English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 02/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke
02/22-24/:”When the time came for their purification according to the law of
Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is
written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as
holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in
the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 01-02/2025
Four New Tweets by Elias Bejjani Addresses the cowardice Of Nawaf Salam & His
Humiliating submission To Corrupted Berri
It is unacceptable for Arab media to host guests who speak with clear bias in
favor of Hezbollah./Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/X site/February 01/2025
US objects Hezbollah's role in Lebanon's new government: New candidate list
proposed for Finance Ministry
Report: Salam agrees to naming Yassine Jaber for finance portfolio
The slow and unfinished withdrawal from South Lebanon: Israeli forces remain in
key strategic positions
Civil Defense recovers three bodies in search operations in South Lebanon's
Khiam and Aita al-Shaab
Geagea says parties must be in govt., finance can't be given to Shiite Duo
Lebanese Army Progressively Deploys in Aitaroun - Mapping
Lebanese army enters Aitaroun unaccompanied by civilians in case of ‘enemy
treachery’
Iran Seeks to Protect Syrians Fleeing to Lebanon After Assad’s Fall
Murder of Archimandrite Anania Kojanian: President Aoun Vows Justice and
Accountability
Are We on the Brink of Another Bloody Sunday in the South?/Fady Noun/This is
Beirut/February 02/2025
Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria: Netanyahu's dilemma ahead of US talks
'Made in Lebanon:' When Local Takes Root/Victoria C. Werling/This Is
Beirut/February 01/2025
Employees of Rafik Hariri Hospital Suspend Strike After Partial Salary Payment
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 01-02/2025
Syria's president visits Saudi Arabia on Sunday, first trip abroad after Assad's
fall
Gaza ceasefire sees its smoothest exchange yet of Israeli hostages for
Palestinian prisoners
Tears and cheers for freed West Bank Palestinian prisoners
Israeli hostages, Palestinian prisoners released in latest Gaza exchange
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says 50 patients cross into Egypt via Rafah
Palestinian ministry says Israeli forces kill 5 in West Bank
Israel demands ‘information’ from mediators on Bibas family after father’s
release
UNRWA’s work continues despite ban
Netanyahu appoints Major General Eyal Zamir as Israel's new army chief
Sisi, Trump Discuss Gaza Ceasefire
Arab nations reject Trump’s suggestion to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to
Egypt and Jordan
'I'm here thanks to you': Israeli hostage freed from Gaza addresses Tel Aviv
rally
Trump says U.S. carries out airstrikes on Islamic State in Somalia
Iran test-fires anti-warship cruise missile with a range of more than 600 miles
At least 56 killed as fighting grips greater Khartoum
Titles For
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources on February 01-02/2025
Any Deal with Iran's Regime Is a Grave Mistake/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone
Institute/February 01/2025
Palestinian Authority stands at a crossroads/YOSSI MEKELBERG/Arab News/February
01, 2025
President Al-Sharaa/Mamdouh al-Muhainy/Asharq Al Awsat/February 01/2025
America’s Democracy… From Eisenhower to Biden/Emile Ameen/Asharq Al Awsat/February
01/2025
Has the Balance of Power Shifted in Sudan?/Faisal Mohamed Saleh/Sudan's former
Minister of Information/Asharq Al Awsat/February 02/2025
A calamitous war without end in Sudan/HAFED AL-GHWELL/Arab News/February 01,
2025
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 01-02/2025
Four New Tweets by Elias Bejjani Addresses the cowardice Of Nawaf Salam & His
Humiliating submission To Corrupted Berri
Nawaf Salam Is
Forming a Government for Berri, Hezbollah, and Iran’s Mullahs
Nawaf Salam’s cowardly surrender to Nabih Berri by conceding the
Ministry of Finance proves that he is powerless, a failure, and utterly detached
from sovereignty and national dignity. His betrayal guarantees the survival of
crime, terrorism, and the Iranian occupation of Lebanon. With such a government,
Hezbollah’s grip remains unchallenged, and Lebanon’s sovereignty is buried under
Iranian boots.
Including Sectarian Mafias in
Government Is a Crime
Lebanon has no real political
parties by democratic standards—only Iranian proxies like Hezbollah, Baathist
remnants, jihadist factions like the Islamic Group, and corrupt family-run
businesses masquerading as political entities. Including these factions in
government is an act of treason, stupidity, and a blatant betrayal of Lebanon’s
future.
Don’t Squander the Prestige
of Lebanon’s New Government
The credibility and strength of the
new government will be determined in the first ten days. If it falters,
Hezbollah and Berri’s corruption will extend Lebanon’s suffering for another six
years. Let Lebanon not remain hostage to Iran’s occupation, lawlessness, and
systemic corruption.
Salam Must Stand Firm or Step
Aside—No Submission to Hezbollah and Berri’s Terrorism
Yassin Jaber is Berri’s loyal
puppet, and placing Lebanon’s finances in his hands cements Iran’s control over
the country. If Nawaf Salam lacks the courage to resist Hezbollah’s and Berri’s
dictates, he must step aside and refuse to legitimize a government that serves
Iran’s interests. A true national government must abide by the oath of office,
not bow to the Axis of Evil. Any government that includes Hezbollah and its
allies is doomed to failure and international isolation.
Lebanon’s Rulers Must Enforce
International Resolutions—Netanyahu Must Finish the Job
As long as Hezbollah continues to
deny its defeat, live in delusion, and send drones into Israel, Netanyahu must
persist in dismantling this terrorist menace. Lebanon’s rulers must uphold
international resolutions, end their cowardice, and cease appeasing Iran’s
murderous proxies. Enough hypocrisy—Lebanon must be liberated from Hezbollah’s
tyranny, and the Iranian cancer must be eradicated once and for all.
It is
unacceptable for Arab media to host guests who speak with clear bias in favor of
Hezbollah.
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/X site/February 01/2025
(free translation from Arabic by: Elias Bejjani)
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/02/139745/
While watching Al Arabiya, I was
struck by an unacceptable and deeply concerning reality: the presence of guests
who openly promote #Hezbollah, speaking as if the existence of an armed
terrorist militia outside the authority of the state is normal or justifiable.
How can any media platform tolerate the glorification of a group that has
hijacked an entire country, when the universal principle of governance dictates
that security and stability must rest solely in the hands of legitimate
governments? In every sovereign nation, national security is the exclusive duty
of the state—not militias serving foreign agendas. It is alarming to see Arab
media outlets granting space to voices that attempt to normalize the idea that a
terrorist faction, acting as a proxy for external forces, can be an alternative
to a legitimate government. This is a dangerous distortion of reality that must
be confronted head-on. The media carries a profound responsibility. It is
unacceptable for the pretext of "neutrality" to be misused as a justification
for enabling those who work to destabilize our nations, erode sovereignty, and
replace state institutions with terrorist organizations. Our stance must be
resolute: No platform should be given to those who seek to legitimize terrorism
and undermine our states. The message must be clear—only legitimate governments
have the authority to govern, protect, and preserve national security. Anything
else is an open invitation to chaos and destruction.
US
objects Hezbollah's role in Lebanon's new government: New candidate list
proposed for Finance Ministry
LBCI/February 01/2025
Despite local debates over ministerial quotas, sectarian balances, and political
representation, the core obstacle to forming a new Lebanese government lies in
Washington's stance on Hezbollah's involvement. The United States has made it
clear that it opposes any representation of Hezbollah, whether direct or
indirect. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted this position, calling
the latest developments in Lebanon "good news" and expressing hope for a
government stronger than Hezbollah. He argued that the group can no longer act
on behalf of what he described as a 'weakened Iran' that has lost its regional
influence. Therefore, Washington seeks to weaken Hezbollah's influence in the
government until it fades away. Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam has been
briefed on the U.S. position by two officials in the new administration,
including Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, whose visit to
Beirut has been postponed until after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
meets with President Donald Trump next Tuesday. Meanwhile, LBCI sources indicate
that Salam received a new list of ministerial candidates from the Amal-Hezbollah
duo following a meeting with their representatives on Friday. The revised list
reportedly includes three new names that are considered more acceptable than
previous suggestions, while Yassin Jaber remains the preferred choice for the
Finance Ministry. A fifth ministerial pick is expected to be agreed upon
between Salam and President Joseph Aoun to ensure a 'charter' balance within the
cabinet if the duo withdraws from the government. So far, Salam has not given
final approval to the new list. According to LBCI sources, he has reservations
about one proposed candidate for the Health Ministry—a doctor from a private
hospital on the outskirts of Beirut. Although the government formation process
remains incomplete, sources point to significant progress and a more flexible
approach from the Amal-Hezbollah duo in response to shifting domestic and
regional dynamics. Serious discussions are underway between the duo and the
Prime Minister-designate, who is keenly aware of Arab and Western concerns.
Lebanon now faces a critical decision regarding the composition of its next
government.
Report: Salam agrees to naming Yassine Jaber for finance
portfolio
Naharnet/February 02/2025
Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam met with Hezbollah and Amal Movement envoys
and he agreed to the nomination of ex-MP Yassine Jaber for the finance
ministerial portfolio, Shiite Duo sources said.“The meeting with Salam was
fruitful regarding the five portfolios and the nomination mechanism,” the
sources told Al-Jadeed TV. Al-Jadeed added that Salam “asked Hezbollah to pick a
health minister who is an AUB graduate.”Free Patriotic Movement sources
meanwhile told the TV network that until Friday evening, the negotiations over
portfolios with the FPM was yet to reach an agreement on candidates.
The slow and unfinished withdrawal from South Lebanon:
Israeli forces remain in key strategic positions
LBCI/February 01/2025
Since launching its ground incursion in October 2024, the Israeli army has
occupied 47 villages along the Lebanese border. Over the past four months,
Israeli forces have engaged in demolitions, land seizures, and military
entrenchment, gradually expanding their reach from frontline villages to deeper
areas. This move violates the ceasefire agreement, which stipulates a phased
withdrawal in exchange for the Lebanese Army's redeployment in the occupied
villages within 60 days. The withdrawal process has been slow and remains
incomplete. As of this report, the Lebanese Army has fully regained control of
24 villages, while Israeli forces continue to occupy 12 villages entirely,
mainly in the central and eastern sectors, including positions in the outskirts
of Kfarchouba, Al-Mari, Habbariyeh, and Chebaa. Additionally, nine villages
remain partially occupied, with Israeli troops stationed at their outskirts. The
Israeli army also holds key valleys such as Wadi Al-Slouqi and Wadi Shanuh,
along with elevated positions like Tallet El Hamames and Jabal Balat. Israel's
ongoing presence is concentrated in strategically significant locations. In the
western sector, its control over Jabal Balat between Ramyeh and Marwahin and the
Labbouneh hills near Naqoura provides a vantage point over the entire region,
including Tyre and parts of Galilee settlements. These were among the last
positions Israel withdrew from in 2000 and 2006. In the central sector, Israeli
forces still hold a nature reserve between Maroun El Ras and Aitaroun, a
high-altitude area that allows them to monitor and secure Avivim settlement. In
the eastern sector, Israel continues to occupy positions in Odaisseh, Kfarkela,
and Mazraat Sardah, leveraging the surrounding hills for strategic oversight.
The occupied Nabi Owaida hill, linking Kfarkela and Odaisseh, provides
visibility over the Litani River to the west. Similarly, the occupied Tallet El
Aaziyyeh, connecting Deir Mimas and Kfarkela, grants Israeli forces control over
the Litani River's course up to Shaqif. Meanwhile, Tallet El Hamames, on the
outskirts of Khiam, remains under Israeli control despite the withdrawal from
Khiam itself, offering a critical vantage point over Shebaa Farms, Khiam Plain,
and the Wazzani area.
Civil Defense recovers three bodies in search operations in
South Lebanon's Khiam and Aita al-Shaab
LBCI/February 01/2025
The Lebanese Civil Defense announced that its rescue teams, in full coordination
with the Lebanese Army, are continuing search and survey operations in areas
affected by Israeli strikes. The efforts are being carried out under the
directives of Acting Director General Brig. Gen. Nabil Farah. As part of these
operations, specialized teams recovered the bodies of two individuals in the
southern town of Khiam—one in the Hay al-Houma neighborhood and the other in
Wadi Kais. Another body was retrieved from the village of Aita al-Shaab. The
remains were transported to Marjayoun Governmental Hospital, where they will
undergo necessary medical and legal examinations, including DNA testing, under
the supervision of relevant authorities to confirm their identities. The Civil
Defense reaffirmed its commitment to fulfilling its humanitarian and national
duties in coordination with the Lebanese Army. Despite challenging conditions on
the ground, the teams will continue their search efforts until all missing
persons are accounted for.
Geagea says parties must be in govt., finance can't be given to Shiite Duo
Naharnet/February 02/2025
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday stressed that there are "good"
political parties and bad political parties. "You cannot treat them equally and
political action cannot be right without parties, but no portfolio can become
the exclusive right of a party," Geagea said, commenting on the controversy on
whether or not PM-designate Nawaf Salam should represent political parties in
the new government. "We will not accept the approach of excluding parties from
the government," Geagea added, explaining that "in all societies around the
world, political action is based on parties.""The unity of standards cannot be
imposed, and those who dragged Lebanon into war should not be treated like the
others," the LF leader said.As for the Shiite Duo's participation in the
government, Geagea said he is not opposed to giving the finance portfolio to the
Shiite community, but not to "someone from the Amal Movement or Hezbollah." He
added that the Lebanese people deserve "a competent and active government that
meets its aspirations."
Lebanese Army Progressively Deploys in Aitaroun - Mapping
Ghina Tarabay/This is Beirut/February 02/2025
The Lebanese Army has deployed military units in Aitaroun, Bint Jbeil and other
border areas in the southern Litani region, in coordination with the five-nation
committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement. The Army has urged citizens to
follow the instructions in its official statements and comply with the guidance
of deployed units, in coordination with local authorities, to ensure their
safety. At the same time, it continues to support residents in border villages
and is taking necessary actions on the ground to implement Resolution 1701,
ensuring that required measures are carried out at several sites across the
southern Litani region. In the meantime, the Aitaroun municipality has warned
residents not to return until Israeli forces have withdrawn, pending
authorization from Lebanese authorities.
Lebanese army enters Aitaroun unaccompanied by civilians in
case of ‘enemy treachery’
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/February 01, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese army units entered the border town of Aitaroun in southern
Lebanon on Saturday for the first time since the withdrawal of Israeli forces
from the area. It remains unclear whether the withdrawal included all of
Aitaroun and its surrounding areas. Israeli forces had advanced into the town
during the ground war they launched against Hezbollah on Oct. 1, 2024. Israel
refused to adhere to the withdrawal deadline set by the ceasefire agreement,
requesting an extension, with US approval, until Feb. 18. Residents of the town
did not accompany the army as they entered, following instances a week ago in
other towns when dozens of returnees accompanying Lebanese soldiers were killed
or injured by Israeli forces who had hidden behind dirt barriers in the hills
and deployed drones that targeted those attempting to reach their homes.
FASTFACT
Lebanese residents returning to their towns were limited to assessing their
destroyed properties, burying their dead, and recovering the bodies of others
still under the rubble, all of which the Israeli army had previously prevented.
Instead, Aitaroun’s residents followed the instructions of the municipality,
which had told them “not to head toward the town before the Lebanese army enters
and establishes its presence there.”A military source said the Lebanese army’s
role in the initial phase was limited to carrying out land surveying operations
for war ordnance and establishing a presence in the town. In response to
“unofficial calls to gather and head toward the towns,” the municipality said
that entering Aitaroun, “where Israelis are still present, poses a grave threat
to your lives from a treacherous and criminal enemy. Staying away is for your
safety.”Aitaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district of the Nabatieh Governorate, sits
on the border with Israel facing the Israeli settlement of Malikiya and was the
scene of fierce confrontations during the war that Hezbollah waged for a year
and two months against the Israeli army in support of Gaza.
Elsewhere on Saturday, residents continued to return to towns from which the
Israeli army has withdrawn, including Khiam. Many of them were devastated by the
extent of the destruction, much of which is the result of deliberate Israeli
demolitions of homes and facilities, with the aim of making border towns
uninhabitable for the foreseeable future. The Lebanese army continued to
redeploy in the border area of Yaroun while infiltrating Israeli forces
continued to demolish and set houses on fire in Taybeh, Odaisseh, and Rab Al-Thalathine.
Israeli forces also dropped bombs from a combat drone on a bulldozer that was
working to recover the bodies of Hezbollah fighters in the center of Taybeh.
Residents returning to their towns were limited to assessing their destroyed
properties, burying their dead, and recovering the bodies of others still under
the rubble, all of which the Israeli army had previously prevented. Retired Maj.
Gen. Hisham Jaber, head of the Middle East Center for Studies and Research,
fears that Israel might not withdraw from Lebanon after Feb. 18, the new
deadline following the extension of the original 60-day ceasefire agreement by
an additional 22 days, as requested by the Israeli government. Jaber told Arab
News he expects that Israel “will either extend the duration of its presence in
certain areas in the central and eastern sectors or remain there by force.”He
added: “The bet on US assistance to pressure Israel into withdrawing according
to the agreement is entirely unreliable, as the new administration does not care
at all about what is happening in the Middle East as a whole. Its only condition
is to avoid war, and it has no problem with hotspots remaining in the region.”
He expressed his concern that if Israel does not completely withdraw from the
south by March, “resistance groups might emerge and target its forces on
Lebanese territory, which will re-legitimize resistance operations.”On Saturday,
residents of the border town of Kfar Kila were told to gather on Sunday morning
to return to their homes, but only if the Lebanese flag is flown. The Israeli
army has reportedly not yet evacuated the town. Lebanese forces intensified
their measures in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Saturday in response to
calls from Hezbollah supporters to ride motorcycles to the city’s American
University Hospital to protest its denial of treatment for one of those injured
when thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously in Lebanon in September.
Activists claim that the patient was informed that the hospital’s refusal to
admit him was due to “concerns over potential US sanctions.”The hospital’s
administration department denies this, stating that the refusal was due to the
Ministry of Health’s “failure to cover the treatment costs of the required
treatment to the hospital so far, especially since the war wounded are treated
at the expense of the Ministry of Health and the American University Hospital is
a private entity, not a government one.”
Iran Seeks to Protect Syrians Fleeing to Lebanon After
Assad’s Fall
Beirut: Youssef Diab/Asharq Al Awsat/February 01/2025
Lebanese political and security circles were surprised by Iran’s apparent
concern for Syrian refugees who fled to Lebanon after the fall of Bashar
al-Assad’s regime. This raised suspicions that former Syrian regime figures
might be in Lebanon and that Tehran is working to secure legal and security
protection for them. However, sources revealed that Iran’s true objective is to
provide a safe passage for Iranians in Syria, facilitating their transfer to
Lebanon and eventual repatriation to Tehran via Beirut’s airport. Iran’s Deputy
Foreign Minister for Consular and Parliamentary Affairs, Vahid Jalalzadeh, made
an unexpected visit to Beirut, where he met with Lebanese Foreign Minister
Abdallah Bou Habib and General Security Chief Major General Elias Al-Baysari.
During his visit, he called for international assistance for newly arrived
Syrian refugees, hinting at their long-term stay in Lebanon.
Reports indicate that several high-ranking Syrian security officers fled to
Lebanon following Assad’s downfall. A security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that
Iran is concerned about their potential arrest and extradition to the new Syrian
government. More importantly, Iran is working to secure the transfer of Iranians
who were granted Syrian citizenship under Assad’s rule—many of whom reside in
Damascus, particularly in Sayyida Zainab—so they can be repatriated to Tehran.
Lebanon has become a transit point for several figures from Assad’s former
regime, including Rifaat al-Assad, Bouthaina Shaaban, and Maher al-Assad’s
family. It is believed that some Syrian intelligence officers have also taken
refuge in Lebanon under the protection of pro-Assad political parties. However,
Lebanese security agencies deny any knowledge of their presence. In remarks to
Asharq Al-Awsat, a senior judicial source acknowledged the possibility that
former Syrian security officials had entered Lebanon, possibly through illegal
crossings. He confirmed that security forces had previously detained members of
the Syrian Army’s Fourth Division, some of whom voluntarily returned to Syria
while others left for third countries. When asked whether the new Syrian
government had requested Lebanon to extradite wanted officials, the source
stated that no such request had been made. However, he emphasized that if any
former Syrian regime officials were discovered in Lebanon, legal measures would
be taken against them.
Murder of Archimandrite Anania Kojanian: President Aoun
Vows Justice and Accountability
This is Beirut/February 02/2025
Archimandrite Anania Kojanian, the Episcopal Vicar for the Armenian Orthodox
Church in Lebanon, was found dead at his home in Bsalim, Metn, at the age of 40.
He had been responsible for managing the affairs of the Armenian community in
Zahle and Anjar. His body was discovered after he failed to answer calls the
previous day. Security forces immediately arrived at the scene and launched an
investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the murder. Preliminary
reports suggest that robbery was the likely motive behind the crime.
Official Reactions
President of the Republic Joseph Aoun expressed his condolences to the
Catholicos of the Orthodox Armenians, Aram I Keshishian, following the tragic
death of Archimandrite Kojanian. During their phone conversation, President Aoun
strongly condemned the crime and assured that security forces were continuing
their investigation to uncover the full details of the case. He further pledged
that those responsible would be apprehended and prosecuted to the fullest extent
of the law. Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in his capacity as the caretaker head
of government, also extended his condolences to Catholicos Aram I in a phone
call. Mikati instructed the relevant authorities to expedite the investigation
and ensure the swift apprehension of the perpetrators.
Additional Reactions
The murder of Archimandrite Kojanian sparked widespread reactions from both the
public and political figures. Member of Parliament Razi al-Hage took to X to
denounce the rising crime rate, citing a lack of border control. According to
information he received, the murder was carried out by Syrian workers who had
been assigned to paint the victim’s apartment. Industry Minister Georges
Bouchikian condemned the “horrific” crime, expressing outrage at the attack on a
religious figure. He characterized the crime as an attempt to stir division and
discord within the community. Bouchikian also reassured the public that security
forces were fully mobilized to investigate the case and bring the perpetrators
to justice.
Are We on the Brink of Another Bloody Sunday in the South?
Fady Noun/This is Beirut/February 02/2025
A new call has been issued for Sunday to reclaim villages where Israel maintains
a presence. The impulse driving Southerners back to their villages could be seen
as undeniably noble—if it were spontaneous. It carries a moral legitimacy,
rooted in their deep attachment to the land and the duty to honor civilians
whose bodies remain buried beneath the rubble of destroyed homes. However, this
movement appears to be recklessly manipulated by Hezbollah—fervent yet
disorganized—reminiscent of episodes in Lebanon’s turbulent history.
This instrumentalization became evident in the harrowing testimony of an injured
woman, caught on camera, who, out of breath, revealed that she had gone to South
Lebanon under the pressure of a “religious dictate.” “Otherwise, I wouldn't have
gone,” she admitted. These villagers indeed left in haste, following orders from
the Israeli military spokesperson. To dispel any doubts, it’s worth remembering
how the Israeli Prime Minister had promised that their absence would be
“temporary” and that they would be informed when it would be safe to return.
Now, with photos in hand, they face the heartbreaking reality that their homes
have been reduced to rubble in villages transformed into traps, with underground
tunnels serving as weapons depots. This stark revelation deepens the fear they
felt when they first left—that their departure might be permanent, while Israel
is accused of attempting to create a no-man’s land along the border. In
contrast, Hezbollah adheres to a steadfast politico-religious ideology that
leaves no room for Israel in the Middle East. According to this belief, Israel
is viewed as “an artificial entity that must be destroyed,” a slogan uttered by
none other than (Iran’s supreme leader) Ali Khamenei himself.
Thus, Lebanon finds itself trapped between two opposing forces: one that denies
the other’s legitimacy, branding it an “artificial entity” with no right to
exist, and the other fueling nationalist fervor in Israel that rejects the
two-state solution. The struggle for territory between Israel and Palestine has
now reached an existential crossroads. In response, an equal radicalization
emerges, where any effort to negotiate a peaceful resolution acknowledging
Israel’s existence is condemned as “betrayal” by militant Islam, embodied by the
pro-Iranian axis.
Back in Lebanon, Hezbollah has called for mass gatherings along roads leading to
villages in the southeastern region—Yaroun, Kfar Kila, Odeisseh, Rab al-Thalathine,
Markaba, Hula, Mays al-Jabal, Blida, Wazzani, Aitaroun, and others. Compelled by
a religious dictate (taklif sharii), civilians will once again stand face to
face with the Israeli army, serving Hezbollah’s agenda. What will unfold? Can we
avoid a repeat of last week’s tragedy, when the Lebanese army initially blocked
roads to prevent civilians from advancing, only to relent and fall into
Hezbollah’s trap? The outcome that Sunday was devastating: 24 dead—including
fathers, mothers, and a soldier—and more than a hundred injured, some
critically.
The authorities must act decisively before it is too late. The February 18
deadline for the Israeli army to withdraw from Lebanese territory has now become
legally binding—a fact Israel can leverage. Who will prevail? The recklessness
of a party that has already led the country to ruin, or the wisdom of a state
capable of striking a balance and safeguarding human lives while remaining
steadfast in its sovereignty? Will we be able to prevent a tragedy from swiftly
unfolding, leaving only the bitter aftertaste of pointless loss?
Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria: Netanyahu's dilemma ahead of US
talks
LBCI/February 01/2025
As the fourth phase of the prisoner exchange deal is implemented, preparations
begin for the second round of ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas,
with growing concerns that the talks could collapse.
Against this backdrop, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to
travel to Washington for discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump. Netanyahu
faces a dilemma—balancing the survival of his government while addressing
Trump's push to end the war in Gaza. The Gaza front is expected to dominate the
talks, especially after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's meetings in Israel reinforced
the impression that Washington is serious about its plan to relocate hundreds of
thousands of Gazans to other countries in the region, a move that aligns with
Israeli interests.
The second key issue is Lebanon, where calls are growing within Israel to delay
the planned withdrawal on February 18 unless firm guarantees are secured. These
demands include deploying the Lebanese Army along the Blue Line or establishing
a buffer zone. However, Israeli officials doubt Netanyahu will secure
significant concessions from Trump on this front. Military officials are
proposing a compromise—a limited Lebanese Army deployment just beyond the
border, allowing for intensified surveillance. Meanwhile, tensions are also
rising on the Syrian front. Contrary to Israeli expectations, recent gunfire
targeting Israeli troops deep inside Syrian territory has sparked fears of a
potential escalation. Israel remains determined to maintain control over buffer
zones within Syria, further complicating the situation. Beyond these pressing
fronts, the West Bank and Iran remain looming threats, adding to the volatile
regional landscape.
'Made in Lebanon:' When Local Takes Root
Victoria C. Werling/This Is Beirut/February 01/2025
Mouneh, natural wine, spices… From supermarkets to farm stalls, local products
are taking root. A lasting phenomenon? Meet the key players driving the “Made in
Lebanon” movement.
Wines, condiments of all kinds, baskets filled with honey, cakes and jams —
stepping into Convivio in Antelias is like immersing yourself in the heart of
Lebanese terroir. Since 2019, sisters Mirvat and Karine Sarkis have carefully
curated the products they offer in their store. “When the economic crisis
started, we decided to sell Lebanese wines. Then we noticed that people
appreciated the fact that we sold only local wine. So, we decided to change the
whole concept to focus exclusively on Lebanese products, especially since we
knew imported goods would become much more expensive than locally made ones,”
explains Mirvat. Since the 2019 financial crisis, soaring prices of imported
goods have pushed consumers toward more affordable and traceable alternatives,
fostering a more diverse and modern local production. “Convivio's mission is to
support local, small, artisanal producers, especially small SMEs. We aim to help
build a more resilient economy that can stand on its own.” Beyond economic
considerations, the demand for local goods reflects a growing consumer
expectation: “People want to know the story behind a product, its origins and
how it’s made. Transparency is essential to building trust.” This movement is
also a cultural and identity-driven shift — producing and consuming local is a
way to preserve authenticity and strengthen ties to the land in a country marked
by instability. And new local brands are embracing this vision.
Rather than simply preserving tradition, they are reinventing it to appeal to a
new generation. With The Good Thymes, designer-turned-entrepreneur Fadi Aziz set
out to modernize traditional zaatar, offering it in innovative forms while
staying true to a 100% Lebanese production. "When the crisis hit, entrepreneurs
also realized the importance of creating high-quality local products. Instead of
just offering the same ‘boring’ traditional items, we started seeing more
emphasis on branding, innovation and the creation of new products based on
Lebanese ingredients. In my opinion, this played a big role in helping people
recognize the quality of our local products.” With a sleek brand image and a
targeted approach, he has successfully positioned zaatar as a “cool,” high-end
product with international appeal — without compromising its deeply Lebanese
essence. "But in the end, it’s not just about selling a good — it’s about
educating people on the value of what they’re consuming and where it comes
from,” he says. Indeed, these new local brands often sell more than just a
product. Launched by a generation attuned to both local and global challenges,
the rise of "Made in Lebanon" also addresses contemporary concerns, including
inclusivity and environmental responsibility. "We want to make sure our
production respects the ecosystem and supports the local community, including
those who might otherwise be overlooked" explains Claudine Lteif. In 2022, she
co-founded Heya Wines (Arabic for “She”) with her friend Michelle Chami. The
all-female collective produces natural wines — made without added sulfites
during fermentation. At the heart of their project is female empowerment in a
historically male-dominated industry, where women are often underpaid. “We
wanted to create a product that carries a message of empowerment. We don’t just
want people to drink our wine; we want them to understand the story behind it.”
The bottles' labels feature the faces of the Syrian refugee women who have
become part of their family, while the wine inside is 100% artisanal. “We do
everything from scratch, we harvest, we press, we crush, we bottle, we ferment,
we label by hand. We box everything. Everything is very commercial nowadays. But
natural wine is different. It's authentic. We put our soul in it. And that makes
a difference for the consumer.” Claudine also highlights that their methods are
more environmentally friendly.
Sustainability is also at the core of Beit Mouné. Sourcing products from farmers
across Lebanon, the brand is committed to eco-conscious production. “Our goal is
not just about taste; we want to ensure that every step of production respects
the environment and supports local farmers,” says manager Tarek Merhem. Striking
a balance between supporting farmers and keeping prices affordable is a
challenge, but for him, it’s essential. “Our products are 20 to 30% cheaper than
foreign brands. For the local market to thrive, we must ensure the products are
accessible to everyone — not just an elite few.”By addressing economic, social
and environmental issues, these pioneering brands are leading a local
revolution, embodying a renewed “Made in Lebanon” movement that is growing and
flourishing within a global trend. Beyond the country’s ongoing crises, they are
reshaping consumer habits, blending tradition with modernity, and innovation
with heritage.
Employees of Rafik Hariri Hospital Suspend Strike After
Partial Salary Payment
This is Beirut/February 01/2025
After more than a month of protests, employees at Rafik Hariri Governmental
University Hospital have suspended their open sit-in and will resume work on
Monday, February 3, 2025. The decision follows the receipt of the December 2024
salary and a partial payment of their current dues.
In a statement, the Employees' Committee expressed gratitude to their colleagues
and the media for supporting their movement against what they described as
"malicious policies" by the Ministry of Health. They accused the administration
of prioritizing everything but the staff’s "most basic rights, represented by
the full monthly salary." Despite ending the sit-in, they warned the
administration against retaliatory actions, stating that "any policy of revenge
through arbitrary formations and unjustified warnings will be met with rejection
and protest to the point of stopping work again."The committee called on
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam to intervene and
address the hospital’s ongoing management issues. They emphasized the need for
an authentic director and board of directors to restore the hospital’s status as
"the hospital of the homeland and its poor people."The strike began on December
26, 2024, with employees protesting in front of the Ministry of Public Health,
demanding overdue wages and accountability in hospital administration. They
accused Caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad of failing to honor decrees that
would secure their payments and condemned the administration for threatening to
fire striking employees. Workers also raised concerns about mismanagement,
urging authorities to audit the hospital’s finances and implement reforms. They
criticized Beirut’s parliamentarians for neglecting the institution, citing a
stalled 200 billion Lebanese Pounds funding decree that, if enacted, "would have
kept the hospital thriving."While the protest has been suspended, employees
vowed to continue monitoring the hospital’s financial and administrative
policies to prevent further injustices. "We will persist until a fair resolution
is reached," they reaffirmed.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 01-02/2025
Syria's president visits Saudi Arabia on
Sunday, first trip abroad after Assad's fall
Reuters/February 1, 2025
Syria's transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa will visit Saudi Arabia on
Sunday, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported on Saturday, citing sources.
It will be Sharaa's first official visit abroad since he assumed power
after leading a rebel campaign that ousted Bashar al-Assad in December. Sharaa,
an Islamist who was once an affiliate of al Qaeda, has been trying to gain
support from Arab and Western leaders since former Syrian President Assad was
toppled. The Saudi foreign minister visited Damascus on Jan. 24 and said the
kingdom was engaged in talks with Europe and the U.S. to help lift economic
sanctions imposed on Syria that had decimated its economy. Arab countries have
historically been concerned about Syria's production and trade of captagon, an
amphetamine-like drug used in the oil-producing Gulf states by party-goers and
labourers alike. Western anti-narcotics officials said that captagon has for
years been mass-produced in Syria and that Jordan is a transit route to the Gulf
countries. The new Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, told his
Jordanian counterpart on Jan. 7 that drug smuggling would not pose a threat to
Jordan under Syria's new Islamist rulers.
Gaza ceasefire sees its smoothest exchange yet of Israeli
hostages for Palestinian prisoners
AP/February 02, 2025
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip: The ceasefire in Gaza saw its smoothest exchange yet of
Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, and the crucial Rafah
border crossing reopened two days before discussions on the truce’s far more
difficult second phase begin. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will
meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, giving him a
chance to showcase his ties to Israel’s closest ally and press his case for what
should come next after 15 months of war. The ceasefire’s second phase calls for
the release of remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce in
the deadliest and most destructive war ever between Israel and Hamas. The
fighting could resume in early March if an agreement isn’t reached. Netanyahu’s
office said he spoke Saturday evening with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve
Witkoff. They agreed that negotiations on the second phase will begin at their
meeting Monday, and Witkoff later in the week will speak with the other
mediators, Qatar and Egypt.
Hamas on Saturday freed three male hostages, and Israel released 183 Palestinian
prisoners in the fourth such exchange. Another exchange is planned for next
Saturday. Militants handed Argentinian-Israeli Yarden Bibas and French-Israeli
Ofer Kalderon to Red Cross officials in the southern city of Khan Younis, while
American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, looking pale and thin, was handed over in
Gaza City. All three were taken during the Oct. 7,
2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the war. Eighteen hostages have
now been released since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19. The latest releases were
quick and orderly, in contrast to chaotic scenes on Thursday when armed
militants appeared to struggle to hold back a crowd. On Saturday, the militants
stood in rows as the hostages walked onto a stage and waved. Hamas has sought to
show it remains in control in Gaza even though a number of its military leaders
have been killed. A bus later departed Ofer Military
Prison with over two dozen Palestinian prisoners bound for the Israeli-occupied
West Bank. Jubilant crowds cheered and hoisted the prisoners on their shoulders.
Many appeared frail and thin. The Israeli Prison
Authority said all 183 prisoners set for release had been freed. In another sign
of progress in the ceasefire, they included 111 who were arrested after Hamas’
Oct. 7 attack but who weren’t involved in it. They had been held without trial
and were released to Gaza. Seven serving life sentences were transferred to
Egypt.
Joy and relief, but fears for those still held
Siegel, 65, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken hostage from
Kibbutz Kfar Aza, along with his wife, Aviva, who was released during a brief
2023 ceasefire.There were sighs of relief and cheers as kibbutz members watched
Siegel’s release. “You can see that he’s lost a lot of weight, but still he’s
walking and talking and you can feel that it’s still him. And one of the first
things he told us is that he’s still vegan,” said Siegel’s niece, Tal Wax. The
release of Bibas, 35, brought renewed attention to the fate of his wife, Shiri,
and their two sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were 4 years old and 9 months old when
they were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Kfir was the
youngest of the roughly 250 people who were taken captive on Oct. 7, and his
plight came to represent the helplessness and anger in Israel.
Israel expressed “grave concern” for Bibas’ wife and children and pleaded with
negotiators to provide information. Hamas has said they were killed in an
Israeli airstrike, but Israel has not confirmed it. After his release, Bibas
closed his eyes as his father, Eli, and sister Ofri hugged him and cried.
“Sweetheart,” his father said. “A quarter of our heart
has returned to us,” the Bibas family said in a statement.
Kalderon, 54, was also captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His two children,
Erez and Sahar, were taken alongside him and released during the earlier
ceasefire.
“I am here. I am here. I didn’t give up,” Kalderon said as they embraced.
There were similar scenes among the released Palestinians.
“Certainly, it’s an indescribable feeling, and undoubtedly a mixed feeling of
both sadness and joy, as we have left our brothers in captivity,” said Mohammad
Kaskus, who had been sentenced to 25 years over attacks against Israelis.
Yaser Abu Hamad, arrested for involvement in the Islamic militant group
in 2006, found that 20 family members including his mother and sisters had been
killed by Israeli airstrikes during the war. He visited their graves.
Palestinians who had been sentenced over their connection to deadly
attacks against Israelis described harsh conditions, beatings and other abuse in
prison. The Israeli Prison Authority didn’t immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Ceasefire brings respite to battered Gaza
The ceasefire has held for two weeks, allowing for hundreds of trucks of aid to
flow into the tiny coastal territory and for hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians to return to shattered homes in northern Gaza.
And on Saturday, 50 sick and wounded Palestinian children were leaving
Gaza for treatment through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt as the enclave’s
sole exit opened for the first time since Israel captured it nine months ago.
During the ceasefire’s six-week first phase, 33 Israeli hostages are to
be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says it has
received information from Hamas that eight of those hostages are dead. About 80
hostages remain in Gaza. “We will not allow you to blow up this deal. We will
not allow you to force us back into war or to sentence the hostages left behind
to death,” Naama Weinberg, cousin of deceased hostage Itay Svirsky, told a
weekly gathering in Tel Aviv, addressing the warring sides. Israel says it is
committed to destroying Hamas. The militant group says it won’t release the
remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from
Gaza. About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack that
sparked the war. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s
retaliatory air and ground offensive, over half women and children, according to
Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many of the dead were militants.
The Israeli military says it killed over 17,000 fighters, without
providing evidence. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters
operate in residential neighborhoods.
Tears and cheers for freed West Bank Palestinian prisoners
AFP/February 01, 2025
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Stepping off a bus with two dozen other
released Palestinian prisoners on Saturday after 23 years imprisonment in
Israel, Ata Abdelghani had more than his freedom to look forward to. The
55-year-old was also to meet his twin sons, Zain and Zaid, for the first time.
The encounter was made possible by his release in an ongoing hostage-prisoner
exchange as part of a January ceasefire deal for the Gaza Strip agreed by Israel
and Hamas. The twins, now 10 years old, were conceived while Abdelghani was
incarcerated after his sperm was smuggled out of his prison. He had been serving
a life sentence on a number of counts including murder, according to a list
released by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club in Ramallah. “These children are the
ambassadors of freedom, the future generation,” Abdelghani said as he hugged the
boys tightly. During Saturday’s fourth prisoner release since the January 19
Gaza ceasefire began, an eager crowd gathered to see 25 Palestinian prisoners
released in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Wearing grey prison tracksuits and with their heads shaved, the prisoners looked
weary as they arrived, but many were hoisted onto people’s shoulders by the
crowd and carried along in a heroes’ welcome.
“It’s hard to describe in words,” Abdelghani said. “My
thoughts are scattered. I need a great deal of composure to control myself, to
steady my nerves, to absorb this overwhelming moment.”
He added that the situation in prison had been “difficult, tragic.”A total of
183 prisoners, almost all Palestinians except for one Egyptian, were released on
Saturday. Seven serving life sentences and an Egyptian were deported to Egypt,
according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club. Of the remainder, 150 were sent to
Gaza. The prisoners were released in exchange for three Israelis taken hostage
during Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Riad Marshoud, another freed prisoner, cried when he hugged his two sons,
who were boys when he was jailed 22 years ago. After
hugging them tightly, he sat on a chair while relatives made video calls to
cousins and uncles who had not been able to come to see him released.
One relative was in Jordan and another in the United Arab Emirates.
All tried to catch a glimpse of the dazed and tired but elated Marshoud
as he received congratulations. “The first moment when the bus doors opened and
I stepped out was very difficult — it’s hard to describe it in mere words,” he
told the crowd.The dense throng that had come to see Marshoud parted when his
father arrived wearing a traditional keffiyeh around his head.
The father greeted his son with tearful kisses. Marshoud had been jailed
on charges of membership of an illegal organization, shooting and conspiracy to
commit murder, according to Israel’s justice ministry. Shortly after the
families in Ramallah took their released relatives home, three busloads of
prisoners arrived in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, an AFP journalist
reported. The 150 prisoners were greeted as they got off the bus by chants from
the crowd — “In blood and spirit, we shall redeem you, prisoner!“
Israeli hostages, Palestinian prisoners released in latest Gaza exchange
REUTERS/February 01, 2025
GAZA/CAIRO: Palestinian militant group Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages
on Saturday, and dozens of Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released in
exchange, in the latest stage of a truce aimed at ending the 15-month war in
Gaza.
Ofer Kalderon, a French-Israeli dual national, and Yarden Bibas were handed over
to Red Cross officials in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis before being
transferred to Israel. Israeli-American Keith Siegel was separately handed over
at the Gaza City seaport. Hours later, 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees
were released in the exchange. Among them, 150 arrived in Gaza while 32 got off
a bus in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where they were greeted by large
crowds. One freed prisoner will be exiled to Egypt, according to the Hamas
prisoners’ media office. “I feel joy despite the journey of pain and hardship
that we lived,” said Ali Al-Barghouti, who was serving two life sentences in an
Israeli jail.
“The life sentence was broken and the occupation will one day be broken,” added
Barghouti, as the crowd around him in Ramallah chanted “Allah Akbar (God is the
most great).”Ofer Kalderon, center, is released by Hamas militants in this still
image
At the newly reopened Rafah crossing on the southern border, [alestinian
patients to be allowed to leave Gaza for medical treatment in Egypt.
Mohammad Zaqout, a senior official in Gaza’s health ministry, however,
criticized the limited number of patients allowed to travel for treatment,
saying that around 18,000 people needed better health care. In Israel, crowds
gathered at the location in Tel Aviv known as Hostage Square to watch the
release in the morning of the Israeli hostages on giant outdoor screens, mixing
cheers and applause with tears as the three men appeared.Kalderon, whose two
children Erez and Sahar were released in the first hostage exchange in November
2023, and Bibas both briefly mounted a stage in Khan Younis, in front of a
poster of Hamas figures including Mohammad Deif, the former military commander
whose death was confirmed by Hamas this week, before being handed over to the
Red Cross officials. “Ofer Kalderon is free! We share the immense relief and joy
of his loved ones after 483 days of unimaginable hell,” French President
Emmanuel Macron said in a statement. Saturday’s handover saw none of the chaotic
scenes that overshadowed an earlier transfer on Thursday, when Hamas guards
struggled to shield hostages from a surging crowd in Gaza. But it was once again
an occasion for a show of force by uniformed Hamas fighters who paraded in the
area where the handovers took place in a sign of their re-established dominance
in Gaza despite the heavy losses suffered in the war.
Negotiations on release of remaining hostages
The total number of hostages freed so far is 18, including five Thais who were
part of an unscheduled release on Thursday. After Saturday’s exchange, Israel
will have released 583 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including militants
serving life sentences for deadly attacks as well as some detained during the
war but not charged. As the fighting has abated, diplomatic efforts to build a
wider settlement have stepped up. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected
to meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday with the ceasefire in Gaza, and a
possible normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia as part of a postwar deal
likely to be a focus. During the first phase of the ceasefire, 33 children,
women and older male hostages as well as sick and injured, were due to be
released, with more than 60 men of military age left for a second phase which
must still be worked out. Negotiations are due to
start by Tuesday on agreements for the release of the remaining hostages and the
withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in a second phase of the deal, which is
intended to lead to a final end of the war in Gaza. The initial six-week truce,
agreed with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the United States, has
mostly remained intact despite incidents that have led both sides to accuse the
other of violating the deal. Netanyahu’s government, which has hard-liners who
opposed the ceasefire deal, and Hamas say they are committed to reaching an
agreement in the second phase. But prospects for a durable settlement remain
unclear. The war started with a Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed 1,200
people, and saw more than 250 taken as hostages. The Israeli military campaign
has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians. Gaza is in ruins and a deep legacy of
bitterness and mistrust remains. Israeli leaders continue to insist that Hamas
cannot remain in Gaza, but the movement has taken every opportunity to
demonstrate the control it continues to exert despite the loss of much of its
former leadership and thousands of fighters during the war.
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says 50 patients cross into Egypt via Rafah
APP/February 01, 2025
GAZA CITY: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said 50 Palestinian patients,
including 30 children with cancer, went through the Rafah crossing to Egypt on
Saturday as the key gateway reopened as part of a ceasefire deal.
Egyptian state-linked channel Al-Qahera News showed footage of the first
of 50 evacuees, including a child with an autoimmune disease, and their 53
companions crossing the border into Egypt to receive treatment.
“From the medical files, 50 were approved by Egypt. We hope for this
number to increase,” said Muhammad Zaqout, the director of Gaza hospitals.
“We now have 6,000 cases ready to be transferred, and more than 12,000
cases that are in dire need of treatment.”The group that crossed via Rafah on
Saturday included the 30 child cancer patients, 19 injured men and one injured
woman, along with their companions, Zaqout said. The Rafah crossing had been
closed since Israel seized its Palestinian side in May. The crossing was one of
the main entry points into the Palestinian territory and a vital conduit for
aid. The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday that
the 27-member bloc had deployed a monitoring mission at the Rafah crossing “at
the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis.”“It will support Palestinian
border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including
those who need medical care,” she wrote on X.
The reopening of the gateway came as Israel and Hamas carried out their fourth
hostage-prisoner swap under the Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect on
January 19. Hamas released three Israeli hostages from Gaza on Saturday in
exchange for more than 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Palestinian ministry says Israeli forces kill 5 in West Bank
AFP/February 02, 2025
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli
forces killed five people in separate strikes on Saturday in the Jenin area of
the occupied West Bank, where they are conducting a major offensive. An Israeli
air strike on an eastern neighbourhood of Jenin killed 16-year-old Ahmad al-Sadi
and critically wounded two other people, the ministry said. A second strike
targeted a car, killing two people in the nearby town of Qabatiya, the ministry
said, while a third killed two people in central Jenin. "After the strike that
killed the child (Sadi), an Israeli drone strike hit a car in Qabatiya and
killed two youths," Jenin governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told AFP."Minutes later
another drone strike in Jenin killed two more youths who were on a
motorcycle."The Israeli military confirmed it struck a car in the Qabatiya area.
"As part of the counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria (the far north of
the West Bank), an Israeli Air Force aircraft... struck a vehicle with
terrorists inside in the area of Qabatiya," it said. When asked about the strike
that killed Sadi, the military told AFP that the air force "struck armed
terrorists in the Jenin area". Last month, the Israeli military launched an
assault dubbed "Iron Wall" aimed at rooting out Palestinian militant groups from
the Jenin area of the West Bank.Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp have long
been a hotbed of Palestinian militancy and violence there and across the
territory has soared since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.Israeli troops or
settlers have killed at least 881 Palestinians, including many militants, in the
West Bank since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian health
ministry. At least 30 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or
Israeli military raids in the territory over the same period, according to
Israeli official figures. On Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said
Israeli forces had killed two Palestinians in Jenin after the military announced
a soldier had also been killed.
Israel demands ‘information’ from mediators on Bibas family after father’s
release
AFP/February 01, 2025JERUSALEM:
Israel on Saturday demanded information from mediators who brokered the
ceasefire in Gaza about the fate of three family members of freed hostage Yarden
Bibas. “Yarden has returned home. But his wife Shiri and his children Ariel and
Kfir have not. We have been searching for them for a long time, tracking their
traces and investigating their fate,” Gal Hirsch, Israel’s hostage coordinator,
said in a statement. “The Bibas family... has been living in constant fear for
their lives for a long time... We continue to demand information about their
condition from the mediators.”Like Bibas, his wife Shiri and their two boys were
seized by militants on October 7, 2023 during Hamas’s attack on Israel and taken
to Gaza. Bibas’s sons — Kfir, the youngest hostage, whose second birthday fell
in January, and his older brother Ariel, whose fifth birthday was in August —
have become symbols of the hostages’ ordeal. Hamas has previously declared that
Shiri and the children were killed in an Israeli air strike in November 2023,
but Israel has not confirmed their deaths.
UNRWA’s work continues despite ban
REUTERS/February 01, 2025
GENEVA: The UN Palestinian relief agency said its humanitarian work across the
occupied territories and Gaza was still ongoing on Friday despite an Israeli ban
that took effect a day before and what it described as hostility toward its
staff. An Israeli law adopted in October bans
operations by UNRWA, or UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, on
Israeli land — including annexed East Jerusalem — and contact with Israeli
authorities from Jan. 30. Britain, France, and Germany on Friday reiterated
their concern over Israel implementing the new law, which humanitarian agencies
say will have a considerable impact on devastated Gaza as staff and supplies
transit to the Palestinian enclave via Israel. “We continue to provide
services,” Juliette Touma, director of communications of UNRWA, told a press
briefing in Geneva. “In Gaza, UNRWA continues to be the backbone of the
international humanitarian response. We continue to have international personnel
in Gaza and bring in trucks of basic supplies.” She
said any disruptions to its work in Gaza would put a ceasefire deal that halted
the war between Israel and Hamas at risk. “If UNRWA is
not allowed to continue to bring and distribute supplies, then the fate of this
very fragile ceasefire is going to be at risk and is going to be in jeopardy,”
she said. Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees in occupied East Jerusalem —
whose annexation by Israel is not recognized internationally — also receive
education, healthcare, and other services from UNRWA.
Touma said that its Palestinian staff in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are
facing difficulties, citing examples of stone-throwing and hold-ups at
checkpoints without attributing blame. “They face an exceptionally hostile
environment as a fierce disinformation campaign against UNRWA continues,” she
said. “It has been a really rough ride; it has not been easy. Our staff have not
been protected.”International staff have already left after their visas expired,
she added.
Israel has long been critical of UNRWA and alleges its staff were involved in
the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.
The UN has said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved and were fired.
The ceasefire deal has allowed for a surge in humanitarian aid and
enabled the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from
Israeli jails. Before the agreement, experts warned of
imminent famine in northern Gaza. Supplies have since
risen and the World Food Programme said that more than 32,000 tonnes of food had
entered Gaza since the Jan. 19 deal took effect. At
the same briefing, the World Health Organization’s Dr. Rik Peeperkorn said about
12,000-14,000 patients were waiting to be evacuated from Gaza across the Rafah
crossing. Fifty are set to be moved on Saturday amid warnings that some children
could die. He added that these would be the first medical evacuations via Rafah
since it was shut in May last year. “They (evacuations) must urgently resume,
and a medical corridor must open up,” he said. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon
Saar said Israel was committed to facilitating humanitarian aid to the Gaza
Strip, saying assistance should go through other international agencies and
NGOs. “Humanitarian aid doesn’t equal UNRWA, and those
who wish to support the humanitarian aid effort in the Gaza Strip should invest
their resources in organizations that are alternative to UNRWA,” he said in a
statement. “We will abide by the law, and we will
continue to facilitate humanitarian aid.”
Netanyahu appoints Major General Eyal Zamir as Israel's new army
chief
This is Beirut/With AFP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed retired Major General Eyal Zamir as
Israel's new Chief of Staff on Saturday, following the resignation of his
predecessor last month, who took responsibility for failing to prevent Hamas's
October 2023 attack. "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister
Israel Katz have agreed this evening on the appointment of Major General (Res.)
Eyal Zamir as the next Chief of Staff of the Israeli military," Netanyahu's
office said in a statement. Zamir replaces Lieutenant
General Herzi Halevi, who resigned on January 21, two days after a fragile
ceasefire took effect in Gaza, which has since led to the release of 18 hostages
by Hamas and its ally, Islamic Jihad. Zamir, 59, has served as the Director
General of the Defense Ministry since 2023. According to Israeli media, he
retired from the military after losing out on the top job to Halevi.
Zamir had previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff until 2021 and,
before that, as head of the army's Southern Command, which is responsible for
Gaza. As head of Southern Command, Zamir led efforts to "thwart offensive terror
tunnels penetrating from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory," according to
the Defense Ministry. Halevi stated in his resignation letter that he was
stepping down "due to my acknowledgment of responsibility for the military's
failure on October 7, 2023," but added that he was leaving during a time of
"significant successes." Shortly after Halevi's
announcement, the wartime head of Southern Command, Major General Yaron
Finkelman, also resigned over the military's failings in 2023.
Sisi, Trump Discuss Gaza Ceasefire
Asharq Al Awsat/February 01/2025
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Donald Trump agreed on
the need to consolidate the Gaza ceasefire deal in a phone call on Saturday, the
Egyptian presidency said, but it was unclear if they discussed Trump's call for
the transfer of Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan. The presidency said in a
statement they had a positive dialogue which stressed the importance of fully
implementing the first and second phases of the ceasefire between Israel and the
Palestinian militant group Hamas, and the need to step up humanitarian aid
shipments to Gaza. However, the statement did not mention if they discussed
Trump's statement last week that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians
from Gaza following 15 months of Israeli bombardments that have left most of its
2.3 million people homeless. Critics have called his suggestion tantamount to
ethnic cleansing. Sisi rejected the idea on Wednesday,
describing it as an "act of injustice.”However, on Thursday Trump reiterated his
call, saying that "we do a lot for them, and they are going to do it," in an
apparent reference to US aid to both Egypt and Jordan. Arab foreign ministers
meeting in Cairo on Saturday also rejected a transfer of Palestinians from their
land, saying such a move would threaten regional stability, spread conflict and
undermine prospects for peace. In their call, Sisi and Trump also expressed
their keenness to achieve peace and stability in the region, the Egyptian
presidency statement said. Sisi invited Trump to visit Egypt as soon as possible
to discuss problems in the Middle East, the statement added. The two presidents
also discussed the need to strengthen their economic and investment ties, it
said.
Arab nations reject Trump’s suggestion to relocate
Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan
Samy Magdy/CAIRO (AP)/February 1, 2025
Powerful Arab nations on Saturday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s
suggestion to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring Egypt and Jordan.
Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the
Palestinian Authority and the Arab League released a joint statement rejecting
any plans to move Palestinians out of their territories in Gaza and the occupied
West Bank. Trump floated the idea last month, saying
he would urge the leaders of Jordan and Egypt to take in Gaza’s now largely
homeless population, so that “we just clean out that whole thing.” He added that
resettling most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million could be temporary or long
term. Some Israel officials had raised the transfer idea early in the war.“It’s
literally a demolition site right now,” Trump said, referring to the vast
destruction caused by Israel’s 15-month war with Hamas, now paused by a fragile
ceasefire. The Arab statement warned that such plans “threaten the region’s
stability, risk expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for peace and
coexistence among its peoples.”The statement followed a meeting in Cairo of top
diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar,
as well as Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official who serves as the
main liaison with Israel, and Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit. They said
they were looking forward to working with the Trump administration to “achieve a
just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on the two-state
solution," according to the statement. They called for the international
community to help “plan and implement” a comprehensive reconstruction plan for
Gaza to ensure that Palestinians stay on their land. Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah el-Sissi rejected Trump's suggestion in a news conference last week,
saying that he transfer of Palestinians “can’t ever be tolerated or allowed.”
“The solution to this issue is the two-state solution. It is the establishment
of a Palestinian state,” he said. “The solution is not to remove the Palestinian
people from their place. No.”Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also said
that his country’s opposition to Trump's idea was “firm and
unwavering.”El-Sissi's office said the Egyptian leader received a phone call
from Trump on Saturday. The Egyptian readout described the call as “positive,"
but didn't mention Trump's suggestion.
El-Sissi emphasized the importance of achieving a “permanent peace” in the
region, adding that the international community “counts on President Trump’s
ability to reach a permanent and historic peace agreement” in the Middle East,
according to the Egyptian statement. Egypt and Jordan, along with the
Palestinians, worry that Israel would never allow them to return to Gaza once
they have left. Egypt and Jordan also fear the impact any such influx of
refugees would have on their struggling economies as well as the stability of
their governments. Jordan already is home to more than 2 million Palestinians.
Egypt has warned of security implications of transferring large numbers of
Palestinians to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza. Both countries were the
first to make peace with Israel but they support the creation of a Palestinian
state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories that
Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War. The Arab nations also emphasized the
role of the main United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees as “pivotal,
non-replaceable” in providing support to Palestinian refugees. They “vehemently
reject any attempts to bypass or downside its role," according to the statement.
Israel on Thursday formally banned UNRWA after months of attacks from Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies who claim the agency is
deeply infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA rejects that claim. UNRWA provides aid and
services to some 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the occupied West
Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as 3 million more in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
It has been the main lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas
war began in October 2023.
'I'm here thanks to you': Israeli hostage freed from Gaza addresses Tel Aviv
rally
Euronews/February 1, 2025
A freed hostage, who was released from Gaza captivity in January, spoke to
supporters in a video message that was screened at a rally in Tel Aviv on
Saturday. "It will take time and it's a process - it
won't end in a week or two, but I'm here thanks to you, and I'm okay," Doron
Steinbrecher said. She expressed that it was important for her to film the video
to convey her message and show that she is well. The weekly hostage protest in
Tel Aviv also saw thousands gathered to watch Doron's mother Simona Steinbrecher
and sister Yamit Ashkenazi speak on stage. Romi Cohen,
the twin sister of kidnapped soldier Nimrod Cohen, also addressed the crowd,
urging them to “keep fighting.”Hamas freed three hostages in the southern Gaza
Strip on Saturday and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth
round of exchanges during the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The
six-week phase one of the truce calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly
2,000 prisoners, as well as the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an
increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory. Israel and Hamas are
set next week to begin negotiating a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls
for releasing the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The
war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.
Trump says U.S. carries out airstrikes on Islamic State in Somalia
Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart and Jasper Ward//February 1, 2025
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. forces carried out airstrikes in Somalia on Saturday
targeting a senior Islamic State attack planner and other members of the
militant group, killing many of them, President Donald Trump said. "These
killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our
Allies," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "The strikes destroyed the caves
they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming
civilians." Saturday's strikes were carried out in the Golis Mountains and an
initial assessment indicated many militants were killed, Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth said. No civilians were harmed, he said. Reuters could not
independently verify those details. The Somali president's office said President
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was informed of the airstrike, and he wrote on X that he
extended his deepest gratitude for "the unwavering support of the United States
in our shared fight against terrorism". "Your bold and decisive leadership, Mr.
President, in counterterrorism efforts is highly valued and welcomed in
Somalia."The information minister for Puntland state in northern Somalia said
the U.S. attack struck in the Cal Miskaad Mountains, part of the Golis range,
and targeted Islamic State bases. "The number of casualties is still unknown as
it was dark. But our forces on the frontline could hear the sound of
explosions,” the minister, Mohamud Aidid Dirir, told Reuters. Hegseth said the
strikes degraded Islamic State's ability to plot and carry out attacks that
threaten the United States, its partners and innocent civilians. "(It) sends a
clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate
terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, even as we conduct
robust border-protection and many other operations under President Trump’s
leadership," he said in a statement. The United States has periodically carried
out airstrikes in Somalia for years, under Republican and Democratic
administrations.
Iran test-fires anti-warship cruise missile with a range of
more than 600 miles
Associated Press/February 1, 2025
Iran test-fired an anti-warship cruise missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers
(600 miles) capable of reaching U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and Sea of
Oman, state TV reported on Saturday. “This is a Ghadr-380 mile type L. It has
over 1,000 kilometers range. It has anti-jamming capability,” said Gen. Ali Reza
Tangsiri, the head of the navy of the Revolutionary Guard, in a report that
showed an underground missile facility on the southern coast of Iran.
The report elaborated neither on warhead that the missile carried, nor
the time of the test. Tangsiri said the facility is “only one part of the
missile systems of the Guard,” adding that the missiles can create “a hell for
the enemy’s warships.”The report said the new weapon was a “sophisticated
missile,” without elaborating, which could be launched from the underground
facility. The missile was launched from central Iran into the Sea of Oman, it
said. It said the missile can be made ready and
launched by one member of personnel in less than five minutes. Since 2011 Iran
has occasionally announced the inauguration of underground missile facilities
along with missile tests. It has boasted of underground facilities across the
country as well as along the southern coast near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iran claims to have missiles that can travel 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles),
placing much of the Middle East, including Israel, within range. In 2024 and
during Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran launched
hundreds of missiles at Israel in two separate barrages in April and October.
Israel said it intercepted most of the missiles.
Following Iraq’s bloody 1980s eight-year war against Iran, when both countries
fired missiles at cities, Iran developed its ballistic missile program as a
deterrent, especially as a U.N. arms embargo prevents it from buying high-tech
weapons systems. The underground tunnels help protect those weapons, including
liquid-fueled missiles that can only be fueled for short periods of time.
The U.S. and its Western allies see Iran’s missile program as a threat,
along with the country’s nuclear program.
At least 56 killed as fighting grips greater Khartoum
AFP/February 01, 2025
PORT SUDAN: Artillery shelling and air strikes killed at least 56 people across
greater Khartoum on Saturday, according to a medical source and Sudanese
activists. Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)
have been locked in a battle for power since April 2023 that has intensified
this month as the army fights to take all of the capital Khartoum and its sister
cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North. RSF shelling killed 54 people at a busy
market in Omdurman on Saturday, overwhelming the city’s Al-Nao Hospital, a
medical source told AFP. “The shells hit in the middle of the vegetable market,
that’s why the victims and the wounded are so many,” one survivor told AFP.
Across the Nile in Khartoum, two civilians were killed and dozens wounded
in an air strike on an RSF-controlled area, the local Emergency Response Room
(ERR) said. Although the RSF has used drones in
attacks including on Saturday, the fighter jets of the regular armed forces
maintain a monopoly on air strikes. The ERR is one of
hundreds of volunteer committees across Sudan coordinating emergency care. In
addition to killing tens of thousands of people, the war has uprooted more than
12 million and forced most health facilities out of service.
A volunteer at Al-Nao Hospital told AFP it faced dire shortages of
“shrouds, blood donors and stretchers to transport the wounded.”The hospital is
one of the last medical facilities operating in Omdurman and has been repeatedly
attacked. After months of stalemate in greater
Khartoum, the army retook several bases in Khartoum last month, including its
pre-war headquarters, pushing the RSF increasingly into the city’s outskirts.
Witnesses said Saturday’s bombardment of Omdurman came from the city’s western
outskirts, where the RSF remains in control. A resident of a southern
neighborhood reported rocket and artillery fire on the city’s streets.
Saturday’s bombardment came a day after RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
vowed to retake the capital from the army.
“We expelled them (from Khartoum) before, and we will expel them again,” he told
troops in a rare video address. Greater Khartoum has been a key battleground in
nearly 22 months of fighting between the army and the RSF, and has been reduced
to a shell of its former self. An investigation by the London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine found that 26,000 people were killed in the capital alone
between April 2023 and June 2024. Entire neighborhoods have been taken over by
fighters as at least 3.6 million civilians have fled, according to United
Nations figures. Those unable or unwilling to leave
have reported frequent artillery fire on residential areas, and widespread
hunger in besieged neighborhoods blockaded by opposing forces. At least 106,000
people are estimated to be suffering from famine in Khartoum, according to the
UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, with a further 3.2
million experiencing crisis levels of hunger.
Nationwide, famine has been declared in five areas — most of them in the mainly
RSF-controlled western region of Darfur — and is expected to take hold of five
more by May. Before leaving office, the Joe Biden administration sanctioned
Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, accusing the army of attacking
schools, markets and hospitals and using starvation as a weapon of war.
That designation came a week after Washington sanctioned the RSF commander for
his role in “gross violations of human rights” in Darfur, where the State
Department said his forces had “committed genocide” against non-Arab minority
groups.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on February 01-02/2025
Any Deal with Iran's Regime Is a Grave Mistake
Dr. Majid
Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/February 01/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/02/139727/
The Iranian regime's motivations are rooted in its desperation to ensure its
survival and to advance its expansionist agenda, not in any willingness to abide
by international norms or foster peace.
By re-entering the global financial system and emerging from international
isolation, Iran would gain the political and economic breathing room it needs to
consolidate power and suppress dissent in the full knowledge that it had bought
itself time and reduced the likelihood of coordinated international action
against it.
A deal would also provide Iran with political legitimacy and be seen as a
victory for the regime, allowing it to portray itself as a credible and lawful
actor on the global stage when in truth it is anything but that.
The Iranian regime's motivations are rooted in its desperation to ensure its
survival and to advance its expansionist agenda, not in any willingness to abide
by international norms or foster peace.
The Iranian regime has recently demonstrated an unusual eagerness to negotiate
with the Trump administration to reach a deal with the West. This sudden shift
should not deceive the West, particularly the United States, into believing that
Tehran's intentions are either genuine or benign. The Iranian regime's
motivations are rooted in its desperation to ensure its survival and to advance
its expansionist agenda, not in any willingness to abide by international norms
or foster peace. Recognizing this is critical to preventing what could become a
fatal mistake.
The Iranian regime's eagerness for a deal is driven by several factors, starting
with its current unprecedented vulnerability. Since the Islamic Republic was
established in 1979, it has never been as fragile as now. Thanks to Israel's
actions, Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran's key proxies, have been severely weakened,
and in December, Iran was forced out of Syria. Hezbollah's inability to defend
Bashar al-Assad's regime ultimately contributed to its collapse, depriving Iran
of its most critical ally in the region and representing a monumental blow to
Iran. Assad's Syria had long served as a crucial conduit for supplying Hezbollah
in Lebanon and maintaining Iran's foothold in the Levant.
Adding to Iran's troubles, the Trump administration's arrival in office has
reignited fears among Iranian leaders of a return to his policy of "maximum
pressure." President Donald J. Trump, during his first term -- combining
stringent economic sanctions with diplomatic isolation -- implemented this
economic policy to devastating effect. Iran's oil exports plummeted, cutting off
the most vital source of revenue for the regime and exacerbating its financial
woes. Fearing a repeat of this strategy, Iranian leaders now appear desperate to
secure a deal that will provide them with relief from sanctions and buy them
time to rearm and regroup.
Beyond the loss of its regional allies and oil revenue, Iran's economy
domestically is in dire straits. Inflation is pushing millions of its citizens
into poverty. According to Iran International, the inflation rate has reached a
staggering 40%, forcing the government and parliament to grapple with the
immense challenge of raising wages to keep pace -- a practice that only
exacerbates inflation.
For many Iranians, the cost of living has become unbearable, fueling even more
widespread resentment toward the regime that could spark yet another nationwide
uprising, threatening the regime's grip on power. Iran can only view a deal with
the West as a lifeline that could provide the economic relief and quell domestic
unrest.
The regime's most urgent goal in pursuing a deal is to secure sanctions relief,
which would likely inject billions of dollars into its coffers. Such financial
windfalls, however, are rarely, if ever, used to improve the lives of ordinary
Iranians. Instead, those funds will most likely be funneled into the regime's
military and ideological pursuits. Billions will likely flow again to Iran's
proxies -- Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as to Iran's
private militia, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Sanctions relief will enable the Iranian regime to resume their destabilizing
activities throughout the Middle East to attack the "Little Satan" and the
"Great Satan" – Israel and the US -- again. Sanctions relief will simply
strengthen and bolster Iran's military capabilities, including its nuclear
weapons program. Iran has already demonstrated a willingness to supply weapons
to Russia, further complicating the ongoing war in Ukraine. A "deal" would just
empower Iran to expand its malign activities, and pose a direct threat to
regional and global security.
A deal would also provide Iran with political legitimacy and be seen as a
victory for the regime, allowing it to portray itself as a credible and lawful
actor on the global stage when in truth it is anything but that. Such a stance
would deal a shattering blow to the many people in Iran who view the regime as
nothing but a brutal, illegitimate dictatorship. In 2024 alone, the regime
executed more than 900 people, the most in nearly a decade.
By re-entering the global financial system and emerging from international
isolation, Iran would gain the political and economic breathing room it needs to
consolidate power and suppress dissent in the full knowledge that it had bought
itself time and reduced the likelihood of coordinated international action
against it.
Any deal would enable Iran's regime to buy time, surreptitiously advance its
nuclear program and "wait Trump out" in the hope of a more lenient U.S.
administration coming to power in the future. A deal would represent a win for
the Iranian regime, its proxies, and the IRGC, while leaving the US and its
allies with a mirage that would make them more vulnerable than ever.
Sadly, experience has shown that the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot be trusted
to honor any commitment. Its true intentions are to gain economic and political
advantages while remaining in power to "export the Revolution." Unfortunately,
the only language Iran's regime understands is that of sanctions, pressure and
force. The Trump administration would do the world a favor by resisting the
temptation to "negotiate" and instead adopt a firm stance that prevents Iran
from advancing its hostile agenda.
Iran's nuclear program must be eliminated and its rulers disempowered. The
stakes are too high to fall for more ploys. Any deal with Iran's mullahs will
just prove illusory, prolong their rule and jeopardize global security and the
hope for a durable peace.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and
board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on
the US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
*Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
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not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21367/iran-deal-grave-mistake
Palestinian Authority stands at a crossroads
YOSSI MEKELBERG/Arab News/February 01, 2025
It is a sad irony that during this, the most acute period in Palestinian
history, when there is such an urgent need for a strong and capable Palestinian
Authority, one that could unite the governance over the West Bank and Gaza, it
is barely functioning.
Palestinians themselves have given up on it, and the Israeli government
cynically continues to object to it taking over the running of affairs in Gaza
while weakening it in the occupied West Bank. This is a short-sighted attempt to
prevent Palestinian self-determination from ever materializing.
That the PA is in need of fundamental reform is indisputable, even by the
admission of its own leadership, and consequently in July last year it signed a
letter of intent with the European Commission that acknowledged the need for
urgent reforms, a need that had only grown as a result of the war in Gaza.
Palestinians have been expressing their sense of dismay about the authority; in
a poll carried out by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and
Survey Research, 49 percent of respondents in the occupied territories supported
the dissolution of the PA as a means of breaking the current deadlock.
Worse, however, is the fact that support for those who lead it is almost
nonexistent. Circumstances have inevitably rendered the PA unfit for purpose and
unable to meet the current enormous challenges the Palestinian people are
facing.
When it was established in 1994 by the Oslo Accords, the PA was designed to be a
temporary governing body that would, in time, become a full-fledged government
when a final status agreement was reached, based on a two-state solution,
whereby all outstanding issues between Israelis and Palestinians would be
resolved. More than 30 years later, this has not happened, leaving the PA in
limbo; a governing body but not a government, and not in control of much of its
territory and people. Furthermore, an election in the
occupied territories for the office of president last took place in 2005, and
for the Palestinian Legislative Council the following year. Two decades later,
the legitimacy of those elected back then has completely diminished.
The victory of Hamas in the 2006 legislative elections ultimately resulted in
one of the most damaging developments for the Palestinian cause: the complete
political separation of the West Bank, governed by the Fatah-led PA, and
Hamas-governed Gaza. Since then, any attempts to heal the divisions between the
two sides have repeatedly failed. On top of this, the
West Bank has been operating under an oppressive occupation and constant
pressure to comply with Israeli demands; more than 60 percent of that territory
is completely controlled by Israel, and even areas that are not are subject to
the whims of the occupiers, such as Israel’s decision to end the transfer of tax
revenue it collects on behalf of the PA as agreed in the 1994 Paris Protocol.
While such developments create a very difficult environment in which to deliver
good governance and leadership, they are merely mitigating factors to the
shortcomings of the PA itself, which has been tainted by incompetence, become
increasingly authoritarian, and been less than transparent about the handling of
public money. When a new Palestinian government was
formed last year, it pledged to introduce measures to improve transparency and
fight corruption, to overhaul the justice system and security sectors, and to
improve public-sector efficiency. Some progress has been made. However, for
objective reasons, such as the war in Gaza and the deteriorating security
situation in the West Bank, and also because of resistance to change from within
the authority’s institutions, the reforms are far from complete.
The appointment last year of Mohammed Mustafa to lead a government of
technocrats was a step in the right direction.
Moreover, years of cuts to international aid, in addition to Israeli authorities
withholding the Palestinian taxes they collect, have financially crippled the
PA, resulting in the deterioration of public services and dwindling economic
activity.
For many years the international community has exhibited a duality in its
relations with the PA; it did not want to see its demise, given the lack of a
viable alternative, but at the same time did not want to make the necessary
investments to rescue a political body it perceived as unpopular and corrupt.
Hence, the international community has helped keep the PA just barely afloat,
ensuring only that it does not completely drown, not least because of its
cooperation with Israeli security forces on counterterrorism efforts,
cooperation that is perceived by many Palestinians as collaboration with Israel
in efforts to curtail legitimate resistance to the occupation.
The end result is now that there is an urgent need for a fully functioning PA to
take over the running of Gaza, it has neither the competencies, leadership, nor
public trust to do so, never mind the strong objections from the Israeli
government.
However, the appointment last year of Mohammed Mustafa to lead a government of
technocrats was a step in the right direction, as was the decision to establish
an independent fund to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, something that is
still to be implemented.
As a consequence of the losses suffered by Hamas during the war, which have
severely weakened it, let alone the disaster it brought upon its own people
(without removing from Israeli authorities any of the responsibility they bear
for the disproportionate response to Oct. 7), a reformed PA with new leadership
could reclaim its role in Palestinian society.
Hamas is not going to disappear as an idea, or even as a movement that still
enjoys some level of popular support. But if allowing Hamas to participate in
elections was a huge task before the events of Oct. 7, it is almost impossible
in the aftermath, and most certainly not possible with the group in its current
form.
It is not only Israel that opposes the participation of Hamas, but also
Washington, most of Europe, and regional powers that see the group and what it
represents as a threat to stability and any future peace process. Nevertheless,
without the representation of all factions within Palestinian society it will be
hugely challenging for any new political system to claim broad legitimacy.
This dilemma must be resolved also for the sake of receiving much-needed
foreign aid. Last year’s Beijing Declaration, in which 14 Palestinian factions,
including Fatah and Hamas, agreed on a process of reconciliation between the two
main groups, and recent talks during which they agreed to establish a government
of technocrats after the war ends, demonstrated that creative solutions can yet
be found.
The PA, like Palestinian society as a whole, finds itself at a crossroads now
that the people of Gaza have suffered their worst disaster since the 1948 Nakba.
But from the depths of this tragedy can emerge an opportunity to rebuild the PA
with a new leadership, elected by the people, that is capable of meeting the
challenge of uniting Palestinian society, reconstructing Gaza, and negotiating a
peace with Israel based on a two-state solution.
*Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate
fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg
President Al-Sharaa
Mamdouh al-Muhainy/Asharq Al Awsat/February 01/2025
As Ahmad Al-Sharaa is inaugurated as Syria’s president, the country enters a new
phase. Syria, which had endured years of coups—so much so that it was said
Syrians could anticipate them before they happened due to the constant conflicts
among military comrades—later transitioned into a Stalinist era under the Assad
regime, until the son fled. Now, a new chapter begins,
filled with both challenges and great hopes. Al-Sharaa managed the previous
stage with pragmatic wisdom. He understood international balances, avoided
unnecessary conflicts, and strengthened relations with key regional and global
powers. Most importantly, he did not resort to the repetitive slogans of past
regimes about colonialism, Zionism, and imperialism, which were often chanted
while people suffered from hunger and poverty.
The new administration, led by President Al-Sharaa, arrived in Damascus at the
right historical moment—at a time when extreme nationalist and religious
ideologies are fading. These ideologies have proven bankrupt after decades of
repeated, futile experiments. They were misused, turned into cheap propaganda to
cling to power, and imposed by force as a fait accompli.
We now see how the devastated people of Gaza groan under the weight of
destruction after 15 months of brutal Israeli war. They were quite literally
thrown into hell for a year and a half, without having a say or even knowing
why, only to find themselves back at square one—except this time, their homes
are gone. Meanwhile, behind them, voices shout victory as they sift through
rubble, trying to rebuild their lives.
We also saw how Bashar Al-Assad exhausted all Arab nationalist rhetoric before
fleeing to Moscow with billions, leaving behind a shattered and impoverished
country. Similarly, we see how Naim Qassem struggles to salvage Hezbollah’s
fractured image following Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination, parading a façade of
victory while his supporters bear the consequences of war and the Lebanese
people celebrate reclaiming their state from the grip of militias.
Undoubtedly, Al-Sharaa has history’s book open before him, studying the
experiences of nations—both those that failed and those that succeeded. He sees
how past leaders’ flawed governance plunged their resource-rich countries into
wars, famines, and sanctions, turning their populations into refugees hounded at
borders or impoverished masses begging for survival.
His rhetoric and leadership style suggest that he and his administration have
learned the lesson well, understanding the path they must take despite extremist
voices attempting to speak on their behalf or drag them into conflicts that are
neither theirs nor Syria’s.
All past experiments that weaponized religious and nationalist ideologies have
ended in failure. We live in a different era—one where nations are
interconnected, capital flows to stable and promising environments, and
countries compete in tourism, industry, airport construction, and artificial
intelligence advancements. The modern struggle among great powers is no longer
about occupying lands or imposing ideologies but rather a battle for wealth and
economic prosperity, which in turn drives military strength and diplomatic
influence.
Today, development sits atop national priorities, and successful governments are
those that create a prosperous future for their people. Religious wars have
ended, the era of conquerors is over, and most slogans of death and fanaticism
have nearly died out. The age of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Al-Baghdadi,
Bashar Al-Assad, Muammar Gaddafi, and Saddam Hussein is over. It was a barren
phase that has now concluded. Any leader attempting to revive these ideologies
is destined for international isolation, political failure, and economic
decline.
In his speech at Davos, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani chose his words
carefully, emphasizing that Syria draws inspiration from Saudi Arabia’s Vision
2030 and Singapore’s success. These two nations exemplify how to overcome
obstacles, seize opportunities, and foster a culture of tolerance that welcomes
people of all nationalities and religions, creating an investment-friendly
environment that attracts major corporations. Most importantly, both countries
have moved beyond dead ideologies and focus solely on the future.
This is the most crucial lesson—one that Al-Sharaa seems to grasp well. It is
also the only lesson that can truly help Syria escape the tunnel it has been
stuck in for over five decades.
America’s Democracy… From Eisenhower to Biden
Emile Ameen/Asharq Al Awsat/February 01/2025
Is American democracy at risk? Two overarching complexes are closing in on it,
threatening to strip the United States of its crown jewel- its very essence and
the foundation it has been built upon since the Declaration of Independence.
Americans have long taken pride in, and loudly championed, their liberal values.
They regard democracy as the cornerstone of their republican tower. However, the
US has been in a spiritual crisis for the past six decades, because of the rise
of conglomerates that, at the very least, undermine democracy.
President Joe Biden’s farewell address reminded the American people of a threat
that President Dwight Eisenhower had raised the alarm about as early as 1961.
Biden did not merely reiterate Eisenhower’s warnings about the
military-industrial complex; he also warned them of a new looming challenge. A
new conglomerate is surging forward like a relentless tsunami- with inevitable
and with unpredictable repercussions for the future of democracy in the United
States.
On January 17, 1961, Eisenhower delivered a televised farewell address from the
Oval Office, issuing an unforgettable warning about the potential for the
"military-industrial complex" in his country to force violence.
The general-turned-politician, who had led the Allies to victory in World War
II, declared that this vast military establishment and a massive arms industry
had been working together in pursuit of "unwarranted influence" in "every city,
every legislative building, and every office of government"—a situation that
could end in disaster. For over six decades, General
Eisenhower’s predictions have been coming to fruition. A triangular alliance
that has, in fact, eroded many facets of American democracy.
The three sides of this triad are, first, the owners of American military
factories, whose shareholders reap "milk, honey, and gold," both openly and
behind the scenes. The second side consists of US Department of Defense
generals, who lead America’s battles on the ground and, more often than not,
become highly paid consultants for military-industrial corporations. The third
side is members of Congress- both in the Senate and the House- who pass
legislation to launch wars, often after receiving millions of dollars in
donations from major defense companies, and then obtain positions on their
boards of directors once their legislative careers end.
This complex has undoubtedly fostered a new dynamic in the United States,
exerting immense pressure on the American decision-makers and diminishing its
once-thriving democracy. It has also weakened the ability of the struggling
American working class, and its impoverished underclass, by denying them fair
representation. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has failed to resolve the issue of
campaign donations to candidates for public office. This problem can be seen
from the smallest town mayor on the southern Texas border to the highest office
of the presidency.
In his inaugural address, Biden pointed the finger at what he called the
"tech-industrial complex," which appears to be no less formidable, especially
since its far-reaching influence extends across oceans and into every corner of
our vast globe.
"Six decades later, I'm equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech
industrial complex. It could pose real dangers for our country as well," he
said. Biden was unequivocal. Americans are, in his
words, “being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation,
enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Pillars are
disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking.”Biden highlighted real
fears for American democracy, because of the fusion of wealth and power through
the tech-industrial complex that is now led by figures like Elon Musk, Mark
Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, alongside the boards of corporations such as Apple
and Google, and business moguls handling nearly a trillion dollars. Indeed, the
notion of democracy being hijacked by a privileged few is not just a
possibility, but a material reality.
Is American democracy in genuine- not imagined- peril?
The concentration of power and wealth directly erodes nations’ sense of unity
and shared purpose, shattering trust. When that happens, democracy wanes. It
becomes disheartening, as people no longer feel they have a fair chance.
Historians tell us that ancient Rome’s star faded when the spirit of democracy
vanished from its core. What, then, of the Rome of our era?
Has the Balance of Power Shifted in Sudan?
Faisal Mohamed Saleh/Sudan's former Minister of Information/Asharq Al
Awsat/February 02/2025
The situation is developing rapidly in the Sudanese arena. Over the past two
weeks, the army has made significant advances at the expense of the Rapid
Support Forces (RSF) in the states of Al-Jazira and Khartoum, shifting the
balance of military power.
The army, along with allied groups- among them the Sudan Shield Forces led by
Abu Aqla Kiekel, the Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigades, and some Joint Darfur Force
battalions- launched a large-scale and multi-pronged offensive to reclaim the
strategic city of Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazira State. They managed to
enter the city with ease, as the RSF had done about a year ago.
The same pattern was seen in all the areas recaptured by the army,
including Wad Madani. The RSF retreated and withdrew before the army’s arrival.
The only major battles were fought on the outskirts of the city, as army forces
advanced, but once they reached the city itself, they entered swiftly and
without resistance. The fact that few major battles were fought does not take
anything away from the significance of the army’s victory nor the scale of the
RSF’s defeat. Their retreat was not voluntary; the army’s multi-front assault
and the inevitability of an impending defeat left the RSF with no choice.
We saw something in parts of Khartoum State, where the army made
significant progress in Khartoum Bahri. Forces advancing from the north of the
city linked up with the Signal Corps troops, who had been entrenched in their
barracks along the Blue Nile since the beginning of the war. From there, they
moved towards the General Command of the Armed Forces and central Khartoum. The
entire central Khartoum Bahri area is now under the control of the armed forces,
as are parts of central Khartoum. Only a few pockets remain in the RSF's hands,
but they are unlikely to hold out for long.
However, what is behind the rapid collapse of the RSF?
The primary reason for the rapid collapse of the RSF is that it is
overstretched. It did not have enough men to secure the areas it had occupied.
Since the war began in April 2023, the RSF’s strategy has been based on the
assumption that the army lacked mobile infantry capable of rapidly moving into
urban battles using light vehicles that could maneuver around slow-moving tanks
and armored vehicles. Due to this advantage, the RSF managed to seize almost all
of Khartoum State (with the exception of a few military sites) and later
expanded its control over Al-Jazira State. It also took over most of the Darfur
region, with the exception of the city of El Fasher and parts of Kordofan State.
Since then, the army has recruited thousands of new fighters, acquired
large quantities of military vehicles and equipment, and gained a significant
advantage by securing modern aircraft from allied nations. The superiority of
the air force appears to have played a decisive role in crippling the RSF’s
capabilities and clearing the way for infantry forces to advance on multiple
fronts.
As things currently stand, the army has control of Omdurman, with the exception
of the southern tip of Jebel Aulia. Similarly, in Bahri, only the East Nile area
remains under RSF control. The army is expected to establish full control over
central Khartoum in just a few days, leaving only the southern districts in RSF
hands.The reality on the ground suggests that the RSF cannot remain in Khartoum
and Al-Jazira. Unless it deploys new reinforcements, it has no viable strategy,
and that does not seem possible at this stage. As a result, the focus will
likely shift to Darfur and parts of Kordofan, which aligns with earlier
predictions that each side would consolidate control over particular areas,
reinforcing the prospect of division, which seems likely whether or not a
pro-RSF government emerges.
Military victories do not rule out the possibility of a political settlement to
end wars. Indeed, Donald Trump is back in the White House and he has made his
intention to end all wars clear. He also already began, ending the war in Gaza.
All parties anticipate significant US pressure to end the conflict soon, on both
the warring factions and all the countries supporting and financing the war,
increasing the significance of the current military advances.
Indeed, if the conflict ends soon after this shift in the balance of power, the
army would be in a stronger negotiating position. Accordingly, we may soon
witness the start of new rounds of negotiations, either in Jeddah or elsewhere.
The war trajectory set in motion by the war will ultimately be resolved through
politics.
A calamitous war without end in Sudan
HAFED AL-GHWELL/Arab News/February 01, 2025
The civil war in Sudan, ignited in April 2023 by a ruptured power-sharing pact
between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has
devoured the nation with a ferocity rivaling its darkest historical chapters.
Born from the embers of the ouster of Omar Bashir in 2019, the conflict
represents the collapse of a fragile transition from military to civilian rule,
as rival generals — Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly
known as Hemedti — clashed over control of institutions, strategic resources,
and the very future of Sudan. More than 12 million people are displaced or
facing famine as a result of the conflict; 15,000 are confirmed dead and many
more remain uncounted beneath rubble or in mass graves. Meanwhile, the nation’s
economy, once hopeful with International Monetary Fund-backed reforms, has
contracted by 40 percent, infrastructure lies in ruins, and 70 percent of
hospitals in conflict zones are closed. Still the war rages on, metastasizing
into a crisis on multiple fronts as external actors continue to pour fuel on the
fire through their proxies.
The Rapid Support Forces, the roots of which lie in the Janjaweed militias of
Darfur, has leveraged its paramilitary networks to seize territory and exploit
gold mines, while the Sudanese Armed Forces relies on its conventional military
apparatus and international legitimacy. Neither side has shown any willingness
to compromise, and both are accused of egregious human rights violations,
including indiscriminate bombings, gender-based violence, and the use of
starvation as a weapon of war.
Civilians, trapped by siege tactics and opportunistic ethnic violence, endure a
war without borders, rules or an endgame, a grotesque testament to the
international community’s inability to reconcile rhetoric with action.
Worryingly, the international community’s handling of Sudan’s civil war has been
a masterclass in dysfunction. Competing diplomatic initiatives, fractured
alliances, and a glaring absence of unified pressure have allowed the conflict
to metastasize. Mediation efforts by regional organizations, hamstrung by
divergent priorities and an inability to enforce agreements, have yielded little
beyond symbolic gestures.
Even more disappointing, the UN, once a forum for collective action, now mirrors
the world’s disarray: Security Council resolutions languish without
implementation, while rival powers exploit procedural gridlock to shield their
own interests.
This international inertia has emboldened the warring factions, who interpret
global inaction as tacit permission to pursue military gains over negotiation.
Even calls for ceasefires to be honored, a minimal demand in the face of mass
starvation, are treated as optional, with violations met by silence rather than
consequences. Humanitarian agencies, meanwhile,
operate in a lethal limbo. More than 25 million people require aid, yet convoys
are routinely blocked, looted or attacked, leaving entire regions severed from
deliveries of food, medicine, and other basic supplies. The deliberate targeting
of infrastructure during the war, including roads, bridges and hospitals, has
turned survival into a logistical impossibility for millions.
While other global crises command sustained attention and resources, the plight
of Sudan is relegated to the periphery, its suffering compounded by a cynical
arithmetic of geopolitical relevance. Diplomatic communiques tout “grave
concern,” yet lack the muscle to halt weapons flows or penalize obstruction.
The result is a self-perpetuating cycle: as the world dithers, the architects of
the war consolidate power, aid access shrinks further, and the odds of any
meaningful interventions dim.
In Sudan, the limits of a fractured international order are not theoretical,
they are measured in empty stomachs and mass graves.
The international community’s handling of Sudan’s civil war has been a
masterclass in dysfunction. Domestically, the war has systematically dismantled
the foundations of civil society, erasing a decade of grassroots mobilization
that once promised a democratic transition. The pro-democracy movement, which
mobilized millions to topple Bashir in 2019, now operates in fragments, its
leaders jailed, exiled, or coerced into silence, while underground networks
struggle to sustain resistance amid relentless crackdowns.
More than 1,000 activists have been detained since 2023, and 80 percent of civil
society organizations report severe operational disruptions, crippling their
ability to document atrocities or advocate for reform.
The conflict has laid bare the military’s unyielding grip on power, as the rival
factions, both of which were products of Bashir’s regime, prioritize dominance
over governance, rejecting even nominal civilian oversight. Decades of military
entrenchment in Sudan’s economy, controlling sectors from agriculture to gold
mining, have rendered the prospect of democratic accountability nearly
impossible.
The war itself, rooted in the failure of a 2022 power-sharing agreement,
exemplifies this defiance; rather than cede authority, the generals have
weaponized state institutions, diverting 70 percent of national expenditures
toward warfare while 90 percent of the population faces poverty.
Civilian aspirations for representative governance now seem quixotic, as aerial
bombardments and ethnic killings in Darfur erase communal trust. With media
outlets shut down, universities shorn of dissent, and labor unions disbanded,
the machinery of civic engagement lies in ruins, a casualty of war as profound
as the cities reduced to ash. Given all these factors
that have sent Sudan hurtling toward total collapse, is there any path to peace?
Well, Sudan’s complex war, now entrenched in its second year, defies simplistic
narratives of eventual resolution. Neither side possesses the military capacity
to achieve outright victory, yet both resist compromise, betting on attrition to
exhaust their rival. The Sudanese Armed Forces and and the paramilitary Rapid
Support Forces each have entrenched economic interests — control of gold mines,
ports, and smuggling networks — that incentivize perpetual conflict over stable
governance.
Such deadlock is compounded by a fractured international system: global powers
lack consensus, regional actors prioritize short-term security over stability,
and multilateral institutions, stripped of enforcement tools, issue hollow
appeals.
Even if battlefield exhaustion forces temporary truces, the absence of any
credible mechanisms to demobilize forces, redistribute resources or address
grievances ensures that ceasefires remain transactional pauses, not pathways to
peace.
Yet history suggests that even intractable wars reach inflection points. In the
case of Sudan, meaningful progress hinges on three factors: coordinated external
pressure to alter the cost-benefit calculus of the war; a unified civilian front
capable of transcending factionalism; and enforceable guarantees for military
integration. External powers backing the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid
Support Forces must align penalties — asset freezes, travel bans, arms embargoes
— with demands for good-faith talks.
Simultaneously, civilian coalitions in Sudan, though fragmented, could regain
relevance by articulating a shared vision for post-war transition, leveraging
grassroots networks that still command moral authority.
None of this guarantees peace, but without such conditions Sudan will descend
into being a permanent failed state, its disintegration a blueprint for
21st-century conflict, while also imperiling the already fraught security
dynamics in the Horn of Africa. Therefore, the question is not whether the
fighting will end and peace prevail, but how many more millions must suffer
before the world acknowledges that indifference is a policy choice and one with
measurable human consequences.
*Hafed Al-Ghwell is a senior fellow and executive director of the North Africa
Initiative at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University
School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. X: @HafedAlGhwell