English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 02/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
For the Son of Man came to seek and
save those who are lost
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18/11-14:”What do
you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray,
does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one
that went astray?And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more
than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your
Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
Titles For The
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on July 01-02/2025
Expatriates' Betrayal Crime: Basil, His Father-in-law, & Their Puppet
Pharisees and Judases Are Abject Slaves to the Evil Hezbollah/Elias Bejjani/July
01/2025
A Grateful Heart on Canada Day: A Lebanese-Canadian's Reflection/Elias Bejjani/July
01/2025
Nabih Berri, the Thug and Militia Leader, is No Superman to Deprive Expats of
Their Right to Vote Instead, those who falsely claim sovereignty from among the
parties and MPs are the eunuchs and the reviled./Elias Bejjani/June 30, 2025
The summoning of journalists Carine Abd El Nour and Bishara Charbel by the
Criminal Investigations Bureau—without specifying the nature of the
accusation—is a flagrant violation of the law and a vile assault on press
freedom./Elias Bejjani/June 28/2025
Elias Bejjani’s Exposes the criminility entity of the Terrorist Iran Hezbollah
Video Link to an Interview with Dr. Charles Chartouni on "Lebanon On" Youtube
Platform
Lebanon drafts reply to US demand for Hezbollah to disarm, sources say
Saudi-Lebanese mission foils attempt to smuggle over 5 mln amphetamine pills
The US Paper: Financial Reforms and Weapons Handover by Year's End
Hezbollah Demanded to Disarm in November in Exchange for Halting Israeli
Military Operations
Airstrike Targets Jabal al-Ahmar in Harouf... Child Minor Injuries
GCC Affirms Support for Everything That Enhances Security and Stability in
Lebanon
Hezbollah, which is boycotting Al Jadeed...opens up to MTV!
A raid in the south injures a child... and an Israeli report on Ashura
The Stalled Judicial Reshuffle: Who Will Challenge Berri?
Journalists for Freedom condemns summons of Charbel and Abdel Nour for
investigation
Salam meets with UNIFIL Commander and sends a letter to the United Nations
requesting an extension of its mandate until August 2026
Sami Gemayel: Attempt to Cancel Diaspora Voting Aims to Eliminate Free Shiite
Voting
Daou: Battle Over Election Law Is Fateful
Christian Front: Respecting the right of expatriates to participate in national
decision-making
Lebanese Forces: Confiscating the will of expatriates and limiting their votes
to a single district constitutes an attack on the principle of equality between
expatriates and residents
Kataeb Party: No electoral reform without equality for expatriates with other
voters, and a transparent parliamentary session on the issue of disarming.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on July 01-02/2025
Trump says US not offering Iran ‘anything’
EU says ready to facilitate return to Iran nuclear talks
Trump vows ‘firm’ stance with Netanyahu on ending Gaza war
Trump says he’ll have to ‘take a look’ at deporting Elon Musk amid public feud
Israeli army kills two in West Bank, including one teen
Israeli army says it is working to intercept missile launched from Yemen
Charities demand closure of Gaza aid agency backed by US, Israel
Israel expands military campaign in Gaza ahead of Netanyahu’s US visit
‘Lucrative’ business deals help sustain Israel’s Gaza campaign: UN expert
Clashes in Turkey over alleged ‘Prophet Mohammed’ cartoon
Syrian authorities capture high-ranking official who helped run notorious
Saydnaya prison
US President Trump dismantles Syria sanctions program architecture
Putin, Macron discuss Iran, Ukraine in first phone call in nearly three years
Ukraine hits Russian city deep behind front line, kills three
Trump warns Musk ‘could lose more than that’ after losing EV mandate
Titles For
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources
on July 01-02/2025
Make Iran Free Again/Navid Mohebbi and Saeed Ghasseminejad/Visegrad24/July
01/2025
Iran After the Battle/Nicole Grajewski/Diwan/July 01/2025
The Ugly Truth about ‘Multiculturalism’/Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/July 01/2025
Doha's Quantum Threat/Benjamin Baird/ The Magazine/30 June/2025
Removing al‑Burhan: The Key to Stability and Countering Extremism/Robert
Williams/Gatestone Institute/July 01/2025
Netanyahu must be pushed to end Gaza war immediately/Osama Al-Sharif/Arab
News/July 01, 2025
Europe’s lifeline to Palestine will not fix its bleeding economy/Daoud Kuttab/Arab
News/July 01, 2025
Democracies rediscover the importance of bread, housing and a decent life/Eyad
Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 01, 2025
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 01-02/2025
Expatriates'
Betrayal Crime: Basil, His Father-in-law, & Their Puppet Pharisees and Judases
Are Abject Slaves to the Evil Hezbollah
Elias Bejjani/July 01/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/144768/
Basil's brazen, vile, and
treacherous opposition to the right of expatriates to participate in elections,
most of whom are Christians, confirms that he, his La Civilforci Father-in-law,
and all those who support them—the merchants, the deposits, the Pharisees, the
scribes, and the tax collectors— are the sons of Judas in heart, soul, and
genes, and a demonic catastrophe with which we Maronites have been afflicted.
A Grateful Heart on Canada Day: A
Lebanese-Canadian's Reflection
Elias Bejjani/July 01/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/144757/
Today, as the maple leaf proudly flutters across our beautiful nation, Canadians
from coast to coast to coast celebrate Canada Day. For my family and me,
Lebanese-Canadians who have called this land home since 1986, this day carries
an even deeper significance – a profound sense of gratitude and belonging.
When we arrived on these shores, we found more than just a new address; we found
a sanctuary. Canada welcomed us with open arms, offering the promise of a life
built on principles we hold dear: freedom, democracy, and an unwavering respect
for human rights. Over the decades, this country has consistently delivered on
that promise, providing its citizens with essential services in every domain,
from healthcare and education to social support and economic opportunity. It is
a place where hard work is rewarded, diversity is celebrated, and every
individual is given the chance to thrive, regardless of their origin. We are
truly grateful for the peace, stability, and opportunities this nation has
afforded us.
As we celebrate the blessings of Canada, my heart also turns to my homeland,
Lebanon, a nation of immense beauty and resilience that has endured unimaginable
suffering for far too long. For years, Lebanon has grappled with the devastating
consequences of multiple occupations – the Palestinian, the Syrian, and
currently, the insidious Iranian occupation through the notorious terrorist and
jihadist organization, Hezbollah. This group has created a mini-state within our
beloved country, perpetrating terror, crimes, and assassinations, and
systematically impoverishing the Lebanese people. On this day of Canadian
freedom, I hold onto the fervent hope that Lebanon will soon be free from this
oppressive grip, that its people will reclaim their sovereignty, and that peace
and justice will finally prevail.
To Canada, on your special day, and to the Canadian people, thank you. Thank you
for being a beacon of hope and a haven for persecuted people from all corners of
the world. Thank you for embodying the values of compassion and inclusiveness.
It is not only a joy to be Canadian, but a privilege for which I am eternally
grateful and incredibly lucky. Happy Canada Day!
Nabih Berri, the Thug and Militia Leader, is No Superman to
Deprive Expats of Their Right to Vote Instead, those who falsely claim
sovereignty from among the parties and MPs are the eunuchs and the reviled.
Elias Bejjani/June 30, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/06/144725/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iubdc_EpRYQ&t=61s
In a dangerous precedent added to the record of
political heresies in Lebanon, Article 122 of the election law, approved by the
Parliament on June 14, 2017, constituted a stain on the forehead of every MP who
condoned the passage of this monstrous text, which has no parallel in any
democratic system in the world. The allocation of six
seats for Lebanese expatriates distributed across the six continents, instead of
allowing them to vote in their original constituencies as dictated by any
democratic logic, is a deliberate exclusion and a blatant conspiracy against a
wide segment of the Lebanese diaspora that still believes in Lebanon as a state
and has borne the burdens of a stricken nation for decades.
Those who approved this law in 2017 either lacked the minimum national and
political vision, or they were simply complicit with the corrupt class that aims
to deprive Lebanese expatriates of effective participation in decision-making.
It is noteworthy that this monstrous and unconstitutional law is fundamentally
unenforceable and was deliberately put in place to prevent Lebanese expatriates
from influencing election results, as they live in true democratic countries and
are difficult to buy or have their will falsified.
Text of Article 122 of Election Law No. 44/2017
"Six seats shall be allocated to Lebanese expatriates, to be added to the number
of members of Parliament, making the total number 134 deputies, in the electoral
cycle following the first cycle held in accordance with the provisions of this
law. The six deputies shall be distributed among the six continents as follows:
One deputy for the continent of Africa
One deputy for the continent of North America
One deputy for the continent of South America
One deputy for the continent of Europe
One deputy for the continent of Australia
One deputy for the continent of Asia
In the distribution of these seats, parity between Christians and Muslims shall
be observed, so that:
One seat is allocated for Maronites
One seat for Greek Orthodox
One seat for Catholics
One seat for Sunnis
One seat for Shiites
One seat for Druze
The mechanism for nomination, voting, and special electoral districts for
expatriates shall be determined by a decree issued by the Council of Ministers
based on the proposal of the Ministers of Interior and Foreign Affairs. Six
seats shall be deducted from the 128 Parliament seats in the subsequent cycle,
from the seats belonging to the same sects that were allocated to
non-residents."
Berri Prevents Change and Protects the System of Exclusion
Today, in a new scandal confirming the continuation of political dominance and
thuggery, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been entrenched in the
presidential chair for forty years, refused to list an urgent, repeated draft
law signed by 68 MPs to amend Article 122 and demand equality for expatriates
with residents in their electoral rights. This refusal is the first of its kind
in thirty years, and it is neither innocent nor procedural, but a deliberate
decision to protect the interests of the system that has led Lebanon to this
ruin.
Berri's refusal was not an organizational rejection, but a clear cry to Lebanese
expatriates around the world, telling them: "We do not want you as partners; you
are a threat to our corruption and continuity." Some MPs withdrew from the
session in protest, rejecting this tyranny, but it was not enough. A firmer
stance is required.
In today's scene, Berri was not alone in exercising authoritarianism; he was
supported by the political chameleon Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic
Movement, allied with the terrorist Hezbollah, and sanctioned under the US
Magnitsky Act due to his corruption. Bassil, who has always exploited Christian
rights, turned against them, just as his uncle Michel Aoun did before him, when
they sold Lebanon for empty power and a tainted chair.
MPs and Parties Who Betrayed Expats
The scandal does not stop at Berri's behavior; its roots go back to 2017, when
Parliament approved the ominous Article 122. At that time, both the "Free
Patriotic Movement" and the "Lebanese Forces" agreed to the law, even though it
stripped the Christian expatriate, who is numerically dominant among
expatriates, of his constitutional right to vote like residents. Only the Kataeb
Party rejected this article in defense of principle, equality, and the
constitution.
How can two parties claiming to defend the Christian presence in Lebanon agree
to a law that specifically isolates Christian expatriates? The answer is simple:
the ambition for deals and positions was and still is stronger than principles,
and the result is that Christians were deceived once again, losing the
opportunity to defend their role through their sons in the diaspora.
Call for Resignation and Accountability for Nabih Berri
The 68 MPs who signed the draft amendment to Article 122 are now required to
either resign from this council dominated by a sectarian thug named Nabih Berri,
or at least withdraw confidence from him. Continuing to deal with him as Speaker
of Parliament legitimizes tyranny and a coup against the will of the people.
These MPs should know that complicity with Bassil, Berri, and Hezbollah
is participation in treason, and that Lebanese people at home and abroad will
not forget or forgive.
Lebanese Voices Against Tyranny
We conclude this article with a number of tweets circulated by Lebanese citizens
today via social media expressing their indignation:
"The biggest robbery of the constitutional right of Lebanese expatriates"
"Nabih Berri prevents Lebanese expatriates from voting because they cannot be
bought"
"Gebran Bassil stabs Christians again in defense of his ally Hezbollah"
"Parliament has become a farce in the hands of Berri and the mini-state"
"We need to liberate Parliament just as we need to liberate the homeland"
A final word to expatriates: stand firm, hold together, and trust that your
voice will not be silenced for long. The sun of freedom will shine again, and
everyone who betrayed the national and constitutional trust will be held
accountable.
The summoning
of journalists Carine Abd El Nour and Bishara Charbel by the Criminal
Investigations Bureau—without specifying the nature of the accusation—is a
flagrant violation of the law and a vile assault on press freedom.
Elias Bejjani/June 28/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/06/144679/
Once again, the Lebanese judiciary,
still shackled by the grip of Nabih Berri and Hezbollah, exposes its corrupted
and compromised nature. In a shocking breach of legal protocol and an outright
dismissal of the jurisdiction of the Publications Court, journalist Carine Abd
El Nour, Managing Editor of Al-Hurra weekly, and its Editor-in-Chief, journalist
Bishara Charbel, have been summoned for interrogation without even being
informed of the charges against them. This is not merely a procedural misstep—it
is a disgraceful slap in the face of justice and a stark confirmation that what
remains of Lebanon's judiciary is little more than a servile instrument in the
hands of the Iranian-controlled deep state.
We had hoped, following the defeat and disbandment of the terrorist Hezbollah,
that Lebanon would finally breathe freely—liberated from the suffocating grip of
the militias that have long corrupted and terrorized the nation. Yet, today’s
events confirm that the judiciary remains tragically captive to Nabih Berri’s
mafia and Hezbollah’s terrorist machine, both of which epitomize criminality,
coercion, the suppression of liberties, and the trampling of all constitutional
principles.
The targeting of the free press—Al-Hurra in this case—is nothing more than a
desperate attempt to silence voices that expose their corruption and confront
their illegitimate authority.
Let us be clear: this is not the first time Lebanon’s judiciary—under the
control of the deep state—has trampled laws and targeted writers, journalists,
politicians, and sovereign activists. These judicial abuses have become
systematic. The persecution of free individuals with independent, patriotic
views is now the norm rather than the exception. Even more appalling is the
summoning of journalists without informing them of the charges—an act that
displays outright contempt for the dignity of the press, freedom of speech, and
all legal norms.
Despite the transformative changes in the region—the defeat of Hezbollah, the
collapse of Assad’s brutal regime, and the crumbling of the Iranian mullahs'
aura following the elimination of dozens of their leaders and nuclear scientists
and the destruction of key nuclear capabilities—Lebanon’s leadership remains
hostage to the Iranian occupation and its terrorist proxies that continue to
control the country and its judiciary.
We therefore call upon the Minister of Justice, the President of the Republic,
and the Prime Minister to take a firm and transparent stand. Either they remain
complicit tools in the hands of Nabih Berri, Hezbollah, and the Iranian
regime—enforcing their will, suppressing freedoms, and dismantling the state—or
they rise to the level of true national leadership, with the resolve and courage
to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty, its people, its institutions, and its
constitution.
We also urge the free world and all human rights organizations to immediately
intervene and take strong, clear positions. These oppressive practices are an
existential threat to Lebanon’s fragile democracy and its freedom of expression.
Silence, in this context, serves as a green light for continued violations. Only
clear, principled, and decisive stances can act as a safeguard for the Land of
the Cedars, which continues to struggle for survival, dignity, and liberty.
Elias Bejjani’s Exposes the
criminility entity of the Terrorist Iran Hezbollah
July 01/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/144773/
Hezbollah is an Iranian military,
jihadist, criminal, and mafia-like organization. There is nothing Lebanese about
it—on the contrary, it takes pride in its treacherous Trojan loyalty to Iran.
Hezbollah’s Iranian-led agendas do not concern the Lebanese people, except for
its blind followers.
Therefore, the Lebanese state is required to implement all international
resolutions in full—to dismantle Hezbollah’s military, cultural, organizational,
and social structures and to liberate the Shiite community from this cancer.
Otherwise, Israel will continue the war that never truly stopped, until
Hezbollah is uprooted completely. The barking and
babbling of Hezbollah’s herds have revealed them as ignorant fools, ruled by
primitive instincts and utterly incapable of anything beyond drowning in
delusions, hallucinations, and daydreams. Their minds are emptied of freedom,
programmed only for insults and filth. This is a crowd shaped by a culture of
shoes and imaginary victories—a people who claim they can make camels fly.
Video Link to an Interview with Dr.
Charles Chartouni on "Lebanon On" Youtube Platform
July 01/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/144773/
In a candid and clear interview with
"Lebanon On," Youtube Platform, Dr. Charles Chartouni outlines the urgent
necessity for Lebanon to join the Abraham Accords and to fully engage with the
sweeping regional transformations unfolding in the Middle East following the
crushing defeat of Iran, the uprooting of the criminal Assad regime, and the
dismantling of the terrorist Hezbollah organization.
Dr. Charouni confirmed that:
Lebanon’s current rulers are deeply complicit in the Iranian project. They
stall, obstruct, and simply execute the orders of the mafia boss Nabih Berri—king
of corruption, sworn enemy of the Lebanese constitutional system, and the
mastermind behind its deconstruction.
The Lebanese opposition, we openly declare our commitment and alignment with the
Abraham Accords. We have submitted a draft resolution to the U.S. Congress
titled “Holding Hezbollah Accountable.”
It appears that Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam are reluctant to meet President
Trump. As a responsible and forward-looking opposition, we reiterate: we are
part of the Abraham Accords.
As for the Lebanese Forces, it’s time they make up their minds. Ambiguity,
double standards, and political gamesmanship have run their course. The only
path forward is resignation and open confrontation with this clearly treasonous
and unconstitutional regime.
We are now facing a fundamental divide over existential choices. This ruling
troika—operating under the mafia-like control of Nabih Berri—is executing a
policy of domination. In short: they represent only themselves.
As Lebanese citizens, we do not recognize Hezbollah as a Lebanese entity.
The Free Patriotic Movement (Michel Aoun’s party) is a key partner in
Hezbollah’s project and schemes.
Lebanon drafts reply to US demand for Hezbollah to disarm, sources say
Arab News/July 01, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese officials were drafting a response on Tuesday to US demands for
armed group Hezbollah to relinquish its weapons across the country by November
in exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations, two sources briefed on
the matter said.
The deadline has turned up the heat on Iran-backed Hezbollah, which was struck
hard by Israel during last year’s war, is suffering a financial crunch and faces
pressure in Lebanon to disarm. Washington’s demands were conveyed by Thomas
Barrack, US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkiye, during a trip to
Beirut on June 19.The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters Barrack had shared a written roadmap
with Lebanese officials and told them he expected to hear back by July 1 on any
proposed amendments.
The six-page document centers on the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militant
groups, and urges Lebanon to improve ties with neighboring Syria and implement
financial reforms, they said.It proposes a phased approach to disarmament, in
which Hezbollah would hand in its arms throughout Lebanon in exchange for the
withdrawal of Israeli troops occupying areas in south Lebanon, the sources said.
Barrack said full disarmament should be completed by November or by the end of
the year at the latest, they said.Disarmament would end Israeli strikes
targeting Hezbollah members and unlock funds to rebuild parts of Lebanon
destroyed by Israeli forces last year, they said.The US has said Washington will
not support reconstruction in Lebanon without Hezbollah laying down arms. The
proposal also refers to establishing a mechanism overseen by the United Nations
to secure the release of Hezbollah-linked prisoners by Israel, the sources said.
They said Barrack had urged Lebanese officials to seize the opportunity laid out
in the roadmap as it “may not come up again.” He is set to return to Lebanon
next week.Barrack had not yet gotten Israeli approval for the roadmap, the
sources said. There was no immediate response from the US state department,
Israel’s prime minister’s office or Israel’s foreign ministry to Reuters
requests for comment.
’THE RIGHT TO SAY NO’
Lebanon has appointed a committee to formulate a preliminary response, comprised
of delegates from the offices of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, President Joseph
Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, the sources said. It
was not clear whether the initial reply would be ready by Tuesday. The US
proposal includes a condition that the final deal be sealed with a unanimous
decision by Lebanon’s government, the sources said. The second source, and a
third source briefed on the matter, said Berri was in close communication with
Hezbollah to secure the group’s input.
“Hezbollah has not refused to cooperate with the committee and in fact began
sending signals of cooperation — but has not committed to disarming,” the third
source said. The prospect of securing Hezbollah’s
disarmament — unimaginable two years ago — underlines the big shifts in the
Middle East power balance to the detriment of Iran’s allies across the region
since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah ally Hamas in October
2023. Some of Hezbollah’s arsenal was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, and other
depots in southern Lebanon were handed over to Lebanon’s army in accordance with
the US-brokered ceasefire that ended that round of conflict. That deal called
for the disarmament of armed groups across Lebanon. Hezbollah has said it
applies only to the group in Lebanon’s southernmost districts. Hezbollah has not
commented publicly on Barrack’s proposal. But in a televised address on Monday,
its secretary general, Naim Qassem, reiterated Hezbollah’s resistance to US and
Israeli pressure and urged other Lebanese to do the same. “We have the right to
say ‘no’ to them, ‘no’ to America, ‘no’ to Israel,” Qassem said. “We call on you
in Lebanon: do not help Israel and America with their plans.” Qassem said the US
and Israel “want to exploit the moment to turn the equation in the entire region
in their image.”
Saudi-Lebanese mission foils attempt to smuggle over 5 mln amphetamine pills
Tamara Abueish, Al Arabiya
English/01 July/2025
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior revealed Monday that it helped Lebanese
Customs thwart an attempt to smuggle more than five million amphetamine pills,
as part of the Kingdom’s continued efforts to combat cross-border narcotics
trafficking.
The Kingdom provided critical intelligence that enabled Lebanon’s Customs to
seize a massive shipment of amphetamine pills, in a proactive move to disrupt
international drug trafficking operations, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA)
reported.
Security spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Interior, Talal al-Shalhoub,
reportedly said the successful operation was the result of close coordination
between Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control and Lebanese
authorities.
“As part of proactive security monitoring of criminal networks involved in drug
trafficking, the Ministry of Interior, represented by the General Directorate of
Narcotics Control, provided intelligence that enabled Lebanon’s Customs to foil
an attempt to smuggle more than 5,000,000 amphetamine pills,” al-Shalhoub was
quoted as saying.The narcotics were found concealed in glass and porcelain
tableware inside a container that had been shipped from a third country to
Lebanon, he added. Al-Shalhoub praised Lebanon’s authorities for their
cooperation and added that “the Kingdom remains committed to combating criminal
activities targeting its security and youth with narcotics, and to arresting
those involved.”The operation highlights growing regional collaboration to
tackle the illicit drug trade, particularly amid a rise in amphetamine smuggling
attempts aimed at Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia has stepped up efforts in recent
years to intercept drugs at their source and strengthen international
intelligence-sharing to dismantle transnational criminal networks.
The US Paper:
Financial Reforms and Weapons Handover by Year's End
Al-Modon/July 1, 2025
Two sources confirmed to Reuters that Lebanese officials are drafting a response
on Tuesday to US demands that Hezbollah give up its weapons by November in
exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations. The sources said that US
Special Envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, briefed Lebanese officials on a written
roadmap and informed them that he expected a response on July 1 regarding any
proposed amendments. They added that the six-page document focuses on the
disarmament of Hezbollah and other armed factions and urges Lebanon to improve
its relations with Syria and implement financial reforms. The sources explained
that the document proposes a phased approach to the disarmament, whereby
Hezbollah would disarm throughout Lebanon in exchange for the withdrawal of
Israeli forces from the areas they occupy in the south. They noted that the
disarmament should be completed by November, or at the end of the year at the
latest. They stressed that the surrender of weapons would end Israeli strikes
targeting Hezbollah members and would lead to the release of funds allocated for
the reconstruction of Lebanese areas destroyed by Israeli forces last year. The
two sources indicated that the proposal also includes the establishment of a
UN-supervised mechanism to ensure Israel's release of Hezbollah-linked
prisoners. They said that Barak urged Lebanese officials to seize the
opportunity provided by the roadmap, as it "may not be available again." Barak
is scheduled to return to Lebanon next week. They added that Barak has not yet
obtained Israel's approval of the roadmap. The two sources reported that Lebanon
has formed a committee to formulate an initial response, including
representatives from the office of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, President Joseph
Aoun, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally. The second source
and a third confirmed that Berri is in close contact with Hezbollah to ensure
its position is known. The third source said, "Hezbollah has not refused to
cooperate with the committee and has already begun sending positive signals, but
it has not yet committed to surrendering weapons."
Hezbollah Demanded to Disarm in November in Exchange for Halting Israeli
Military Operations
Al Markazia/July 1, 2025
Two informed sources told Reuters that Lebanese officials are preparing a
response to US demands that Hezbollah disarm throughout Lebanon by next November
in exchange for a cessation of Israeli military operations. The sources reported
that Barak, the US official, presented Lebanese officials with a six-page
written roadmap, which includes a gradual plan to disarm Hezbollah and other
armed factions in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the areas
of southern Lebanon they occupy. The document focuses on disarmament, improving
Lebanese relations with neighboring Syria, and implementing financial reforms.
The plan emphasizes the need to complete full disarmament by November or the end
of the year at the latest. The sources indicated that implementing this plan
would lead to an end to Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah members and would
open the door to funding for the reconstruction of Lebanese areas destroyed by
Israel last year. The plan also includes a UN-supervised mechanism to secure the
release of Hezbollah-linked detainees held by Israel. The two sources explained
that Lebanon has formed a committee comprising representatives from the offices
of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, President Michel Aoun, and Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri to prepare an initial response to the US plan.
Airstrike Targets Jabal al-Ahmar in Harouf... Child Minor
Injuries
Al Markazia/July 1, 2025
An Israeli drone strike targeted the Jabal al-Ahmar area in the town of Harouf
this morning. The Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of
Public Health issued a statement announcing that "a child was slightly injured
during an Israeli drone strike on the road leading to the Jabal al-Ahmar area in
the Nabatieh district." The Israeli army also carried out a sweep operation
using heavy machine guns toward the neighborhoods of the town of Adaisseh in the
Marjeyoun district. A motorcycle was reportedly set on fire at the junction in
the town of al-Bissariyeh, but rumors of a targeted attack are false.
Information also indicated that a citizen was injured by a sound bomb fired by
an Israeli aircraft in the town of Kfar Kila. The Israeli army carried out a
machine gun combing operation from the Raheb position toward the wooded area on
the outskirts of the town of Aita al-Shaab (Khallet Wardeh), in the Bint Jbeil
district. In the evening, an Israeli drone dropped a bomb on a stone factory in
the town of Kfar Kila in the south.
GCC Affirms Support for Everything That Enhances Security
and Stability in Lebanon
Al Markazia/July 1, 2025
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries affirmed their support for
everything that enhances security and stability in Lebanon on Tuesday. GCC
Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed Al-Badawi affirmed the GCC countries' firm and
unwavering positions toward Lebanon, and their support for everything that
enhances its security and stability and contributes to the prosperity and
sustainable development of the Lebanese people. This came during Al-Badawi's
reception at the Secretariat headquarters in Riyadh of the Lebanese Ambassador
to Saudi Arabia, Fawzi Kabbara, on the occasion of the end of his tenure. During
the meeting, Al-Badawi and his senior officials reviewed Gulf-Lebanese
relations, discussed ways to develop and strengthen them, and followed up on
positive developments in Lebanon to achieve greater prosperity and security. To
the brotherly Lebanese people.” The two sides also discussed “the latest
developments and situations on the regional and international arenas.”
Hezbollah, which is boycotting Al Jadeed...opens up to MTV!
Al-Modon/July 1, 2025
Two statements made by members of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc in Parliament
to MTV correspondents indicate the party's media openness to the channel, which
has consistently attacked it. The two MPs conveyed positions and messages
related to the party's weapons through MTV. The two statements were made with
MTV, which has not had a media relationship with the party since at least 2018.
No MP from the party has appeared on its screen since then, despite the
appearance of former Minister Ali Hamieh on the program "It's Time" last year,
even though he was the party's representative in the government. Meanwhile, the
party is boycotting Al Jadeed. The boycott officially emerged during the last
municipal elections, after disagreements deepened following the channel's
infamous report on the tomb of its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah last
month, which angered the party. MP Ali Ammar made a statement via MTV from
Parliament, answering a reporter's questions. He did not say he was boycotting
the channel, which attacks the party and whose correspondent had identified
himself in a previous interview with US President Donald Trump as an
anti-Hezbollah channel. Ammar said in the interview that "weapons are the
adornment of men," in response to the fate of the party's weapons. MP Ali
Fayyad, on Monday, answered an MTV reporter's question by saying that the
ceasefire agreement stipulates the withdrawal of weapons starting from the
Litani River, that is, from its northern bank toward the south. This contradicts
another understanding in Lebanon, which says that disarmament begins south of
the Litani River, meaning that the process begins south of the Litani and
extends to the north and the rest of Lebanon. However, the party is pushing
media messages through both appearances, addressing a rival channel that reaches
an audience opposed to it, and presenting its positions and viewpoints through
them.
A raid in the south injures a child... and an Israeli report on Ashura
Al-Modon/July 1, 2025
An Israeli drone targeted the Jabal al-Ahmar area, located between the towns of
Shokin and Harouf in the Nabatieh district. While conflicting reports emerged
about whether the bombing targeted a car or an uninhabited house, the raid
resulted in minor injuries to two civilians, one of whom was a child who
happened to be in the area, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of
Health's Public Health Emergency Operations Center. In the al-Bissariyeh area,
rumors of a targeted attack are untrue; rather, what happened was a motorcycle
that caught fire. Concurrently, the Israeli army carried out a sweep operation
using heavy machine guns toward the neighborhoods of the town of Adaisseh in the
Marjeyoun district.
Alma: A Gap Between Perception and Reality
The Israeli Alma Institute for Security Studies published a new report on the
banners raised by Hezbollah in Lebanon coinciding with the commemoration of
Ashura. The report notes that July 5th marks the tenth of Muharram (Ashura), the
commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in the Battle of Karbala, a day
of mourning for the Shiite sect. It added, "As is the case every year, on the
occasion of Ashura, Hezbollah launches a large-scale propaganda campaign of a
religious nature, accompanied by diverse messages related to key issues in
Lebanon and abroad." The report explained, "This year, in light of recent
events, Hezbollah appears to be allocating significant resources to this
campaign." It added, "In addition to the mourning ceremonies, huge billboards
bearing the slogan: 'Our weapons are our dignity, and Karbala is our choice'
have spread throughout Lebanon, from Beirut to Nabatieh." This slogan is not
merely an emotional religious expression; rather, it is a powerful political
statement directed by Hezbollah to the Lebanese government and the international
community. These billboards emphasize that Hezbollah's weapons are not
negotiable or subject to surrender, even under pressure from international
resolutions or demands calling for their surrender to the Lebanese army." The
report claimed that "Hezbollah continues to oppose any attempt to raise the
issue of its weapons," and continued: "The party portrays its possession of
weapons as an embodiment of national honor, and its comparison to the Battle of
Karbala confirms its willingness to fight to the end to preserve its independent
power outside the scope of state sovereignty." It added: "The words of Hezbollah
Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah are also often cited: 'They will take our
lives before they take our weapons; not because we love weapons, but because
weapons are a symbol of honor and pride.'" The report concluded by saying: "We
must not fool ourselves into believing that Hezbollah will be disarmed in the
future. Even today, we see a gap between perception and reality. Despite
numerous reports and statements about the activities of the Lebanese Army and
UNIFIL forces in this regard, there is no tangible evidence of these activities
or the extent of the announced achievements."
The Stalled Judicial Reshuffle: Who Will Challenge Berri?
Farah Mansour/Al-Modon/July 1, 2025
The Supreme Judicial Council is intensifying its meetings to finalize judicial
reshuffles before the start of the judicial recess on July 15. This issue is
receiving considerable judicial and political attention, given the stumbling
blocks in the recent formations for nearly seven years. However, the political
dispute over the position of the Financial Prosecutor General may overturn them
and prevent their implementation. The thorny issue of the Financial Prosecutor
General position has not been resolved, and the political dispute between
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Justice Minister Adel Nassar has been
renewed. Contrary to the judicial atmosphere, which suggested in recent hours
that the dispute had been resolved and that Berri had withdrawn his nomination
of Judge Zaher Hamadeh for the position, Al-Modon's information confirms that
the dispute remains ongoing, and that the judicial reshuffle is still pending
agreement on the name of the Financial Prosecutor General. According to judicial
sources told Al-Modon, the Supreme Judicial Council intensified its meetings
throughout the past week, holding consecutive sessions for long hours on
Saturday and Sunday. The council reached a draft list of judicial formations,
including the largest number of judges, awaiting signature and official issuance
after its presentation to the President of the Republic. However, the list,
which was reportedly prepared, did not reach consensus, and remained trapped in
the deep-rooted dispute between Berri, on the one hand, and the Minister of
Justice and the Supreme Judicial Council, on the other, over the position of
Financial Prosecutor. The judicial appointment of the Financial Prosecutor went
beyond the issue of choosing a Shiite judge for the vacant position following
the retirement of Judge Ali Ibrahim (Judge Dora al-Khazen assumed this position
on an interim basis), and has transformed into an existential political battle
for Berri, primarily related to the representation of the Shiite duo and their
entitlement to certain judicial appointments, similar to other appointments
previously issued and politically agreed upon without any obstacles. Judicial
appointments are issued by ministerial decree, meaning that the law allows the
political authority to select judges, while judicial formations are issued by
the Supreme Judicial Council, which is responsible for assigning judges to
judicial positions. According to Al-Modon's sources, Parliament Speaker Nabih
Berri has insisted on only two names regarding judicial and financial
appointments: Wassim Mansouri for the position of Deputy Governor of the Central
Bank of Lebanon (sources suggest the possibility of agreeing on an alternative
to Mansouri, possibly Hassan Saleh, Chief Operating Officer of Bank Audi), and
Zaher Hamadeh for the position of Financial Public Prosecutor. Information
indicates that Justice Minister Adel Nassar had contacted Berri in recent days
and offered him the appointment of Hamadeh as a financial public prosecutor of
the highest rank, thus becoming an acting financial public prosecutor, or
another position (General Prosecutor of the South). Berri's response came: "Zaher's
name is valid here as a deputy, but not as a full member? Thank you." Meanwhile,
sources involved in the matter confirmed to Al-Modon that the dispute is still
ongoing, and that President Joseph Aoun refuses to accept any list of formations
without Berri's agreement on judicial appointments. The sources added that the
discussion is still ongoing, and numerous meetings have been held in this
context with the aim of resolving the dispute and reaching consensual solutions,
without bypassing Berri. This would avoid any potential political clash between
Aoun and Berri, especially since Aoun is keen to issue the judicial formations
during his term after a long wait. Furthermore, issuing the formations without
Berri's agreement means that Finance Minister Yassine Jaber will refrain from
signing them, which could widen and deepen the dispute with Berri.
Journalists for Freedom
condemns summons of Charbel and Abdel Nour for investigation
Al Markazia/June 1, 2025
Journalists for Freedom condemns the summons of journalists Bechara Charbel and
Karen Abdel Nour before the Cybercrime Bureau over press publications. We affirm
that this systematic repressive approach is no longer merely a violation of the
constitution, but rather a direct attack on freedom of opinion and expression,
guaranteed by Article 13 of the Lebanese Constitution, as well as international
conventions to which Lebanon has committed. Summoning journalists before
security agencies, based on the formula for disciplinary measures against media
professionals and restricting their freedoms, is part of a series of censorship
measures disguised as a distorted guise, a practice we categorically reject. We
express our full solidarity with our colleagues Charbel and Abdel Nour, and
consider any attack on them an attack on the essence of public freedoms. We
demand that the judiciary reject the transformation of Lebanon into a police
state. We are astonished that these practices are taking place at a time that is
supposed to mark the end of a dark era.
Salam meets with UNIFIL Commander and sends a letter to the
United Nations requesting an extension of its mandate until August 2026
Al Markazia/July 1, 2025
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam received a delegation from the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headed by Force Commander General Diodato Abagnara.
During the meeting, the situation on the ground in the south, the implementation
of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and the ongoing cooperation between
UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces were discussed, particularly with regard to
intensifying coordination and joint operations. Emerging challenges facing the
missions of the international forces were also addressed. Salam affirmed the
Lebanese government's full commitment to Resolution 1701 and its commitment to
providing the appropriate environment that enables UNIFIL to fully implement its
mandate, emphasizing the importance of preserving the safety of its personnel.
In this context, Salam noted that Lebanon had officially sent a letter to the
United Nations requesting an extension of UNIFIL's mandate for an additional
year, ending on August 31, 2026, in accordance with the Lebanese government's
decision issued on May 14, 2025. Salam also emphasized that achieving full
stability in the south cannot be achieved without Israel's complete withdrawal
from Lebanese territory and an end to its attacks. This afternoon, Salam
received a delegation from the Beirut Municipal Council, headed by its head,
Ibrahim Zeidan, at the Grand Serail. The meeting addressed the most prominent
challenges facing the capital, Beirut, at the development and service levels, in
light of the current economic and social conditions. A number of proposals and
demands related to improving the performance of public facilities in general and
strengthening municipal work were also presented. During the meeting, Prime
Minister Salam stressed the "need to support local authorities to enable them to
perform their duties as required." After the meeting, Zeidan said: "We visited
the Prime Minister as Beirut Municipal Council and discussed with him the topics
and services required for Beirut. We briefed Prime Minister Salam on the
Cabinet's appointments and measures to ensure transparency. We noted during the
meeting that His Excellency is closely following up on everything related to the
capital's affairs. We, in turn, as the Municipal Council, briefed him on our
program for quick and urgent projects, as well as our projects that require
time. His Excellency was responsive and supportive of us, and provided us with
all the support he needs. He will ask the ministers, each in their respective
fields, to support us in the success of governance, digitization, traffic
projects, and everything related to electricity, water, and services required by
our people in Beirut. We thanked him for hosting us and hope to continue
communicating with him." Regarding the priority of the municipal council's
projects, he said: "Any project we undertake in Beirut is a priority for us.
There are urgent matters that take less time to complete, their technical
aspects are easier and their budgets are lower. These relate to traffic,
medians, signals, parks, beaches and cleanliness. Our vision for Beirut is
comprehensive and integrated, and we will continue with the work we have
committed to with the agencies and companies that are carrying out the work.
There are also other projects that take longer, such as water and electricity,
on which we can cooperate with the relevant ministries."
Sami Gemayel: Attempt to Cancel Diaspora Voting Aims to
Eliminate Free Shiite Voting
Daou: Battle Over Election Law Is Fateful
Al Markazia/June 1, 2025
Kataeb Party leader Sami Gemayel met with MP Mark Daou at the Central House in
Saifi, in the presence of MP Elias Hankash. They discussed developments in
Lebanon and the region, as well as cooperation on the issue of expatriate
voting. After the meeting, Gemayel said about the progress of the legislative
session and his withdrawal from it: "Our goal is not to disrupt the legislative
session, especially since there are important provisions, and we are concerned
that it be convened, so that we can discuss the draft laws and vote on the
important ones. However, the attempt to pass the expatriate provision in the
current manner is what prompted us to take this position." He added, "It is
becoming increasingly clear that there is a fear of the influence of the votes
of Shiite expatriates, as they will vote in favor of building the state in
Lebanon. The attempt to eliminate the expatriate vote is not aimed at achieving
equality among the Lebanese, as they claim, but rather at eliminating the Shiite
vote among the expatriate community, which could have a significant impact on
the upcoming parliamentary elections and contribute to breaking the monopoly of
representation and creating pluralism within the Shiite community, as is the
case with other sects." Gemayel continued, "We are increasingly convinced that
this is the real goal, and all the slogans raised by the other camp are merely a
cover-up. This is what increases our insistence on expatriates voting for the
128 representatives in all constituencies, so that they can contribute to
liberating and developing the country and moving it into a new phase, one of
peace, openness, prosperity, reform, and progress." MP Mark Daou said, "We
visited our allies in the Kataeb Party to discuss the latest developments in
Parliament, especially the right of one and a half million expatriates to vote.
We also emphasized that more than half of the MPs are committed to the
expatriates' rights and have signed the petition that will be officially
submitted to the Speaker and the House of Representatives for action." Daou
considered that "it is clear that the disruption of sessions, the lack of
quorum, and the weak performance within Parliament are due to an overwhelming
sense of urgency among MPs who are committed to the rights of expatriate
citizens and the necessity for them to vote equally with Lebanese residents in
their registered places of 128." He continued, "We coordinated the developments
taking place in this file and how to increase pressure in this direction to
achieve the implementation of the Parliament's bylaws and to put the expedited,
repeated expatriate voting law on the legislative session's agenda for a vote
and to achieve the desired result." He added: "We consider this battle to be
fateful and to determine the future of political participation in Lebanon for
all Lebanese. It also determines the actual balance of power on the basis of
which we are beginning to establish the future of this country after the war, to
rebuild it and open it up to the outside world, preserve its sovereignty, and
give Lebanese citizens a chance and hope that we have reached a turning point.
We must seize this opportunity to achieve our goal, completing what we have done
in the past, starting with the October 17 Revolution and ending with the
election of Joseph Aoun as President of the Republic, and the assignment of
Nawaf Salam to head and form the government." He said: "The Lebanese must not
lose this opportunity due to the obstruction of some parties clinging to the
past." He stressed that "the issue of arms exclusivity, full participation in
politics, and the independence of the judiciary are all fundamental battles for
entering the future of Lebanon."
Christian Front: Respecting the right of expatriates to
participate in national decision-making
NNA/June 1, 2025
In a statement following its meeting at its headquarters in Achrafieh, the
Christian Front affirmed its "categorical rejection of the attempt to allocate
six parliamentary seats to Lebanese expatriates." It considered that "this
proposal undermines their sovereign right to vote within their registered areas
in Lebanon and constitutes a systematic attempt to marginalize their national
presence, especially Christians, and transform them into dispersed groups
abroad, isolated and deprived of their fundamental right to truly and
effectively participate in the fateful events of their homeland." The Front
considered that "Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's refusal to include the draft
law signed by a parliamentary majority on the legislative session's agenda,
citing formal arguments, constitutes a direct targeting of a fundamental segment
of the Lebanese people and unconstitutional behavior that cannot be tolerated
under any pretext." It called for "respecting the right of the Lebanese
expatriate to fully participate in national decision-making, without any
diminution or isolation," stressing that their representation must stem from
their reality and be recorded in their registration districts, not through
fictitious seats that do not befit their influential and effective national role
in various political, economic, financial, social, and cultural fields. On the
other hand, the Front warned against "the continuation of the policy of
silencing mouths, through suppressing freedom of the press and summoning
journalists to security services centers, instead of appearing before the
competent Publications Court, considering that this path reflects a dangerous
trend towards returning the country to an era of security brutality and the
control of freedoms, which the Front will not accept in any way." It announced
that "the Lebanese government bears responsibility for its chronic failure to
implement international resolutions, especially those related to the necessity
of disarming Hezbollah," and considered that "any attempt to procrastinate or
delay this fateful entitlement, without setting a clear and final deadline,
exposes the Lebanese state to complete collapse." "Destroying." She stressed her
"complete rejection of what is being circulated about offering guarantees to
Hezbollah in exchange for handing over its weapons," asserting that "these
weapons, affiliated with the Iranian axis, are primarily responsible for the
destruction of the Lebanese state, the displacement of its people, the
dismantling of its institutions, and the strangulation of its economy." She
concluded by calling for "the government and parliament to shoulder their
national responsibilities and immediately engage in a comprehensive peace
process with the Arab and international community, as this is in the supreme
interest of Lebanon and its people, and a guarantee of the nation's unity, the
dignity of its people, and its future."
Lebanese Forces: Confiscating the will of expatriates and limiting their votes
to a single district constitutes an attack on the principle of equality between
expatriates and residents
NNA/June 1, 2025
The media department of the Lebanese Forces party considered in a statement that
"the misleading propaganda campaigns launched by some media outlets affiliated
with the resistance group have clear goals and objectives. Their aim is to
distort the facts and falsify the facts related to the right of Lebanese
expatriates to vote within their original electoral districts with the aim of
participating in and influencing the election of 128 representatives. Their aim
is also to separate expatriate Lebanon from resident Lebanon by excluding
expatriates from their natural right to participate alongside their families in
voting for all 128 members of Parliament." She pointed out that "the draft
urgent law, proposed by a number of representatives on May 9 to repeal Article
112 of the current electoral law, aims to correct a trend related to the rights
of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese living abroad. This law seeks nothing more
than to enshrine the most basic of democratic rights, namely the right of every
Lebanese expatriate to vote in their hometown, to which they emotionally and
socially belong." She regretted "the attempt by some political forces to
undermine the parliamentary bylaws and evade presenting this law to the General
Assembly's agenda, despite the fact that urgent, repeated laws have been
discussed and duly included for decades." She said, "The continued collusion to
confiscate the will of expatriates and limit their votes to a single district
does not reflect their actual choices and constitutes an attack on the principle
of equality between expatriate and resident citizens, and their right to full
participation in national decision-making." She called for "including the
aforementioned draft law on the agenda of the first upcoming session, so that
representatives can vote on it before the Lebanese people, and for expatriates'
right to vote to be restored to its natural place, without discrimination,
politicization, exclusion, exclusion, or marginalization.
Kataeb Party: No electoral reform without equality for expatriates with other
voters, and a transparent parliamentary session on the issue of disarming.
NNA/June 1, 2025
The Kataeb Political Bureau held its regular meeting, chaired by party leader MP
Sami Gemayel, to discuss developments, sovereign issues, and matters related to
amending the expatriate law regarding expatriate voting. The statement
reiterated the party's assertion that "the issue of restricting arms to the
Lebanese state, and no one else, is a national priority that cannot be postponed
or maneuvered, as it is a mandatory approach to consolidating sovereignty and
establishing stability. The statement also affirmed that the positions issued by
the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, which included intimidation and unacceptable
provocation of the will of the Lebanese and the state, place him in direct
confrontation with Lebanese legitimacy, as expressed by the President of the
Republic in his inaugural speech, the government in its ministerial statement,
and the constitutional authorities committed to implementing international
resolutions, foremost among them Resolution 1701 and the ceasefire. There is no
alternative to adhering to the law, without evasiveness or manipulation." The
Political Bureau stressed that "any attempt to turn back the clock will not
succeed. It demands that the government and its Prime Minister take a firm
stance and a clear response to this challenge. It reiterates its call for the
establishment of an official mechanism issued by the Council of Ministers to
resolve the arms issue within a clear and swift deadline, which will protect
Lebanon from the risk of any new explosion and spare the Lebanese further costs.
It also insists on the necessity of holding a parliamentary session in the
presence of the government to discuss this sovereign issue, because excluding
the legislative authority from such a fateful discussion constitutes an
undermining of the constitution and a neglect of the role of institutions." The
statement added: Regarding the Speaker of Parliament's refusal to include the
item of canceling the six expatriate seats on the legislative session's agenda,
the Political Bureau recalls that the fundamental problem lies not only in the
timing of this refusal, but also in a cumulative process of denial of the
expatriates' constitutional right to full representation. Since the current law
was passed, the Kataeb bloc has expressed its rejection of it, citing its
discrimination and the deprivation of the right of non-resident Lebanese to
choose their representatives. Eight years ago, in 2018, it proposed a clear
legislative proposal to abolish the six seats, with the aim of ensuring their
right to vote for the 128 members of parliament, on an equal footing with all
Lebanese citizens. This proposal has not yet been included on the agenda of any
plenary session. The party believes that insisting on keeping this item out of
discussion threatens to disrupt the diaspora elections and reproduces the logic
of deprivation suffered by Lebanese expatriates, both old and new, who were
previously punished by the corruption system by robbing them of their savings
and confidence in their country, and is now punishing them politically by
reducing their influence in rehabilitating and restoring Lebanon. The Political
Bureau affirms that it will continue its struggle to amend the law to ensure
equal representation. The Kataeb Party expressed surprise at "the decision
issued by the Ministry of Environment to increase the height of the Jdeideh
landfill by two and a half meters, in contravention of environmental and health
standards," recalling that "it was the only party that opposed the decision to
establish this landfill from the outset, and even went so far as to resign from
the government in protest. This confirms that the continuation of ad hoc
solutions to the waste crisis must stop." The Political Bureau stressed "the
need to develop sustainable national plans to resolve this crisis, and calls for
the issue to be seriously and definitively brought to the Cabinet's attention,
and for a comprehensive environmental vision to be adopted that stops waste and
takes into account environmental issues." A balance between public health and
the public interest, leading to a responsible and permanent closure of this
file, which has been pending for years.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on July 01-02/2025
Trump says US not offering
Iran ‘anything’
Reuters/July 01/2025
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was not speaking to Iran and was not
offering the country “anything,” and he reiterated his assertion that the United
States had “totally OBLITERATED” Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Trump on Friday
dismissed media reports that said his administration had discussed possibly
helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing
nuclear program.
EU says ready to facilitate return to Iran nuclear talks
AFP/July 01, 2025
BRUSSELS: The EU’s top diplomat told Iran’s foreign minister Tuesday that
Brussels is willing to facilitate a return to negotiations on Iran’s nuclear
program after US and Israeli strikes. “Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program
should restart as soon as possible” and “cooperation” with the International
Atomic Energy Agency must resume, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X
after a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “The EU is
ready to facilitate this.”Kallas further warned Tehran that “any threats to pull
out of the non-proliferation treaty don’t help to lower tensions.”The call came
after Aragchi ruled out a quick resumption of talks with the United States and
said Tehran will first need assurances it will not be attacked again. The United
States and Iran were holding nuclear talks when Israel hit Iranian nuclear sites
and military infrastructure. The United States joined the assault by bombing
three nuclear sites — Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — on June 21. The EU has long
sought to play a mediation role with Iran. The 27-nation bloc was a signatory —
and facilitator — of a 2015 deal between Iran and international powers over
Tehran’s nuclear program. US President Donald Trump abandoned that deal in 2018.
UN says Iran aid budget will need to double post-war
AFP/01 July/2025
The most senior UN official in Iran said Tuesday the organization’s humanitarian
and development aid budget to the country would need to be doubled following the
war with Israel. Stefan Priesner, the UN resident coordinator in Iran, said he
hoped the international community would step up with more funding. “We are now
doing the budgeting” for 2025, he told a press briefing in Geneva. “It’s a
significant increase,” he said. “It’s a bit early to say how much we exactly
need. But we certainly would expect a doubling of the funding.”He said that last
year’s UN budget for development and humanitarian affairs in Iran was $75
million -- roughly $50 million for refugees and $25 million for the development
program. Iran hosts the largest number of refugees in the world -- around 3.5
million -- most of them from Afghanistan. Speaking from Tehran, Priesner said he
hoped aid and development would be seen as separate from other issues and the
situation would trigger the international community to increase its support. On
June 13, Israel launched a major bombing campaign against Iran, killing top
military commanders and nuclear scientists. The Israeli strikes hit military
bases, nuclear sites and residential areas across Iran.Iran retaliated with
waves of missiles and drone strikes, hitting cities in Israel. A ceasefire took
effect on June 24. Priesner said that in 2022, the UN and the Iranian government
agreed a five-year program on public health, socio-economic resilience,
environmental protection, disaster reduction and management, and drug control.
The UN is now in talks with Tehran on “how to adapt the program to meet emerging
needs” following the conflict with Israel. Priesner indicated that the UN
normally has 50 international staff in Iran and about 500 local staff. Although
some employees and their families had to leave their homes when Israel’s
bombardment began, he said normal operations had resumed on Sunday.
Trump vows ‘firm’ stance with Netanyahu on ending Gaza war
AFP/01 July/2025
US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to be “very firm” in his stance on
ending the war in Gaza when he meets next week with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. The remarks by the president, made during a tour of a
migrant detention center in Florida, came after he said earlier that he was
hoping for a truce in the nearly 21-month conflict by “sometime next week.”The
Republican leader is set to host Netanyahu at the White House on July 7 and the
swift resolution of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran has revived hopes for a halt
to the Gaza fighting. Almost relentless combat in the Palestinian territory
since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel has created dire humanitarian
conditions for the population of more than two million. Trump was asked Tuesday
by reporters if a ceasefire could be in place before Netanyahu’s visit. “We hope
it’s going to happen, and we’re looking for it to happen sometime next week,” he
said before departing for Florida. Trump has previously urged Israel to “make
the deal in Gaza,” but on the ground, Israel has continued to pursue its
offensive across the Palestinian territory.The end of Israel’s 12-day war with
Iran -- which followed a US bombing mission on Tehran’s nuclear sites -- has
provided a window of opportunity for a deal, with Trump keen to add another
peace agreement to a series of recent deals he has brokered. Asked at the
detention center how firm he will be with Netanyahu on ending the war, Trump
replied: “Very firm.”“But he wants it too.... He wants to end it too,” Trump
added. The visit next Monday will be Netanyahu’s third since Trump returned to
power in January, and comes on the heels of the US president making a rare
intervention into domestic Israeli politics. Trump appeared over the weekend to
threaten US aid to Israel as he called in a social media post for prosecutors to
drop long-running corruption charges against Netanyahu. Netanyahu became the
first foreign leader to visit Trump in his second term in February, when the US
president surprised him by suddenly announcing a plan for the United States to
“take over” Gaza.The Israeli premier visited again in April.
Trump says he’ll have to ‘take a look’ at deporting Elon
Musk amid public feud
Agencies/01 July/2025
President Donald Trump said he would look into deporting billionaire Elon Musk
in response to a question about the ally-turned-critic of his signature tax and
spending legislation. “I don’t know,” Trump told reporters at the White House on
Tuesday when asked if he would deport the South African-born entrepreneur and US
citizen, before adding that “we’ll have to take a look.”In a reply to a post on
X featuring Trump’s deportation comments, Musk said: “So tempting to escalate
this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now.”The president’s comments are
the latest salvo in a renewed feud between Trump and the world’s richest person,
who has ramped up his criticism of a Republican tax bill that expedites the end
of a consumer credit for electric vehicle purchases. Musk is the CEO of electric
carmaker Tesla Inc., whose shares weaken more than 4 percent in premarket
trading. Trump has attributed Musk’s opposition to the bill to elimination of
subsidies that his many business ventures benefit from. Earlier Tuesday, Trump
took to social media, threatening to withdraw subsidies from Musk’s companies, a
warning he reiterated to reporters. The president said Musk was “losing his EV
mandate” and added that “Elon could lose a lot more than that.”The EV mandate
generally is a reference to a suite of fuel economy standards and
tailpipe-pollution limits that effectively compel automakers to sell an
increasing number of electric models. The administration has moved to unwind
those policies, which are untouched by the measure pending in the Senate.
However, the tax-and-spending measure would end a tax credit for individual
electric vehicle purchases that has helped boost EV sales. Musk has lambasted
the Republican legislation, calling it an “insane spending bill” and threatened
to help create a third political party in the US. He has denied, however, that
his opposition is based on preserving government subsidies for his companies.
Musk threw his support behind Trump in the 2024 election and went on to serve as
the head of the Department of Government Efficiency effort that worked to slash
the federal government’s workforce and responsibilities before departing in late
May. The two had a public falling out over Musk’s criticisms of the tax bill,
trading insults on social media. While that fight appeared to have cooled, Musk
in recent days has posted repeated attacks on the legislation, reigniting their
fight.
“We might have to put DOGE on Elon,” Trump said about the federal cost-cutting
effort. “DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t
that be terrible?”
Israeli army kills two in West Bank, including one teen
AFP/July 01, 2025
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian health ministry said Tuesday that the Israeli army
killed two people including a 15-year-old boy in separate incidents in the
occupied West Bank. “At dawn today, Tuesday, 15-year-old child Amjad Nassar Abu
Awad was martyred by Israeli gunfire in the city of Ramallah,” the ministry said
in a statement. “Also at dawn today, 24-year-old young man Samer Bassam
Zagharneh was martyred by Israeli gunfire near the town of Dhahiriya” in the
southern West Bank, the ministry added. The Israeli military told AFP it was
“looking into” the two reported incidents. Around 20 people, mostly young boys
and teenagers, had gathered at a Ramallah hospital to mourn Abu Awad, an AFP
journalist at the scene reported. In tears, the boys touched Abu Awad’s face in
the white light of the hospital morgue. Two Palestinian teenagers, aged 13 and
15, were killed last week in the West Bank towns of Al-Yamoun and Kafr Malik
respectively. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Violence has soared
in the West Bank since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that triggered the
Gaza war. Since then, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 946
Palestinians, including many militants, according to the health ministry. Over
the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or
during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.
Israeli army says it is working to intercept missile
launched from Yemen
Reuters/01 July/2025
The Israeli army said on Tuesday that a missile launched from Yemen toward
Israeli territory had been intercepted. Israel has threatened Yemen’s
Iran-aligned Houthi movement - which has been attacking Israel in what it says
is solidarity with Gaza - with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel
persist. Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis,
who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red
Sea, disrupting global trade. Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they
have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a
series of retaliatory strikes.
Charities demand closure of Gaza aid agency backed by US,
Israel
Arab News/July 01, 2025
LONDON: A group of more than 130 charities and NGOs has called for the Gaza
Humanitarian Foundation to be closed. The GHF, backed by the US and Israel, has
been operating since May to distribute aid but has been fiercely criticized by
observers, with over 500 Palestinians killed and more than 4,000 injured at its
distribution centers. Organizations including Oxfam, Save the Children and
Amnesty International on Tuesday said Palestinians are being forced into
“militarized” zones in order to receive essential supplies. “Today, Palestinians
in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying
desperately to reach food to feed their families,” the groups said in a
statement. “Orphaned children and caregivers are among the dead, with children
harmed in over half of the attacks on civilians at these sites.”The GHF was
established after Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza following the breakdown of a
US-backed ceasefire with Hamas in March. Four aid distribution centers were set
up, replacing around 400 that were run by international bodies during the
ceasefire. The group of aid agencies and charities said the GHF system “is not a
humanitarian response” to the problems facing Gazans, who have lived in a
constant state of displacement and supply shortages since the outbreak of the
war in October 2023. “Amidst severe hunger and famine-like conditions, many
families tell us they are now too weak to compete for food rations,” the group
added. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned the GHF’s
distribution system as being “inherently unsafe.”It came after a report in
Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Israeli soldiers were ordered to shoot directly
at Palestinian civilians to disperse them from overcrowded GHF aid distribution
centers.
Israel expands military campaign in Gaza ahead of
Netanyahu’s US visit
AFP/July 01, 2025
GAZA CITY: Israel’s military said Tuesday that it had expanded its operations in
Gaza, where residents reported fierce gunfire and shelling days before a planned
trip to Washington by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The intensified
operations came after days of mounting calls for a ceasefire, with US President
Donald Trump — whom Netanyahu is scheduled to meet next week — among those
urging Israel to strike a new deal to halt the war and bring home the hostages
still held in Gaza. Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that Israeli forces
killed at least 20 people on Tuesday. In response to reports of deadly strikes
in the north and south of the territory, the Israeli army told AFP it was
“operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities.”I believe that every time
negotiations or a potential ceasefire are mentioned, the (Israeli) army
escalates crimes and massacres on the ground
Raafat Halles, 39, Shujaiya district
Separately, it said Tuesday morning that in recent days it had “expanded its
operations to additional areas within the Gaza Strip, eliminating dozens of
terrorists and dismantling hundreds of terror infrastructure sites both above
and below ground.”Raafat Halles, 39, from the Shujaiya district of Gaza City,
said “air strikes and shelling have intensified over the past week,” and tanks
have been advancing. “I believe that every time negotiations or a potential
ceasefire are mentioned, the army escalates crimes and massacres on the ground,”
he said. “I don’t know why.”Amer Daloul, a 44-year-old resident of Gaza City,
also reported fiercer clashes between Israeli forces and militants in recent
days, telling AFP that he and his family were forced to flee the tent they were
living in at dawn on Tuesday “due to heavy and random gunfire and shelling.”AFP
photographers saw Israeli tanks deploying at the Gaza border in southern Israel
and children picking through the rubble of a destroyed home in Gaza City. Others
photographed Palestinians mourning over the bodies of relatives in the city’s
Al-Shifa hospital and the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.
Netanyahu announced he would visit Trump and senior US security officials next
week, amid mounting pressure to end more than 20 months of devastating fighting
in Gaza. Trump vowed Tuesday to be “very firm” in his stance on ending the war
when he meets the Israeli premier on July 7. “But he (Netanyahu) wants it
too.... He wants to end it too,” the US president added. Hamas official Taher
Al-Nunu told AFP the group is “ready to agree to any proposal if it will lead to
an end to the war and a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of
occupation forces.”“So far, there has been no breakthrough.”
‘Lucrative’ business deals help sustain Israel’s Gaza
campaign: UN expert
Reuters/01 July/2025
A UN expert has named over 60 companies, including major arms manufacturers and
technology firms, in a report alleging their involvement in supporting Israeli
settlements and military actions in Gaza, which she called a “genocidal
campaign.”Italian human rights lawyer Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur
on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, compiled the report based on over 200
submissions from states, human rights defenders, companies, and academics. The
report, published late Monday, calls for companies to cease dealings with Israel
and for legal accountability for executives implicated in alleged violations of
international law. “While life in Gaza is being obliterated and the West Bank is
under escalating assault, this report shows why Israel’s genocide continues:
because it is lucrative for many,” Albanese wrote in the 27-page document. She
accused corporate entities of being “financially bound to Israel’s apartheid and
militarism.”Israel’s mission in Geneva said the report was “legally groundless,
defamatory and a flagrant abuse of her office.” The Israeli prime minister’s
office and the foreign office did not immediately return requests for comment.
Israel has rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, citing its right to
self-defense following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed 1,200
people and resulted in 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. The
subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 56,000 people, according to the Gaza
Health Ministry and reduced the enclave to rubble. The report groups the
companies by sector, for example military or technology, and does not always
make clear if they are linked to settlements or the Gaza campaign. It said
around 15 companies responded directly to Albanese’s office but did not publish
their replies. It names arms firms such as Lockheed Martin and Leonardo,
alleging their weaponry has been used in Gaza. It also lists heavy machinery
suppliers Caterpillar Inc and HD Hyundai, claiming their equipment has
contributed to property destruction in Palestinian territories. Caterpillar has
previously stated it expects its products to be used in line with international
humanitarian law. None of the companies immediately responded to Reuters’
requests for comment. Technology giants Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM
were named as “central to Israel’s surveillance apparatus and the ongoing Gaza
destruction.”Alphabet has previously defended its $1.2 billion cloud services
contract with the Israeli government, stating it is not directed at military or
intelligence operations.Palantir Technologies was also mentioned for providing
AI tools to the Israeli military, though specifics on their use were not
included. The report expands on a previous UN database of firms linked to
Israeli settlements, last updated in June 2023, adding new companies and
detailing alleged ties to the ongoing Gaza conflict. It will be presented to the
47-member UN Human Rights Council on Thursday. Although the Council lacks
legally binding powers, cases documented by UN investigations have occasionally
informed international prosecutions. Israel and the United States disengaged
from the Council earlier this year, citing bias against Israel.
Clashes in Turkey over alleged ‘Prophet Mohammed’ cartoon
AFP/01 July/2025
Clashes erupted in Istanbul Monday with police firing rubber bullets and tear
gas to break up an angry mob after allegations that a satirical magazine had
published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, an AFP correspondent said. The
incident occurred after Istanbul’s chief prosecutor ordered the arrest of the
editors at LeMan magazine on grounds it had published a cartoon which “publicly
insulted religious values.”“The chief public prosecutor’s office has launched an
investigation into the publication of a cartoon in the June 26, 2025 issue of
LeMan magazine that publicly insults religious values, and arrest warrants have
been issued for those involved,” the prosecutor’s office said. A copy of the
black-and-white image posted on social media showed two characters hovering in
the skies over a city under bombardment. “Salam aleikum, I’m Mohammed,” says one
shaking hands with the other who replies, “Aleikum salam, I’m Musa.”But the
magazine’s editor-in-chief Tuncay Akgun told AFP by phone from Paris that the
image had been misinterpreted and was “not a caricature of Prophet Mohammed.”“In
this work, the name of a Muslim who was killed in the bombardments of Israel is
fictionalized as Mohammed. More than 200 million people in the Islamic world are
named Mohammed,” he said, saying it had “nothing to do with Prophet
Mohammed.”“We would never take such a risk.”As the news broke, several dozen
angry protesters attacked a bar often frequented by LeMan staffers in downtown
Istanbul, provoking angry scuffles with police, an AFP correspondent said. The
scuffles quickly degenerated into clashes involving between 250 to 300 people,
the correspondent said.
Cartoonist, two others held
In several posts on X, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said police had arrested
the cartoonist responsible for “this vile drawing”, the magazine’s graphic
designer and two other staffers. Police had also taken over the magazine’s
offices on Istiklal Avenue and arrest warrants had been issued for several other
of the magazine’s executives, presidential press aide Fahrettin Altin wrote on
X. In a string of posts on X, LeMan defended the cartoon and said it had been
deliberately misinterpreted to cause a provocation. “The cartoonist wanted to
portray the righteousness of the oppressed Muslim people by depicting a Muslim
killed by Israel, he never intended to belittle religious values,” it said.
Akgun said the legal attack on the magazine, a satirical bastion of opposition
which was founded in 1991, was “incredibly shocking but not very
surprising.”“This is an act of annihilation. Ministers are involved in the whole
business, a cartoon is distorted,” he said. “Drawing similarities with Charlie
Hebdo is very intentional and very worrying,” he said of the French satirical
magazine whose offices were stormed by extremist gunmen in 2015. The attack,
which killed 12 people, occurred after it published caricatures lampooning the
Prophet Mohammed.
‘A very systematic provocation’
“There is a game here, as if we were repeating something similar. This is a very
systematic provocation and attack,” Akgun said. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc an
investigation had been opened on grounds of “publicly insulting religious
values.”“Disrespect towards our beliefs is never acceptable,” he wrote on X. “No
freedom grants the right to make the sacred values of a belief the subject of
ugly humor. The caricature or any form of visual representation of our Prophet
not only harms our religious values but also damages societal peace.”Istanbul
governor Davut Gul also lashed out at “this mentality that seeks to provoke
society by attacking our sacred values. “We will not remain silent in the face
of any vile act targeting our nation’s faith,” he warned.
Syrian authorities capture high-ranking official who helped
run notorious Saydnaya prison
Arab News/July 01, 2025
LONDON: Syrian authorities on Tuesday arrested a former high-ranking official
who helped run the notorious Saydnaya Prison. Thaer Hussein, described as an
assistant to the director of the prison, had been on the run since the collapse
of President Bashar Assad’s regime in December. Syria’s Internal Security
Command in Tartus said Hussein, who held the rank of colonel within the former
regime, was captured while hiding in a remote part of the coastal town. He has
been referred to judicial authorities, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Several officials who held senior positions at Saydnaya have been arrested since
December. The military prison, located north of Damascus, was operated by the
Ministry of Defense. After the fall of the Assad regime, rebel forces and local
residents freed at least 2,000 prisoners held there. Rights groups described it
as a “human slaughterhouse” after former inmates told of the torture and
extrajudicial killings that took place within its walls.
US President Trump dismantles Syria sanctions program
architecture
Joseph Haboush - Al Arabiya English/01 July/2025
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to reverse
decades-old American sanctions on Syria and “give these guys a chance,” senior
administration officials said. The order dismantles the existing US sanctions
architecture on Syria and terminates the national emergency first declared in
2004. It also revokes five executive orders issued by previous administrations
that formed the foundation of the sanctions program against Damascus. During a
trip to Riyadh on May 14, Trump said that he would order the lifting of all
sanctions on Syria at the request of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman. A day later, Trump met with Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa,
the first meeting between a US and Syrian head of state since 2000. The US
president said al-Sharaa, previously designated as a terrorist by the US, had “a
real shot at holding it together” and is a “young, attractive guy, with a very
strong past.”Administration officials emphasized that the new order includes
provisions to ensure accountability remains central to US policy toward Syria’s
deposed president, Bashar al-Assad, “his cronies, and other regional
destabilizing actors.”The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, known as
the Caesar Act, was extended last year, after Assad’s government collapsed and
fled the country. The law includes secondary sanctions on foreign governments
and entities that conduct business with the Syrian regime. A senior
administration official told reporters Monday that the White House had ordered a
suspension of Caesar Act sanctions, though they noted that Congress retains the
authority to overturn the decision. In addition to lifting sanctions, the
executive order directs waivers for certain export controls and financial
dealings with Syrian government institutions, including the state-run
telecommunications provider, the central bank, and other financial entities
previously targeted by US sanctions.Although Syria has been designated a state
sponsor of terrorism since 1979, a second senior administration official said
that designation is now under review. “It’s all in the spirit of the President’s
directive to lift sanctions and to give the Syrian government, the Syrian people
and Syria as a country, a new start,” the official said.
Normalization with Israel and the Abraham Accords
Tom Barrack, Trump’s special envoy for Syria and the US ambassador to Turkey,
cited “an opportunity that has never existed before.”Barrack acknowledged the
controversy surrounding the lifting of sanctions on al-Sharaa, a former
US-designated terrorist. He compared the current situation in Syria to the
founding of the United States. “It was 12 years until we got a president [after
the Declaration of Independence]… and the president was a general, who was
George Washington,” Barrack said in a call with reporters, noting that al-Sharaa
had only been in power for six months. He described al-Sharaa as the leader of a
new country “that needs everything,” and argued that sanctions against the
former regime had created a “subculture of survival.”Barrack added that
sanctions were preventing the Syrian government from building its own mandate or
political structure. While US officials, including Trump, have said
normalization with Israel is a condition for lifting sanctions, Barrack rejected
the idea that Washington was dictating Syria’s path forward. “One thing is
clear, neither the president nor the secretary of state is nation-building;
they’re not dictating. They’re not giving the framework of the democratic model
that needs to be implemented to their architectural desire. They’re saying we
are going to give you an opportunity,” Barrack said. When asked whether lifting
all sanctions risked giving up leverage to push Syria toward normalization with
Israel—as some Israeli officials have argued—a third senior administration
official pushed back. “First of all, leverage is not what we’re interested in
doing,” the official said, noting that the earlier US list of eight conditions
presented to Syria had proved unhelpful. “We consistently say we’re not
nation-building, and every one of those toggles that we provide on any
government is another string that only causes frustration,” the official said,
insisting it was in Syria’s interest to “lean toward” Israel. The official also
noted that Syria’s interim president had expressed interest in initiating
normalization talks with Israel. “So, the way to entice [Syria] to get to the
Abraham Accords is to make it fruitful for them on an economic basis, on a
civilization basis, on a peace and prosperity basis. And that’s all coming
together,” the official added.
Regional shifts following Iran-Israel war
US officials said other countries in the region have begun engaging in talks to
establish diplomatic relations with Israel. The third official said the recent
war between Israel and Iran had created an unprecedented opening. Intelligence
services from multiple countries, including those without formal ties to Israel,
are now reportedly cooperating on security matters. “In addition… [there are]
bilateral talks going on between Lebanon and Israel, between Turkey and Israel,
between Azerbaijan and Israel, between Armenia and Israel,” the official said.
Putin, Macron discuss Iran, Ukraine in first phone call in
nearly three years
Reuters/01 July/2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a “substantial” phone call with French
President Emmanuel Macron on the Middle East crisis including Iran and the
Ukraine conflict, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, their first such exchange since
September 2022. In Paris, Macron’s office said the call lasted two hours and
that the French leader had called for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of
negotiations on ending the conflict. According to the Kremlin press service,
Putin said it was necessary to respect Iran’s right to the peaceful development
of nuclear energy as well as its continued compliance with its obligations under
the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Putin also reiterated to Macron his view
that the war in Ukraine was “a direct consequence of the West’s policy,” which
he said had “ignored Russia’s security interests” over the past few years. Any
possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine should have a “comprehensive
and long-term character” and be based on “new territorial realities,” the
Kremlin quoted Putin as saying. Putin has previously said Ukraine must accept
Russia’s annexation of swathes of its territory as part of any peace deal.
Macron’s office said the French president had also stressed the need for Iran to
comply with its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons and to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Macron and Putin agreed to coordinate their efforts and to speak again soon, the
Elysee statement said.
Ukraine hits Russian city deep behind front line, kills
three
AFP/July 01, 2025
MOSCOW: Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian city of Izhevsk on Tuesday,
killing three people and wounding dozens in one of the deepest strikes inside
Russia of the three-year conflict, authorities said. Izhevsk, more than 1,000
kilometers (620 miles) from the front line, has arms production facilities
including factories that make attack drones and the world-famous Kalashnikov
rifle. A Ukraine security services source said Kyiv had targeted an
Izhevsk-based drone manufacturer and that the attack had disrupted Moscow’s
“offensive potential.” Unverified videos posted on social media showed at least
one drone buzzing over the city, while another showed a ball of flames erupt
from the roof of a building. The region’s head said the drones hit an industrial
“enterprise,” without giving detail. “Unfortunately, we have three fatalities.
We extend our deepest condolences to their families,” Alexander Brechalov, head
of the Udmurt Republic, where Izhevsk is located, wrote on Telegram. “I visited
the victims in the hospital. At the moment, 35 people have been hospitalized, 10
of whom are in serious condition.”Russian forces in turn struck the town of
Guliaipole in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, causing “casualties and
fatalities,” Ukraine’s southern defense forces said, without specifying numbers.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stalled in recent weeks. The two
sides held direct talks almost a month ago but Moscow has since stepped up
deadly strikes on Ukraine. Kyiv’s military chief vowed in June to increase the
“scale and depth” of strikes on Russia, warning Ukraine would not sit back while
Moscow prolonged its offensive. Moscow’s army has ravaged parts of east and
south Ukraine while seizing large swathes of territory. An AFP analysis
published Tuesday found that Russia dramatically ramped up aerial attacks in
June, firing thousands of drones to pressure the war-torn country’s stretched
air defense systems and exhausted civilian population. Moreover, in June, Moscow
made its biggest territorial gain since November while accelerating advances for
a third consecutive month, according to another AFP analysis based on data from
US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).In another sign of an intensifying
offensive, a top Kremlin-installed official claimed on Monday that Russia was
now in full control of Ukraine’s eastern Lugansk region. Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly accused Russia of dragging out the peace
process — something that Moscow denies. “We are certainly grateful for the
efforts being made by Washington and members of Trump’s administration to
facilitate negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov told reporters including AFP on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump has pressed both sides to reach a ceasefire but has
failed to extract major concessions from the Kremlin.
Trump warns Musk ‘could lose more than that’ after losing
EV mandate
Reuters/01 July/2025
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said billionaire Elon Musk is upset because
he lost the mandate for electric vehicles in the recent tax and spending bill,
and warned that the Tesla CEO “could lose a lot more than that.”Trump made the
comments at the White House before heading to Florida. Earlier in the day, Trump
suggested the government efficiency department should review the subsidies
Musk’s companies have received in order to save money, reigniting a war of words
between the world’s most powerful man and its richest. Trump’s remarks came
after Musk, a Republican mega-donor, renewed his criticism of the sweeping
tax-cut and spending bill and vowed to unseat lawmakers who supported it despite
campaigning on limiting government spending. The US Transportation Department
regulates vehicle design and will play a key role in deciding if Tesla can
mass-produce robotaxis without pedals and steering wheels, while Musk’s rocket
firm SpaceX has about $22 billion in federal contracts. “Elon may get more
subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon
would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump
said in a Truth Social post, referring to the Department of Government
Efficiency. “No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production,
and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good,
hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
In response, Musk said on his own social media platform X, “I am literally
saying CUT IT ALL. Now.”
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on July 01-02/2025
Make
Iran Free Again
Navid Mohebbi and Saeed
Ghasseminejad/Visegrad24/July 01/2025
The Islamist Regime in Tehran Must Go
Almost two weeks into the war, the Trump administration is imposing a ceasefire
on Israel. The most dangerous outcome is to allow the Islamic Republic to stay
in power.
A ceasefire that leaves the regime standing would not bring peace and stability,
just more chaos down the road. Israel, the United States, and the Iranian people
win if the Islamist regime falls and lose if it survives. Finishing Khamenei and
his regime is the right decision to secure the shared interests of the United
States, Israel, and the Iranian people.
This is the time to make Iran great again, secure peace and stability in the
Middle East, and bring Iran back into the fold of the Washington-led alliance.
What’s at Stake for Israel
Israel may not get another opportunity like this. Khamenei has endured historic
blows; with its commanders killed, strategic sites destroyed, and airspace
breached, the regime is weaker than ever. For the first time in his rule,
Khamenei, fragile and weak, is forced into hiding and cowering in a bunker.
The U.S. may have crippled sites like Natanz and Fordow, but the clock is still
ticking. Unless the system behind the program is dismantled, the threat will
return. Even now, the regime says it moved its fissile materials to safe
locations.
Given the regime’s history of undeclared and secret program, like the hidden
Turquzabad site, it should be clear to everyone: this regime cannot be trusted.
If the regime survives, it will revive its terrorist proxies, rebuild the
nuclear weapon program, and replenish ballistic missiles arsenal.
What’s at Stake for the Iranian People
The regime is threatening to exact revenge on the Iranian people. Since 2017,
three waves of nationwide uprisings have been met with live fire, mass arrests,
and torture. Thousands of protesters have been killed; tens of thousands have
been blinded, imprisoned, or executed. Public hangings and forced confessions
remain standard. The crackdown will intensify. Just last week, hundreds have
been detained, some for merely questioning the regime’s war narrative. A state
video showed judiciary officials interrogating “war collaborators,” promising
severe punishment. It wasn’t law enforcement, it was a message: we may be
wounded, but we still hold power. The Islamic Republic has already executed a
few dissidents based on trumped-up espionage charges. Regime-affiliated media
and personalities are already laying the groundwork for a purge.
The rhetoric is chilling: threats of mass executions and purges echoing the 80s
massacres. Khamenei’s advisor, Ali Larijani, even threatened IAEA head Rafael
Grossi, saying he would be “dealt with” after the war. The state will unleash
its full wrath on ordinary Iranians and opposition voices.
Furthermore, the regime has shown its priorities. Tehran will rebuild its
machinery of oppression, terrorism, nuclear weapons, and missile programs. This
means worsening economic conditions and more years of poverty, isolation, and
despair. Ordinary Iranians have every incentive to see this regime finished
because if it survives, their suffering will only deepen.
What’s at Stake for the United States
Helping Iranians reclaim their future directly supports U.S. interests. For
decades, the Islamic Republic has targeted U.S. forces and assets across the
region. Over 600 American service members were killed in Iraq, many by
Iranian-made IEDs. At one point, Tehran placed bounties on U.S. troops in
Afghanistan. Ending the regime’s influence could allow something long overdue:
reducing the U.S. military footprint in the region.
Before 1979, Iran was a U.S. partner and pillar of regional stability. The new
Iran would be a stabilizing force in the region allowing Washington to pivot to
other critical regions. But the threat isn’t just regional. The regime has
plotted assassinations on U.S. soil, meddled in elections, partnered with
criminal networks, and even cyberattacks on critical infrastructures in the
United States.The fall of the regime in Tehran, will be a devastating blow to
the global Islamist terrorist movement and the biggest victory in the war on
terror.
Towards a Thriving, Free Iran
On the other side lies opportunity. A free Iran could be an invaluable partner.
Rich in resources, strategically located, and home to a young, educated
population eager to consume and innovate, Iran is the last large untapped
frontier market. A revitalized U.S.-Iran alliance is not just possible, it’s
overdue. Israel, the U.S., and the Iranian people need each other to achieve
their goal. The American public rightfully does not want more boots on the
ground in the Middle East.
Tangible support for the Iranian people – crippling the regime’s oppression
through covert and overt actions, diplomatic and economic pressure, and close
coordination with the Iranian opposition led by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi – will
bring down this regime. This is the time to act and send the Islamic Republic to
the ash heap of history once and forever.
https://www.visegrad24.com/articles/make-iran-free-again
**Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior Iran and financial economics advisor at FDD
specializing in Iran’s economy and financial markets, sanctions and illicit
finance. Navid Mohebbi is an independent Iran expert living in Washington, DC.
Iran After the
Battle
Nicole Grajewski/Diwan/July 01/2025
https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2025/07/iran-after-the-battle?lang=en
The country’s political and military establishment is still debating how to
interpret the recent war’s outcome.
After thirteen days of warfare with Israel—compounded by U.S. airstrikes on its
nuclear facilities—the Islamic Republic finds itself on the brink of a
dramatically altered strategic landscape. Its missile arsenal, once the pride of
its military deterrent, lies degraded. Its nuclear program, long the shadow
pillar of its deterrence strategy, has sustained serious, though still publicly
unquantified, damage. Its security apparatus, deeply infiltrated by Israeli
intelligence, has been laid bare. Its leadership, visibly rattled by precision
strikes against senior figures and strategic sites, finds itself more isolated
than at any point in recent memory. And its people—those who have endured years
of repression and privation—now face the specter of even harsher internal
controls under the pretext of national emergency. The question now confronting
Iran’s leadership is whether it can adapt to a transformed strategic
environment, or persist in a path that has revealed its limits.
The war illuminated the contradictions at the heart of the Islamic Republic. It
undermined the foundational premises that have guided Iranian security policy
for decades—namely, that a combination of asymmetric warfare and missile-based
retaliation could insulate the regime from a large-scale attack. Instead, the
strikes revealed the regime’s vulnerabilities, both external and internal.
Tehran now stands before a fateful choice: to persist in the same
confrontational policies that have deepened its isolation and exposed its
weaknesses, or to adapt to a new reality in which its deterrent has been
pierced, its strategic depth has been compromised, and its survival is no longer
guaranteed by old formulas.
Inside the regime, debates are already underway. The leadership, more brittle
than at any point since the 1980s, is weighing options for recovery. Military
infrastructure must now be rebuilt under intense international scrutiny and
mounting economic constraints. The nuclear program, once a symbol of sovereign
defiance and technological achievement, must be reassessed—whether to preserve
the remnants of its ambiguity or to embark on a new trajectory of overt
capability. Although historically viewed as a force multiplier, the Axis of
Resistance had largely deteriorated before the war, with mounting domestic
skepticism casting doubt on the viability of its costly reactivation. Much
remains unclear. Yet the emerging internal debate in the aftermath of the
strikes suggests that the leadership is already weighing potential shifts in
policy—even as the supreme leader, the 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
remains conspicuously absent from public view.
The immediate response from Tehran’s hardline establishment has been to reframe
military setbacks as strategic victories. This narrative has served multiple
purposes: maintaining regime legitimacy, preserving military morale, and
signaling a continued deterrence capability to external adversaries. Tasnim
News, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has stated that
“the enemies’ objectives—from dismantling Iran’s nuclear program to triggering
internal collapse—utterly failed,” while highlighting the IRGC’s ability to
strike U.S. targets in Qatar and “pierce the myth of the Iron Dome.” Hardline
outlets even claimed the war dealt long-term blows to Israel’s security, such as
the dismantling of “about 90 percent” of Mossad’s spy networks inside Iran
during the conflict.
Khamenei’s post-ceasefire declaration epitomized this triumphalist narrative,
proclaiming that the “Zionist regime, with all its boasts, was nearly crushed
under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” bragging that Iranian missiles
penetrated Israel’s air defenses and “leveled many of their urban and military
areas.” The hardline interpretation extends beyond immediate military outcomes
to the preparation for and readiness in fighting a future war with Israel. Major
General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military advisor to the supreme leader,
made clear that the ceasefire represented a strategic interlude rather than the
conclusion of hostilities. He warned that “if the enemies commit another
mistake… under the command of the supreme leader, all their interests and bases
will face far more intense and serious consequences.”
In the eyes of Iran’s hardline establishment, the postwar period is not a moment
for restraint, but an opportunity to accelerate investment in the country’s
defense industry. The war, despite its costs, is being framed as a strategic
vindication of Iran’s deterrence model and a justification for deeper
militarization. Esmail Kowsari, a senior figure in parliament’s National
Security Committee and a former IRGC brigadier general, exemplified this view,
declaring that “the enemy was forced to retreat,” and urging that “we must now
increase missile range and accuracy, because deterrence only works when our
response can be swift and exact.” The lesson drawn is not to revise the strategy
but to reinforce it: expand missile capabilities, enhance command-and-control
resilience, and tighten internal security to prepare for the next confrontation.
Beneath triumphalist narratives and threats to continue hostilities, however, a
more sobering assessment has emerged. Centrist and reformist voices—some aligned
with former president Hassan Rouhani-era technocracy—have issued cautious
statements warning against complacency. These commentators, while still
supporting the Islamic regime, have called for restraint, introspection, and an
honest evaluation of Iran’s vulnerabilities exposed during the conflict. Etemad
newspaper warned that Iran must undertake a “precise and brave” self-assessment
to address any weaknesses the war revealed, so that “the magnitude of this
victory does not blind us to reality.” The piece warned that hostile
“infiltrators” had attempted internal sabotage during the war and it urged the
authorities to “identify and uproot” the economic, social, and political roots
of such treason.
Rouhani issued a pointed statement congratulating the armed forces but warning
that “a ceasefire is not the end of the threat.” He stressed that rebuilding
public trust and repairing national strategy were as vital as military
readiness. “Unity between the people, the government, and the leadership,” he
emphasized, “is the only way forward.” Hosamoddin Ashena, a former Rouhani
presidential advisor, offered perhaps the most candid evaluation: “We have
neither been defeated nor victorious. The enemy, too, has neither won nor
failed. The ceasefire is conditional—it depends on how quickly we can rebuild
offensive and defensive capability, economic power, and social cohesion.”
One of the most apparent convergences in Iran’s postwar discourse has been the
cross-factional consensus around national cohesion as a fundamental pillar of
security. This represents a dramatic departure from Iran’s traditional emphasis
on military deterrence as the primary guarantor of regime survival. Voices
across the political spectrum—from hardline conservatives to reform-oriented
pragmatists—acknowledge that the regime’s survival depends not merely on its
capacity to inflict costs on adversaries, but on its ability to maintain
domestic legitimacy, national unity, and economic stability under pressure.
For example, columnist Morteza Maki noted that the “most important factor in
Iran’s victory” was “national cohesion” and advised that Iran use the ceasefire
reprieve to “repair defensive systems” and, equally, to continue recent economic
relief measures to improve public morale—strengthening “hope in the public
sphere and trust in the state.” Even conservative commentators now acknowledge
that future resilience will require economic reform and public legitimacy. A
senior parliamentary figure remarked that Iran must now build a “resilient
economy” so that “in the next war, the enemy cannot imagine Iran in chaos.”
While Iranian retaliation did impose visible costs on Israel—28 dead, hundreds
of wounded, and billions of dollars in damage—the war punctured the illusion
that military strength alone can secure the regime’s stability and territorial
defense. For this reason, the war will likely force a reckoning with the
foundations of Iran’s military strategy.
One path points toward continuity—doubling down on its missile program and even
revitalizing the Axis of Resistance. Yet the conflict underscored the
limitations of this confrontational approach: it is costly, escalatory, and
ultimately failed to prevent sustained attacks. Moreover, there is little
resolve within Iran to reinvest in the Axis of Resistance, given the immense
financial strain, lack of popular support, and diminished returns exposed over
the past year and a half.
A second path leans toward adaptation, shifting to a more inward-looking,
territorial defense posture focused on safeguarding the leadership,
infrastructure, and internal stability. This, in turn, could evolve into a third
trajectory: intensified domestic militarization. With the IRGC expanding its
internal role, surveillance increasing, and dissent suppressed under the banner
of wartime vigilance, the regime risks alienating an already strained
population.
A fourth option, albeit most far-fetched, envisions a recalibration—one that
links national security to economic revitalization and political legitimacy. But
perhaps the most consequential turn would be a move toward weaponization:
developing a clandestine nuclear capability under the guise of civilian
enrichment, having concluded that conventional deterrence alone cannot guarantee
regime survival. This final scenario already finds echoes in Iran’s postwar
rhetoric.
The shift has been most acute around Iran’s evolving discourse on its nuclear
program. What had long been framed in the language of peaceful scientific
advancement and sovereign rights is now increasingly articulated through the
language of deterrence, retaliation, and strategic depth. The war and its
aftermath have clearly catalyzed a shift in Iranian rhetoric and policy on the
nuclear issue, pushing the Islamic Republic toward a more openly assertive and
securitized nuclear posture—even as moves in this direction could well cause
further Israeli or U.S. attacks, or both. Across the spectrum of views,
officials are presenting the nuclear program as not just a symbol of
sovereignty, but a pillar of national defense vindicated by survival under fire.
Iranian officials have repeatedly emphasized that military attacks—no matter how
intensive—would not halt Iran’s nuclear advancements. This narrative has been
reinforced by reports that even twelve days of sustained U.S. and Israeli
strikes only set back Iran’s nuclear timetable by a few months, seized upon as
proof that the nuclear infrastructure endured and that Israel “failed to achieve
its primary goal.”
Iran’s United Nations ambassador, Saeed Iravani, embodied this new assertiveness
when he declared that Tehran would “accept no limitation on its missile
activities,” explicitly stating that Iran would continue enriching uranium on
its own soil and not negotiate away its indigenous fuel-cycle capabilities.
Similarly, Iran’s UN representative in Geneva declared, “Iran has shown its
vigilance, determination, and strength in defending its territory, nation, and
rights, and will resolutely defend its inherent right to defend itself against
any aggression. Iran will never give up its inalienable right to the peaceful
use of nuclear knowledge and energy.”
The cross-factional consensus emerging around nuclear policy is particularly
striking. Multiple editorials from reform-aligned outlets have criticized
“ambiguous and suspicious” reporting from the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), claiming it gave Israel the pretext to strike while failing to defend
the integrity of its own safeguards regime. Hardliners have capitalized on this
moment to push the envelope even further. Kayhan, the flagship newspaper of
Iran’s conservative establishment, ran a fiery editorial demanding that the
Majlis, or parliament, “mandate the development of ICBMs for retaliatory strikes
on U.S. soil” while calling for uranium enrichment to 90 percent, as a signal
that Western military pressure would “only deepen their fear” rather than curb
Iran’s progress.
Yet even amid this hardening, there are signs of a parallel track emerging—one
that aims to pair deterrence with diplomacy. Some have called for Iran to pursue
a dual strategy: fielding a robust defense while keeping diplomacy in mind.
Foreign policy analyst Rahman Ghahremanpour suggested that “the diplomatic path
must remain open, even as the battlefield demands power and prudence.”
Negotiating during wartime, he acknowledged, is far more difficult—but credible
military strength can, paradoxically, strengthen diplomatic leverage by
deterring further coercion. “The military must showcase its capabilities so that
external pressures decrease and the weight of diplomacy increases,” he
explained.
Rhetorical escalation has been matched by specific policy steps. Following the
ceasefire, Iran’s parliament passed legislation suspending cooperation with the
IAEA unless security guarantees were provided for nuclear sites—linking nuclear
transparency directly to national defense. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail
Baqaei framed the move as a response to wartime betrayal: “The suspension of
cooperation with the IAEA is a response to the illegal attacks against Iran,” he
said, adding, “we expected the IAEA to clearly and strongly condemn the
aggression, but unfortunately it did not.”
Parliamentarian Sayyed Mahmoud Nabavian went further, alleging that IAEA
reporting enabled Israeli targeting: “Until now, we gave reports of our nuclear
activities to the IAEA, but unfortunately those reports were handed directly to
the Zionist regime. So this law bans providing any information to the Agency.”
The bill marks a more adversarial stance toward international oversight, and
justifying new limits on transparency under the guise of protecting national
security.
Together, these developments reflect not a total rupture with diplomacy, but a
transformation in how Iran conceives of it. The nuclear program is no longer
framed as a bargaining chip to be traded for sanctions relief. Instead, it is
being recast as an integral component of national defense—one that survived war
and must now be protected from future threats. Whether Iran chooses to weaponize
is unclear. However, it is increasingly apparent that the salience of the
nuclear question has ascended in the national security debate.
Iran’s postwar strategic recalibration reveals a nation grappling with the
implications of what all sides acknowledge as a significant test of its
security. Today, the debate is no longer simply about capability, but about
survival. Whether this convergence produces meaningful reform or reverts to
retrenchment remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that the war has
transformed deterrence from a static doctrine into a contested political
project.
The end of open hostilities has not brought clarity to Iran’s strategic
direction. Instead, it has exposed an ongoing effort within the political and
military establishment over how to interpret the war’s outcome—and the kind of
defense posture that should guide the country going forward. Longstanding themes
such as self-reliance, indigenous military development, and ideological
steadfastness remain intact, but they now sit alongside more sobering concerns:
economic exhaustion, social unrest, the unsettling penetration by Israeli
intelligence, and the erosion of strategic surprise. The question is no longer
simply whether Iran’s deterrent held; it is whether the entire foundation of
that deterrent is still tenable.
The Ugly Truth about ‘Multiculturalism’
Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/July
01/2025
Are all cultures equal? That is, after all, the taken-for-granted premise behind
the now deeply rooted and unquestioned notion of multiculturalism, which itself
has singlehandedly led to countless cultures being infused into the West.
This claim comes out often and casually. For example, while apologizing to
“indigenous peoples” and denouncing Christians — without the all-important
historical context — Pope Francis once declared, “Never again can the Christian
community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior
to others…”
This widely held position is very dangerous — particularly because it leads to
relativism and the abnegation of Truth.
Culture Rests on Religion
For most Western people today, the word culture conjures at best superficial
differences—“exotic” dress or food. In reality, however, cultures are nothing
less than entire and distinct worldviews with their own unique sets of rights
and wrongs, often rooted in a religion or philosophy.
Indeed, for some thinkers, such as essayist T.S. Eliot, “culture and religion”
are inextricably linked, just “different aspects of the same thing”:
Culture may even be described simply as that which makes life worth living…. [N]o
culture can appear or develop except in relation to a religion… We can see a
religion as the whole way of life of a people, from birth to the grave, from
morning to night and even in sleep, and that way of life is also its culture.
[From Eliot’s Notes Towards the Definition of Culture, 1943, p.100-101; emphasis
in original.]
Similarly, for Anglo-French historian Hilaire Belloc,
Cultures spring from religions; ultimately the vital force which maintains any
culture is its philosophy, its attitude toward the universe; the decay of a
religion involves the decay of the culture corresponding to it — we see that
most clearly in the breakdown of Christendom today.
In short, cultures bring much more than, say, the convenience of having Thai
cuisine down the street.
Which leads to another important fact: All values traditionally prized by the
modern West — religious freedom, tolerance, humanism, the equality of males and
females — did not develop in a vacuum but rather are inextricably rooted to
Christian principles which, over the course of some two thousand years, have had
a profound influence on Western epistemology, society and, of course, culture.
Christian Principles
While they are now taken for granted and seen as “universal,” there’s a reason
why these values were born and nourished in Christian — not Muslim, Buddhist,
Hindu, or Confucian — nations. Even if one were to accept the widely entrenched
narrative that the “Enlightenment” is what led to Western progress, it is alone
telling that this enlightenment developed in Christian — as opposed to any of
the many non-Christian — nations.
Those ignorant of the spiritual and intellectual roots of Western civilization
(including, apparently, Pope Francis) miss all of this.
Incidentally, it’s also why all secular Western people arrogantly see themselves
as the culmination of all human history — “enlightened” thinkers who have left
all cultural and religious baggage behind and now are concerned only for the
material. For them, all religions and cultures are superficialities that all the
peoples of the world will eventually slough off. The non-Western world,
according to this thinking, is destined to develop just like the West, which is
no longer seen as a distinct culture but rather the end point of all cultures.
The folly of such thinking is especially on display in the context of Islam and
Muslims, who in this new paradigm are seen as embryonic Westerners. Whatever a
Muslim may say — calls for jihad, hate for infidels — surely deep down inside he
values “secularism,” and appreciates the need to practice Islam privately,
respect religious freedom, gender equality, and so on. Thus is he made “in our
image” — except, of course, we forget the roots of “our image.”
Not a Westerner in the Making
In reality, the Muslim has his own unique and ancient worldview and set of
principles — his own culture — which in turn prompts behavior deemed “radical”
by Western standards (which are falsely assumed to be “universal” standards).
As T.S. Eliot, who gave these questions much thought, wrote, “Ultimately,
antagonistic religions must mean antagonistic cultures; and ultimately,
religions cannot be reconciled.”
Portraying what at root is a Christian paradigm as “universal,” and then
applying it to an alien culture like Islam, is doomed to failure. The idea that
Muslims can be true to their religion and yet naturally fit into Western society
is false and built on an equally false premise: that Christianity somehow also
had to moderate itself to fit into a secular society. In fact, Christian
principles, which are so alien to Islam, were fundamental to the creation of the
West.
What, then, of “multiculturalism” — this word that the West is supposed to
continue celebrating and embracing wholeheartedly? As seen, behind it is the
idea that all cultures are equal, and none — certainly not Christian or Western
culture — “is superior to others,” to quote the pope.
In reality, multiculturalism is another euphemistic way of undermining and
replacing the truths of a religion and its culture — namely Christianity — with
relativism.
Unless Two Are Agreed, They Cannot Walk Together
Earlier Western peoples understood that capitulating to a foreign culture was
tantamount to suicide. Again, Eliot points out:
[I]t is inevitable that we should, when we defend our religion, be at the same
time defending our culture, and vice versa: we are obeying the fundamental
instinct to preserve our existence [emphasis in original].
One anecdote well captures this “clash of cultures.” After the British colonial
powers banned sati — the Hindu practice of burning a widow alive on her
husband’s funeral pyre — Hindu priests complained to British governor Charles
James Napier that sati was their custom and therefore right, to which he
replied:
Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But
my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and
confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on
which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according
to national customs.
Incidentally, being opposed to “multiculturalism” — that is to say, relativism —
is in no way the same thing as being opposed to other races or ethnicities but
rather being opposed to social disunity and chaos.
After all, racially homogenous but culturally heterogeneous nations and regions
are much more fractured than the reverse. One need look no further than the
United States, where “leftist” and “rightist” whites often abhor one another. Or
look to the Middle East, where Muslims and Christians are largely homogenous —
racially, ethnically, and linguistically — but where the former are ruthlessly
persecuting the latter, exclusively over religion.
In short, there’s nothing wrong with a nation’s citizenry being composed of
different races and ethnicities, but only if they share the same worldview, the
same priorities, the same ethics, the same sense of right and wrong — in a word,
the same culture.
*Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West and Sword and Scimitar, is the
Distinguished Senior Shillman Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Judith
Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Doha's Quantum Threat
Benjamin Baird/ The Magazine/30 June/2025
How Qatar may be buying access to
America's most powerful computing technology
A Qatari business conglomerate co-owned by Khalifa bin Mohammed al-Rabban, a
Qatari national with reported links to terrorism, has announced a $1 billion
joint venture with Quantinuum, an American-based world leader in quantum
computing, to accelerate the use of quantum technologies in the war-torn Middle
East. Part of a package of American-Qatari economic commitments totaling $1.2
trillion, the deal has prompted fears that dangerous cyber warfare technologies
could end up in the hands of America’s adversaries, according to a referral the
Middle East Forum (MEF), a Philadelphia-based think tank, recently submitted to
the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
With the potential to break modern encryption methods at alarming speeds,
quantum computing is expected to revolutionize cybersecurity and information
sciences. That could pose significant threats to national security by
compromising access to critical infrastructure, financial institutions, and
national intelligence. Industry analysts warn that quantum computing demands the
same rigorous oversight and safeguards as nuclear technology or biological
weapons.
Yet, a joint venture between Quantinuum and Al Rabban Capital could put quantum
tech in the hands of the Qatari government, according to the MEF letter, thus
potentially exposing American civilians and political leaders to cyber-espionage
attacks. Or, worse, the MEF argues, the joint venture could reveal code-breaking
quantum secrets to Khalifa bin Mohammed Al Rabban, the managing partner and
former deputy chairman of Al Rabban Holding Company, who, in 2017, was placed on
a “prohibited list of terrorists” by four Arab governments.
Founded in 1964, the Al Rabban Holding Company oversees Al Rabban Capital and
includes subsidiaries dealing in bottled water, plastics, real estate, and
construction. By 2016, the family-run business was responsible for 80 percent of
non-oil GDP throughout the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council, according to a
leading accounting firm.
The late Khalid bin Mohammed al-Rabban established the company and served as its
chairman and majority shareholder. A Qatari activist and former economics
professor, Ali Khalifa al-Kuwari, claimed that he and Khalid al-Rabban were
among the cofounders of the Qatari Popular Committee to Support the Palestinian
Intifada, a group that funded uprisings against Israel, according to the
committee’s founding documents from 1988.
The Gulf emirate has displayed a willingness to use cyber-espionage to advance
its political objectives, and access to the latest in quantum tech could
seriously heighten this threat.
Khalid’s son, Khalifa bin Mohammed al-Rabban, took his father’s political
extracurriculars to new extremes. A managing partner and former deputy chairman
of Al Rabban Holding, Khalifa al-Rabban was placed on “prohibited lists of
terrorists” in 2017 by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and
Egypt as part of a joint effort to “combat terrorism and dry up its sources of
funding.” The list included 59 individuals and 12 entities that have “ties to
Qatar” and that “serve suspect agendas.” Although the UAE removed al-Rabban from
its terrorism list in 2023 without citing cause, he remained on Bahrain’s 2023
terrorism list for money laundering and terror finance until he was removed in
January of this year, again without explanation. Similarly, he no longer appears
on Egypt’s terror list for 2025. It isn’t clear if Saudi Arabia has followed
suit.
When he isn’t managing his family’s fortunes, Khalifa al-Rabban serves as the
president and board member of the Swiss-based Alkarama Foundation, which was
founded and formerly chaired by Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi, a U.S.- and
U.N.-sanctioned terrorist financier. According to the U.S. Treasury Department,
al-Nuaimi reportedly helped funnel more than $2 million a month to al-Qaeda in
Iraq during the height of U.S. operations there, prompting The Telegraph to call
him “one of the world’s most prolific terrorist fundraisers.” In disputing these
allegations, Alkarama has noted that the United States has not sanctioned the
foundation itself, only al-Nuaimi.
Khalifa al-Rabban is also a cofounder and member of the board of trustees of the
Global Anti-Aggression Campaign (GAAC), where al-Nuaimi served as secretary
general. A 2017 study from the Global Muslim Brotherhood Research Center
described GAAC as a terror-linked NGO whose members have hosted Hamas leaders,
recruited al-Qaeda operatives, and sanctioned attacks on American forces in
Iraq. At least seven GAAC leaders or their organizations are designated as
terrorists by the United States, the European Union, or the United Nations,
while Arabic media reports have identified at least three of the group’s
officials as ISIS financiers.
With links to the al-Rabban family, the Qatari state will likely benefit from
the company’s foray into quantum sciences. Abdulaziz bin Mohammed al-Rabban, a
cousin and close business partner to the board members at Al Rabban Holding, is
connected to the Qatari royal family. He is married to the niece of Sheikh Thani
bin Abdullah al-Thani, a member of the ruling family and founder of the RAF
Foundation. The Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a private research institution
critical of Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood, claims that one of the
RAF Foundation’s cofounders was the above-mentioned al-Nuaimi. Other members,
according to CEP, include Mohammed Jassim al-Sulaiti, whom the four Arab
governments included in their terrorism list in 2017, identifying him as “an
aide to Khalifa Muhammad Turki al-Subaiy,” whom the U.S. Treasury Department
designated in 2008 “for providing financial and material support to al Qaida.”
Like Khalifa al-Rabban, al-Sulaiti was removed from the Arab list in 2023
without explanation.
The Qatari government is already working with Quantinuum. In a partnership
announced just after the Al Rabban deal was inked, researchers at the Qatar
Center for Quantum Computing at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha were
granted access to Quantinuum’s quantum computers. The program’s lab was funded
through a $10 million grant from Qatar’s Ministry of Defense, raising questions
about the military applications that Qatar hopes to harness through its work
with Quantinuum.
The Gulf emirate has displayed a willingness to use cyber-espionage to advance
its political objectives, and access to the latest in quantum tech could
seriously heighten this threat. A complaint filed by a former Republican
fundraiser claims that, between 2014 and 2018, agents allegedly working for
Qatar hacked Americans in a campaign that targeted hundreds of political
leaders, counterterrorism officials, international actors, and athletes, with
the goal to discredit Doha’s regional adversaries. Critics of Qatar who
threatened to expose labor abuses in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup in Doha
were reportedly targeted by a gang of criminal hackers allegedly linked to the
Qatari regime.
In 2017, Qatar allegedly hired a U.S. firm to carry out “intelligence
collection” and “information operations” against U.S. Congress members who
sought to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. The Qatari
operation, dubbed “Project ENDGAME,” according to former U.S. Ambassador Mark
Wallace, the CEO of the CEP, “hacked accounts that contained email
correspondences” belonging to the leaders of the CEP.
Quantinuum and Al Rabban Holding have not responded to inquiries from the MEF
regarding the nature of the joint venture and concerns over the Al Rabban
family’s links to terrorism.
The MEF referral filed with CFIUS on June 4 outlines these risks associated with
the Quantinuum-Al Rabban Capital deal. The committee has the authority to
recommend that the president suspend the joint venture on national security
grounds.
The U.S. government has a responsibility to safeguard against quantum threats,
and this includes preventing companies from auctioning away sensitive research
in exchange for profit.
*Benjamin Baird is the director of MEF Action, a project of the Middle East
Forum.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/doha-quantum-threat?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-90ADNHYiD5RhpZ1PAIsaUqGSEgCAxQIy3xVRjUDFIju78vvyx6V-Sp32InnJmkR-ob9DohSOwyfnZQVLeLRQyeHxb4Sw&_hsmi=369368590&utm_content=369368590&utm_source=hs_email
Removing al‑Burhan: The Key to Stability and Countering Extremism
Robert Williams/Gatestone
Institute/July 01/2025
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21715/sudan-burhan-extremism
Iran sees al‑Burhan's regime as a strategic opportunity to extend its influence
along the Red Sea. Al‑Burhan has opened the door for Iranian operatives, drones
and advanced weaponry to flow into Sudan, transforming the country's tragic
internal conflict into yet another front in Tehran's regional confrontation with
the West and its allies.
Every day that al‑Burhan remains in power, Iran grows more entrenched in Sudan,
using the country as a potential staging ground to threaten Israel and
international shipping routes, particularly those critical lanes through the Red
Sea.
The Trump administration, drawing on the president's history of unconventional
diplomacy and deal-making, could play a pivotal role in this process. The
Abraham Accords demonstrated the ability to broker agreements that shift
regional dynamics through pragmatic, incentive-based negotiations.
[N]one of these initiatives is possible while al‑Burhan remains in power. His
regime has become a conduit for Iranian ambitions and a shield for Muslim
Brotherhood-linked gunmen. So long as he rules, efforts to rebuild Sudan's
economy, restore its sovereignty, and protect regional security will fail.
Now is the moment for decisive action and Trump's unparalleled negotiating
skills.
Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has opened the door for Iranian
operatives, drones and advanced weaponry to flow into Sudan, transforming the
country's tragic internal conflict into yet another front in Tehran's regional
confrontation with the West and its allies.
Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's continued hold on power represents a
serious threat not only to Sudan's stability but to regional security and global
interests. For years, al-Burhan has cultivated an image of pragmatism and order,
while in practice he has forged deep ties with the Muslim Brotherhood — an
Islamist movement whose ideological and logistical networks have directly
supported violent groups like Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen. These
groups have been responsible for a wave of bloodshed, terrorism, and instability
across the Middle East, undermining regional security and threatening
international trade corridors.
In April 2024, Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied
factions announced a parallel Sudanese government-in-exile, based in Nairobi,
Kenya. Several African leaders cautiously welcomed the move as a potential path
toward ending the relentless conflict in Sudan. Yet, despite these diplomatic
overtures, violence continues to ravage Sudan. This initiative must be
acknowledged as a vital opportunity: Egypt and Saudi Arabia — regional
powerhouses with vast influence — must transition from mere rhetoric to decisive
action. They are obligated to pressure both sides into a ceasefire, to broker
earnest national reconciliation, and to help restore civilian governance as the
country's ultimate aim.
Under al‑Burhan, Sudan has increasingly become a permissive environment for
extremist groups, providing them with cover, logistical infrastructure, and
potential avenues for military collaboration. This is not merely a domestic
political problem. It reflects a broader pattern in which transnational Islamist
movements exploit weak states to expand their reach and entrench themselves in
local conflicts — effectively creating safe havens for anti-Western and
anti-democratic agendas.
Meanwhile, Iran sees al‑Burhan's regime as a strategic opportunity to extend its
influence along the Red Sea. Tehran has long sought to establish footholds
across the region — in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Gaza and beyond — in pursuit
of an arc of influence aimed at threatening Israel, undermining U.S. interests,
and disrupting global trade. Al‑Burhan has opened the door for Iranian
operatives, drones and advanced weaponry to flow into Sudan, transforming the
country's tragic internal conflict into yet another front in Tehran's regional
confrontation with the West and its allies.
Every day that al‑Burhan remains in power, Iran grows more entrenched in Sudan,
using the country as a potential staging ground to threaten Israel and
international shipping routes, particularly those critical lanes through the Red
Sea. The risks are not hypothetical: they include the expansion of extremist
recruitment networks across North and East Africa, the proliferation of advanced
weaponry into conflict zones, and a greater likelihood of direct attacks on U.S.
personnel and regional allies.
Sanctions and rhetorical condemnation will not change this reality. A decisive
shift is needed — and that begins with removing al‑Burhan from power. Only then
can Sudan begin to chart a new path forward, one centered on a genuine
civilian-led government free from Muslim Brotherhood influence and Iranian
patronage.
Such a transition must be accompanied by a coordinated international effort that
addresses both Sudan's security challenges and its economic devastation. Beyond
the immediate threat posed by extremist groups and Iranian meddling, Sudan faces
a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Years of civil war and political dysfunction
have left millions displaced, industries shattered and infrastructure in ruins.
The Trump administration, drawing on the president's history of unconventional
diplomacy and deal-making, could play a pivotal role in this process. The
Abraham Accords demonstrated the ability to broker agreements that shift
regional dynamics through pragmatic, incentive-based negotiations. Applying this
approach to Sudan would involve several steps:
Working with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel to strengthen Sudan's
internal security forces, while ensuring they operate under robust civilian
oversight. This is essential to deny extremist groups safe haven and limit
Iran's ability to exploit Sudan as a proxy theater.
Encouraging U.S. businesses to invest in key Sudanese sectors — particularly
agriculture, energy, and telecommunications — once a stable civilian government
is in place. Facilitating Sudan's return to international financial markets and
providing targeted aid through the World Bank and IMF will be crucial to
reversing economic collapse.
Using American leverage to bring rival factions to the negotiating table,
fostering a consensus-driven transition that prioritizes national stability over
personal or factional power grabs. President Donald Trump's past diplomatic
breakthroughs suggest it could play a unique role in brokering such an
agreement.
But none of these initiatives is possible while al‑Burhan remains in power. His
regime has become a conduit for Iranian ambitions and a shield for Muslim
Brotherhood-linked gunmen. So long as he rules, efforts to rebuild Sudan's
economy, restore its sovereignty, and protect regional security will fail.
It is time for the international community to make a clean break from past
policies of accommodation and half-measures. Sudan deserves a future led by
genuine civilian leadership, one that rejects Islamist agendas and Iranian
interference. The Sudanese people have suffered too long from warlords,
ideological extremists, and foreign meddling. They deserve a real chance at
democratic governance, economic revival and peace.
America and its partners cannot afford to treat al‑Burhan as a legitimate
interlocutor. His removal is the precondition for any viable path toward
stability, security, and reconstruction. The stakes are high: the future of
Sudan, the security of critical trade routes, and the broader fight against
extremism and Iranian expansionism all hang in the balance. Now is the moment
for decisive action and Trump's unparalleled negotiating skills.
*Robert Williams is based in the United States.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
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or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Netanyahu must be
pushed to end Gaza war immediately
Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/July 01, 2025
US President Donald Trump has called on Israel and Hamas to embrace a deal that
will end the war in Gaza and return all Israeli hostages. He said last Friday
that he believes a deal could be reached within a week. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu also hinted that the prospects of an agreement were strong.
The Israeli army has reportedly said all military objectives have been achieved
and that the time for a diplomatic solution has come. Tens of thousands of
Israelis have returned to the streets to pressure the government to conclude a
deal.
And yet, there is a foreboding sense of deja vu clouding the atmosphere days
after an uneasy truce was reached between Iran and Israel. Since Oct. 7, 2023,
Israel has succeeded in upsetting the regional geopolitical order in its favor.
Netanyahu has utilized the Gaza war to secure a range of strategic gains across
the region. But now, amid the euphoria, he finds himself in a position where he
is pressured domestically, regionally and internationally to end the Gaza
carnage
The 12-day Israel-Iran war was a game-changer. For Trump, the US intervention
was tantamount to a great victory that ended Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. But for
Netanyahu, the great strategic gains his war machine secured in Lebanon, Syria,
Yemen and now Iran are not enough. Ending the Gaza war will open a proverbial
Pandora’s box for him. Yes, he has changed the geopolitical realities of the
Middle East. Iran has been humbled and its proxies hamstrung. Syria has a new
regime that is open to ending hostilities with Tel Aviv, while a humbled
Hezbollah is being pressured to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese army. What
more can Netanyahu ask for? The reality is that all such gains mean nothing if
they do not serve the Israeli far right’s grand scheme: reoccupy Gaza and
displace its inhabitants, annex the West Bank and enforce a humiliating
political deal on the Palestinians.
With Iran badly hurt and side-stepped, Israel has run out of militant enemies.
The Iranian leaders will have to reconsider their regional policies, rearrange
their national priorities and try to reengage with the rest of the world,
particularly the US. The Iranian public will eventually renew their demands for
genuine economic, social and political reforms. Iran’s regional dominance will
never be reclaimed.
For Netanyahu, the great strategic gains his war machine secured in Lebanon,
Syria, Yemen and now Iran are not enough
That leaves Israel as the primary regional power. That is, after all, what the
new Middle East means for Netanyahu and his cronies. Keeping Gaza on fire will
serve several purposes. It will delay any investigation into the Oct. 7
calamity, which would end in assigning blame for the worst intelligence failure
in Israeli history. It will mean Netanyahu does not have to call an early
election, one that his party is likely to lose. And it will delay the verdict in
his graft trial, protecting him from a possible jail term.
But there are other objectives behind waging war on Gaza, even when the Israeli
army admits it has run out of military goals. The war has become a blackmail
tool to secure political gains for Israel, such as expanding the Abraham
Accords. The war has given Netanyahu’s far-right government the momentum to
clamp down on the West Bank, expropriate lands, destroy refugee camps, expel
UNRWA and weaken the Palestinian Authority. Such goals are known to Washington
and other Western governments. But for these governments to look the other way
while the Israeli army intensifies its genocidal war on Gaza is inexcusable and
shameful. Only Netanyahu stands to benefit from the wanton killing of civilians
in Gaza. Only he refuses to allow humanitarian aid to enter while tens of
thousands of Gazans are on the verge of starvation. Only the Israeli prime
minister ignores Hebrew press reports that the Israeli army is shooting at tens
of aid seekers on a daily basis as they try to get lifesaving food from an
agency that he created and funded.
Trump has lauded Netanyahu, a wanted war criminal, and has even said that he
wants his corruption trial to end. He has invited him to the White House in July
without underlining the need to stop the war in Gaza as a condition. This may
very well be Israel’s regional moment for many good reasons. But for Israel to
emerge as the regional bully, many countries will and should be worried. Those
countries should be thinking that, while humbling Iran might be a good thing,
having Israel emerge as the primary regional power is even worse.Not once did
Netanyahu link his new Middle East vision to ending decades of conflict with the
Palestinians
Not once did Netanyahu link his new Middle East vision to ending decades of
conflict with the Palestinians. Not once did he offer the Palestinians anything.
His approach to Gaza is one of extermination or displacement. His view of the
West Bank is even worse. He sees no future for the PA, only complete annexation
and an end to the dream of a Palestinian state. Trump must become sensitive to
the national security requirements of his Arab allies. At the center of these
demands is a just and lasting settlement to the Palestinian tragedy. Netanyahu’s
dystopian vision sees the displacement of all Palestinians from their native
lands. He believes in a “Greater Israel” that requires occupying all of
historical Palestine, in addition to lands belonging to sovereign Arab states.
The Israel-Iran war may turn out to be the last major regional war with the
Israel-Palestine conflict as its root cause. But the emerging Israel that
Netanyahu now leads cannot afford to be without wars. It even looks suspiciously
at countries with which it has a peace treaty, like Jordan and Egypt, while
extremist lawmakers openly claim territories in these countries as theirs. Trump
is in a position to bring Netanyahu back to reality. Now that Israel has
achieved all these strategic gains, it must also be ready to accommodate the
concerns of Israel’s neighbors. Topping these concerns is ending the genocide in
Gaza and offering the Palestinians a path toward an independent state of their
own. That will be a tough sell. But only Trump can restrain a euphoric Netanyahu
at this stage. If everything else fails, the world will continue to nonchalantly
watch the killing fields in Gaza, while a megalomaniacal Netanyahu carries on
with liquidating the Palestinians and their cause.
** Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. X:
@plato010
Europe’s lifeline to Palestine will not fix its bleeding
economy
Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/July 01, 2025
The European Commission’s allocation last month of a €202 million ($238 million)
aid package to support the Palestinian Authority and the UN Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees comes as a rare moment of good news amid a sea of
economic despair and political paralysis in Palestine. But while welcome, the
European aid barely scratches the surface of a deepening fiscal crisis,
exacerbated by both internal dysfunction and relentless external pressure, chief
among them the destructive policies of the current Israeli government.
Of the total package, €150 million is earmarked for supporting the PA in
providing essential services, from teachers’ salaries to public healthcare and
civil administration. That might seem like a lifeline, but it is a frayed rope
that risks snapping under the weight of political strings and mounting debt.
Moayad Afaneh, an economist and adviser to several Palestinian governments, has
been reported as saying that the aid is not a “breakthrough,” but rather it is
part of a larger EU commitment of €300 million for 2025, which is trickling
through at a rate of just €20 million a month — only enough to pay a fraction of
public servants’ wages. Most PA employees currently receive only about 35
percent of their salaries.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, newly sworn in on June
19, struck a cautious tone, saying that the EU package partially covers the gap
in the Palestinian treasury. “Our treasury is suffering extremely due to the
unlawful decision by the Israeli finance minister to withhold funds collected on
our behalf,” she said.
These funds — taxes on goods entering the Occupied Territories through
Israeli-controlled ports — are a key pillar of the Palestinian economy. Under
the 1994 Paris Protocol, Israel is obligated to transfer these customs and VAT
revenues to the PA. But in recent years, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has
chosen to withhold a significant portion of these funds, citing opposition to PA
stipends paid to the families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel.It
might help pay off the salary backlog, but it cannot stem the tide of an economy
that is collapsing under siege
This Israeli financial chokehold is not a new tactic, but it is being wielded
with renewed cruelty. Smotrich’s decisions are crippling the PA’s ability to
operate, even at a bare minimum level. Most dangerously, he last month refused
to renew a banking waiver that enabled financial transactions between
Palestinian and Israeli banks, threatening to paralyze already-strained
Palestinian financial institutions. To be clear, this is not just an economic
dispute. It is a calculated form of collective punishment, wielded not only
against the PA but against millions of Palestinians who rely on public services,
employment and stability. In an already volatile environment — one in which the
war in Gaza has reignited flames of violence across the West Bank — such
financial strangulation is akin to throwing fuel on the fire.
Palestinian businessman Samir Hulileh, a former Cabinet secretary, stressed that
the financial crisis is as much political as it is economic. A high-profile
Saudi-French UN conference, in which Riyadh and others were expected to announce
renewed aid, was last month postponed due to Israel’s war with Iran.
So, Europe’s €202 million must be seen in this sobering context. It might help
pay off the salary backlog, but it cannot stem the tide of an economy that is
collapsing under siege. Nor can it address the deep structural problems within
the Palestinian political apparatus itself. The EU and Arab countries correctly
conditioned aid on reforms: governance improvements, anticorruption measures
and, crucially, leadership succession. The appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh as
vice president to President Mahmoud Abbas in April was one such step. But
without elections or the meaningful rejuvenation of Palestinian institutions,
the PA remains politically stagnant and increasingly disconnected from the
people it claims to serve. Meanwhile, the violence on the ground is escalating.
Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank — often coordinated or shielded by the
Israeli military — have intensified in both frequency and brutality. At least
four Palestinians were killed last month alone, including three in Kafr Malik,
northeast of Ramallah, on June 25, when settlers opened fire on villagers.
Despite five settlers being arrested, all were released without charge. More
than 80 such attacks reportedly occurred in the space of a week — many involving
arson, destruction of property and physical assaults.
The Palestinian economy is buckling under the weight of inflation, liquidity
imbalances and currency distortions
Al-Sheikh has appealed for urgent international intervention and the UN has
expressed grave concern, calling on Israel to protect civilians and hold
perpetrators accountable. But words are not enough. The international community
cannot remain a passive observer while armed settlers terrorize Palestinian
communities with impunity in areas like Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley,
regions long targeted for forced displacement.
At the same time, the Palestinian economy is buckling under the weight of
inflation, liquidity imbalances and currency distortions. The Israeli society’s
shift toward digital payments has left Palestinian banks overwhelmed with
physical shekels, while Palestinians themselves remain largely cash-reliant.
Price disparities are further distorting the market: cigarettes and gasoline are
cheaper in the West Bank than in Israel, spurring cross-border cash purchases
that deepen economic instability. All this unfolded as the US Supreme Court
ruled that lawsuits against the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization
could proceed in American courts, adding yet another financial and legal threat
to an already beleaguered government. So, while Europe’s €202 million package is
certainly appreciated — and desperately needed — it must not become a substitute
for sustained international political engagement. Nor should it obscure the core
truth: the PA is not merely mismanaged or inefficient, it is besieged —
politically, economically and now physically.
True resilience for Palestine will not come from short-term aid alone, but from
ending the deliberate policies of economic sabotage, settler violence and
diplomatic marginalization that are bleeding the Palestinian people of hope.
If Europe, the US and the Arab world want to see a stable and peaceful region,
they must move beyond charity and toward accountability. That means confronting
Israeli policies head-on and upholding the international agreements and laws
they so often invoke.
Without justice, no amount of aid will bring lasting peace.
**Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist. He is the author of
“State of Palestine NOW: Practical and Logical Arguments for the Best Way to
Bring Peace to the Middle East.” X: @daoudkuttab
Democracies rediscover the importance of bread, housing and a decent life
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 01, 2025
The rise of Zohran Mamdani, who last week won the Democratic mayoral primary in
New York City, the largest and most impressive city in the US, has jolted the
American public out of their slumber, which had seemed endless since Donald
Trump entered the White House. To avoid drawing hasty conclusions, we must
acknowledge that this young Afro-Asian Muslim who openly identifies as a
socialist has only won a single round. Just one round in the fierce battle that
the moderate and progressive wings of Western democracies are waging with the
rising far right in its conservative, fascist and racist iterations across
Europe and its control over the world’s two largest democracies: India and the
US. On these pages, I have written about what a university professor of mine
once told me: If the 20th century was the century of ideology, the 21st is the
century of technology. His claim is that the incredible pace of technological
progress in our era will, in practice, solve many of the economic and
ideological struggles that once pushed humanity to develop theories and abstract
solutions. Of course, we cannot fully endorse or entirely reject this claim just
yet. We are only a quarter of the way through the 21st century and technological
progress continues at a truly astonishing pace. Achievements and discoveries
that once took centuries or generations are now emerging in months, not years.
Even in Western democracies that have long found comfort in the stability of
their institutions, everything is changing
The whole is no longer what it was, and it will never again be what it is today,
given the pace of economic shifts, innovations, shifts in professions, evolving
beliefs and interests, the tremors shaking the structures of societies and their
interactions, and the limbo that politics and value systems have entered. Our
societies, all of them, are intellectually teetering between extremism and
counterextremism, and between isolationism and the collapse of barriers to
invasions that had stood in their way regardless of pretext. In short, these are
uncertain times. And the wisest among us are those who place no bets, believe no
one’s rhetoric and take no risks backing any political project. Even in Western
democracies that have long found comfort in the stability of their institutions,
unlike our own “young” states in the so-called Third World, everything is
changing before our eyes and the eyes of their citizens.
The very notion of the nation state, although it seemed firmly entrenched and
secure after the end of the Cold War, is now threatened by populist and racist
politics. The Ukraine war has sparked immense fear across Europe, which has
become terrified of a power that is still nostalgic for the era of czars and red
banners. Meanwhile, the UK’s exit from the EU was driven by the far-right
isolationists who now threaten to dethrone the country’s two major parties, the
Conservatives and Labour, with the rising proto-fascist isolationists well
placed to replace them. At the same time, a resurgence of the Labour left seems
to be on the cards, as the credibility of the current Labour government
declines. The state of affairs in Britain is part of a broader pattern across
Western Europe: moderate forces on the right and left are in decline, while the
extreme right and, to a lesser extent, the radical left are gaining ground.
This is also obvious in France, where Marine Le Pen’s far-right and Jean-Luc
Melenchon’s left-wing movements have gained ground. In Germany, it can be seen
in the rising popularity of the Alternative for Germany party, while Italy’s
Giorgia Meloni is the leader of the Brothers of Italy party. In Portugal and
Spain, the far right (Chega and Vox, respectively) are embracing the legacies of
the fascist regimes, led by dictators Antonio Salazar and Francisco Franco, that
imposed their rule for decades.
With its strategy for reversing the challenge posed by the far right’s upward
trajectory, the traditional moderate left is losing its soul and ability to
resist. Frankly, this outcome is not surprising at all. The most these
anti-far-right forces can hope for is to build fragile, ad hoc alliances that
have no credibility, principles or platform.
Yes, all the moderate Western left has done is evade honest conversations, buy
time with empty rhetoric and seek to contain the rise of the far right, whose
fervor drives its pursuit of wiping out its opponents entirely. The result? The
far right is now dictating the political agenda and determining priorities.
In Britain, for instance, the far-right Reform UK party recently surpassed the
ruling Labour Party in opinion polls. This is a telling message and a dire
warning delivered to a party that has sacrificed its core principles in an
attempt to appease powerful lobbies and temporarily broaden its appeal in the
face of a populist force willing to ride any wave.
Mamdani has shown his party that victory is impossible without clear principles,
no matter how risky sticking to them may seem. In the US, the Democratic Party
has made serious mistakes, dragging its feet far too long and trying to cash in
on empty slogans.
Democrats understood the nature of the battle they faced in 2016 against Trump
and his populist “Make America Great Again” base. However, they have committed
two grave errors. First, they underestimated the far-right’s capacity for
stirring anti-immigrant sentiment among unskilled workers and the Rust Belt.
Second, they ignored the material demands at the heart of this struggle. The US’
most prominent left-wing politician, Sen. Bernie Sanders, did recognize this
problem. He tried to appeal to disaffected working-class voters and bring them
back into the Democratic fold to ensure they did not become easy prey for Trump
and MAGA.
The Democrats repeated the same mistake later. This time, it was more egregious.
The unconditional support of Joe Biden’s administration for Benjamin Netanyahu
and his Gaza war cost the party’s 2024 candidate, Kamala Harris, tens of
thousands of votes from the left, as well as the votes of Muslims and Arab
Americans in key swing states … votes that could have gone her way, at least in
theory.
Mamdani may or may not win November’s mayoral race in New York — a city that
remains the hub of Jewish American life. Nonetheless, he has shown his party
that victory is impossible without clear principles, no matter how risky
sticking to them may seem.
Mamdani understands that the people of New York face urgent material crises that
need solutions, not the empty slogans of opportunists and domestic and foreign
lobbies that are amplified by Fox News and the like. Even in the century of
technology and virtual worlds, people still need bread, jobs, medicine,
employment and social security.
*Eyad Abu Shakra is managing editor of Asharq Al-Awsat,