English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 20/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also
Luke 12/32-34: “‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s
good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms.
Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in
heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 19-20/2025
Text & Video: Hassan Nasrallah's Funeral: An Insult to Lebanon and the
Lebanese, and a Promotion of Terrorism, and Participation in It Is a Grave
Mistake/Elias Bejjani/February 19/2025
Text & Video: The Mullahs and Their Terrorist Proxy "Hezbollah" Are Planning to
Invade Lebanon with Thousands of Jihadists Under the Pretext of Participating in
Nasrallah's Funeral/Elias Bejjani/February 16/2025
Video Link to A new commentary by journalist Ali Hamadeh
How Beirut’s international airport became the latest flashpoint in Israel-Iran
tensions/ANAN TELLO/Arab News/February 19/ 2025
Yemeni minister calls for arrest of Houthi officials attending Hezbollah chief
Nasrallah’s funeral
1 killed in Israeli drone strike on car near border
Aoun says airport road riots 'won't be repeated'
Aoun discusses Israeli withdrawal with US national security adviser
IMF says open to discussions on new Lebanon deal
23 bodies retrieved from southern border towns after Israeli pullout
Returning Lebanese find 'total destruction' after Israel pullout
Baghdad-Beirut flights sell out ahead of Nasrallah funeral
Lebanese President Tells US National Security Adviser Israel Must Fully Withdraw
Lebanon’s Two Programs: Finalizing or Containing Defeat/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al
Awsat/February 19, 2025
France Reaffirms Call for Full Israeli Troop Withdrawal from Lebanese Territory
Lebanon’s Neutrality Must Include Arabs vs. Israel/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This is
Beirut/February 19/2025
Mullahs and Company, Hands Off the Airport!/Marc Saikali/This is Beirut/February
19/2025
Aoun Denies Siege on Shiite Community, Emphasizes National Unity and Reform
Hostilities Again After Ceasefire Expiration/Natasha Metni Torbey/This is
Beirut/February 19/2025
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 19-20/2025
Hamas says ready to free all hostages at once in Gaza truce phase two
Netanyahu appoints close adviser with Trump ties to lead ceasefire negotiations
Rebuilding Gaza will cost over $50 billion, a new report says
UAE president opposes Palestinian displacement in meeting with US secretary of
state
Hamas, Israel agree return of six hostages, bodies held in Gaza
Al-Sisi reiterates opposition to Trump's Gaza plan
US top diplomat Rubio visits the UAE after landmark talks with Russia over
Ukraine war
Israel's West Bank crackdown triggers a wave of displacement unseen in decades
Canada refugee claims drop as country issues fewer visas
Macron Expected at White House Next Week
Titles For
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on February 19-20/2025
Why Trump Must Insist on Removing Hamas From Power/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/February 19, 2025
Paris, Munich, NATO and the Moment of Truth/Emile Ameen/Asharq Al Awsat/February
19, 2025
Syria Summit: Warm Words But Will They Lead to Action?/Dr. Neil Quilliam/Director
at SRMG Think/Asharq Al Awsat/February 19, 2025
How to lose friends and alienate nations: Trump is junking US soft power/Walter
Clemens, opinion contributor/The Hill/February 19, 2025
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 19-20/2025
Text & Video: Hassan
Nasrallah's Funeral: An Insult to Lebanon and the Lebanese, and a Promotion of
Terrorism, and Participation in It Is a Grave Mistake
Elias Bejjani / February 19, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/02/140359/
On the twenty-third of this month,
the southern suburb of Beirut, the stronghold of the Iranian, terrorist, and
sectarian Hezbollah, is preparing for a festival and a play of burying the body
of the terrorist Hezbollah's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah. This funeral,
to which the terrorist Hezbollah has invited political, religious, media, and
official figures from Lebanon and abroad, is a sad occasion not for mourning a
"leader," but for reminding the Lebanese of the magnitude of the national
tragedy left by this man, who was never in his life anything but an enemy of the
Lebanese people in general, and the Shiite community in particular.
Nasrallah's Criminal Legacy
Nasrallah's legacy is a criminal one by all standards. In the modern history of
Lebanon, the Lebanese have not known a criminal of Nasrallah's magnitude, nor a
leader who embroiled his environment, his country, and the Arab countries to
this extent of blood, tears, and blind subservience to the mullahs of Iran.
Since assuming the Secretary-Generalship of the terrorist Hezbollah, he has led
Lebanon into futile wars, assassinated his political opponents, destroyed the
nation's economy, and turned the Lebanese into hostages in a large prison run
from Tehran.
The Heavy Toll of Nasrallah's Legacy
The toll of Nasrallah's legacy is heavy, from the assassination of PM, Rafik
Hariri, through the July 2006 war, the invasion of Beirut and the Chouf
mountains, to the blatant intervention in the Syrian war, the terrorist attacks
on Egypt, Gaza, the West Bank, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the
Arab Gulf states, and hundreds of terrorist operations in many countries around
the world. All of these are bloody milestones that claimed thousands of victims
and drowned Lebanon in a quagmire of sectarian and regional conflicts. As for
the blind loyalty to Iran, Nasrallah declared it publicly, boasting shamelessly
and outrageously of his absolute subordination to the mullahs' Guardianship of
the Islamic Jurist, disregarding Lebanese sovereignty and identity.
Burying Nasrallah in Beirut
The Iranian Decision to Bury Nasrallah in Beirut is a provocation and
consolidation of Iranian Influence The decision to bury Nasrallah in Beirut
instead of his hometown in the south is not only a blatant provocation of the
Lebanese people's feelings, but also a consolidation of Iranian influence in the
heart of the Lebanese capital. Beirut, which was once a beacon of freedom and
culture, is being humiliated today by this vile display of the body of a man who
destroyed Lebanon and drained its human and economic resources... It is worth
mentioning here that most of the properties in the southern suburb of Beirut are
not owned by the terrorist Hezbollah, but were occupied and their lands
confiscated, and their original inhabitants forcibly displaced by the terrorist
Hezbollah.
Participation in the Funeral
Meanwhile it should be very clear to all those concerned that participation in
the funeral is a criminal act and betrayal. Therefore participation in
Nasrallah's funeral, under any pretext, is a criminal act in itself, and a
betrayal of the blood of innocent people who fell because of his dark policies
in Lebanon, Syria and all countries of the world. It is an implicit endorsement
of the mullahs' and the terrorist Hezbollah's project, which seeks to turn
Lebanon into a permanent arena of conflict, serving Tehran's agenda.
A Call for Boycott and Opposition
Therefore, we call on all honorable and sovereign patriots to boycott this
funeral, which is an insult to Lebanon, the Lebanese, and all human values, and
even to confront it morally and through the media. Silence at such historical
junctures is betrayal, and participation in this grim funeral scene is
complicity with terrorism and submission to it.
An Appeal to Rulers, Church Leaders, Sects, and Parties
Loudly, we direct a fervent appeal to the rulers in Lebanon, to the heads of
churches and sects, and to the so-called parties, which are in practice family
and commercial businesses and agencies for foreign powers and jihadists: Do not
participate in this insulting funeral. It is not a religious occasion, but a
dirty political show of an Iranian terrorist Hezbollah. Any participation in it
will constitute a cover-up for the terrorist Hezbollah's crimes, a polishing of
a murderer's image, and a furtherance of the criminal, expansionist, and
sectarian schemes of the mullahs of Iran.
In Conclusion: Nasrallah's Departure is an Opportunity for Accountability and
National Revival In conclusion, the departure of Hassan Nasrallah should be a
national occasion for self-reflection and a profound review of the course
imposed on Lebanon by the terrorist Hezbollah's weapons. It is time for the
Lebanese to rise up against this bitter reality, to reclaim their homeland from
the clutches of Iranian terrorism, and to build a free, sovereign, and
independent state whose loyalty is to Lebanon only, and not to any leader or
regime outside the country's borders.
*The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: https://eliasbejjaninews.com
Text & Video: The Mullahs and Their Terrorist Proxy
"Hezbollah" Are Planning to Invade Lebanon with Thousands of Jihadists Under the
Pretext of Participating in Nasrallah's Funeral
Elias Bejjani/February 16/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/02/140276/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj_JyWXCCNw&t=180s
Reports from Hezbollah in Lebanon indicate that thousands of its supporters are
coming from 70 countries to participate in the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah and
Safi Al-Din on the 23th of this month. Sources close to this Iranian gang state
that these trained fighters have been entering Lebanon daily in large numbers
for days.
In this terrifying and terrorist context, journalist Mariam Majdoline warned on
social media about this diabolical plot and wrote under the title "Attention and
Caution" the following:
"May God protect Lebanon from Khamenei’s tails and his criminal axis (supporters
and allies of the Popular Mobilization Forces, the Houthis, and others) who have
started entering Lebanon under the pretext of participating in Hassan
Nasrallah's funeral. What they did in Syria is a lesson for us all.
Attention, attention, attention. We cannot trust terrorists and mercenaries who
move with religious mandates."
In the same context, we draw attention to this satanic plot being executed by
the mullahs and their criminal, jihadist, and invasion-oriented Hezbollah aiming
to strike the new government in Lebanon, bring in Iranian funds through the
airport and via Algerian and Iraqi planes to reorganize the structure of their
organization and obstruct the implementation of the ceasefire agreement,
including international resolutions 1559, 1701, and 1680, along with the Taif
Agreement—all of which stipulate disarming all Lebanese and non-Lebanese
militias (primarily the defeated, broken, and surrendered Hezbollah) and
extending the state's legitimate authority across the entirety of Lebanese
territory.
What is frightening and confirms the seriousness of this Iranian jihadist
invasion plot under the guise of participating in Nasrallah and Safi Al-Din's
funeral is Hezbollah's violent and criminal actions along the airport road, in
Beirut, and in the south—acts of aggression, chaos, accusations of treason
against Presidents Aoun and Salam, attacks on the Lebanese army, assaults on
UNIFIL personnel, and threats of assassinations and civil war voiced by its paid
mouthpieces like Qassem Qasir. This is a clear and blatant coup attempt against
the government, a refusal to acknowledge defeat, and, more dangerously, a
rejection of implementing the ceasefire agreement, which unambiguously requires
Hezbollah to disarm and dismantle its military structures and weapons depots
across Lebanon.
In reality and actuality, Hezbollah poses an existential threat to the state,
its institutions, the peace, stability, and livelihood of all Lebanese
sects—foremost among them the honorable Shiite community, which it holds
hostage, exploits, and uses its youth to fight in all of Iran's wars.
The writer is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Writer's Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Website Link:
https://eliasbejjaninews.com
Video Link to A
new commentary by journalist Ali Hamadeh
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/02/140380/
This is a very important video commentary by journalist Ali Hamadeh, in which he
emphasizes the necessity of dismantling all the military components and units of
Hezbollah and fully implementing international resolutions. Herein lies the duty
of the government, the army, and all legitimate security forces, as it is
locally, internationally, and globally forbidden for Hezbollah to remain in its
terrorist, military, and occupying status. Everyone in Lebanon, at any level,
must understand that the era of the Iranian "Party of the Devil's" fallacies and
crimes has ended. The opinions of rulers and politicians who speak of dialogue
and consensus among Lebanese on the issue of Hezbollah weapons are no longer
valid. They must understand that international resolutions supersede the words
of officials and everything local and Lebanese. The decision is the end of
Hezbollah, and that's the end of the matter.
Title: By Elias Bejjani, inspired by the spirit of the commentary.
February 09/2025
Hariri leaves Lebanon!
Janubiya/February 18, 2025
After he passed away to Lebanon to commemorate the martyrdom of his friend
Hariri, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri left Beirut this evening heading to
the United Arab Emirates.
How Beirut’s
international airport became the latest flashpoint in Israel-Iran tensions
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/February 19/ 2025
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2590889/middle-east
LONDON: Just weeks after Lebanon formed its first government in more than two
years, offering the crisis-wracked country a glimmer of hope, a decision to
block commercial flights between Beirut and Tehran threatens renewed
instability.
On Feb. 13, Lebanon blocked an Iranian plane from landing at Rafic Hariri
International Airport after Israel accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps of using civilian commercial flights to smuggle funding to Hezbollah.
Tehran quickly retaliated by blocking Lebanese flights.
The timing of the spat makes it especially noxious. Lebanon is expected to
receive tens of thousands of visitors on Sunday for the funeral of Hezbollah’s
late chief, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept.
27.
Lebanon’s ban on Iranian flights sparked protests among Hezbollah supporters,
who blocked the road to the airport, clashed with the Lebanese army, and even
attacked a convoy carrying UN peacekeepers, torching a vehicle and injuring two.
Makram Rabah, an assistant professor at the American University of Beirut,
believes the new Lebanese government’s decision to block Iranian flights goes
beyond efforts to combat the smuggling of illicit funds.
“I genuinely believe that this is not only a matter of smuggling money, which
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is trying to do — there are also weapons
involved,” he told Arab News.
“The Lebanese authorities have been urged by the international community,
particularly the US, to take a firm stand on this.”
Iranian flights landing in Beirut were already subject to strict inspections,
which have also been extended to flights arriving from Iraq to help prevent
illicit funds from reaching Hezbollah via Iran’s neighbor, the Asharq Al-Awsat
newspaper reported.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Airways canceled a scheduled flight from Baghdad, with
Beirut airport sources citing either a protest against the heightened security
measures or logistical issues.
The decision came after an Iranian carrier underwent rigorous security checks at
Beirut airport last month over suspicions it was transporting funds destined for
Hezbollah.
The measures “are necessary given the recent war in Lebanon and Lebanon’s
commitment to security protocols agreed upon with the US,” which helped broker
the Nov. 27 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, an airport security source
told Asharq Al-Awsat.
These are “preventative measures” designed to stop Lebanon’s only international
airport from becoming a potential target of Israeli attacks, the source added.
Measures such as these might also be a reflection of the new political realities
in Lebanon since Hezbollah’s drubbing by Israel in their year-long conflict,
which saw the militia’s leadership gutted and its once formidable arsenal
greatly depleted.
Yeghia Tashjian, regional and international affairs cluster coordinator at the
Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the
American University of Beirut, believes Lebanon has “entered a new era” since
the ceasefire.
“Unfortunately, few people are aware of the consequences and the steps that
would have come after the signing of the Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement,” Tashjian
told Arab News.
“Lebanon has entered a new era where the government is under immense pressure
from the US and Israel. There is a feeling that the reconstruction and the
Western aid will be conditioned with reforms and the full implementation of
Resolution 1701.”
The US-brokered ceasefire demanded the implementation of UN Security Council
Resolution 1701, which was adopted to end the 2006 war between Israel and
Hezbollah. It called for Hezbollah to move north of the Litani River and for the
Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to deploy in the south.
The Nov. 27 deal also required Israeli troops to withdraw from Lebanon within 60
days. However, many remain in border towns. Moreover, the Armed Conflict
Location and Event Data Project recorded 330 airstrikes and shelling incidents
by Israel between Nov. 27 and Jan. 10.
Resolution 1701 had maintained relative peace in the region until the Hamas-led
Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza. In support of
its Hamas allies, Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel, igniting
cross-border clashes that soon escalated.
Over the course of the conflict, Israel told Iranian and Iraqi airlines not to
land in Beirut, as they were suspected of transporting funds and weapons to
Hezbollah. These airlines initially compiled but resumed flights after the Nov.
27 ceasefire.
However, following a warning last week from the US that Israel might shoot down
Iranian commercial carriers entering Lebanese airspace, Beirut banned two Mahan
Air flights, Lebanese security officials told the AFP news agency.
Tehran condemned the Israeli threats as a “violation of international law” and
on Feb. 14 called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to “stop
Israel’s dangerous behavior against the safety and security of civil aviation.”
Despite calls from Hezbollah and Iran to reverse the ban, Lebanese authorities
on Monday took the measures a step further, indefinitely extending the
suspension of flights to and from Iran, which was originally set to be lifted on
Feb. 18, citing Israeli threats to bomb Beirut airport.
Tashjian of the Issam Fares Institute believes the ban should be viewed in the
broader context of the effort to dismantle Hezbollah and other non-state armed
groups in Lebanon.
“The implementation of 1701 does not only address the area south of the Litani
River as many think,” he said. “Reading the new agreement carefully, especially
the first paragraph, it is clear that any kind of unauthorized force has to be
dismantled.
“It is within this context that pressure on Hezbollah is growing. In the coming
weeks, we may see additional pressure mainly on micro-finance enterprises
affiliated with Hezbollah.”
Lebanese academic and analyst Rabah says the new government in Beirut “needs to
clean up its act and be more aggressive in defending its sovereignty.
“The airport issue and its entanglement in the regional power struggle is just
one phase,” he said, adding that “there will be other ways to challenge
Hezbollah, and Hezbollah will definitely hit back by challenging the state.
“This is a matter of Hezbollah as well as (Parliament Speaker) Nabih Berri and
Haraket Amal (the Amal Movement) recognizing that their weapons are no longer an
option — and this is basically one of the most difficult challenges.”
However, this shift is unlikely to happen immediately, says Firas Modad, a
Middle East analyst and founder of Modad Geopolitics.
“Hezbollah and its partners are seeking to show that they still retain
significant domestic power and are acting to prevent any talk of the group
disarming,” Modad told Arab News.
“They have used the Beirut airport, an international and very serious pressure
point, to do so. Their excuse is that Lebanon has banned Iranian flights due to
Israeli threats.
“However, it is worth noting that flights were banned even when Hezbollah itself
controlled Lebanon’s Public Works and Transport Ministry.”
He added: “Iran and Hezbollah seem to have decided to pressure the new Lebanese
authorities early on to ensure that the Shiites are not politically excluded.
“This is odd since the Shiite parties (Hezbollah and Amal) both got to choose
ministers in the same way as all the other parties (were) represented in the new
cabinet.”
While Lebanon’s new cabinet may appear to have sidelined Hezbollah, the group
and its ally Amal, led by Berri, were allowed to name four of the 24 ministers,
including Finance Minister Yassin Jaber — one of the government’s most coveted
positions.
This came after Washington’s Deputy Middle East Envoy Morgan Ortagus said on
Feb. 7, after meeting with President Joseph Aoun, that the US rejected the idea
of Hezbollah participating in Lebanon’s government.
Modad believes “it is very likely that Lebanon will remain under severe
international pressure and Israeli threats to stop Hezbollah from refinancing,
funding reconstruction, and rearming.
“Hezbollah does not have the ability to confront Israel or the West in order to
prevent this,” he added. “It is therefore targeting the weakest link, which is
its domestic partners and rivals in Lebanon.”
Describing the tactic as “extremely reckless,” Modad said: “Hezbollah knows that
it is risking a three-front war, against its domestic rivals, Israel, and Syrian
jihadi militias.”
He added: “The rhetoric Hezbollah uses to justify its actions is that it is the
state’s responsibility to both rebuild Lebanon and to confront Israel.
“Hezbollah knows full well that the Lebanese state has no such capability —
neither to fund reconstruction nor to challenge Israel militarily. And if Israel
attacks the airport, this could restart the war and lead to even greater damage.
“Simply, Hezbollah is risking an escalation that it cannot afford. It is wounded
and therefore keen to show that it remains strong. This may bring about
uncalculated conflicts that severely damage Lebanon — and Hezbollah.”
Echoing Modad’s view, Tashjian of the Issam Fares Institute said Lebanon is in
no position to resist US demands.
“Lebanon’s resources, especially after the suicidal war, are limited,” he said.
“Beirut therefore cannot resist any US pressure, especially given the regional
changes and Iran’s reluctance to support its non-state allies.”
Lebanon, still suffering from a debilitating financial crisis that has gripped
the country since 2019, was already crippled by years of economic decline,
political paralysis, and other crises before Hezbollah’s war with Israel.
Moving forward, Tashjian believes “Lebanon needs proactive diplomacy.” This
includes implementing Resolution 1701 and engaging with the US, while also
working “with the Shiite leadership to ensure these policies do not isolate the
community.”
Additionally, he suggests providing alternative solutions to address flight
disruptions, such as engaging with Iran to operate flights by Lebanon’s national
carrier — Middle East Airlines — or inspecting Iranian flights upon arrival in
Beirut.
“A balanced foreign policy is needed to prevent any social and political
explosion in Lebanon,” he said.
“Israeli military provocations and ceasefire violations continue, while
Hezbollah struggles to grasp the postwar situation and convince its public that
the country has entered a new era — one unlike the post-2006 war period.”
Yemeni minister
calls for arrest of Houthi officials attending Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s
funeral
Reuters/February 20, 2025
CAIRO: Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani called on Wednesday for the
arrest of a group of leaders from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis who he said will
attend Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral in Beirut. Nasrallah,
who had served as Hezbollah’s secretary general for more than 30 years, was
killed on September 27 as Israel ramped up its attacks on southern Lebanon. His
funeral is scheduled for February 23. Eryani demanded that the Lebanese
government arrest the Houthi leaders and hand them over to the rival
internationally recognized government in a post on X. He did not name the Houthi
officials. Neither the Lebanese government nor Houthi leaders was immediately
available for comment. The Houthis did not officially announce a delegation was
attending the funeral, but the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported a delegation
from Yemen would participate. “We affirm that the movement of these terrorist
leaders... in this timing is not a mere participation in the funeral, which is
being used as a cover, to gather all the leaders of the Iranian axis and assess
the situation after the blows they received,” he added. The Yemeni minister was
referring to the recent Israeli attacks against Iran-backed groups in the region
including Hezbollah and the Houthis. Both groups launched parallel attacks
against Israel during its war in Gaza to show support for Palestinians. The
Houthis, who control northern Yemen, also carried out more than 100 attacks on
ships off the shores of Yemen since November 2023, disrupting global shipping
and causing route changes and losses. The Palestinian militant group Hamas’s
attack on Israel in October 2023 killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel,
according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza has killed
more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, laid
waste to much of the enclave, and displaced hundreds of thousands.
1 killed in Israeli drone strike on car near border
Agence France Presse/February 19, 2025
Lebanese official media said Israel struck a vehicle in the south on Wednesday,
killing one person -- the first death since Israeli troops withdrew from most of
the border area a day earlier. "An enemy drone struck a vehicle... in the town
of Aita al-Shaab," near the southern border, the official National News agency
said, reporting one person was killed. Israel's military said the strike
targeted a Hezbollah militant in the border area. An Israeli air force "aircraft
operated to remove a threat with a strike on a Hezbollah operative identified
handling weaponry in the area of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon," a military
statement said. NNA had earlier said two people were
wounded in the Wazzani region, elsewhere along the frontier, after Israeli
forces opened fire "while residents were inspecting" restaurants and cafes in
the area. The NNA also reported Israeli automatic weapons fire towards homes
near the town of Shebaa. A November 27 ceasefire deal had halted more than a
year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah including two months of all-out
war. Under the deal, Lebanon's military was to deploy alongside U.N.
peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later
extended to February 18. Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River,
about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle remaining military
infrastructure in the south. Israel announced just before the deadline that it
would temporarily keep troops in "five strategic points" near the border. The
Israeli army said they were hilltops overlooking the frontier where troops would
remain to "make sure there's no immediate threat." Lebanese leaders said Tuesday
they were in contact with ceasefire brokers the United States and France to
press Israel to fully withdraw, branding its continued presence in five places
an "occupation."
The U.N. called the incomplete pullout a violation of Security Council
Resolution 1701. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned in
November that Israel would maintain "full military freedom of action" in case of
any truce breach.
Aoun says airport road riots 'won't be repeated'
Naharnet/February 19, 2025
President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday that he supports “the freedom of peaceful
expression,” but stressed that “the violations that occurred days ago, such as
the blocking of roads and attacks on the army and citizens, are unacceptable
practices and will not be repeated.” “I reiterate that no one in Lebanon will be
excluded, seeing as the state protects all sects and not the contrary,” Aoun
said in a meeting with a delegation from the Maronite League. “What happened in
the South negatively affected entire Lebanon, and the claim that the Shiite sect
is besieged is totally baseless, seeing as we’re all one body and one
environment. We paid the price of war and together we will face the challenges,”
Aoun added.“We will achieve the needed economic, financial and social reforms to
secure foreign countries’ cooperation with us, because the responsibility falls
on us and not on others,” the president went on to say.
Aoun discusses Israeli withdrawal with US national security
adviser
Naharnet/February 19, 2025
President Joseph Aoun stressed Wednesday to U.S. National Security Advisor Mike
Waltz the need to “end Israel’s occupation of the remaining points” in south
Lebanon and to “continue implementing the Nov. 27, 2024 agreement to guarantee
boosting stability in the South and enforcing Resolution 1701.”
Aoun also emphasized “the need to speed up the return of the Lebanese captives
who are being held in Israel.”Waltz for his part said the U.S. administration is
following up on the developments in south Lebanon, lauding the role that the
Lebanese Army played in deploying in the locations vacated by the Israelis, the
Presidency said. Waltz added that the U.S. is committed to consolidating the
ceasefire and resolving the pending issues in a diplomatic manner, underscoring
the importance of Lebanese-U.S. partnership and the need to enhance it in all
fields, the Presidency added.
IMF says open to discussions on new Lebanon deal
Agence France Presse/February 19, 2025
The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday it is open to a new loan agreement
with Lebanon following discussions with its recently-appointed finance minister.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed a new government this month, ending
more than two and a half years of caretaker leadership. Salam tapped Yassine
Jaber, a former economy and transport minister, to head the finance ministry, an
important position as the new administration weighs whether to implement painful
economic reforms in exchange for fresh financial support from the Fund.
Lebanon's economy has been in shambles for years, a collapse blamed on
corruption and mismanagement. "We look forward to working with the President and
new government in addressing the major challenges that the Lebanese economy
faces," an IMF spokesperson said in a statement shared with AFP, referring to
President Joseph Aoun. "This could include discussions on a new program that
could help restore external and debt sustainability and rehabilitate the economy
if the authorities request it." The IMF's comments follow Jaber's meeting with
the Fund's resident representative in Lebanon, Frederico Lima, earlier Tuesday.
Jaber told Lima that "the government and specifically the finance
ministry have a keen interest in achieving an agreement with the IMF," according
to a statement from the finance ministry. He added that the authorities were
aware of the importance of the IMF's role "in proceeding along the path of
reforms and attracting the international community again and in incentivizing it
(the international community) to assist Lebanon."
23 bodies retrieved from southern border towns after
Israeli pullout
Agence France Presse/February 19, 2025
Lebanon's civil defense recovered 23 bodies from several border towns on Tuesday
after Israeli troops withdrew under a ceasefire deadline, according to a
statement carried by official media. "Specialized teams today... managed to
remove 14 bodies from Mais al-Jabal, three from Markaba and three from Kfar Kila,
in addition to three from Odaisseh," said the civil defense statement published
by the state-run National News Agency.
Returning Lebanese find 'total destruction' after Israel
pullout
Agence France Presse/February 19, 2025
Ali Qashmar walked into his south Lebanon hometown on the Israeli border Tuesday
to find bulldozed fields and piles of rubble where there used to be
neighborhoods brimming with life. "We came back to breathe the air of our lands
and village, and we found our homes destroyed," said Qashmar, 74, from Odaisseh.
Qashmar, his children and their families fled in October 2023, after
Hezbollah initiated cross-border hostilities with Israel over the war in the
Gaza Strip. More than a year later, the town "seemed
totally abandoned, empty," he said. "There was total
destruction. We have nowhere to live" now, he added.
Israeli forces withdrew from a series of border villages including southeast
Lebanon's Odaisseh, Kfar Kila, Mais al-Jabal, Markaba and Houla under an
extended ceasefire deadline that expired on Tuesday. There was vast destruction
around the towns and villages, with long lines of cars waiting for hours from
the early morning for the Lebanese Army to allow residents to go in. Lebanon's
army began deploying on Monday in 11 border towns and villages, removing dirt
barriers the Israeli military had set up, later beginning to open roads and
check for unexploded ordnance.
'In spite of them'
Many people who did not want to wait for roads to be cleared or army
authorization for vehicles entered their villages on foot, only to find
devastated homes, streets and agricultural land. A stunned Qashmar pointed to
where buildings had once stood, the walls of nearby homes also collapsed or
damaged.
"This is my home. The building had three floors, my children lived here too," he
said as he surveyed the scene. His home looked out at the Israeli settlement of
Misgav Am across the border. "These are my siblings' homes -- they've all been
destroyed," Qashmar added. The November 27 ceasefire came after two months of
all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, and more than a year of cross-border
hostilities. Under the deal, Lebanon's army was to
deploy as Israeli forces withdrew from south Lebanon over a 60-day period that
was later extended to February 18, and Hezbollah was to remove any fighters and
infrastructure.Israel said Monday its troops would remain temporarily in five
"strategic" locations. At one of these points, between
Odaisseh and Kfar Kila, AFP correspondents saw high dirt barriers, but no sign
of Israeli soldiers. Mohammed Mweisi said he did not care if Israeli forces were
near Odaisseh. "We will return to our villages -- whether they want or not,
we'll go back in spite of them," he said.
Unexploded bombs
An AFP photographer saw Lebanese army warnings along the road about the risk of
unexploded ordnance in the rubble, reading: "Don't go near, don't touch, report
it immediately."In Odaisseh and villages nearby where the Israeli army had
withdrawn, several residents said the destruction was so bad that their homes
and neighborhoods were unrecognizable. After the ceasefire, Lebanon's National
News Agency repeatedly reported huge explosions as Israeli ground forces
dynamited buildings in areas where they were still operating. In November before
the ceasefire, a World Bank report said the conflict was estimated to have
damaged almost 100,000 housing units. Lebanese authorities have said more than
4,000 people had been killed, a figure that includes hundreds of Hezbollah
fighters. Some families of Hezbollah fighters are
still waiting for their bodies, and AFP photographers saw ambulances entering a
number of border villages on Tuesday. Samira Jumaa was
among those who returned to Kfar Kila in the early morning along with dozens of
other residents, some carrying pictures of their sons or yellow Hezbollah flags.
"I came looking for my brother," a fighter, Jumaa said emotionally.
"He came here with his comrades... We are certain they were martyred, but we
hope to find out something," she added.
Baghdad-Beirut flights sell out ahead of Nasrallah funeral
Agence France Presse/February 19, 2025
Flights from Baghdad to Beirut are nearly at capacity as airlines increase
services ahead of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's funeral, officials
said. The pro-Iran group has called for a huge turnout
when Nasrallah, killed in a September Israeli strike, is laid to rest near the
Lebanese capital on Sunday.
"Iraqi Airways will increase its flights to Beirut from one flight a day to two,
starting on February 20," said transport ministry spokesperson Maytham al-Safi,
citing heightened demand ahead of the funeral. An Iraqi airline official told
AFP that "all seats on Iraqi Airlines flights from Baghdad to Beirut are
booked."
A source from Lebanon's Middle East Airlines (MEA) reported increased flights
between Baghdad and Beirut from Friday to Tuesday. The airlines' websites show
that Iraqi Airways flights are fully booked until Sunday, with MEA nearly sold
out. Iraqi lawmakers and officials are expected to
attend Nasrallah's funeral privately, an Iraqi official said. Representatives
from pro-Iran Iraqi factions, Hezbollah's longstanding allies in the Tehran-led
"axis of resistance", are also expected to participate. Beirut airport will
close for four hours during the funeral. Hezbollah has
said 79 countries would be involved in the commemoration, either officially or
through "popular" support.Sunday's funeral will also honor Sayyed Hashem
Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah figure who had been chosen to succeed Nasrallah,
before he was killed in an Israeli strike in October. After decades at the helm
of the group once seen as invincible, the killing of the charismatic Nasrallah
sent shock waves across Lebanon and the wider region. Since Nasrallah's death,
portraits of him, either alone or alongside other slain pro-Iran commanders,
have been displayed throughout Baghdad and other areas of the Shiite-majority
country. On Sunday afternoon, thousands are expected to attend a "symbolic"
procession for Nasrallah in Baghdad's northwestern neighborhood of Kadhimiya,
which is home to a Shiite shrine.
Lebanese President Tells US National Security Adviser
Israel Must Fully Withdraw
Asharq Al Awsat/February 19, 2025
In a phone call with US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday,
Lebanon’s president insisted that Israeli forces withdraw from five strategic
hilltops inside Lebanon. Israel is keeping its forces on Lebanese soil even
after a deadline spelled out in a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the
latest Israel-Hezbollah war. President Joseph Aoun told Waltz that a full
Israeli pullout from the five border hilltops would increase stability in the
country’s south.The statement from Aoun’s office also said he asked the Trump
administration to help speed up the release of Lebanese prisoners held in
Israel. Israeli troops withdrew on Tuesday from most of south Lebanon, but
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel would temporarily remain in five points
needed for its security. The Lebanese presidency said that Lebanon would
consider any remaining Israeli presence on Lebanese land an occupation. Israel
had been due to withdraw by January 26, but this was extended to February 18
after it accused Lebanon of failing to enforce the terms. Lebanon at the time
accused Israel of delaying its withdrawal.
Lebanon’s Two Programs: Finalizing or Containing Defeat
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/February 19, 2025
If we were to avoid skepticism of the so-called Resistance Axis’ intentions-
despite the many valid reasons to be skeptical and assume that their actions
genuinely reflect a perspective- we could claim that they are pushing the
Lebanese to finalize their defeat in the name of the victory they claim to have
attained. Their actions contradict undeniable facts accumulating under our noses
before our eyes: we have undeniably been defeated, and saying so does not
reflect lust for defeat or a penchant for dramatization; we were defeated
because the resistance led us into a war that it lost, that its entire Axis
lost- emphatically- leading to our collective defeat, whether we like it or not.
Demanding that resistance be the means for overcoming this defeat amounts to
insistence on using the irritant to treat the infection, thereby turning illness
into death. Meanwhile, the leading figures of the new era, Presidents Joseph
Aoun and Nawaf Salam, are trying to contain the defeat and allow Lebanon to cut
its losses. Their monumentally challenging task is made even more difficult by
the fact that they are squeezed between the defeated side's rhetorical
provocations to incriminate the two men and paint them as traitors, and the
actionable plans that the victorious Israelis might well have in store. This war
that followed a monumental economic collapse has left Lebanon in an extremely
weak negotiating position. The Jewish state is seeking to take advantage of its
advantage to the very last drop. It had told the Lebanese that it would not
withdraw its forces by the extended deadline, and according to media leaks, Tel
Aviv has rejected compromise proposals, such as the deployment of international
or even American forces in the locations where it insists on maintaining a
presence. It has simultaneously been launching air raids, building military
infrastructure, and flying warplanes over our skies at low altitudes to create
sonic booms, etc..., threatening to dash the hope generated by the election of a
president and the formation of a government. It seems that his approach extends
beyond Lebanon. Earlier, Israel met Assad's downfall and escape, and the
emergence of a new order in Syria, with intensified airstrikes and further
territorial expansion into Syria- actions akin to crashing a wedding by holding
a funeral. These statements and actions allow for the assumption that Israel,
with typical hubris and belligerence, but also with the rigid equivalence it
draws between politics and the balance of power, is greeting the new state of
affairs in both countries by humiliating them and cruelly testing them. True,
Tel Aviv has been claiming that security concerns, specifically ensuring that it
is never subjected to another October 7, are behind its actions. However, Israel
likely wants more than a security return and may now be betting that it could
attain political returns as well, continuing its humiliation and blackmail of
the new leaderships of both countries until they give in.
There is no doubt that our current experience differs from that of the 1980s in
fundamental ways. However, purely from the chain of events that led us to where
we are today, the Israelis could draw inspiration from their relationship with
Lebanon’s recently elected president, at the time, Bachir Gemayel. We know that
during the infamous Nahariya meeting, Menachem Begin demanded that Gemayel sign
a peace treaty and threatened to crush "the ingrate" otherwise.
The contrasts between past and present aggravate the imbalance: Begin’s coarse
posture was, to some extent, restrained by the president of the United States at
the time. Despite his strong Israel bias, Reagan maintained a position that
parallels that of the Jewish state, not a congruent position, be it with regard
to Gemayel or Lebanon as a whole. In the summer of 1982, when Israeli forces
pressed forward beyond South Lebanon and began bombing the Palestine Liberation
Organization in Beirut, Reagan and Begin had the famous heated phone call in
which the former demanded that Begin end the operation. During the invasion,
Reagan intervened personally when Israel threatened to bomb the Commodore Hotel,
where dozens of foreign journalists had been staying. He later imposed
restrictions on military aid to Tel Aviv, forcing it to withdraw from Beirut and
the Lebanese interior. Shortly after that, when then-president Amine Gemayel was
negotiating the May 17 Agreement, the Americans colluded with the Lebanese to
curb Israel’s excessive demands. In today’s Trump-Netanyahu duo, on the other
hand, we see far more congruence than divergence.
The "New Middle East" theory that Netanyahu claims as his own could entail
demands that the new political order in both countries repay debts they had
never taken on. If Bashir Gemayel had been pushed into reluctantly seeking
Israel’s help, neither Ahmad Sharaa, Joseph Aoun, nor Nawaf Salam have done so.
Netanyahu might nonetheless believe that they owe him something for what he has
done; for their part, they might seek to mask their discomfort by keeping a
tight lip and remaining in denial. All of that fuels Tel Aviv’s appetite for
humiliation and subjugation, and it would weaken these emerging political
orders’ weak negotiating position even further. Given this wanton disregard for
political and diplomatic processes, we now see governments that have not signed
peace treaties being treated much like non-state actors and militias. They are
being squeezed and having their sovereignty violated until they pay the
political price Israel seeks. The situation, then, is delicate and critical. In
light of this severely skewed balance of power, we need broad cooperation around
a responsible program that mitigates the defeat and allows for cutting our
losses. As for the so-called "resistance" figures attacking Aoun and Salam as
they play games that fuse frivolity with hypocrisy, as well as recklessness and
subservience to a foreign agenda (whether at the airport or elsewhere), it would
be best for them to stop pushing Lebanon to the abyss under the pretense of
saving it like they had "saved" it during their war.
France Reaffirms Call for Full Israeli Troop Withdrawal
from Lebanese Territory
This is Beirut/February 19/2025
France has reaffirmed the "necessity for the complete withdrawal of Israeli
troops from Lebanese territory, as soon as possible, in accordance with the
provisions of the ceasefire agreement." In a statement released on Tuesday
evening, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Paris had
"acknowledged the continued withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon."
The statement reads: "This is an important step in the implementation of
commitments made in the ceasefire agreement signed on November 26, 2024, between
Lebanon and Israel," adding, "France notes that the Israeli Defense Forces
maintain a presence at five positions on Lebanese territory." France Reiterates
Proposal Regarding UNIFIL The Ministry called on all parties to consider its
proposal, which suggests that the "United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
including the French contingent, be deployed at these five positions near the
Blue Line to replace the Israeli armed forces and ensure the security of the
populations."It further emphasized that "alongside the United States within the
ceasefire monitoring mechanism, France will continue to fulfill all the missions
outlined in the November 26, 2024 agreement." The Ministry also welcomed the
redeployment of the Lebanese Army in coordination with UNIFIL and the ceasefire
monitoring mechanism, considering this development as a means to carry out
demining operations and assist the return of populations under the best possible
security conditions.
Lebanon’s Neutrality Must Include Arabs vs. Israel
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This is Beirut/February 19/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/02/140376/
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam did well by recommending that the different
Lebanese factions replace their allegiance to foreign powers with unity and
independence, suggesting that he supported Lebanon’s regional and global
neutrality. Yet, in the same breath, Salam said that Lebanon must be part of the
“Arab solidarity” in support of “the right of the Palestinian people for
self-determination,” hardly a recipe for neutrality. Salam does not seem to
notice the contradiction. Salam seems to believe that what is good for the Arab
polity must also be good for Lebanon. Making nice with the “Arab surrounding” is
the classic Lebanese way of begging wealthy Gulf nations for financial
assistance. But suppose Salam is serious about Lebanese self-reliance instead of
betting on foreign powers. In that case, Lebanon has better options to serve its
interests without selling its foreign policy to “Arab solidarity.”
By choosing peace and normalization with Israel, a country whose economy is as
rich as the wealthy United Arab Emirates (UAE) and that is 21 times the size of
its Lebanese counterpart, Lebanon’s national interests can be untied from the
intractable Palestinian problem and instead connected to the global economy.
Lebanon has the moral and ethical justification for abandoning “Arab solidarity”
on the Palestinian issue and suing for bilateral peace with its southern
neighbor — Israel.
Between 1969 and 1982, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), “the sole
and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people” according to the UN,
the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), ran amok on
Lebanese territory, its armed militias terrorizing the Lebanese, dominating
their government, and dragging them into a costly civil war.
The Lebanese have thus paid their dues to the “Palestinian cause.” If anything,
the Lebanese must sue the PLO for reparations for the time that Palestinians
made Lebanon their “alternative homeland” on the way to “liberating Palestine.”
But the Lebanese are kind-hearted and should let bygones be bygones with
Palestinians. Instead of demanding that the Palestinians pay for the enormous
damage that they caused to a once-thriving Lebanon, Lebanon should just sign
peace with Israel and tell the Palestinians that Lebanon has paid its dues to
the “cause” and “Arab solidarity.”It is high time for the Lebanese to start
thinking of the boost to their economic growth that a peace treaty with Israel
can get. Think of the millions of tourists that visit the Jewish state every
year, especially Christian pilgrims. If Lebanon opens its border with Israel, a
tourism spillover from Israel becomes certain. And given Lebanon’s skilled labor
and excellent higher institutions, academic exchange with Israeli universities —
among the top in the world — will be another boon.
Bilateral trade between Lebanon and Israel, Foreign Direct Investments in both
directions, services, high tech, banking, medical care, and insurance will all
grow and stand ready to serve a regional, if not global, market. Sectors on both
sides of the border will grow exponentially.
We bring up economic growth to show how a peace treaty with Israel allows
Lebanon to substitute begging reconstruction money from the Gulf with its own,
independent, self-generated revenue streams.
The Gaza Strip is a tiny and barely livable, let alone economically viable,
piece of land whose only recourse for reconstruction is aid. Lebanon is not
Gaza. Lebanon is a country whose economy was once growing by leaps and bounds
and whose very existence was the envy of many in the region and worldwide. And
Lebanon’s strong economy, before 1969, relied on a truce with Israel. Now,
imagine how strong the Lebanese economy can become when it signs peace and
enters a free trade treaty with Israel and perhaps with other like-minded
countries — first and foremost, the UAE and Bahrain.
Nawaf Salam, a political novice, has been presented to the Lebanese as an agent
of change, and change requires being bold and thinking outside the box. Change
demands thinking of how to grow the economy in ways that can generate enough
wealth for reconstruction rather than begging for rebuilding aid.
In little more than a year, Lebanon will be holding its parliamentary elections.
Let the Lebanese have this debate. Let them discuss how, no matter how proud
they are of their Arab identity, such pride does not mean that the country
should behave as the helpless little kid on the bloc that is begging others for
a lifeline. Let Lebanon become the prodigy, the miracle, Singapore. Let Beirut
become like Dubai and Tel Aviv. Allow the Lebanese to unleash their ingenuity.
If the Palestinians want to join the party, they are welcome to. But the
Palestinians are not welcome to hold Lebanon back until their return to their
past.
Mullahs and Company, Hands Off the Airport!
Marc Saikali/This is Beirut/February 19/2025
In 1973, Henry Kissinger refused to land at Beirut International Airport because
it was under the control of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He also
avoided traveling by road to the airport for the same reason. At the time,
President Sleiman Frangieh welcomed him instead at the Rayak military airport —
an implicit admission that the Lebanese state no longer controlled its own
borders. We all know what happened two years later. As the saying goes, history
repeats itself. Today, it is Hezbollah and its supporters who seek to turn
Beirut’s airport and the roads leading to it into a legal black hole — one that
serves the militia’s interests and those of its Iranian backers. The daily
violence, road blockades and attacks on soldiers and UNIFIL forces all point to
the same conclusion: the Islamic Republic will not tolerate any authority but
its own over this so-called "liberated territory."
Faced with this dismal spectacle, which signals the potential for a larger
explosion, some are more than ever tempted to push for the opening of
alternative airports. While, in principle, it seems absurd that Lebanon has only
one airport — especially when countries of comparable size have several — the
timing is completely wrong. Beirut International Airport (BIA) is Lebanon’s
primary gateway to the world. Succumbing to this threat would be a grave
abdication of sovereignty. President Joseph Aoun has recognized this and has
made his position clear: there will be no tolerance for the abuses of recent
days. The perpetrators will be arrested and brought to justice. He is absolutely
right. The Lebanese Army must be able to deploy in full force along the roads
and at the airport to restore the rule of law. If this proves insufficient, the
area should be placed under international protection, supported by UN
resolutions — most notably Resolution 1701. This airport belongs to Lebanon and
its capital; it is not an outpost for the reckless schemes of Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards. They should focus on securing their own airspace, where
their failures have been glaringly evident. They have already driven Lebanon
into ruin. There’s no point in persisting down the same disastrous path. We’ve
already paid the price, thank you. And as for their so-called great support
front for Gaza, the results speak for themselves, and are painfully clear at the
cost of the Palestinians. By unleashing its mobs to riot and vandalize public
and private property in the streets, Hezbollah is chasing a political victory.
Militarily defeated, with no supply lines since Assad’s fall, the militia is
cornered. To break its isolation, particularly financial, the BIA is its last
bargaining chip. The Syrian border is becoming increasingly impenetrable. The
ongoing battles show just how much the new masters of Damascus care for our
‘local bearded ones.’ Through fear and intimidation, Hezbollah is trying to
delay its inevitable transformation into a mere political faction — a shift
that, ironically, could serve as its best escape route. The state must remain
steadfast. Only then can we discuss alleviating air traffic congestion through
other airports. “Let’s not put the cart before the scooters!”
Aoun Denies Siege on Shiite Community, Emphasizes National
Unity and Reform
This is Beirut/February 19/2025
President Joseph Aoun dismissed claims of a siege on Lebanon’s Shiite community,
asserting that such allegations were unfounded. “Some are promoting this idea,
but it is not true,” he stated during a meeting on Tuesday with a delegation
from the Press Club, led by journalist Bassam Abu Zeid.
Addressing recent measures against specific Iranian airlines, Aoun clarified
that these actions were tied to international sanctions imposed on the companies
and should not be interpreted as targeting any community. He emphasized that the
Shiite community remains an integral part of Lebanon’s national fabric.
Furthermore, the president underscored the urgency of restoring trust among the
Lebanese people and rejected any attempts to exploit foreign influence for
political gain. “Everyone wants the state, not war,” he said, reaffirming that
Lebanon alone now holds the authority to ensure security and control its
borders. “Our decisions are made by the Lebanese, for the Lebanese — no one
else,” he added. Reaffirming his commitment to freedom of speech and belief,
Aoun cautioned that “freedom is a responsibility, not a gateway to chaos.” He
stressed the vital role of the media in constructive criticism and reform,
urging journalists to distinguish between holding power accountable and
distorting the truth. “If freedom becomes uncontrolled, it is the judiciary’s
role to apply the law and correct the course,” he stated. On the issue of
Israeli withdrawal from remaining Lebanese territories, Aoun confirmed that
Lebanon is maintaining diplomatic engagement with the United States and France
to ensure Israel fulfills its commitments. He emphasized national unity in
pursuing a peaceful resolution, reiterating that “no one wants war.”
The president also announced plans for a diplomatic tour of Arab and Western
nations once the new government gains parliamentary confidence. He urged the
media to avoid hostility toward friendly and allied nations, highlighting
Lebanon’s need for regional and international cooperation.
For his part, Press Club President Bassam Abu Zeid voiced optimism about
Lebanon’s future, stating that the aspirations of the Lebanese people are
achievable if backed by strong leadership and decisive action.
“Mr. President, you have always made decisions based solely on Lebanese
interests,” Abu Zeid noted. He affirmed the Press Club’s commitment to
journalistic integrity, stating that, “freedom should serve the purpose of
building, correcting and conveying the people’s voice — not
destruction.”Educational Center for Research and Development. Following the
media meeting, Aoun received a delegation from the Educational Center for
Research and Development, led by Professor Hiam Ishaq. The president highlighted
the importance of strengthening Lebanon’s public education system, which has
produced some of the country’s most influential figures. He pointed to a key
provision in the government’s ministerial policy statement that prioritizes
education and vowed to discuss solutions to the challenges facing the sector.
Concluding his remarks, Aoun reaffirmed his vision for a modern Lebanese state,
built on anti-corruption measures, economic recovery and educational reform.
“A strong Lebanon can only be achieved through accountability, stability and
progress,” he declared.
Hostilities Again After Ceasefire Expiration?
Natasha Metni Torbey/This is Beirut/February 19/2025
After several months of a – partial – cessation of hostilities between Israel
and Hezbollah, the expiration of the ceasefire raises important legal questions
about security, particularly whether hostilities could (or could not) resume.
The ceasefire agreement, which was decreed in November 2024 for a period of 60
days, was renewed in January 2025 and expired on Tuesday morning. Although
fragile, it allowed for a period of respite from violence. Today, this new
deadline opens the door to a phase of uncertainty, in which Israel intends to
maintain its positions at five strategic points along the Lebanese border and
intervene militarily in “high-risk” areas where the Lebanese army has yet to be
deployed.
“The actions of the Israeli army against Hezbollah will continue with
intensity,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Tuesday. “We will
maintain our presence in five regions of southern Lebanon to protect the
northern colonies (of Israel, ed.),” he added. He also emphasized that Israel
would not allow a return to the situation before October 7, 2023 (the date of
Hamas' offensive).
Considering this a blatant violation of its sovereignty, Lebanon strongly
condemned the continued presence of Israeli forces in the southern regions.
Legal Framework
According to Antonios Abou Kasm, a professor of international law at the
Lebanese University and an international lawyer pleading before international
courts, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) constitutes “the
essential legal framework for the ceasefire,” while the “Declaration (of
November 27, 2024) on the Cessation of Hostilities and the related obligations
for strengthening security provisions and implementing Resolution 1701 is an
agreement that serves as a mechanism for enforcing this resolution.”
However, the expiration of the 60-day period prescribed in Article 12 of the
ceasefire agreement, which was extended until February 18, 2025, “does not imply
that the agreement has ended or been revoked,” he stresses. According to him, it
is “an ongoing agreement that only concludes upon the full implementation of
Resolution 1701.” “Non-compliance with the deadlines set in this agreement
constitutes a violation of a conventional obligation,” he asserts.
Thus, Lebanon and Israel are both required to adhere to Security Council
Resolution 1701, which is binding and was enacted under Chapter VII of the
United Nations Charter, explains Abou Kasm. “Resolution 1701 takes precedence
over the ceasefire agreement because, under international law, Security Council
decisions override bilateral agreements between the parties to the conflict,” he
adds.
Could Hostilities Resume?
Given the current situation, the resumption of hostilities is no longer
“regulated.” “Nothing can prevent such a scenario,” emphasized magistrate
Antoine Messarra, a former member of the Constitutional Council, and lawyer Saïd
Malek, in an interview with This is Beirut. However, they note that “given
Hezbollah’s reduced military capabilities and the diplomatic pressure exerted on
both Lebanon and Israel, such an eventuality is highly improbable.”
When it comes to legal considerations, international humanitarian law imposes
obligations on conflicting parties even after a ceasefire ends. When such an
agreement expires, the parties cannot automatically resume hostilities
unilaterally without triggering a new form of armed conflict, legal experts
explain.
However, the resumption of combat could be legally justified as “self-defense”
if one of the parties perceives itself to be under attack or threatened. The
central question remains whether such a resumption would comply with
international law, particularly concerning the principles of international
humanitarian law and United Nations Security Council resolutions.
François Dubuisson, a professor at the Free University of Brussels and a
researcher at the Center for International Law, widely consulted by the UN
General Assembly for his expertise on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, states
that “for any resumption of hostilities to be 'valid,' there must be a legal
basis for initiating combat.” He cites Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter,
which prohibits the use of threats or force against another state unless it
qualifies as self-defense.
Abou Kasm corroborates this view, “The parties to the conflict have no right to
resort to force except in cases of self-defense. In other words, the Israeli
army has no right to violate the Declaration on the Cessation of Hostilities
unless Lebanon launches a military attack, as stipulated by Article 51 of the UN
Charter.”Thus, the expiration of the ceasefire does not automatically restore a
state of war, but it does open the door—under certain conditions—to a resumption
of hostilities if one of the parties believes its interests are threatened,
which could be the case for Israel. The Israeli government has repeatedly cited
the danger posed by Hezbollah’s arsenal and sites that the Lebanese army has not
yet dismantled, according to Israeli authorities.
Hezbollah, in turn, could argue that the expiration of the ceasefire removes the
restrictions on its military actions, particularly if it perceives Israeli
actions as a threat to its interests. If this were the case, a new military
escalation could occur, potentially reigniting a cycle of violence in the
region.
To summarize, in order to launch a new military action, Israel—or
Hezbollah—would need to justify its actions under international law, invoking
reasons such as self-defense, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
In this context, Israel, which announced its intention to maintain forces in
strategic locations along the Lebanese border, could cite security threats to
justify military intervention, especially in areas not covered by Lebanese army
deployments. However, by continuing to occupy such border zones, Israel is
committing what is legally defined as “armed aggression against Lebanon,” as
Dubuisson explains. This, he argues, “opens the possibility—not for Hezbollah,
but for the Lebanese state—to mobilize its armed forces and assert its
sovereignty by military means.”
“According to the Declaration on the Cessation of Hostilities, in the event of a
violation, the injured party must refer the matter to the mechanism (the
ceasefire monitoring committee) rather than intervene militarily,” Abou Kasm
explains. He adds, “Beyond violating this declaration, the presence of the
Israeli army in these five locations constitutes an occupation of Lebanese
territory and a violation of Resolutions 425 (1978) and 1701 (2006), among other
Security Council resolutions.” Consequently, “any Israeli violation of Article 2
of the aforementioned declaration, under which Israel commits 'not to conduct
any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian
and military targets or other state targets, on Lebanese territory by land, air,
or sea,' would allow the Lebanese government to refer the matter to the
monitoring mechanism and UNIFIL under Article 10 of the Declaration on the
Cessation of Hostilities,” Abou Kasm notes.
The Role of the International Community and the United Nations
The expiration of the ceasefire could also trigger a reaction from the
international community, particularly the United Nations. According to existing
resolutions, especially UN Security Council Resolution 1701, any new escalation
of the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, particularly involving Hezbollah,
could lead to an international intervention aimed at restoring order and
protecting civilians. The role of UN peacekeepers could thus be reinforced to
prevent the resumption of hostilities.
“It is also possible that diplomatic discussions could be initiated to reach a
new ceasefire agreement or to negotiate mechanisms to defuse tensions,
particularly if hostilities risk escalating into a broader conflict,” explain
Malek and Messarra.
To what extent can international diplomacy and increased military vigilance by
all involved actors play a crucial role in preventing a full-scale war?
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 19-20/2025
Hamas says ready to free all hostages at once in Gaza truce phase two
Agence France Presse/February
19, 2025
Hamas signaled on Wednesday that it was willing to free all remaining hostages
held in Gaza in a single swap during the next phase of the ongoing ceasefire
agreement. Israel and Hamas are currently in the
process of implementing phase one of the fragile Gaza truce, which has held
since taking effect on January 19 despite accusations of violations on both
sides. Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday that talks would begin "this
week" on the second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to
the war. "We have informed the mediators that Hamas is ready to release all
hostages in one batch during the second phase of the agreement, rather than in
stages, as in the current first phase," senior Hamas official Taher al-Nounou
told AFP. He did not clarify how many hostages were currently being held by
Hamas or other militant groups. Nounou said this step was meant "to confirm our
seriousness and complete readiness to move forward in resolving this issue, as
well as to continue steps towards cementing the ceasefire and achieving a
sustainable truce". Under the ceasefire's first phase, 19 Israeli hostages have
been released by militants so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian
prisoners freed from Israeli jails in a series of Red Cross-mediated swaps.
Wednesday's offer came after Israel and Hamas announced a deal for the return of
all six remaining living hostages eligible for release under phase one in a
single swap this weekend. After the completion of the
first phase, 58 hostages will remain in Gaza.
'Held onto hope'
Hamas also agreed on Tuesday to return the bodies of eight dead hostages in two
groups this week and next, including the remains of Shiri Bibas and her two
young sons, Kfir and Ariel, who have become national symbols in Israel of the
hostages' ordeal. The boys' father Yarden Bibas was taken hostage separately on
October 7, 2023, and was released alive during an earlier hostage-prisoner swap.
While Hamas said Shiri Bibas and her boys were killed in an Israeli air
strike early in the war, Israel has never confirmed this, and many supporters
remain unconvinced of their deaths, including members of the Bibas family. "I
ask that no one eulogize my family just yet. We have held onto hope for 16
months, and we are not giving up now," the boys' aunt, Ofri Bibas, wrote on
Facebook on Tuesday night following Hamas's announcement. Israeli authorities
have confirmed that the remains of four hostages are due to be returned on
Thursday, although they have not officially named them. The national forensic
institute in Tel Aviv has mobilized 10 doctors to expedite the identification
process, public broadcaster Kan reported on Wednesday.
Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack
on Israel, of whom 70 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are
dead. The October attack resulted in the deaths of
1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official
figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,297 people in
Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health
ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
Netanyahu appoints close adviser with Trump ties to lead ceasefire negotiations
Associated Press/February 19,
2025
An Israeli official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a
close confidant to lead negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire with
Hamas. The official says that Cabinet Minister Ron
Dermer will head the Israeli team. Previous talks have been led by the heads of
the Mossad and Shin Bet security agencies. Talks have not yet started on the
second stage, which is meant to include an end to the war, return of all
hostages and Israeli pullout from Gaza. The official
spoke on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been officially
announced. The U.S.-born Dermer is widely seen as Netanyahu’s closest adviser.
He previously served as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. and is a former
Republican activist with strong ties to the Trump White House.
Dermer currently serves as Israel’s strategic affairs minister, where he
has been a key player in relations with the U.S. as well as Gulf Arab countries.
Rebuilding Gaza will cost over $50 billion, a new report says
Associated Press/February 19,
2025
The World Bank, United Nations and the European Union are pointing to a
formidable international reconstruction effort ahead for Gaza, which they
estimate will cost $53.2 billion. “Funding will require a broad coalition of
donors, diverse financing instruments, private sector resources and significant
improvements in the delivery of reconstruction materials to Gaza,” said the
report released Tuesday. The organizations said they
would work with partners to devise a “strategic plan” to oversee the recovery
and reconstruction. The report identified almost $30 billion in damage as a
result of the war — with nearly half of that due to destruction of homes. The
war has displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population, and since a ceasefire
took effect last month, many displaced Palestinians have returned to find their
former homes in ruins. The report said Gaza would require about $20 billion for
recovery and reconstruction needs over the next three years. It says an
additional $33 billion will be needed in the long term, including funds to
rebuild the territory’s social and health services and the battered economy.
UAE president opposes
Palestinian displacement in meeting with US secretary of state
Arab News/February 19, 2025
DUBAI: The president of the UAE reaffirmed his country’s stance against the
displacement of Palestinians during a meeting on Wednesday with US Secretary of
State Marco Rubio, the UAE news agency WAM reported. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed
Al-Nahyan hosted Rubio in Abu Dhabi, where the two discussed bilateral
cooperation and ways to strengthen ties, according to UAE state media. Their
talks also covered regional and international issues, with a focus on the Middle
East and the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Sheikh Mohamed reiterated the UAE’s
opposition to any forced displacement of Palestinians and emphasized the need
for a path to lasting peace through a two-state solution. He also underscored
the importance of linking Gaza’s reconstruction efforts to long-term stability
and peace in the region. The UAE leader warned against the expansion of the
conflict, saying it posed a significant threat to regional security. Senior
Emirati officials, including National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed
Al-Nahyan and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, attended the
meeting. The UAE has called for de-escalation in Gaza and continues to push for
humanitarian relief efforts in the Palestinian territory.
Hamas, Israel agree return of six hostages, bodies held in
Gaza
Agence France Presse/February 19, 2025
Hamas and Israel announced a deal for the release of six living hostages from
Gaza and the return of four captives' bodies -- including, the militants said,
the remains of two young boys seen as national symbols back home. The family of
hostages Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel and Kfir, the last remaining Israeli
children held in Gaza, said they were "in turmoil" at the news, noting they had
still received no "official confirmation" of their loved ones' deaths.
Thirty-three Israeli hostages were due for release under the first phase of the
fragile Gaza truce that took effect last month, with 19 freed so far in exchange
for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners. Of the remaining 14, Israel says
eight are dead. Hamas "decided to release on Saturday, February 22, the
remaining living (Israeli) prisoners whose release was agreed in the first
phase, numbering six", the group's top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said in a
televised address. The group also "decided to hand over four bodies on Thursday,
among them (those of) the Bibas family", Hayya added. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's office subsequently confirmed that during indirect
negotiations in Cairo, "agreements were reached" for the six living hostages to
be handed over on Saturday, in addition to four bodies on Thursday and four more
next week. A Bibas family statement said it had been "in turmoil following (the)
Hamas spokesperson's announcement about the planned return of our Shiri, Ariel,
and Kfir this Thursday". The trio were abducted during Hamas's October 7, 2023
attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war, with Ariel and Kfir coming to
symbolize the hostages' plight for many Israelis. Their father Yarden Bibas was
also taken hostage separately, and was released alive during a previous
hostage-prisoner exchange. Hamas has previously said that Shiri Bibas and the
children were killed in an Israeli air strike in November 2023, but Israel has
not confirmed their deaths.
"Until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over," the family
statement said.
'Reluctantly hopeful' -
The bodies due to be handed over on Thursday are the first to be returned to
Israel by Hamas since the war began. Israel's military issued a statement on
Tuesday urging the public not to take notice of what it called "unverified
rumors" about the hostages, without elaborating. Israeli campaign group the
Hostages and Missing Families Forum published the names of the six living
hostages due for release on Saturday, saying it "welcomes with profound joy the
return of Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham Al-Sayed
and Avera Mengistu". Shoham's family said it had been informed he was scheduled
for release, adding: "While we are reluctantly hopeful, we remain cautious and
pray that Tal will return safely."Five Thais held in Gaza since the October 2023
attack have also been released outside the scope of the truce deal. The truce
has held despite both sides trading accusations of violations, and despite the
strain placed on it by U.S. President Donald Trump's widely condemned plan to
take control of devastated Gaza and relocate its population. Saudi Arabia is set
to host the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on
Friday to present their own plan for Gaza's reconstruction while ensuring that
Palestinians remain on their land. Trump floated Egypt and Jordan as possible
destinations for displaced Gazans, but both countries rejected the idea. After
the Saudi meeting, Egypt will host an extraordinary Arab League meeting on Gaza
on March 4. For Palestinians, any forced displacement evokes memories of the "Nakba",
or catastrophe -- the mass exile of their ancestors during Israel's creation in
1948.
'Demilitarization' -
Israel, meanwhile, demanded on Tuesday the "complete demilitarization of Gaza,"
with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar saying it would "not accept the continued
presence of Hamas or any other terrorist groups" in the Palestinian territory.
Saar also said Israel would begin negotiations "this week" on the truce's
second phase, which aims to lay out a more permanent end to the war. Phase one
is due to expire on March 1. Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza conflict, said on
Tuesday that Palestinians must decide the territory's future. "It is a
Palestinian question on who represents the Palestinians in an official capacity
and also the political groups and parties in the political sphere," said foreign
ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari. Hamas's 2023
attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians,
according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory
campaign has killed at least 48,291 people in Gaza, the majority of them
civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run
territory that the United Nations considers reliable. Of 251 people seized in
the Hamas attack, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are
dead. Israel's military said that in southern Gaza on Tuesday, soldiers fired on
a man after he ignored warning shots. A hospital source in Khan Yunis said it
had received the body of a 15-year-old.
Al-Sisi reiterates opposition to Trump's Gaza plan
Associated Press/February 19, 2025
Egypt’s leader has reiterated his opposition to any transfer of the Palestinians
out of the Gaza Strip, as suggested by U.S. President Donald Trump. President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday called on the international community to
support a reconstruction plan that would allow Palestinians to stay in their
homeland. He said the reconstruction of Gaza must be implemented “without the
transfer of the Palestinian people from their land to which they cling.” Egypt
and Jordan have rejected Trump’s suggestion that they take in large numbers of
Palestinian refugees. Al-Sisi spoke in Madrid at a joint press conference with
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who also condemned Trump’s proposal,
saying it would be “immoral and contrary to international law and United Nations
resolutions,” and have a destabilizing effect on the region. The two leaders
also called for the revival of a peace process leading to a two-state solution
to the conflict.
US top diplomat Rubio visits the UAE after landmark talks
with Russia over Ukraine war
Associated Press/February 19, 2025
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Wednesday with the leader of the United
Arab Emirates, wrapping up an overseas trip that saw the highest-level outreach
between the United States and Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale
invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Rubio's talk with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al
Nahyan, also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, comes as the U.S. also tries to continue a
shaky ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the militant Hamas group.
The UAE, which diplomatically recognized Israel in 2020 during President Donald
Trump's first term, also has been key in mediating prisoner swaps between Russia
and Ukraine. Rubio offered his thanks in the meeting
to the UAE "for the strength and enduring nature of the relationship, one marked
by strong economic ties, defense cooperation and mutual interests in regional
stability," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. The
meeting included discussions on artificial intelligence, the Gaza Strip, Syria,
Lebanon and the Red Sea, which had been the site of attacks by Yemen's Houthi
rebels until the Gaza ceasefire, Bruce added. There
was no immediate comments from the UAE on what Rubio, Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's foreign minister, discussed in their
roughly 30-minute meeting. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with
Sheikh Mohammed on Monday. However, the state-linked newspaper The National
later reported Sheikh Mohammed had told Rubio "that the UAE strongly opposes any
attempt to displace the Palestinian people from Gaza."
Trump has said he wants to empty Gaza permanently of its more than 2 million
Palestinians, saying they would not be allowed to return and suggesting at one
point he might force Egypt and Jordan to take them in by threatening to cut off
U.S. aid. Sheikh Mohammed also reportedly stressed
that reconstruction in Gaza be backed by a "comprehensive and lasting peace"
based on a two-state solution, which would see the Palestinians have their own
future state out of Gaza and the West Bank. Both the
UAE and Saudi Arabia have been discussed as possible sites for peace talks to
end the war in Ukraine, which marks its third anniversary on Monday. Saudi
Arabia also has been mentioned as the possible venue for a meeting between Trump
and Russian President Vladimir Putin, providing a potential diplomatic boon to
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler.
The leaders met Rubio at an Abu Dhabi convention center that's hosting
the biennial International Defense Exhibition and Conference this week, where
both Ukraine and Russia have displayed weapons — even as Moscow faces Western
sanctions over the war. Russian money continues to flood into Dubai's booming
real estate market. Daily flights between the Emirates and Moscow provide a
lifeline for both those fleeing conscription and the Russian elite. Ukrainians
as well have fled to the Emirates, an autocratically ruled federation of seven
sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Rubio also visited Abu Dhabi's Abrahamic
Family House, which houses a Catholic church, a Jewish synagogue and an Islamic
mosque.
Israel's West Bank crackdown triggers a wave of
displacement unseen in decades
Associated Press/February 19, 2025
By car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers' sight lines, tens of
thousands of Palestinians in recent weeks have fled Israeli military operations
across the northern West Bank — the largest displacement in the occupied
territory since the 1967 Mideast war. After announcing a widespread crackdown
against West Bank militants on Jan. 21 — just two days after its ceasefire deal
with Hamas in Gaza — Israeli forces descended on the restive city of Jenin, as
they have dozens of times since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. But
unlike past operations, Israeli forces then pushed deeper and more forcefully
into several other nearby towns, including Tulkarem, Far'a and Nur Shams,
scattering families and stirring bitter memories of the 1948 war over Israel's
creation. During that war, 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their
homes in what is now Israel. That Nakba, or "catastrophe," as Palestinians call
it, gave rise to the crowded West Bank towns now under assault and still known
as refugee camps. "This is our nakba," said Abed Sabagh, 53, who bundled his
seven children into the car on Feb. 9 as sound bombs blared in Nur Shams camp,
where he was born to parents who fled the 1948 war.
Humanitarian officials say they haven't seen such displacement in the West Bank
since the 1967 Mideast war, when Israel captured the territory west of the
Jordan River, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, displacing another
300,000 Palestinians. "This is unprecedented. When you add to this the
destruction of infrastructure, we're reaching a point where the camps are
becoming uninhabitable," said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs
for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency. More than 40,100 Palestinians have fled
their homes in the ongoing military operation, according to the agency.
Experts say that Israel's tactics in the West Bank are becoming almost
indistinguishable from those deployed in Gaza. Already, President Donald Trump's
plan for the mass transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza has emboldened Israel's
far-right to renew calls for annexation of the West Bank. "The idea of
'cleansing' the land of Palestinians is more popular today than ever before,"
said Yagil Levy, head of the Institute for the Study of Civil-Military Relations
at Britain's Open University.
The Israeli army denies issuing evacuation orders in the West Bank. It said
troops secure passages for those wanting to leave on their own accord. Over a
dozen displaced Palestinians interviewed in the last week said they did not flee
their homes out of fear, but on the orders of Israeli security forces.
Associated Press journalists in the Nur Shams camp also heard Israeli soldiers
shouting through mosque megaphones, ordering people to leave. Some displaced
families said soldiers were polite, knocking on doors and assuring them they
could return when the army left. Others said they were ruthless, ransacking
rooms, waving rifles and hustling residents out of their homes despite pleas for
more time. "I was sobbing, asking them, 'Why do you want me to leave my house?'
My baby is upstairs, just let me get my baby please,'" Ayat Abdullah, 30,
recalled from a shelter for displaced people in the village of Kafr al-Labd.
"They gave us seven minutes. I brought my children, thank God. Nothing else."
Told to make their own way, Abdullah trudged 10 kilometers (six miles) on a path
lighted only by the glow from her phone as rain turned the ground to mud. She
said she clutched her children tight, braving possible snipers that had killed a
23-year-old pregnant woman just hours earlier on Feb. 9.
Her 5-year-old son, Nidal, interrupted her story, pursing his lips
together to make a loud buzzing sound. "You're right, my love," she replied.
"That's the sound the drones made when we left home."In the nearby town of
Anabta, volunteers moved in and out of mosques and government buildings that
have become makeshift shelters — delivering donated blankets, serving bitter
coffee, distributing boiled eggs for breakfast and whipping up vats of rice and
chicken for dinner.
Residents have opened their homes to families fleeing Nur Shams and Tulkarem.
"This is our duty in the current security situation," said Thabet A'mar, the
mayor of Anabta. But he stressed that the town's welcoming hand should not be
mistaken for anything more. "We insist that their displacement is temporary," he
said.
When the invasion started on Feb. 2, Israeli bulldozers ruptured underground
pipes. Taps ran dry. Sewage gushed. Internet service was shut off. Schools
closed. Food supplies dwindled. Explosions echoed. Ahmad Sobuh could understand
how his neighbors chose to flee the Far'a refugee camp during Israel's 10-day
incursion. But he scavenged rainwater to drink and hunkered down in his home,
swearing to himself, his family and the Israeli soldiers knocking at his door
that he would stay.
The soldiers advised against that, informing Sobuh's family on Feb. 11 that,
because a room had raised suspicion for containing security cameras and an
object resembling a weapon, they would blow up the second floor. The
surveillance cameras, which Israeli soldiers argued could be exploited by
Palestinian militants, were not unusual in the volatile neighborhood, Sobuh
said, as families can observe street battles and Israeli army operations from
inside. But the second claim sent him clambering upstairs, where he found his
nephew's water pipe, shaped like a rifle.
Hours later, the explosion left his nephew's room naked to the wind and
shattered most others. It was too dangerous to stay. "They are doing everything
they can to push us out," he said of Israel's military, which, according to the
U.N. agency for refugees, has demolished hundreds of homes across the four camps
this year. The Israeli army has described its ongoing
campaign as a crucial counterterrorism effort to prevent attacks like Oct. 7,
and said steps were taken to mitigate the impact on civilians. The first thing
Doha Abu Dgehish noticed about her family's five-story home 10 days after
Israeli troops forced them to leave, she said, was the smell.
Venturing inside as Israeli troops withdrew from Far'a camp, she found
rotten food and toilets piled with excrement. Pet parakeets had vanished from
their cages. Pages of the Quran had been defaced with graphic drawings. Israeli
forces had apparently used explosives to blow every door off its hinges, even
though none had been locked.Rama, her 11-year-old daughter with Down syndrome,
screamed upon finding her doll's skirt torn and its face covered with more
graphic drawings. AP journalists visited the Abu
Dgehish home on Feb. 12, hours after their return.
Nearly two dozen Palestinians interviewed across the four West Bank refugee
camps this month described army units taking over civilian homes to use as a
dormitories, storerooms or lookout points. The Abu Dgehish family accused
Israeli soldiers of vandalizing their home, as did multiple families in Far'a.
The Israeli army blamed militants for embedding themselves in civilian
infrastructure. Soldiers may be "required to operate from civilian homes for
varying periods," it said, adding that the destruction of civilian property was
a violation of the military's rules and does not conform to its values. It said
"any exceptional incidents that raise concerns regarding a deviation from these
orders" are "thoroughly addressed," without elaborating. For Abu Dgehish, the
mess was emblematic of the emotional whiplash of return. No one knows when
they'll have to flee again. "It's like they want us to feel that we're never
safe," she said. "That we have no control."
Canada refugee claims drop
as country issues fewer visas
Rueters/February 19, 2025
TORONTO: Refugee claims in Canada are dropping from historic highs as the
country grants fewer visas and advocates worry legitimate claimants are being
left stranded with few good options. About 11,840 people filed refugee claims in
Canada in January, down from a high of 19,821 in July, Immigration and Refugee
Board data shows. This was the lowest monthly figure since September 2023.
Canada is publicly discouraging asylum-seekers and clamping down on the visas it
issues, aiming to gradually reduce the population and reduce strain on services
amid a broader backlash against migrants.
Last year Canada issued about 1.5 million visitor visas, down from about 1.8
million in 2023, according to government data. The decline was particularly
sharp for certain countries that have been significant sources of
asylum-seekers, Reuters analysis shows. The number of visitor visas granted to
Bangladeshi citizens dropped to 27,975 from 45,322; Haitians dropped to 5,487
from 8,984; Nigerians, to 51,828 from 79,378. Visitor visas to some countries
with high refugee acceptance rates have declined from 2023. Last year Canada
granted visitor visas to 330 Afghans, down from 468; 38,075 Iranians, down from
57,127; 2,019 Ugandans, from 6,096; 1,174 Syrians, from 2,716; and 3,199
Kenyans, from 11,464. The number of pending claims is still at a historic high —
278,457 in January, according to the Immigration and Refugee Board. Canada has
no asylum-seeker visas. Anyone who wants to claim refugee status must come as a
visitor, student or worker — or sneak into the country, no easy feat for a place
surrounded by water and an agreement with the United States to turn back
asylum-seekers. Displaced people can also wait in refugee camps, potentially for
years, in hopes they will be selected for resettlement. Canada is using
heightened scrutiny of visa applications from countries with the “highest rates
of abuse” with the aim of ensuring visas are used for their intended purpose,
Renee LeBlanc Proctor, a spokesperson for Immigration Minister Marc Miller,
wrote in an email. “This work additionally protects the asylum process ... so
that it is available for those who need it most.”At a time of global
displacement, advocates argue, Canada’s clampdown leaves desperate people with
no good options. “It’s very problematic,” said Diana Gallego, co-executive
director at Toronto-based FCJ Refugee Center, which provides services to
asylum-seekers. “If people are fleeing persecution the only way that some of
them may find safe haven is having an exit visa because, if not, they are forced
to cross borders walking, putting their lives in danger.”Gallego said the center
is seeing fewer people, although she does not know if they are being sent
elsewhere. “It’s like invisible walls.”
Macron Expected at White
House Next Week
This is Beirut/With AFP/February 19, 2025
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to meet Donald Trump at the White House
next week, a US official said Wednesday, as Europe scrambles to respond to the
US president's shift on the war in Ukraine. "President Macron is expected at the
White House early next week," a White House official told AFP on condition of
anonymity.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on February 19-20/2025
Why Trump Must Insist on Removing Hamas From Power
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/February 19, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/02/140357/
One of the group's senior officials, Osama Hamdan... also threatened that Hamas
would not allow any non-Palestinian party to enter the Gaza Strip.
Iran's ruling mullahs have already lost their strategic ally with the collapse
of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Losing the Gaza Strip would therefore
be another severe blow to the Iranian regime, whose declared goal is to
annihilate the "Zionist entity."
Similarly, Hamas's longtime patrons and funders in Qatar will do their utmost to
ensure that the terrorist group remains in power.
Hamdan's statements are a clear indication that Hamas intends to maintain its
control of the Gaza Strip at any cost. They are also a sign that Hamas is
determined to continue its terror attacks against Israel.
Any deal that allows Hamas to remain in power would be disastrous for Israel,
the Palestinians, and Arab states threatened by the Iran-led "Axis of
Resistance."
It would also undermine the Trump administration's credibility in the eyes of
many in the Middle East. The Trump administration will appear as if it is only
good at making empty threats.
There should be no reconstruction of the Gaza Strip as long as Iran's proxies
remain in power. The idea of allowing the Palestinian Authority to return to the
Gaza Strip as a civilian body that pays salaries and funds projects should be
rejected by the Trump administration.
Even if the PA is permitted to deploy its own security forces in the Gaza Strip,
it does not mean that they would be able to disarm Hamas and other terrorist
groups. The PA did not do so when it was in control of the Gaza Strip between
1994 and 2007, and the assumption that it would do so now is catastrophically
wrong.
Any deal that allows Hamas to remain in power would be disastrous for Israel,
the Palestinians, and Arab states threatened by the Iran-led "Axis of
Resistance." It would also undermine the Trump administration's credibility in
the eyes of many in the Middle East.
The Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has reportedly expressed
readiness to cede control of the Gaza Strip and hand it over to the Palestinian
Authority (PA), headed by Mahmoud Abbas.
This assurance, however, does not mean that Hamas is willing to lay down its
weapons or dismantle its military wing, Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Hamas wants the PA to return to the Gaza Strip only to pay salaries and fund
various projects, including the reconstruction of the devastation. That
arrangement would still exempt Hamas of its duties and responsibilities towards
the two million residents of the Gaza Strip and allow the terror group to rearm,
regroup and rebuild its military capabilities.
Shortly after the report surfaced about Hamas's purported willingness to
relinquish control of the Gaza Strip, one of the group's senior officials, Osama
Hamdan, affirmed that his group has no intention of laying down its weapons or
ending its rule over the coastal enclave. Hamas leaders, in addition, Hamdan
stressed, will not leave the Gaza Strip.
"The issue of the weapons of the resistance and the leaders of the resistance is
nonnegotiable," Hamdan told the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera television network, a
self-appointed mouthpiece for Hamas. He also threatened that Hamas would not
allow any non-Palestinian party to enter the Gaza Strip. "Anyone who wants to
replace Israel, we will deal with them as if they were Israel," Hamdan said.
"Quite simply, anyone who wants to work on behalf of Israel [in the Gaza Strip]
would have to bear the consequences of being an Israeli agent."
The Hamas official's threat is directed not only towards Abbas's PA, but also
against Arab countries that might be considering involvement in the
administration of the Gaza Strip after the war, which began on October 7, 2023
when the terrorist group invaded Israel, murdering 1,200 Israelis and wounding
thousands of others. Another 251 Israelis were kidnapped and held hostage by
Hamas terrorists as well as "ordinary" Palestinians.
No Arab country will agree to play any role in the administration of the Gaza
Strip as long as Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups continue to
maintain an armed presence there. The same applies to the PA, which was expelled
from the Gaza Strip by Hamas in 2007. That year, Hamas staged a violent and
brutal coup during which dozens of PA loyalists were killed.
Since the beginning of the US-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire-hostage deal in
mid-January, the PA and the Arab states, as well as the rest of the world, have
seen the reemergence of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) masked
terrorists on the streets of the Gaza Strip. The presence of the terrorists
throughout the Gaza Strip aims to send a message to the PA and the Arab states
that Hamas and PIJ remain in control despite the heavy casualties they suffered
during the war.
The terror groups say they will not allow any other security forces to take
control of the Gaza Strip. If that were to happen, Iran would lose one of its
significant strongholds in the Middle East.
Iran's ruling mullahs have already lost their strategic ally with the collapse
of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Furthermore, as a result of Israel's
military and security operations over the past 16 months, Iran's Hezbollah proxy
in Lebanon has been severely weakened. Losing the Gaza Strip would therefore be
another severe blow to the Iranian regime, whose declared goal is to annihilate
the "Zionist entity."
Similarly, Hamas's longtime patrons and funders in Qatar will do their utmost to
ensure that the terrorist group remains in power.
Hamdan's statements are a clear indication that Hamas intends to maintain its
control of the Gaza Strip at any cost. They are also a sign that Hamas is
determined to continue its terror attacks against Israel.
As Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a former Gaza resident and Senior Fellow at Atlantic
Council, noted:
"It's official - Hamas wants war and pre-emptively rebukes Egypt and Arab
proposals for [the reconstruction of] Gaza.... [Hamdan] says that:
"1- Hamas won, and the idea of the resistance was victorious.
"2- Iran helped the resistance and will have a role in the future, whereas those
who didn't help the resistance can't now expect to play a role (he's talking
about the Arab countries).
"3- Hamas, which brought unprecedented achievements, cannot be told that it
won't be part of the Palestinian national project.
"4- Anyone who wants to act in Israel's stead and in its place will be treated
as such and will have to deal with the consequences of that (he's talking about
any security arrangement that entails PA forces, Arab or international troops).
"5- Hamas won't discuss disarming, the departure of its leaders [from Gaza], or
disappearing from the scene and won't leave or pay any prices for
reconstruction.
"6- Hamas and team resistance have Iran, Turkey, and Africa (mainly referring to
South Africa) as allies to provide support.
"7- Hamas will rebuild its capabilities in Gaza and will expand them further,
with its most crucial strength being that it can slap (attack) Israel anytime it
wants.
"This is a significant development and has immense implications for Gaza's
people, the region, Trump's plan, and what's going to unfold in the near
future."
Sami Abu Zuhri, another senior Hamas official, said this week that his group is
going nowhere. He added that Israel's effort to remove Hamas from power has
failed, and he threatened to launch more attacks against Israelis:
"We say to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu: We are capable of
teaching you one lesson after the other. Hamas will stay [in power]."
The Trump administration and the rest of the international community need to
take Hamas's threats seriously. The Hamas leaders (most of whom live in a number
of Arab and Islamic countries) are basically saying that they do not believe the
Trump administration's talk about removing Hamas from power. Ignoring Hamas's
threats means that there will be more October 7-style massacres of Israelis.
Any deal that allows Hamas to remain in power would be disastrous for Israel,
the Palestinians, and Arab states threatened by the Iran-led "Axis of
Resistance."
It would also undermine the Trump administration's credibility in the eyes of
many in the Middle East. The Trump administration will appear as if it is only
good at making empty threats.
There should be no reconstruction of the Gaza Strip as long as Iran's proxies
remain in power. The idea of allowing the Palestinian Authority to return to the
Gaza Strip as a civilian body that pays salaries and funds projects should be
rejected by the Trump administration.
Even if the PA is permitted to deploy its own security forces in the Gaza Strip,
it does not mean that they would be able to disarm Hamas and other terrorist
groups. The PA did not do so when it was in control of the Gaza Strip between
1994 and 2007, and the assumption that it would do so now is catastrophically
wrong.
Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
*Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
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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/21406/remove-hamas-from-power
Paris, Munich, NATO and the Moment of Truth
Emile Ameen/Asharq Al Awsat/February 19, 2025
It has been decades from the end of the Second World War in which the United
States played a key role in defeating the Axis powers, and then reinforced
transatlantic relations through the establishment and rise of NATO in 1949.
The alliance managed to maintain a united front and remained steadfast in the
face of the Warsaw Pact throughout the four decades of the Cold War. Moreover,
Washington provided crucial support to Western Europe in the aftermath of the
fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
However, a pressing question has imposed itself into the heart of the debate in
Europe: What does the future of US-European relations look like, and what
implications will change to this relationship have for NATO’s future?
It is well known that before Vladimir Putin launched his military operation in
Ukraine, there had been a lot of talk about whether NATO was “brain dead.”
Advocated by France, the development of a European military force, which would
not necessarily be a definitive alternative to NATO, was the subject of
extensive debate in Europe.
With Donald Trump returning to the White House once again, commentators and
analysts around the world are now closely following the relationship between
Washington and Brussels. Many are asking: “Has Gaullism been revised?” A retreat
from the era of US-European military alliances, similar to that seen during
President Charles de Gaulle’s tenure, when France distanced itself from NATO’s
structures in the 1960s), is now a real possibility.
Two scenes from the past two weeks present powerful omens that a serious rift
may be upon us if the Trump administration moves forward with the vision he is
currently putting forward. Strangely, his young vice president JD Vance, not
Trump himself, was the center of both. We have previously noted, rightly so that
he is the intellectual powerhouse of this administration and the driving force
behind the “Heritage Foundation,” which laid out “Project 2025:” a program to
reshape the US that turns away from the conventional federal bureaucratic state.
In Paris, Vance raised significant concern after voicing the White House’s
stance on artificial intelligence, which starkly contrasts with many European
perspectives. For today’s America, AI is no longer an abstraction or technology
that will be used in the future, but the key to global power, economic
dominance, and societal transformation. Moreover, it is clear that Trump and the
tech oligarchy have positioned AI as the cornerstone of their national security
and economic agenda, especially after “Stargate,” scrapping the regulatory
caution of previous US administrations in favor of an aggressive, pro-growth,
and competitive strategy.
Vance also sharply criticized the Europeans in Paris, warning them against what
he called the “excessive regulation” of these emerging technologies through the
EU’s “Digital Services Act” and its data privacy regulations.
From Paris, Vance (who has deep ties to the American branch of Opus Dei) headed
to Munich. There, he criticized Europeans for what he saw as a retreat away from
“freedom of expression.” “The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis
Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor. And
what I worry about is the threat from within: the retreat of Europe from some of
its most fundamental values” - striking words that were not well received by the
Europeans, who historically have led the Enlightenment and championed freedom of
speech, belief, and faith from the Renaissance to the present day. Vance went
even further, voicing his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)
party, prompting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to call out what he saw as
interference in Germany’s election.
Have Western democracies abandoned their long-standing principle of avoiding
political or military attacks on one another? There are other causes for concern
about the future of NATO. Indeed, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth informed
European allies that NATO would not be part of a future peacekeeping force in
Ukraine. He also affirmed that no US forces would take part and that the
European participants would bear the costs of their participation. The decisive
blow, however, came with his assertion that NATO would not come to the rescue of
any European country participating in this force if it were attacked by Russia,
directly contradicting Article 5 of the NATO charter.
Is the alliance that has endured for eight decades now at a crossroads? Let us
wait for the meeting between Trump and Putin, which could well lay the
groundwork for a new global order.
Syria Summit: Warm Words But Will They Lead to Action?
Dr. Neil Quilliam/Director at SRMG Think/Asharq Al Awsat/February 19, 2025
On 13 February, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted in Paris the third
international meeting on Syria – the latest attempt to marshal a coordinated
international response since the downfall of the Assad regime. The Summit drew
together high-level representatives from 20 regional and Western states,
including Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Germany, and the UK, as well as
representatives from the UN. Against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in the
Middle East, the meeting sought to align efforts in safeguarding Syria’s
sovereignty and security while mobilising key regional and international actors
to provide essential aid and economic support. The meeting concluded with the
publication of an extensive joint statement, which included pledges of support
and outlined a vision for building a free, inclusive, united, sovereign, stable
and peaceful Syria. However, words alone will not suffice; it is time to take
action. Conditions on the ground are worsening and unless the international
community turns written commitments into action, the moment will be lost, and
Syria will slide backwards, towards instability.
Warm words, Uncertain Follow-Through
The joint statement pledged full support to Syria’s new authorities within the
framework of a process that is “Syrian-led and Syria-owned in the spirit of the
fundamental principles of UN Security Council resolution 2254.” Participating
states also agreed to mobilise the international community in order to increase
the volume and pace of humanitarian assistance. The statement also emphasised
the need to lift sanctions hindering Syria’s economic recovery and called for a
new coordination framework for aid and reconstruction. Notably, it indicated
that participating states would also "provide the support it [Syria] requires to
ensure terrorist groups cannot re-establish a safe haven in Syrian
territory."The Summit demonstrated the high-level international support the new
Syrian government enjoys. However, the absence of senior representation from the
US was notable. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously expressed
support for an inclusive transition, arguing that it will help prevent a
resurgence of Daesh and other extremist groups, Washington has yet to develop a
Syria policy.
European Priorities Take Centre Stage
While the joint statement was comprehensive, it offered very little in tangible
outcomes and reflected the international community’s priorities more than it did
solutions to Syria’s immediate challenges. Indeed, a key focus was the continued
suppression of Daesh, with Macron calling on Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani
to consider joining the international coalition to combat terrorism: Operation
Inherent Resolve. The resurgence of Daesh does pose a threat to Syria’s
transition, and the group has increased its operations over the past year;
however, the Damascus government requires assistance far beyond striking against
extremists. While counterterrorism serves as a point of commonality among
international stakeholders, basing relations with the new Syrian government
primarily on this issue would be a strategic and tactical error. After all, the
West’s focus on counterterrorism in its relations with Iraq, Yemen, and Libya
has served neither host governments nor Western interests well, and painful
lessons must have been learned. The French president also called on the Syrian
government to fully integrate the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF) into the Syrian transition, describing them as precious allies. “I
think your responsibility today is to integrate them and also to allow these
forces to join in,” he said. While this is a sentiment that many Western leaders
share, the SDF remains unwilling to cede the autonomy that it secured from the
Assad regime. Thus, it is not an issue that can be resolved in a large
international summit. Moreover, domestic tensions are impeding cooperation
between the SDF and Damascus on other key issues, such as which institution has
the authority to exercise control over Daesh prisons. President Trump’s decision
to freeze foreign aid has had an immediate impact on the prisons. The provision
of basic goods and aid distribution services in Al-Hol and Roj prisons – closed
camps that house tens of thousands of people accused of affiliation with Daesh –
has been disrupted. At least one of the organisations operating in the two camps
has received waivers allowing it to keep operating, the aid contractor Blumont
among them, but others have not. Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea on
12 February told the US Security Council that US aid to Al-Hol and Roj camps
"cannot last forever." These closed camps are of particular concern to European
leaders who fear that tensions between the Syrian government and SDF could
compromise the security of the facilities and incentivise Daesh to spring a
prison break.
The Sanctions Dilemma
Participating countries also noted that as the post Assad transitional framework
progresses and associated reforms are implemented, they will work towards
lifting economic sanctions as soon as possible. Arab states have repeatedly
called for the US and EU to lift or suspend sanctions. In response, the EU High
Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas announced that the bloc intends
to meet again on 24 February to further discuss lifting sanctions. The UK
similarly announced that it intends to bring forward measures to adapt its
sanctions regime, including relaxing restrictions applicable to the energy,
transport and finance sectors, as well as provisions to facilitate humanitarian
delivery. There are no guarantees, however, that sanctions will be lifted soon.
What is often overlooked are the broader geopolitical considerations playing on
the minds of Western policy makers. They believe that sanctions relief, if
implemented too early and not carefully enough, could enable Russian and/or
Iranian actors to benefit, where both have deep rooted and historic connections.
It is easy to make pledges. However, policymakers will neither lift nor suspend
sanctions until the EU’s conditions are met or the US moves first.
From Rhetoric To Action
The Paris conference showed that Europe is eager to take the lead in supporting
Syria, especially given that the US is distracted with other matters, including
ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, Gaza and discussions about imposing
tariffs on its partners. While the meeting yielded plenty of expressions of
intent, unless the swell of goodwill is turned into material support, there is a
risk that discontent among Syrians will grow, creating an opening for extremist
groups. Next month’s EU pledging conference in Brussels is an opportunity to
turn words into actions. If it fails to do so, the risk of instability in Syria
will rise.
How to lose friends and alienate nations: Trump is junking US soft power
Walter Clemens, opinion contributor/The Hill/February 19, 2025
Hard power uses material assets to compel and coerce others to bow to your will.
War is not necessarily required; threats backed by economic and military assets
may suffice to change how others behave. Payment for goods or services rendered
can also be hard power.
Soft power, by contrast, is noncoercive. It uses policies, culture and political
values to persuade or co-opt others to follow your example or suggestions. It
shapes what others do through appeal and attraction. To blend both material and
intangible assets with skill and wisdom, we need smart power.
America’s debacles in Vietnam and the Middle East derived from mindless
applications of hard power. The greatest U.S. success abroad, the Marshall Plan
for Europe’s reconstruction, employed America’s wealth and wisdom for mutual
gain — not for one-sided exploitation. In 1947, Secretary of State George
Marshall asked Europeans, crushed by war, what they needed and how they could
contribute to the common cause. Most European nations took part, but Stalin
forbade his vassal states from opening their needs to outsiders.
In just three years, Europe acquired a foundation for continued economic growth
and political stability. The American input was less than 3 percent of national
GDP, but Washington acquired solid trading partners and NATO allies. Foes in a
horrible world war were reconciled. Young Europeans and Americans studied in
each other’s lands and got to know one another thanks to the Fulbright program,
paid for in large part by whatever Europeans owed the U.S. When Europeans no
longer needed Marshall Plan aid, early versions of the U.S. Agency for
International Development assisted less developed countries.
Whatever the costs of helping Europe and developing lands, they were modest for
a country that produced half the world’s goods and services and, even today, 26
percent of global GDP. Compared with fighting World War III, the outlays were
trivial. Generating shared prosperity and solidarity was a value beyond
calculation. The father of modern China — both in Taiwan and the mainland — was
Sun Yat-sen, who learned about democracy in a Honolulu prep school in the 1890s.
Symbols can reflect real convictions. Chinese students demonstrating for civil
rights and political freedoms in 1989 mounted a replica of the Statue of
Liberty.
So, who needs soft power? Answer: the U.S. — its people, its producers and its
government. For many decades Washington has invested in hard power — America’s
defense budget is the largest in the world. Probably some military priorities
should be amplified, and others deceased.
But President Trump is eroding America’s ability to inspire, encourage and
persuade others to act in ways that serve common goals. Does his “art of the
deal” suppose that any sovereign government or proud people — such as
Palestinians, Panamanians, Greenlanders or Canadians — responds well to demands
and threats that they give up what they value?
The problems arising from the president’s sheer ignorance are compounded by his
disdain for empathy, his apparent pleasure in fostering and witnessing brutality
and his frequent success at flouting any kind of law — municipal, national or
international.
Trump, his team and an acquiescent Republican majority in Congress are taking
away a major facet of what once made America great. Walter Clemens is professor
emeritus in the Department of Political Science at Boston University and
associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard
University. He is the author of “The Republican War on America: Dangers of Trump
and Trumpism.”
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