, in addition to
foods that they had long been deprived of.”She’s thankful her home is still
standing, but the scenes of displaced people in tents that cannot shield them
from the cold and rain often drive her to tears.She doesn’t feel like the war
has truly ended. “The sounds of explosions and gunfire can still be heard, and
the fear hasn’t left the hearts. There’s continuous worry that the ceasefire
won’t last.” She sees the toll in her youngest, who trembles when he hears loud
noises.
“It’s as if the war lives inside of him,” she said. “As a mother, that pain is
indescribable.”She also worries that someday Christians could disappear from
Gaza. But, for now, “our presence, no matter how small, is a testimony of love,
steadfastness and faith in this land,” she said.
Tarazi is determined to stay.Early in the war, he lost a sister, who was among
those killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the Orthodox church compound housing
displaced people. The Israeli military said it had targeted a nearby Hamas
command center. Tarazi said a brother also died after he could not get needed
medical care due to the war. He prays for peace and freedom for the Palestinian
people. “Our faith and our joy over Christ’s birth are stronger than all
circumstances,” he said.
Gazans fear renewed displacement after Israeli strikes
AFP/December 23, 2025
KHAN YUNIS: When her children, trembling with fear, ask where the family can go
to escape Israel’s continued bombardment in southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis area, Umm
Ahmed has no answer. In her small, devastated village near Khan Yunis city,
recent Israeli drone and artillery strikes shattered the tenuous sense of peace
delivered by a ceasefire that has largely held since October 10. Residents say
the strikes have targeted neighborhoods east of the so-called Yellow Line — a
demarcation established under the truce between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli
military says its troops are deployed in the area in accordance with the
ceasefire framework, accusing Hamas militants of “crossing the Yellow Line and
carrying out terrorist activities.”More than two years after Hamas’s October 7
attack on Israel sparked a devastating war, tens of thousands of Gazans still
live in tents or damaged homes in these areas, where the Israeli army maintains
control and operates checkpoints.Now, many fear being forced from their homes,
compelled to move west of the Yellow Line. “We don’t sleep at night because of
fear. The bombardments in the east are relentless,” said Umm Ahmed, 40. “My
children tremble at every explosion and ask me, ‘Where can we go?’ And I have no
answer.”Her home in Bani Suheila has been completely destroyed, yet the family
has stayed, pitching a tent beside the ruins. “Staying close to our destroyed
home is easier than facing the unknown,” Umm Ahmed said.Crossing the Yellow Line
to Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis, is not an option for them. There, makeshift
camps stretch as far as the eye can see, housing tens of thousands of
Palestinians who fled the fighting. “There is no place left for anyone there,
and not enough food or water,” Umm Ahmed said, as Gaza remains trapped in a
catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
‘We will not leave’
The Israeli military blames continued threats from Hamas militants for its
actions in the area.“The IDF’s current operations in Gaza, and their deployment
in the Yellow Line area in particular, are carried out to address direct threats
from terrorist organizations in Gaza,” the Israeli military said in a statement
to AFP.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that
resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP
tally based on official Israeli figures. Since the war began, more than 70,000
people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health
ministry. The vast majority of Gaza’s more than two million residents were
displaced during the war, many multiple times. A fragile ceasefire has been in
place since October 10, though both sides regularly accuse each other of
violations.
Under the truce, Israeli forces withdrew to positions east of the Yellow Line.
Earlier this month, Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir described the Yellow
Line as the “new border line” with Israel. “The Yellow Line is a new border line
— serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of
operational activity,” he said to reserve soldiers in Gaza. For Palestinian
officials, the line is seen as a tool for permanent displacement. “The objective
is to frighten residents, expel them from their areas, and force them west,”
said Alaa Al-Batta, mayor of Khan Yunis, denouncing the bombardments as
“violations of the ceasefire agreement.”Mahmud Baraka, 45, from Khuzaa, east of
Khan Yunis, described constant artillery fire and home demolitions in the area.
“It feels like we are still living in a war zone,” he said. “Explosions happen
as if they are right next to us. The objective of the occupation is clear: to
intimidate us and drive us out, so the region is emptied.”For now, residents
feel trapped between bombardment and displacement, uncertain how long they can
endure. Despite the danger, Abdel Hamid, 70, refuses to leave his home located
north of Khan Yunis, where he lives with his five children.
“We will not leave... this is our land,” he said. “Moving would not be a
solution, but yet another tragedy.”
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.
Houthis, Yemen government to exchange nearly 3,000
prisoners: officials
AFP/December 23, 2025
MUSCAT: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia and its internationally-recognized
government have agreed to a prisoner swap that includes nearly 3,000 people in
total, officials from both sides said Tuesday. The deal came after nearly a
fortnight of discussions between Yemeni officials from both sides in Muscat, the
capital of neighboring Oman, a key mediator in the conflict that has lasted for
over a decade. Majed Fadhail, a member of the government delegation for the
prisoner swap talks, said they had agreed with the Houthis on a new exchange
that would see “thousands” of war prisoners released. Abdulqader Al-Mortada, an
official with the Houthi delegation, said in a statement on X that “we signed an
agreement today with the other party to implement a large-scale prisoner
exchange deal involving 1,700 of our prisoners in exchange for 1,200 of theirs,
including seven Saudis and 23 Sudanese.”
United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg in a statement welcomed
the agreement as “a positive and meaningful step that will hopefully ease the
suffering of detainees and their families across Yemen.”He added that its
“effective implementation will require the continued engagement and cooperation
of the parties, coordinated regional support and sustained efforts to build on
this progress toward further releases.”
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.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published
on
December 23-24/2025
'Every Parent's Worst Nightmare': China's TikTok Deal - Great for China,
Not for America
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone
Institute./December 23, 2025
TikTok has posed two national security threats.
First, TikTok and its owner ByteDance have repeatedly made promises about the
security of personal data of Americans, but they have not honored pledges and
have broken U.S. statutes. The company settled charges that it violated U.S.
child privacy laws.
Second, the Chinese regime uses TikTok's curation or recommendation algorithm,
which determines the distribution of videos, to propagate its narratives as well
as spread hate, sow disinformation, glorify self-harm, and promote illicit drug
use. TikTok videos turn Americans against Americans and America itself.
The arrangement.... does not adequately eliminate the algorithm problem. Chew
stated in his memorandum that the joint venture will be responsible for
"retraining the content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data to ensure the
content feed is free from outside manipulation."
NPR reporting suggests that China will continue to own and control the algorithm
— often referred to as TikTok's "secret sauce" — and that the new joint venture
will license it. The New York Times reported in September that China would still
own the algorithm. Any Chinese involvement in the curation process, especially
considering Beijing's past use of the algorithm, is unacceptable.
"Everything is seen in China," a member of TikTok's Trust and Safety Department
said in September 2021. A "Beijing-based engineer" known as "Master Admin" had
"access to everything."
"The platform has repeatedly lied about its data-sharing practices to Congress,
and there is no reason to begin trusting them now," Chuck Flint, a former U.S.
Senate chief of staff, said to Gatestone at the time, referring to TikTok.
Moreover, China used TikTok to foment violence on American streets, which is not
only a crime but also an act of war.
Trump clearly violated the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary
Controlled Applications Act, known as the "TikTok law," by granting on January
20 an extension to allow TikTok to operate in the United States. The extension
was not authorized by the law — and neither were the three other extensions
Trump granted.
The Chinese regime uses TikTok's curation or recommendation algorithm, which
determines the distribution of videos, to propagate its narratives as well as
spread hate, sow disinformation, glorify self-harm, and promote illicit drug
use. TikTok videos turn Americans against Americans and America itself.
"We have signed agreements with investors regarding a new TikTok U.S. joint
venture, enabling over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of
endless possibilities as part of a vital global community," TikTok CEO Shou Zi
Chew reported in a memo to employees on December 18.
In response to intense American pressure, ByteDance, the privately owned Chinese
company that owns TikTok, agreed to spin off TikTok's U.S. operations.
According to Chew, the joint venture, named TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, would
be "majority owned by American investors, governed by a new seven-member
majority-American board of directors, and subject to terms that protect
Americans' data and U.S. national security."
The deal, however, is not good for America. The Trump administration should
either close TikTok or seize the extremely popular video-sharing app without
compensation.
TikTok has posed two national security threats.
First, TikTok and its owner ByteDance have repeatedly made promises about the
security of personal data of Americans, but they have not honored pledges and
have broken U.S. statutes. The company settled charges that it violated U.S.
child privacy laws. Second, the Chinese regime uses TikTok's curation or
recommendation algorithm, which determines the distribution of videos, to
propagate its narratives as well as spread hate, sow disinformation, glorify
self-harm, and promote illicit drug use. TikTok videos turn Americans against
Americans and America itself.
The TikTok deal, as revealed by Chew, would solve the data security issues.
Oracle, which will own 15% of the new joint venture, will store user data in the
U.S. in its cloud computing data centers.
The arrangement, however, does not adequately eliminate the algorithm problem.
Chew stated in his memorandum that the joint venture will be responsible for
"retraining the content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data to ensure the
content feed is free from outside manipulation."
That is a move in the right direction, but NPR reporting suggests that China
will continue to own and control the algorithm — often referred to as TikTok's
"secret sauce" — and that the new joint venture will license it. The New York
Times reported in September that China would still own the algorithm. Any
Chinese involvement in the curation process, especially considering Beijing's
past use of the algorithm, is unacceptable.
Chinese law requires that any transaction involving the algorithm — even a
licensing — is subject to its export-control laws, and it is clear that Beijing
will never allow a sale of the algorithm offshore, especially to American
parties. The Chinese government has not yet announced that it approves the deal
as outlined by Chew.
America does not need China's approval, however.
TikTok mishandled data — and deceived Congress about it. "We have not been asked
for any data by the Chinese government, and we have never provided it," Chew
testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 31, 2024, in response
to a question by Senator John Cronyn (R-TX).
Chew almost certainly did not tell the truth, and China did not need to ask. As
BuzzFeed reported in June 2022, China had access to everything on the platform
and in fact accessed it. "Everything is seen in China," a member of TikTok's
Trust and Safety Department said in September 2021. A "Beijing-based engineer"
known as "Master Admin" had "access to everything."
Moreover, it appears that the U.S.-based operations of TikTok were just window
dressing. "U.S. staff did not have permission or knowledge of how to access the
data on their own, according to the tapes," BuzzFeed reported.
"The platform has repeatedly lied about its data-sharing practices to Congress,
and there is no reason to begin trusting them now," Chuck Flint, a former U.S.
Senate chief of staff, said to Gatestone at the time, referring to TikTok.
TikTok has also been accused of surveilling, censoring content, and allowing the
surreptitious downloading of software on devices. The app even tracks
keystrokes.
Moreover, China used TikTok to foment violence on American streets, which is not
only a crime but also an act of war. As Radio Free Asia reported in August 2020,
a People's Liberation Army intelligence unit based in China's Houston consulate
sent "tailor-made" videos to incite Americans to riot. Related reporting
revealed the videos were distributed by TikTok.
"The only acceptable deal requires ByteDance's complete divestment of TikTok,"
said Flint. "The Communist Party will maintain influence over the platform
unless there is full separation." Chew reported that ByteDance will own 19.9% of
the new joint venture. In these circumstances, the Trump administration should
either invoke its emergency powers to stop the operation of TikTok or seize the
app pursuant to federal forfeiture statutes, which permit confiscation of
property used in the commission of a crime. Congress can step in should Trump
not act.
It is time the Trump administration started enforcing federal law when it comes
to TikTok. Trump clearly violated the Protecting Americans from Foreign
Adversary Controlled Applications Act, known as the "TikTok law," by granting on
January 20 an extension to allow TikTok to operate in the United States. The
extension was not authorized by the law — and neither were the three other
extensions Trump granted.
On the night of June 15, 2020, Chinese soldiers killed 20 Indian soldiers in
Galwan, high in the Himalayas, in a surprise attack. The reaction of Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was robust and immediate: He banned TikTok and 58
other Chinese apps. China's regime uses TikTok to promote illegal drug use in
America and at the same time participates in the fentanyl trade, which results
in the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans a year. Why can't Trump
demonstrate the same political will as Modi?
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22147/china-tiktok-deal
*Gordon G. Chang is the author of Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America,
a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory
Board.
*Follow Gordon G. Chang on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Netanyahu’s 2025 gains
under threat
Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/December 23, 2025
The year 2025 has, in many respects, been a positive one for Israel and its
embattled leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been fighting on multiple internal
and external fronts. The year that ushered in the second term of a decidedly
pro-Israel US president, Donald Trump, also saw the release of Israeli hostages
and the continued military dominance of Israel over its Arab neighbors. Yet
despite these visible successes, Netanyahu has been unable to shake off his deep
domestic troubles, nor has Israel managed to repair its fractured international
image. Recognition of the state of Palestine has reached an all-time high, with
157 of the UN’s 193 member states now acknowledging it. Four of the five
permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with most Western countries
and the Holy See, are among those that now recognize Palestine.
Following his inauguration, Trump appeared extremely supportive of the Israeli
leader. The US imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court and on the
UN rapporteur for Palestinian human rights. In an extraordinary move, Trump and
his secretary of state also blocked the Palestinian delegation — including the
moderate President Mahmoud Abbas — from entering America to attend September’s
UN General Assembly in New York. The US administration continued its efforts to
delegitimize UNRWA and maintained unrestrained military, financial and political
backing for Israel. During a visit to Israel, Trump addressed the Knesset and
made an unprecedented intervention in the country’s domestic affairs by urging
the Israeli president to pardon his close friend, Netanyahu, who faces four
corruption and abuse of power trials. Trump even briefly embraced Israel’s
dreams of ethnically reshaping Gaza, expressing support for turning it into a
“Gaza Riviera” emptied of its population and publicly backing the deportation of
Gazans to third countries.
The anxiety among Israelis stems in part from the dramatic collapse of the
country’s once-dominant global image
These positive signals from Washington appear to have boosted Israelis’ sense of
well-being, which a Gallup poll found had “returned to a level last seen before
the Israel-Hamas war started nearly two years ago, even as the war remains the
most important problem on their minds.” Israelis surveyed in July and August
rated their lives at 7.5 out of 10 — nearly a full point higher than the 6.8
recorded in late 2023, shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks. According to Gallup,
the drop in life evaluations between 2022 and 2023 had been the steepest
year-to-year decline the organization had recorded for any country during that
period. Yet, even though daily stress and sadness among Israelis have eased
since the start of the war on Gaza, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues
to dominate public consciousness. When asked in an open-ended question by Gallup
to identify the most important problem facing their country, 71 percent of
Israelis cited issues related to law and order — war, conflict and violence.
Fewer than one in 10 pointed to economic problems (9 percent) or government
performance (6 percent). The anxiety among Israelis stems in part from the
dramatic collapse of the country’s once-dominant global image. Israelis
traveling abroad are experiencing firsthand the shift in global opinion. The
popular Eurovision Song Contest — in which Israel, despite being a non-European
country, has long competed — faces boycotts from several leading countries,
including Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia. While efforts to expel
Israel from international athletic contests (as happened to Russia) have so far
failed, Israeli sports teams have been met with anger and mass demonstrations
during international competitions. Israeli fans were barred from attending one
of their own team’s matches in the UK and crowds at other games have loudly
expressed solidarity with Palestinians and anger toward Israel.
For Netanyahu, the early closeness with Trump proved short-lived. The American
leader continued to push — successfully — for the release of Israeli hostages,
but his 20-point plan, first presented to Arab and Muslim leaders in New York in
September, reversed earlier ideas about a depopulated Gaza and the ethnic
cleansing fantasies that Netanyahu had. However, Trump’s plan — unveiled at a
high-profile ceremony in Sharm El-Sheikh, notably without Netanyahu or any
Israeli officials present — has stalled at its very first phase. While the
hostages were released, the promised ceasefire never materialized. More than 350
Palestinians have been killed since the plan’s Oct. 10 debut. Food supplies
continue to trickle into Gaza at far below the promised rate of 600 trucks per
day.
Neither the proposed Palestinian technocratic committee nor the International
Stabilization Force have been established, let alone deployed to govern Gaza or
enforce a ceasefire. Israel vetoed the participation of Turkiye and Qatar, while
Jordan and the UAE have refused to send troops. Even Uzbekistan — reportedly
favored by Israel — declined to contribute forces. It remains unclear whether
Netanyahu will be spared conviction, imprisonment or political disqualification.
The Rafah crossing also remains effectively closed. Israel has permitted Gazans
to leave the enclave but has resisted the two-way movement envisioned in the
American plan. And despite Trump’s personal advocacy, it remains unclear whether
Netanyahu will be spared conviction, imprisonment or political disqualification.
Citing Trump’s public call for clemency, Netanyahu submitted an unusual pardon
request that failed to include the legally required elements: an admission of
guilt, an expression of remorse or a commitment to step away from political
life. Although Israel’s president has broad and largely unchecked pardoning
powers, it is unlikely he will grant Netanyahu a clean pardon without imposing
some restrictions. Elections are expected in 2026 and the polls show no
realistic scenario in which Netanyahu can assemble another majority coalition.
Some of the regional gains Netanyahu’s government has claimed are also proving
temporary. Israel’s routine military operations in Syria and Lebanon have drawn
harsh criticism, even from the Trump administration, which hosted Syrian leader
Ahmad Al-Sharaa at the White House. Israel has also faced public rebuke from the
new Pope Leo XIV, who visited Lebanon and spoke openly about the humanitarian
catastrophe in Gaza. Israel’s vaunted aerial supremacy is facing new challenges,
as the Trump administration has agreed to sell advanced F-35 jets to Saudi
Arabia. Egypt has also reasserted its regional influence. Since the Sharm
El-Sheikh event, Cairo has emerged as a key player, alongside Turkiye, in
efforts to resolve the Gaza crisis. Even Israel’s once-unshakable base of
American Christian fundamentalist support appears to be weakening. The Netanyahu
government has invested millions in attempts to rebuild its image among
Christian Zionists, a constituency that many believed Israel could never lose.
Yet cracks are appearing, including within the Republican Party. Even members of
Congress and new candidates for public office have begun publicly rejecting
American Israel Public Affairs Committee funding.
On the surface, 2025 has been a banner year for Israel and for Netanyahu. But
this honeymoon seems to be ending. The year 2026 looms, with several political
and diplomatic landmines that even Netanyahu — long celebrated for his political
survival skills — may not be able to avoid. Across much of the world, the
perception of Israel as a peaceful, liberal democracy resisting barbarism has
eroded. New generations of activists are using social media to challenge decades
of pro-Israel narratives. Ultimately, the fate of Israel’s longest-serving prime
minister now lies in the hands of the Israeli president — and, soon after, with
Israeli voters in the upcoming Knesset elections. Whether Netanyahu can once
again find a way to cling to power remains uncertain.
**Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and former Ferris
Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He is the author of “State of
Palestine Now: Practical and Logical Arguments for the Best Way to Bring Peace
to the Middle East.” X: @daoudkuttab
Freeing Marwan Barghouti could benefit both Israelis and
Palestinians
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/December 23, 2025
Every liberation movement has its heroes, and they are rarely without blemish.
The growing demand to release from an Israeli jail the best-known Palestinian
prisoner, Marwan Barghouti, should not be about what he did in the past, but
what he could contribute to in the future — a much better form of
Israeli-Palestinian relations than the present one. There are those who question
the extent of Barghouti’s 2002 conviction for orchestrating deadly attacks
against Israelis during the second intifada, for which an Israeli military court
sentenced him to five life sentences and an additional 40 years. This left
hardly any doubt that the military court also shared the government of the day’s
view that Barghouti should spend the rest of his life behind bars. Since then,
his deteriorating health has become a grave source of concern; hence the merit
of the appeal to release him on both humanitarian and political grounds; not
about what he did or did not do in the past, but about what he could do to bring
the Israeli–Palestinian conflict to a peaceful end. Those who met Barghouti, in
the heyday of the peace process in the aftermath of the Oslo Accords, testify
that he did indeed aspire to see his people liberated from occupation and
oppression, but through peaceful means. He came across as a true man of peace
who believed in a historical compromise between the two peoples that would lead
to a two-state solution. However, as a proud Palestinian, he will not accept any
agreement without dignity, and only one that ensures Palestinians’ right to
self-determination and not to occupation by other means.
Every liberation movement has its heroes
The failure of the Oslo Accords to lead to the coveted peace based on a
two-state solution ended in the horrific bloodshed of the second intifada. In
due course, all of those who have been involved on both sides in that deadly
violence should better reflect, take responsibility, apologize to their own
people and each other, and find a way to reconcile, as there is no genuine path
to peace without truth and reconciliation. In the meantime, the task is to
kickstart a peace process, and this cannot happen unless there are Israeli and
Palestinian leaderships that are equally visionary and courageous enough to tell
their own people that there is an alternative to a violent history that has
caused only pain and suffering, and that this alternative will also entail
difficult concessions. Such leadership, crucially, must enjoy a critical mass of
public support, and no one among Palestinians in the Occupied Territories enjoys
more widespread and cross-political and social support than Barghouti.
Furthermore, he is also strongly supported abroad, with hardly any other viable
candidate matching his international recognition. A recent survey among
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza by the Palestinian Center for Policy and
Survey Research revealed that Barghouti emerges as the most popular candidate to
replace Mahmoud Abbas as president, decisively winning an election against Hamas
leader Khalid Mishaal in a two-way contest and also in a three-way contest in
which the current president Abbas was also a candidate.
It might sound counter-intuitive, but there is a tendency among the public to
regard those who were in the thick of the armed resistance, or those on the
other side who oppose them in the security forces, as best suited to lead their
people from war to peace.
He came across as a true man of peace
By all accounts, Barghouti possesses two qualities that make him essential to a
future peace process with Israel: He supports a two-state solution, and he is a
unifying force within Palestinian politics. One suspects that this is precisely
why the current Israeli government is not interested in releasing him from jail,
as they bitterly oppose a two-state solution. And as for Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu throughout his time in power, and even more so his
extreme-right-wing allies, they thrive on the divisions in Palestinian politics.
Moreover, the brutality with which Barghouti is treated by the Israeli prison
service, and the recent grotesque visit by the Minister of National Security,
Itamar Ben Gvir, to his cell to harass and humiliate him, is just another piece
of evidence that this government is not interested in a partner for peace. After
all, a peace process would require a revitalized and rejuvenated political life
across the Occupied Territories, inclusive of all voices; for this, a revered
leader is invaluable, and no one fits the bill better than Barghouti. In the
early days of my involvement in Track II negotiations in the aftermath of the
Oslo Accords, I sat around the table and engaged in private conversations with
former Palestinian prisoners who had spent a time in Israeli jails for acts that
cost the lives of innocent people. It was not comfortable at the beginning, but
they helped me gain two insights that have served me well since. First, those
who committed these acts and, after deep and painful soul-searching became
people of peace, deserve our respect, which is not in any shape or form an
endorsement of what they did, but the recognition of their arduous journey to
becoming peacemakers, positioning them best to become the messengers of peace.
Second, for Israelis who served in the security forces and were either directly
involved or facilitated the killing of innocent Palestinians, it is a lesson in
humility, as they now must heed the words from the gospel of John the Apostle:
“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” — and after a century of
conflict, there are not many of those. Releasing Barghouti, as part of phase two
of the peace plan, could help achieve its success and, by doing so, do justice
to all those who have suffered from this conflict, and set foot on the path to
resolving it and preventing future pain and bloodshed.
*Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow
of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg
Oman, India show the benefit of ‘economic statecraft’
Dr. Diana Galeeva/Arab News/December 23, 2025
Oman and India recently signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
that will offer duty-free access to over 98 percent of India’s exports to Oman.
Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $10.6 billion in 2025. More
than 6,000 India-Oman joint ventures operate in Oman. Outward foreign direct
investment from India to Oman is $675 million. This latest agreement aims to
increase bilateral trade and promote India’s exports of textiles, engineering
goods, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural goods. India will offer tariff
liberalization of almost 77.8 percent of its total tariff lines, which involves
more than 94 percent of imports from Oman by value. India will cut tariffs on
select goods, such as dates and petrochemicals, from Oman. The recent
development in the region is the classic example of adopted effective economic
statecraft policy. In his 1985 book “Economic Statecraft,” David Baldwin
reevaluates the effectiveness of economic statecraft and other forms of economic
techniques. The “statecraft” is the foreign policy tool used by the state
holders with the aim to influence other global actors. Economic statecraft
includes all economic tools that are used in foreign policies. There are forms
of positive economic statecraft — so-called “carrots”: financial aid,
investments, subsidies for exports and imports, favorable tariff discrimination
— and negative forms, referred to as “sticks”: embargos, boycotts, license
denial, blacklisting, tariff increases, and freezing assets. Highlighting their
significance, Baldwin argues that “economic techniques usually cost more than
propaganda or diplomacy and thus tend to have more inherent credibility.”
Earlier, in 1945, Albert Hirschman published a book, “National Power and the
Structure of Foreign Trade,” that examined the role of trade in economic
relationships between states. The importance of trade is that “ it (the trade)
conducted between country A, on the one hand, and countries B,C, D, etc., on the
other hand, is worth something to B,C, D, etc, and that they would, therefore,
consent to grant A certain advantages — military, political, economic — in order
to retain the possibility of trading with A.” Andreas Grimmel and Viktor
Eszterhai examine the Belt and Road initiative as a case study of China’s
economic statecraft, and compare the effect of Baldwin’s “classical” exercise of
economic statecraft which is engaged at a specific dimension of actor’s behavior
with Hirschman’s policy, which aims to make countries adapt their policy
objectives themselves, primarily voluntarily, with the aim to match those of the
economically influential state more commonly.
Signing new trade deals became a vital pillar
The uncertain and challenging geopolitical global landscape leads to the
diversification of geopolitical allies. Oman and India prioritize their economic
statecraft as the key strategic policy in this process, which is relevant to the
comparison of propositions of Baldwin and Hirschman. In general, signing new
trade deals became the vital pillar of India’s economic statecraft strategy —
either to overcome negative forms of economic instruments, following Baldwin’s
argument, or to indirectly influence other countries, adopting the argument of
Hirschman. Signing the agreement comes at a vital time when the US government
applies “sticks” against India by imposing a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods.
At the same time, by signing over 15 trade agreements and with ongoing talks
with the EU, Chile, and New Zealand, India’s policy helps to boost its influence
across the world.
Oman is also taking advantage of the economic statecraft policy as it allows it
to diversify its international partners. According to a 2025 report by the World
Bank, entitled “Global Economic Prospects,” the economies of Oman and the GCC
countries are undergoing deep transformations amid fluctuating oil revenues,
shifting global economic dynamics, and climate change. Qasim Al-Maashani focuses
on the current Oman economic landscape, and argues that the sultanate has
conducted important fiscal reforms aimed at reducing the public deficit and
managing debt. To attract foreign direct investment and boost non-oil
industries, the sultanate launched privatization initiatives and public
investment programs. Oman has free trade agreements with the US, Singapore, and
Australia. Oman has developed a Vision “Oman 2040” program that targets foreign
direct investment net inflow percentage of gross domestic product (10 percent),
non-oil share of GDP (more than 90 percent), real GDP growth (5 percent), and
real GDP per capita (increase by 90 percent).
India’s policy helps to boost its influence
The UAE also concluded a trade agreement with India in February, 2022. There are
already positive signs of this pact: Since signing the deal, India-UAE bilateral
trade has grown from $72.8 billion to $100 billion. The UAE adopts the economic
statecraft policy primarily by using “carrots.” For example, the UAE has many
CEPAs in force, including with Indonesia, Israel, Turkey, Cambodia, Malaysia,
New Zealand, and Kenya. It aims to strengthen its economic ties by signing trade
agreements with Chile, the Philippines, and Ukraine, which means it will
continue adopting the policy of economic statecraft in the future. Meanwhile,
India will maintain its interests in building the strategic dialogue with the
Gulf, while evaluating benefits of this policy; it is in negotiations with Qatar
to conclude an agreement soon.
India and Oman are prioritizing “economy” rather than relying on “military”
power resources. As Baldwin explains: “Military techniques, of course, usually
entail higher costs and even more credibility, but their costs may be too high.”
He further writes that “compared to other techniques of statecraft, economic
measures are likely to exert more pressure than either diplomacy or propaganda
and are less likely to evoke a violent response than military instruments.” He
concludes: “They are not merely inferior substitutes for force but first-best
policy alternatives.” Indeed, it seems the winning policy within the current
realities of international affairs is reliance on economic statecraft, primarily
on “carrots.” The most effective way to find the absolute “win-win” is to sign
trade deals, as it allows the economy to diversify and gives international
partners the opportunity to indirectly influence each other.
*Dr. Diana Galeeva is an academic visitor to the Center of Islamic Studies at
the University of Cambridge.
Selected Face Book & X tweets
for
/December 23,
2025
Michel Hajji Georgiou
It seems necessary to linger a moment on the cunning game played by Israel,
master of puppets, in the context of the geostrategic ambitions of the Islamic
Republic of Iran. For half a century, Tel-Aviv has found in the "alliance of
minorities" (Alaouites, Christians, Druzes, Shiites from Lebanon, Kurds) a
geopolitical stamp to the Sunni hinterland. The Israeli doctrine of the
"outskirts" (1950-70s) was indeed based on an axiom: to unite with minorities to
break the Sunni siege (... )
The fifth and final article in the series devoted to the collapse of the Iranian
Empire - here's the link to the French version
https://levanttime.com/.../8ab67549-3a2a-474c-a2f7...