English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 19/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;
whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 03/31-36:
“The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs
to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is
above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his
testimony. Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is
true. He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit
without measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his
hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son
will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.”
Titles For The
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on July 18-19/2025
The crimes committed by al-Julani and his ISIS thugs in Sweida—and the
disgraceful support he receives from Arab countries and media outlets—are both
deeply saddening and utterly reprehensible/Elias Bejjani/July 18/2025
The Nejmeh Square Theatrical Show: Directed by Abu Mustafa Berri, Starring 128
MP's Koumbars, and the Hypocrites of Sovereignty /Elias Bejjani/July 15/ 2025
Urgent Appeal for International Protection of the Druze in Syria’s Sweida
Province/Elias Bejjani/July 14/2025
Video Link to an Interview with Writer and Director Youssef Y. El-Khoury from
“Beirut 24″platform
Video Link: Interview with Former Minister and Professor Elie Salem, Hosted by
Journalist Antoine Saad
Lebanese army warns of security crackdown in wake of clashes in Syria’s Sweida
Jumblat calls for reason and wisdom in face of 'long' Sweida conflict
US Envoy to visit Lebanon next week with timeline for Hezbollah disarmament
BDL denies it wants to shut Al-Qard Al-Hasan, Hezbollah slams measures
Aoun, Berri reportedly put final touches on response to US paper
'Help, dad and mom are dying': Child pleads after Israeli strike on southern
home
Army urges Lebanese to show unity, protect civil peace
Israeli forces blow up two bulldozers in Mays al-Jabal incursion
Zoaiter and Oueidat refuse to appear before Bitar in port case
AMCD Condemns Massacre of the Druze in Syria
A Confederacy of Arms: Trading Disarmament for Power in Lebanon/Makram Rabah/Now
Lebanob/July 18/2027
Hezbollah Is a State within the State, Not Only “Heavy and Medium” Weapons/Hussain
Abdul-Hussain/Read in This Is Beirut/published on July 15/2025
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on July 18-19/2025
Israel agree ceasefire with Syria, allows Syrian troops limited access to
Sweida
Druze-Bedouin clashes flare up again after government forces pull out of
southern Syria
Israel says sending humanitarian aid to Druze in Syria
Syrian govt forces set to re-enter Sweida after renewed Druze-Bedouin clashes
Trump says more hostages to be released from Gaza shortly
Israeli military says missile launched from Yemen was intercepted
Merz tells Netanyahu he hopes for ‘speedy’ Gaza ceasefire
Hamas armed wing says Israel blocking ceasefire and hostage release talks
Clashes at West Bank march against settler outpost
Gaza civil defense agency says Israeli strikes kill 14
Pope urges Netanyahu to end ‘heartbreaking’ Gaza war in rare call after church
strike
Iraq makes ‘decisive findings’ over Israel-Iran war drone attacks
Australia delivers Abrams tanks to Ukraine for war with Russia
Titles For
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources
on July 18-19/2025
The West's Mainstream Media: Iran's New Mouthpiece/Robert Williams/Gatestone
Institute/July 18, 2025
The perils of peacemaking ...Sometimes, you need to give war a chance/Clifford
D. May/The Washington Times/July 18/2025
US getting creative in search for Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal/Luke Coffey/Arab
News/July 18, 2025
Will UK-France ‘one in, one out’ deal solve migration dilemma?/Mohamed Chebaro/Arab
News/July 18, 2025
Selected Tweets for 18 July/2025
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July
18-19/2025
The crimes committed by al-Julani and his ISIS thugs in Sweida—and the
disgraceful support he receives from Arab countries and media outlets—are both
deeply saddening and utterly reprehensible
Elias Bejjani/July 18/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/145329/
The criminality taking place in Syria’s Suwayda province is unacceptable.
Genocide is unacceptable. So is the humiliation of Druze religious leaders, the
shaving of their mustaches, the killing of civilians and unarmed individuals,
the waving of swords in the streets, the burning of a church, the so-called
jihadi invasions, and all other barbaric acts.
These are savage atrocities carried out by Al-Julani’s ISIS followers—disciples
of Al-Shara—who are funded and adapted by Erdogan and Qatar, along with all
branches of political Islam, both Sunni and Shiite. Regardless of how the names
and faces change, they are all cut from the same cloth, rooted in the ideology,
culture, and terrorism of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian mullahs.
In practice, what they are doing in the Syrian Suwayda province has nothing to
do with religion. These barbarians know nothing of faith; they only distort and
defile its image. Likewise, whatever Israel—or any other power—does, whether for
legitimate or illegitimate reasons, can never justify the barbaric crimes
committed by the factions of political Islam across the Middle East, especially
now in Suwayda.
What is both shameful and disgraceful is the blind bias shown by the majority of
major Arab media outlets—particularly those based in the Gulf—which have taken
the side of Al-Shara and his ISIS militants, driven by sectarian fanaticism that
ignores even the most basic rights of the Druze people in Suwayda. This blatant
display of religious bigotry reveals the depth of moral and humanitarian
collapse in these platforms.
As for the official statements issued by Arab governments—including Lebanon,
which remains under Iranian occupation through its jihadi proxy falsely named
Hezbollah—they have overwhelmingly focused on condemning what they term “Israeli
intervention,” employing nauseating, parroted populist rhetoric. These worn-out,
recycled slogans are tailor-made to fit the propaganda of the so-called “Axis of
Resistance,” while not a single word has been uttered about the genocide, forced
displacement, destruction, and systematic terror inflicted upon the Druze of
Suwayda. It is as if their blood is expendable, and their rights not even worthy
of token verbal solidarity.
In short, Al-Julani and his jihadi regime have proven to be “ISIS at its core”
in every sense of the phrase. Notably, despite extensive support from Arab
states—including Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia—as well as the United States,
international actors, and even Israel, Al-Julani has failed, and his regime
stands fully exposed. All the cosmetic efforts to rebrand him—the trimmed beard,
tailored suits, French ties, and Italian shoes—have done nothing to mask the
extremist truth.
Indeed, as the saying goes: He who grows up on something, grows old with it.
The Nejmeh Square Theatrical Show: Directed by
Abu Mustafa Berri, Starring 128 MP's Koumbars, and the Hypocrites of Sovereignty
Elias Bejjani/July 15/ 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/145241/
What took place today in Nejmeh Square was not a parliamentary session. It was a
farcical theatrical performance, produced and directed by the undisputed
mastermind of the Lebanese system — Nabih Berri, nicknamed "the Esteez" and "Abu
Mustafa" — who has effectively ruled Lebanon for four decades, manipulating its
power structures, controlling its tempo as he pleases, invoking “dialogue” one
day and “sectarian balance” the next, all under the banner of constitutional
thuggery.
The current Lebanese Parliament is entirely illegitimate. It was born of an
electoral law tailor-made by Hezbollah — imposed through force, fraud,
intimidation, and political manipulation — to guarantee the party’s monopoly
over Shiite representation and to tighten its grip on Lebanese decision-making.
This Frankenstein law meticulously distributed seats to the heads of political
parties "commercial corporations," especially those fraudulently posing as
"sovereign" and "independent." In truth, they are nothing more than Trojan
dolls, stripped of dignity and free will.
These same actors are the ones who legitimized the absurd innovation of “six
Diaspora MPs,” betraying the constitutional rights of the Lebanese Diaspora in
pursuit of more seats, all while appeasing Hezbollah and aiding in the cosmetic
polishing of the Iranian occupation’s image.
The chief among the “sovereign idols,” who received a hefty share of Christian
MPs, disgracefully accepted Hezbollah’s condition of not supporting any free
Shiite candidate. Until recently, he and his herd obediently repeated:
“Hezbollah liberated the South.”
“Our martyrs and Hezbollah’s martyrs are of equal status.”
“Hezbollah represents the honorable Shiite community.”
Meanwhile, his so-called pious advisor and media mouthpiece shamelessly begged
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. on television for an meeting with his master,
Another, younger and lesser “idol,” before “drinking the milk of lions,” dared
criticize Hezbollah only after its Israeli defeat. For years, he and his
secretary-general were regular guests in the southern suburbs, rejecting
international resolutions and repeating that Hezbollah’s arms are “a local issue
to be resolved internally.” They bartered their dignity through endless rounds
of “dialogue” and “understandings” with Hezbollah — futile rituals that only
served to re-legitimize the party of Satan and reinforce its stranglehold.
Then comes the dwarf idol, sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act for corruption,
and his Trojan Father in-law — both of whom handed the country to Hezbollah in
exchange for a phantom presidency. The General went so far as to belittle the
Lebanese Army from inside the “Mleeta Hezbollah Museum” and to glorify Iran’s
resistance and its Shiite proxy.
Let us not forget the parrot idol — blindly tethered to the “line” — who remains
ignorant of Maronite history, clings to the Assad dynasty and Hezbollah, and
continues to drown in the abyss of blind submission.
As for our ecclesiastical authorities... enough said. A pitiful mixture of
ignorance, weakness, betrayal, and political Iscariotism — unbecoming of
shepherds or apostles.
Amid all this moral decay, today’s theatrical show in Nejmeh Square unfolded
under the supervision of Abu Mustafa — Esteez Berri — who directed and assigned
roles to the 128 MP's Koumbars, all addicted to deception and submission.
Today’s parliamentary session was nothing more than another bland episode in a
tired play, meant to rebrand the idols of political party companies, mislead
public opinion, and distract the Lebanese — especially those fooled by hollow
slogans of "sovereignty" and "independence."
But the bitter truth remains: Lebanon is still occupied, and this Parliament
does not represent the will of the people — it represents the will of the
Iranian occupier.
This Parliament, this political system, and these faces... do not represent the
free people of Lebanon. They are their enemies.
The Lebanese people are hostages — subdued, betrayed — held captive by Hezbollah
and the corrupt ruling class it protects and enables.
Yet our firm belief remains: the day will come when the masks fall, and the
curtain rises on a new scene, one where governance truly serves the people — not
the occupier and his servants.
To all free Lebanese,
To those who still believe that Lebanon deserves freedom, sovereignty, and
dignity:
Enough illusions. Enough waiting for salvation from the same actors on the same
broken stage.
There is no salvation except through the complete downfall of this regime — the
regime of illegal arms, sectarian corruption, and shameful deals at the nation’s
expense.
This confrontation is no longer a choice — it is a duty.
A duty for every free conscience.
A duty for everyone who refuses servitude to Hezbollah and its idols in party
companies.
In the end, Lebanon is not represented by this parliament of extras.
It is represented by the martyrs, the heroes, the unknown guardians — and by
every voice that dared to say “No” to the occupation, in public or in secret, in
times of fear.
It is time for a genuine sovereign revolution, one that tears down the idols and
rebuilds the national temple on the foundation of liberty — not submission — on
the foundation of “Lebanon First,” not “Tehran First.”
Urgent Appeal for International Protection of the Druze in Syria’s Sweida
Province
Elias Bejjani/July 14/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/145187/
Alongside all those who believe in
freedom and the fundamental rights of Middle Eastern peoples—particularly their
right to live in peace and practice their religious beliefs freely without
repression, terrorism, or extermination—we condemn, in the strongest terms and
most resolute language, the systematic attacks and organized aggression being
waged against the Druze community in the southern Syrian province of Sweida.
These attacks are being orchestrated by the so-called “Authority of Ahmad Al-Shara,”
known as “Al-Jolani,” who stands at the head of an extremist religious regime no
different in ideology or eliminationist practices from ISIS itself.
It is now evident that what Al-Shar’a’s regime presents in the media as a “local
dispute” between the Druze of Sweida and neighboring Arab tribes is nothing more
than a blatant cover for a bloody military campaign launched by the new Islamist
regime to seize control of Jabal Al-Arab, disarm its people, crush their free
will, and forcibly subject them to a takfiri rule that considers all who differ
as “apostates” worthy of extermination.
The ongoing assaults on Sweida—using tanks, armed drones against civilians, road
blockades, and mass killings—represent yet another chapter in a long series of
bloody episodes. These include horrific massacres committed against Druze near
Damascus just months ago, the bombing of Saint Elias Church in Damascus, the
killing and wounding of dozens of worshipers, and a wave of systematic attacks
on Alawites, Christians, and other religious minorities.
In essence, what is happening today in Sweida is a prelude to a major massacre,
being carefully prepared under false “security” pretenses and with explicit
foreign backing—primarily from Turkey, the foremost patron of the Muslim
Brotherhood, and from Qatar, the principal financier of extremist takfiri
ideologies.
Faced with this catastrophic reality, we must raise our voices loudly and
urgently to demand the following:
*Immediate international protection for the Druze population in Sweida, through
the deployment of international observers and the establishment of UN-supervised
demilitarized zones to prevent any takfiri military intrusion into their
territory.
*Official recognition that the “Shara regime” is a radical, extremist, takfiri
Islamist authority, no less dangerous than the Taliban or ISIS. It adopts an
ideology that targets all non-hardline Sunni communities—chief among them the
Druze, whom it labels as apostates.
*Holding the international community—particularly the United States and the
European Union—accountable for their suspicious silence and implicit support for
this regime, under the pretext of “counterterrorism,” while the regime itself
practices terrorism in its ugliest and most brutal forms against minorities.
*Issuing a moral and humanitarian appeal to the State of Israel, given its
ethical and historical responsibility to protect Druze communities in the region
and prevent genocide in Jabal Al-Arab. The Israeli Defense Forces have
repeatedly shown that the security of Israel’s southern border includes the
protection of threatened communities on the other side. Sweida must not be an
exception.
*Calling on all moderate Arab nations—particularly Gulf states, which
regrettably have supported the Shar’a regime—to intervene immediately,
politically and humanely, to protect and save the Druze and other minorities
from the jihadist killing machine now being driven by Al-Shar’a and his
affiliates.
*It must be emphasized that the “Shara regime,” with all its local and foreign
takfiri factions, bears full responsibility for the bloodshed inflicted upon
Syrian Druze, Christian, and Alawite minorities since it took control of parts
of Syria. For this reason, it must be internationally prosecuted as a terrorist
authority committing religious cleansing and sectarian genocide.
We further stress that no matter how much cosmetic support or international and
regional backing is given to the Shar’a regime, it does not—and will not—change
the core truth of its takfiri, terrorist, and bloody nature.
In conclusion: There is an urgent need—both regionally
and internationally—to protect the Druze of Sweida and to intervene through all
available means to stop the massacre being carried out by the Shara regime.
Silence in the face of this crime makes one a direct accomplice.
Video Link to an Interview
with Writer and Director Youssef Y. El-Khoury from “Beirut 24″platform
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/145322/
“Lebanon Is Under Occupation, and the international mandate is the potential
solution”
The Political Class – the Entire System – Is in Alliance with Hezbollah
July 18, 2025
Writer and director Youssef Y. El-Khoury expressed deep frustration over
Lebanon’s current situation, which he described as one of foreign occupation. He
stated that the most viable solution is to return to the era of the
Mutasarrifate or to place Lebanon under a new international mandate.
According to El-Khoury, the four main occupying forces destroying Lebanon today
are:
1-The propagandist and mercenary media,
2-Hezbollah, which he labeled a criminal militia,
3-The ruling political system that has fully surrendered to Hezbollah,
4-The ignorant voices calling for federalism while Lebanon remains under
Hezbollah’s occupation—effectively offering this Iranian proxy a portion of the
country.
El-Khoury criticized the Minister of Information, describing him as completely
detached from the principles of freedom and democratic values.
El-Khoury also noted that the most recent municipal elections merely reinforced
Hezbollah’s weapons and control over its areas.
He firmly stated that if the Lebanese Army were to confront Hezbollah’s militia,
this would not constitute a civil war, but rather a confrontation with an
occupying force.
He further emphasized that Israel has already accomplished 80% of the mission to
dismantle Hezbollah’s arsenal, while the remaining 20% is a responsibility that
falls on the Lebanese state—a state that continues to neglect its national duty.
Video Link: Interview with
Former Minister and Professor Elie Salem, Hosted by Journalist Antoine Saad
July 18/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/145337/
In the first episode, Professor Elie Salem offers a rich overview of his
intellectual journey, shaped by his academic experiences in both Lebanon and the
United States. He shares insights from his encounters with prominent historical
figures such as Antoun Saadeh, Michel Aflaq, George Habash, Charles Malik, John
Foster Dulles, and Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Elias Bejjani’s Commentary:
A truly remarkable interview—like all the exceptional programs hosted by the
distinguished journalist Antoine Saad. The guest, Professor Elie Salem, was
equally outstanding.
Lebanese army warns of
security crackdown in wake of clashes in Syria’s Sweida
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/July 18, 2025
BEIRUT: The Lebanese army said on Friday that it “will not allow any breach of
security or violation of civil peace” amid fears that rising tensions in the
neighboring Syrian Arab Republic could spread to Lebanon. In a statement, the
army added that “overcoming this phase requires the unity and solidarity of the
Lebanese, awareness of the gravity of the situation, and their responsibility,
and refraining from taking any action that would have unintended consequences
for the security of the Lebanese.”Towns and villages in Mount Lebanon, home to
the Druze community, have witnessed attempts to block roads and assault Syrian
workers in recent days following the renewed clashes in Sweida, Syria.
President Joseph Aoun chaired a meeting of security leaders on Friday.
A military source told Arab News: “The security, military, and intelligence
agencies have taken the utmost caution and vigilance to thwart any attempt at
sedition within Lebanon.”Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke with Druze Sheikh Sami
Abi Al-Mona and praised his “responsible role in calming tensions, quelling
strife, and preserving civil peace in Lebanon,” according to Salam’s office.The
media office said the two sides stressed that “what is happening outside
Lebanon’s borders should not be turned into a source of internal incitement.”
An extraordinary meeting of the Druze Religious Council in Lebanon concluded
with former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt calling for “an
immediate ceasefire in Sweida in preparation for direct dialogue between the
Syrian state and local actors.”
Jumblatt added that “Jabal Al-Arab is an integral part of Syria.”He condemned
the Israeli attacks on Syria and Lebanon, and called for the “formation of an
investigation committee to uncover the crimes committed against the people of
Sweida and the Bedouins.”Al-Mona declared the council’s “full solidarity with
our people in Sweida, and with the wounded and injured as a result of the recent
unfortunate events.”He called on “everyone to reject any divisive tendency,” and
stressed “the need to adhere to the ceasefire agreement signed two days ago.”
Al-Mona denounced “the attack on Sunnis,” considering it a reaction. “The
council neither justifies nor accepts this type of action, whatever its
reasons,” he said. Al-Mona rejected any Israeli interference in Syrian affairs,
calling on the international community to open a transparent investigation into
the events and hold those responsible accountable. He also declared his
rejection of “the spread of strife to Lebanon.”The Grand Mufti of the Lebanese
Republic, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, the highest religious authority in the
Sunni sect, contacted Al-Mona, and both sides affirmed their “complete rejection
of being drawn into any inflammatory rhetoric or covering up any provocative
actions that would inflame sectarian tensions and give a false image of the
relationship between the two sects.”The two sides called for “avoiding falling
into the trap of strife” and emphasized their “rejection of any foreign
interventions and attacks that contribute to undermining the unity that has
always governed the historical relationship between the two sects.” Both called
on “the Syrian state, the religious sheikhs of Jabal Al-Arab, religious
authorities, religious figures, and tribes to work seriously and effectively to
bring about an immediate end to the ongoing violence and to expel the extremists
who, intentionally or unintentionally, contribute to the implementation of
suspicious plans.”
Jumblat calls for reason
and wisdom in face of 'long' Sweida conflict
Naharnet/July 19, 2025
Druze leader in Lebanon Walid Jumblat urged the Druze community to use reason
and wisdom before reacting and throwing accusations after clashes in Syria's
Sweida province spread to Lebanon. After an extraordinary meeting of the Druze
Council, Jumblat proposed ceasefire and dialogue, adding that Jabal al-Arab in
Sweida is an integral part of Syria and condemning Israeli attacks on Syria and
Lebanon. The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks
between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern
province of Sweida. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed
with the Druze militias, but also in some cases attacked civilians. The tensions
spread to Lebanon where Druze protesters were seen in videos insulting army
troops in Dahr al-Baydar, blocking roads and assaulting Syrian workers,
passersby and residents in several parts of Lebanon. Jumblat called for
restraint in Lebanon and warned against blocking roads. He said the Sweida
conflict would drag for a long time. "We are at the beginning of a very long
problem," he said.
US Envoy to visit Lebanon
next week with timeline for Hezbollah disarmament
Naharnet/July 19, 2025
U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack is currently holding consultations in New York and
will visit Lebanon next week, local al-Joumhouria newspaper said Friday.
According to the daily, Israel has told Barrack that it expects Hezbollah to
hand over its ballistic and hypersonic missiles before engaging in further
discussions. The new U.S. paper focused, according to the daily, on halting
hostilities for a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Lebanese-Israeli
conflict. It proposed a timeline for Hezbollah's disarmament. The deadline for
the government to announce its plan to disarm Hezbollah is August 1 and the the
plan must be completely implemented before the end of November. After the
complete disarmament of Hezbollah, the reconstruction of war-hit regions can
begin, the daily said. Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of more
than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have vowed a state
monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding Israel comply with a November
ceasefire. Israel has warned it will continue to strike until Hezbollah has been
disarmed. Barrack's visit next week would be his third. In previous visits the
diplomat asked Lebanese leaders to formally commit to disarming Hezbollah and
later said he was satisfied by the response of Lebanon's authorities to his
request.
BDL denies it wants to shut Al-Qard Al-Hasan, Hezbollah slams measures
Naharnet/July 19, 2025
The Central Bank has denied a media report that claimed it intends to shut down
the branches of the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association across
Lebanon. In remarks to Al-Jadeed TV, Central Bank sources said the report is
baseless and that the bank communicated with Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath television
to inform it that its report is unfounded. The report came after the Central
Bank issued a circular on Monday barring banks and brokerages from dealing with
Al-Qard Al-Hasan, described as Hezbollah’s financial arm. The Central Bank
prohibited all licensed financial institutions in Lebanon from dealing directly
or indirectly with unlicensed entities and listed Hezbollah's Al-Qard Al-Hassan
as an example. The bank had issued similar circulars in the past but this was
the first time it mentioned Al-Qard Al-Hassan by name. Hezbollah’s Loyalty to
Resistance parliamentary bloc meanwhile said “the measures taken by the Central
Bank and its governor against the Al-Qard Al-Hasan institution or against
Lebanese firms, entities and individuals who are on the unjust lists of U.S.
sanctions are a direct attack on the interests of our Lebanese society that
violates the constitution and the laws.”It accordingly warned that “using the
Central Bank as a tool to implement foreign policies and dictations against the
interests of Lebanese citizens” is a “dangerous blow to societal stability at a
time the country needs to avoid turbulence.”The bloc also stressed that Al-Qard
Al-Hasan is “a non-profit charitable organization that serves Lebanese citizens
regardless of their affiliations” and that “it will continue its work and
perform its duties to the fullest extent possible.”The U.S. Department of the
Treasury imposed sanctions on Al-Qard Al-Hasan in 2007, saying Hezbollah used it
as a cover to manage "financial activities and gain access to the international
financial system."Al-Qard Al-Hassan, founded in 1983, describes itself as a
charitable organization that provides loans to people according to Islamic
principles that forbid interest. Israel struck some of its branches during its
war with Hezbollah last year. Operating as a not-for-profit organization under a
licence granted by the Lebanese government, it has more than 30 branches, mostly
in predominantly Shiite Muslim areas of Beirut and its suburbs, southern Lebanon
and the Bekaa Valley. A Lebanese official said the Central Bank move had been in
the works for months, and reflected U.S. pressure on Lebanon to take action
against Hezbollah's financial wing. Nassib Ghobril, chief economist at Byblos
Bank, said Lebanese banks were already careful to avoid dealing with Al-Qard Al-Hasan
because it is under U.S. sanctions.
Aoun, Berri reportedly put final touches on response to US paper
Naharnet/July 19, 2025
President Joseph Aoun met Friday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to put the
final touches on Lebanon's response to a U.S. request to disarm Hezbollah, Saudi
news interactive channel al-Hadath said. Aoun who took office in the aftermath
of more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah had vowed a
state monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding Israel comply with a November
ceasefire. Israel has warned it will continue to strike until Hezbollah has been
disarmed. U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack asked Lebanese leaders to formally commit to
disarming Hezbollah in a proposal that reportedly focused on halting hostilities
for a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Lebanese-Israeli conflict, with
a deadline for a complete disarmament of Hezbollah before the end of November.
After that, the reconstruction of war-hit regions can begin, al-Joumhouria
newspaper said Friday.
'Help, dad and mom are dying': Child pleads after Israeli
strike on southern home
Naharnet/July 19, 2025
“I beg you, come help me! Dad and mom are dying! Dad and mom are dying! Dad and
mom are dying! Come help me quickly!” says a toddler girl in an audio recording
that went viral after a deadly Israeli strike overnight on a house in the
southern town of Qabrikha.
The strike killed the father on the spot as the mother succumbed later to her
wounds. The child survived but was wounded. In an interview with Al-Mayadeen,
the girl said she was playing on her phone inside the house when the first
missile struck. “I waited until the dust subsided. I thought I was in a dream. I
thought that I was asleep. I started pinching myself as hard as I can in order
to wake up from my dream, but I couldn’t. In the end, when I heard the second
strike, I knew that it was not a dream and that it came from Israel,” the girl
added. “I ducked under a wooden table and started praying to God to protect me.
I pretended to be dead so that the enemy doesn’t strike again. When the dust
subsided, I went outside to check on mom and dad and I found my mom lying on the
ground,” the girl said. “I shouted, ‘Mom!’, and she said, ‘Zeinab’, and I
stopped hearing her breaths, while my father wasn’t breathing at all,” the girl
added. She then explains how she took her parents’ cellphones and how an
ambulance arrived on the scene. “I shouted as hard as I can to the ambulance,
because I wanted to rescue myself. I wanted to live because I’m still a little
child. I want to live my life and my childhood and I don’t want to die. I want
to live my life like other children,” the girl added, describing her slain
parents as “the best father and mother in the world.”The Israeli army has not
commented on the strike but it has repeatedly bombed Lebanon, claiming that it
is targeting Hezbollah operatives and military sites, despite a November
ceasefire that sought to end over a year of hostilities. Under the agreement,
Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, about 30
kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese Army and
United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region. Israel was
required to fully withdraw its troops from the country but has kept them in five
places it deems strategic.
Army urges Lebanese to show unity, protect civil peace
Naharnet/July 19, 2025
The Lebanese Army said Friday that it will not allow “any security breach or
harm against civil peace,” urging the Lebanese not to “carry out any act that
can have uncalculated repercussions on security” amid the current local and
regional developments.
“Lebanon is currently facing a host of extraordinary circumstances, most notably
the continuation of attacks and violations of national sovereignty by the
Israeli enemy, in addition to the challenges of preserving security inside the
country, controlling the border, and the complicated developments in the
region,” the army said in a statement.“The army will not allow any security
breach or harm against civil peace, and it also stresses that overcoming this
period requires the unity of the Lebanese and their solidarity and awareness of
the gravity of this period,” the army added, calling on citizens “not to carry
out any act that can have uncalculated repercussions on the security of the
Lebanese.”Several Lebanese areas had witnessed road-blocking protests and
attacks on Syrian passersby in the wake of the deadly clashes between Druze
fighters and Sunni forces and tribesmen in the Druze-majority Syrian city of
Sweida.The northern city of Tripoli also witnessed a demo supportive of the new
Islamist rulers of Syria.
Israeli forces blow up two bulldozers in Mays al-Jabal
incursion
Naharnet/July 19, 2025
Israeli forces made an incursion at dawn Friday into the center of the southern
border town of Mays al-Jabal, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Israeli military vehicles and ATVs passed through inhabited homes as troops blew
up two bulldozers that were removing the rubble of houses destroyed in the
latest war, NNA said. The Israeli forces later withdrew to their side of the
border, the agency added. The Israeli army had said on July 9 that Israeli
troops had entered southern Lebanon days earlier to dismantle alleged
infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, describing the incursion as “special,
targeted operations” to prevent Hezbollah from “reestablishing itself in the
area.”It claimed the ground incursion had been launched based on “intelligence
information and the identification of Hezbollah weapons and terrorist
infrastructure in several areas of southern Lebanon.”
Zoaiter and Oueidat refuse to appear before Bitar in port
case
Naharnet/July 19, 2025
Former public works and transport minister Ghazi Zoaiter on Friday failed to
appear before Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, the National
News Agency said. Zoaiter’s lawyer Samer al-Hajj, however, attended the session,
NNA added.
“In light of Zoaiter’s failure to show up, the judicial investigator postponed
taking a decision against him until the issuance of the indictment,” the agency
said. Former state prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat had on Thursday refused to receive
a subpoena summoning him to interrogation before Bitar on July 21, calling the
later “ineligible and lacking jurisdiction.”In a written response, Oueidat
considered the subpoena as null and void and said Bitar lacks “legitimacy.”During
his term as state prosecutor, Oueidat had charged Bitar for "rebelling against
the judiciary" and slapped him with a travel ban.
Oueidat said that he charged Bitar in order to "prevent sedition." He also
summoned Bitar for questioning. Moreover, Oueidat ordered the release of all
suspects detained in connection with the deadly 2020 port blast. "Security
forces' enforcement of the state prosecutor's order to release the detainees
will be a coup against the law," Bitar told al-Jadeed at the time. The detainees
did walk free after Oueidat’s decision. "Only the judicial investigator has the
right to issue release orders and accordingly Stat Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat's
decision has no legal value," Bitar added. Bitar had resumed work on the port
blast investigation after a 13-month hiatus, charging several high-level
officials, including Oueidat, over the blast. The August 4, 2020 explosion, one
of history’s biggest non-nuclear blasts, killed more than 220 people, injured
thousands and devastated swathes of the Lebanese capital.
The explosion was caused by the detonation of hundreds of tons of poorly-stored
ammonium nitrate fertilizer following a blaze. Security sources initially
suggested welding work could have started the fire that triggered the blast, but
experts have since dismissed the theory as unlikely and an attempt to shift the
blame off high-level failings. The probe stalled two years ago after Hezbollah
accused Bitar of bias and demanded his dismissal, and after officials named in
the investigation filed a flurry of lawsuits against him. The resumption of work
comes with Hezbollah's influence weakened after its recent war with Israel and
follows the election of a Lebanese president after a more than two-year vacancy.
President Joseph Aoun on Thursday told a delegation from the families of the
Beirut port blast victims that he has a “clear commitment” to “unveil the full
truth” and “hold accountable all those who caused this tragedy.”“This is the
path to pull our country out of the darkness of corruption and negligence,” Aoun
added. “From now on, the judiciary will take its course, the guilty will be put
on trial and the innocent will be acquitted,” Aoun pledged.
AMCD Condemns Massacre of
the Druze in Syria
July 18, 2025
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy unequivocally condemns the wanton
slaughter of innocent Druze, Christian, and moderate Sunni civilians by jihad
forces in Syria. It has been reported that between 250 and 600 people were
killed over the last few days by Syrian Armed Forces and the General Security
Service (along with local Bedouins) in the traditional Druze area of Suwayda and
southern Damascus suburbs. This is a repeat of the massacre of Alawites which
took place in March, but on an even larger scale. The interim President of
Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has deep ties with jihad militia groups including
al-Qaeda, has done nothing to stop the violence, and instead has condemned
Israel for its efforts to stop the bloodshed and protect the Druze by carrying
out airstrikes on government forces – forces supposedly under his control.
Father Toni Butros, representative of the Greek Catholic Church in Sweida,
issued the following statement: “We have not left our homeland—we are staying
here in Sweida. As Christians and Greek Catholics, we stand in full solidarity
with our Druze brothers and sisters as they face these horrific terrorist
attacks.” AMCD calls on Muhammed bin Salman, the crown
prince of Saudi Arabia and Mohamed bin Zayed, President of the United Arab
Emirates, to intervene. The massacre of minorities in Syria must end!
A Confederacy of Arms: Trading
Disarmament for Power in Lebanon
Makram Rabah/Now
Lebanob/July 18/2027
The debate over disarming Iranian-backed forces in Lebanon persists, yet
the Lebanese state continues to shirk its responsibility to establish clear
mechanisms—or even a timeline—for asserting its sovereignty. This sovereignty,
often cited diplomatically, is in reality synonymous with disarming Hezbollah,
as outlined in the revised United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. The
continued framing of Lebanon’s arms crisis as an abstract or intractable problem
distracts from the core issue: the deliberate effort by Lebanon’s dominant
Shiite political forces—namely Hezbollah and its partner, the Amal Movement—to
maintain their weapons not for national defense, but to consolidate control over
state resources without assuming full accountability for the collapse of the
state and its institutions. Hezbollah’s arsenal is no longer a “resistance
weapon” or perhaps it never was—it has morphed into an instrument of governance
outside the confines of the state, one that enforces political dominance without
transparency or checks.
A more effective and honest approach to dealing with Hezbollah and its allies is
not to plead for disarmament but to confront them politically—openly demanding a
clear set of political “asks” in exchange for relinquishing their weapons. This
would cut through the deadly stalling tactics that have long defined Hezbollah’s
relationship with the state. It is no longer logical or sustainable to treat
Hezbollah as a national exception beyond reproach, especially when the fate of
the republic hangs on its unilateral decisions.
When Hezbollah’s supporters—and at times, Amal’s—speak of the need for
“guarantees” before disarmament, they are not referring to protections against
Israeli aggression. What they seek, instead, are guarantees that they will not
lose their political and financial privileges once they surrender their arms. In
other words, they aim to negotiate a deal that preserves their entitlements
while giving up the tools that enabled them—at the expense of the state. This
outlook reduces Lebanon not to a unified national entity but to a spoils system
distributed among sectarian power centers.
This dynamic was clearly understood by Tom Barrack, U.S. President Donald
Trump’s envoy, who attempted to reframe Hezbollah—not as a terrorist group, as
it is officially designated by the U.S., but as a political actor worthy of
negotiation. During a recent visit, Barrack reportedly met with Hezbollah
officials, signaling that cooperation might lead to the group’s removal from the
sanctions list—similar to what occurred with Syria’s former adversaries in the
jihadist camp. The danger here lies in reducing Hezbollah’s weapons to a
negotiable commodity in international diplomacy, disconnected from Lebanon’s
national project of state-building.
Ironically, Lebanon’s experience with armed groups during the civil war was in
some ways more transparent. At the time, the Lebanese left developed a clear
political platform that included constitutional reforms as the price for giving
up arms and leveraging Palestinian military power. The left’s weapons were, at
least nominally, part of a broader strategy for structural change.
In the case of the Druze, their leaders—political, feudal, and
religious—presented a unified front during the Mountain War, offering a document
known as the “Druze Memorandum,” which called for redressing historical
grievances and demanded political reform. Their arms were thus framed as a means
to an end, not the end itself. This formed the basis of a negotiation process
that eventually fed into the Taif Accord, which ended the civil war. Hezbollah’s
arms, however—politically overseen by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri—are not
backed by any clear political “Shiite memorandum.” Instead, Hezbollah deploys a
strategy of ambiguity: invoking Lebanon’s constitution when under pressure, and
bending its institutions to serve its partisan objectives during times of calm.
There is no reform plan. No serious program of governance. Only a suspended
arsenal looming above the republic, activated at will and deactivated when
convenient. Allowing Hezbollah and its orbit to retain their weapons is
dangerous. But even more perilous is continuing to hold the Lebanese political
system hostage to sectarian adventurism. The last two decades have proven that
the experiment of Shiite political hegemony has failed to deliver anything
beyond paralysis and bankruptcy. It is a de facto authority that has no national
project—only the preservation of deadlock, waiting for a foreign-brokered deal
to reassign regional influence.
What makes Hezbollah’s arms particularly destabilizing—unlike the weapons held
by other sects during the civil war—is their explicit tie to an external agenda.
They are not rooted in Lebanese self-preservation but in Iran’s projection of
power. The consequences of this foreign tethering have been most brutally felt
by Lebanon’s Shiites themselves, especially those living in the devastated
south.The formula is now stark: There can be no state as long as there are arms
outside it. And there can be no rescue of the republic as long as a parallel
state thrives within it. Every delay in dismantling this duality widens the gap
between a failing Lebanon and the Lebanon that could still rise from its ruins.
**This article original appeared in Nidaa al-Watan
**Makram Rabah is the managing editor at Now Lebanon and an Assistant Professor
at the American University of Beirut, Department of History. His book Conflict
on Mount Lebanon: The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory (Edinburgh
University Press) covers collective identities and the Lebanese Civil War. He
tweets at @makramrabah
Hezbollah Is a State within the State, Not Only “Heavy and Medium” Weapons
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Read in This Is Beirut/published on July 15/2025
In policy, simplicity is valuable; naiveté is catastrophic. Lebanon has by now
diluted UNSCR 1701 from dismantling Hezbollah’s militia, arms production, and
illicit funding to merely surrendering “heavy and medium” weapons, or as U.S.
Envoy Tom Barrack frames it: Hezbollah must hand over weapons that threaten
Israel. Such oversimplification misses the root issue: Hezbollah’s very
existence as a state within a state is an existential threat to the Lebanese
state.
Hezbollah’s problem isn’t just its arsenal but also its ideology and actions. As
an Iranian proxy, it rejects Lebanon’s nationhood. Its late leader, Hassan
Nasrallah, once declared himself “a soldier” in the army of Iran’s Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei.
Viewing itself as part of a transnational Shia nation, Hezbollah disregards
borders, intervening in Syria’s civil war to “defend” Shia shrines and in
conflicts in Iraq, Yemen, and most recently, Israel—tying the ending of its war
to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Unlike political parties, which Barrack imagines Hezbollah could become, the
Iranian proxy ignores Lebanon’s national interests, dragging the country into
foreign wars.
Hezbollah’s second major issue is its parallel state structure. Since Syria’s
withdrawal in 2005, Hezbollah has dominated Lebanon through coercion, including
assassinations and character-smearing campaigns.
To maintain control, Hezbollah doesn’t need “weapons that threaten Israel.”
Personal arms, backed by a well-funded command-and-control structure, suffice to
subjugate Lebanon.
Hezbollah also runs transnational networks fueling narcotics, money laundering,
and terrorism, making Lebanon a pariah state. Even without “heavy” weapons,
these activities persist, undermining Lebanon’s sovereignty and global standing.
Disarming Hezbollah’s militia is only half the battle; dismantling its criminal
networks is equally critical. Hezbollah’s transformation into a “normal”
political party requires more than surrendering its arms.
Hezbollah is often mistaken for a “normal political party” due to its
second-largest bloc in Lebanon’s 128-member parliament. Yet, the Nazi Party’s
electoral success in Weimar Germany didn’t legitimize it; elections in Lebanon’s
non-liberal system similarly prove little.
Hezbollah and its ally, Amal, claim to represent all 27 Shia seats, but this
control stems from suppressing rivals in Shia-dominated districts. Opponents,
barred from campaigning, cannot challenge their grip. Election laws, crafted by
Hezbollah and Amal, cement this dominance—despite 17 percent of Shia voters
opposing them in 2022, they secured no seats. If U.S. Envoy Barrack views
Hezbollah’s parliamentary presence as proof of its political legitimacy,
disarming its militia and dismantling its illicit state would reveal its true
nature.
Some compare Hezbollah’s potential delisting to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in
Syria, delisted as a Foreign Terrorist Organization not for reforming but for
becoming Syria’s de facto state. Lebanon, however, has an elected parliament,
president, and government, however flawed by non-liberal elections.
Hezbollah’s state-within-a-state status undermines the Lebanese system, and its
parliamentary facade must not obscure the need to dissolve its parallel
structures. Unlike HTS, which filled a vacuum in Syria, Hezbollah sucks all the
oxygen that the Lebanese require to breathe and live.
A nation can have only one state. Lebanon must choose: the Lebanese state or
Hezbollah’s parasitic state. The two cannot coexist. Most Lebanese support their
state and want Hezbollah’s parallel institutions dissolved—not only the militia
disarmed.
For Lebanon to thrive, Hezbollah’s state-like structures must be eradicated. The
Lebanese government may be too timid or reluctant to confront the pro-Islamist
Iran organization, but the U.S. should not indulge Lebanon’s excuses.America
helped build a global system rooted in the nation-state. Preserving Lebanon’s
sovereignty aligns with the interests of the U.S., Israel, and the international
community. The sooner Envoy Barrack recognizes that disarming Hezbollah is only
a first step—not the solution—the better for Lebanon and the world.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at The Foundation for the Defense
of Democracies (FDD).
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on July 18-19/2025
Israel agree ceasefire with Syria, allows Syrian troops limited
access to Sweida
Reuters/July 19, 2025
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM: Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, the US envoy to
Turkey said on Friday, after days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area
that has killed over 300 people. On Wednesday, Israel launched airstrikes in
Damascus and hit government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and
saying that Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze — part of a small but
influential minority that also has members in Lebanon and Israel. "We call upon
Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other
minorities build a new and united Syrian identity," Tom Barrack, the US
ambassador to Turkey, said in a post on X. Barrack said that Israel and Syria
agreed to the ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbors. The Israeli
embassy in Washington and Syrian consulate in Canada did not immediately respond
to requests for comment. Syria's Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a
week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze
factions. Earlier on Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow
Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next
two days. The Syrian presidency said late on Friday that authorities would
deploy a force in the south dedicated to ending the clashes, in coordination
with political and security measures to restore stability and prevent the return
of violence. Damascus earlier this week dispatched government troops to quell
the fighting, but they were accused of carrying out widespread violations
against the Druze and were hit by Israeli strikes before withdrawing under a
truce agreed on Wednesday. Israel had repeatedly said it would not allow Syrian
troops to deploy to the country's south, but on Friday it said it would grant
them a brief window to end renewed clashes there."In light of the ongoing
instability in southwest Syria, Israel has agreed to allow limited entry of the
(Syrian) internal security forces into Sweida district for the next 48 hours,"
the official, who declined to be named, told reporters. Describing Syria's new
rulers as barely disguised jihadists, Israel has vowed to shield the area's
Druze community from attack, encouraged by calls from Israel's own Druze
minority.
It carried out more strikes on Sweida in the early hours of Friday.
The US intervened to help secure the earlier truce between government forces and
Druze fighters, and the White House said on Thursday that it appeared to be
holding. Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has worked to establish warmer ties
with the US accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect
its Druze minority. Reuters reporters saw a convoy of units from Syria's
interior ministry stopped on a road in Daraa province, which lies directly east
of Sweida. A security source told Reuters that forces were awaiting a final
green light to enter Sweida. But thousands of Bedouin fighters were still
streaming into Sweida on Friday, the Reuters reporters said, prompting fears
among residents that violence would continue unabated. The Syrian Network for
Human Rights said it had documented 321 deaths in fighting since Sunday, among
them medical personnel, women and children. It said they included field
executions by all sides. Syria's minister for emergencies said more than 500
wounded had been treated and hundreds of families had been evacuated out of the
city.
'Nothing at all'
Clashes continued in the north and west of Sweida province, according to
residents and Ryan Marouf, the head of local news outlet Sweida24. Residents
said they had little food and water, and that electricity had been cut to the
city for several days. "For four days, there has been no electricity, no fuel,
no food, no drink, nothing at all," said Mudar, a 28-year-old resident of Sweida
who asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of reprisals. "The
clashes haven't stopped," he said, adding that "we can't get news easily because
there's barely internet or phone coverage."The head of the UN human rights
office urged Syria's interim authorities to ensure accountability for what it
said are credible reports of widespread rights violations during the fighting,
including summary executions and kidnappings, the office said in a statement. At
least 13 people were unlawfully killed in one recorded incident on Tuesday when
affiliates of the interim authorities opened fire at a family gathering, the
OHCHR said. Six men were summarily executed near their homes the same day. The
UN refugee agency on Friday urged all sides to allow humanitarian access, which
it said had been curtailed by the violence. Israel's deep distrust of Syria's
new Islamist-led leadership appears to be at odds with the United States, which
said it did not support the recent Israeli strikes on Syria.
Druze-Bedouin clashes flare
up again after government forces pull out of southern Syria
AFP/July 18, 2025
MAZRAA, Syria: Syrian government forces prepared to return to a southern region
Friday after renewed clashes broke out between Druze armed groups and members of
Bedouin clans, leaving tens of thousands of people displaced in a worsening
humanitarian crisis.
The government forces had withdrawn from Sweida province following a ceasefire
agreement announced Wednesday that halted much the violence that plagued the
area earlier in the week, but which ultimately did not stop the fighting.
Officials were negotiating with Druze factions on an agreement to re-enter the
area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian
officials who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak publicly. They said an agreement was reached, but later said
the deployment was delayed, without giving an explanation.Tens of thousands of
people remained displaced by the violence and the United Nations has been unable
to bring in much-needed humanitarian and medical aid because of ongoing clashes.
A complex conflict
Clashes began Sunday between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin
tribes. Government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up
taking the Bedouins’ side against the Druze. Israel later in the week launched
airstrikes against Syrian forces in defense of the Druze. The fighting killed
hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that government-affiliated
fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes.
Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and even
struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. The Druze
form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority
and often serve in the Israeli military. A truce mediated by the US, Turkiye and
Arab countries was announced Wednesday. Under the accord, Druze factions and
clerics were to maintain the internal security in Sweida as government forces
pulled out, Syria’s interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said Thursday.
Renewed fighting
By late Thursday clashes were flaring again between the Druze and Bedouin groups
in parts of Sweida province. State media reported Druze militias carried out
revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a new wave of
displacement. The governor of neighboring Daraa province said in a statement
that more than 1,000 families had been displaced to the area from Sweida as a
result of “attacks on Bedouin tribes by outlaw groups.”The volunteer group
Syrian Civil Defense said Friday that the head of its center in Sweida city had
been kidnapped by gunmen two days earlier while on his way to evacuate a UN
team.The official, Hamza Al-Amarin, was driving a van with the insignia of the
organization, known as the White Helmets, when he was stopped by militants, the
statement said. A person who answered his phone on Thursday said he was safe, it
added, but they have been unable to reach him.
Tens of thousands displaced
The United Nations’ migration agency said Friday that nearly 80,000 people had
been displaced altogether since clashes started on Sunday. It also noted that
essential services, including water and electricity, have collapsed in Sweida,
telecommunications systems are widely disrupted, and health facilities in Sweida
and Daraa are under severe strain. Meanwhile “there are severe disruptions to
supply routes, with insecurity and road closures blocking aid deliveries,” Adam
Abdelmoula, UN Resident and Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator in Syria, said in a
statement Friday. The World Health Organization was able to send trauma care
supplies to Daraa province, but Sweida remains inaccessible, he said. “Once
conditions allow, we are planning to send a mission to assess needs and provide
critical aid, in full coordination with authorities,” Abdelmoula said.
Sweida conflict draws in others
Bedouin groups and supporters arrived Friday from other areas of Syria to join
the fight.
On the outskirts of Sweida, groups of them gathered in front of buildings that
had been set ablaze. An armed man who gave his name only as Abu Mariam (“father
of Mariam“) said he had come from the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor to
“support the oppressed.”
“We will not return to our homes until we crush Al-Hijri and his ilk,” he said,
referring to a prominent Druze leader opposed to the government in Damascus,
Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri. “We have nothing to do with civilians and innocent
people as long as they stay in their homes.”
Problems that ‘have no reason’
The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch
of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in
Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the
Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and
annexed in 1981. While predominantly Druze, Sweida is also home to Bedouin
tribes who are Sunni Muslim and have periodically clashed with the Druze over
the years. The latest escalation began with members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida
setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered
tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings. Ahmed Aba Zeid, a Syrian researcher who has
studied armed groups in southern Syria, said there is “no specific reason” for
the historic tensions between the groups. “All of Syria is full of social
problems that have no reason,” he said.
In this case, however, “The state exploited the latest problem to try to change
the situation in Sweida, and this only increased the scope of it,” he said.
Calls for unity
In Israel, members of the Druze community had called for intervention to protect
the Druze in Syria. But elsewhere in the region, Druze leaders have rejected
Israeli intervention. The spiritual leader of the Druze community in Lebanon,
Sheikh Sami Abi Al-Muna, said Friday at a gathering of Druze officials in Beirut
that sectarian clashes in Syria “give an excuse for Israeli intervention and for
blowing up the situation in the region.”“We do not accept to request protection
from Israel, which we believe is harmful to our history and identity,” he said.
Al-Muna called for all parties to adhere to the ceasefire agreement reached
Wednesday and for a national dialogue to address the issues between different
communities in Syria. Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who had been one of
the regional figures mediating the ceasefire reached Wednesday, at the same
gathering called for formation of and investigative committee to investigate
violations against both Druze and Bedouins in Syria.
Israel says sending
humanitarian aid to Druze in Syria
Agence France Presse/July 19, 2025
Israel said Friday it was sending humanitarian aid to Syria's Sweida province,
following days of deadly clashes in the Druze heartland. "In light of the recent
attacks targeting the Druze community in Sweida and the severe humanitarian
situation in the area, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has ordered the urgent
transfer of humanitarian aid to the Druze population in the region," the foreign
ministry said in a statement. The two million shekel (nearly $600,000) package
includes food parcels and medical supplies, the ministry said, noting it had
previously sent humanitarian aid to the Druze in Syria in March.
The Sweida area witnessed sectarian bloodshed this week, with hundreds
reportedly killed in clashes pitting Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes
and the army and its allies. Israel carried out air strikes against government
troops in and around Sweida area, with the stated objectives of preventing a
build-up of the Syrian military near its borders and protecting the Druze
community. It also shelled government buildings in Damascus on Wednesday to
pressure Syria's Islamist-led government to withdraw its troops from the Druze
heartland. Government forces pulled out of the area on Thursday. The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said 594 people had been killed in the clashes.
Earlier on Friday, the Israeli army denied reports on the Syrian state news
agency, SANA, that it had conducted additional strikes near Sweida on Thursday
night.
Syrian govt forces set to
re-enter Sweida after renewed Druze-Bedouin clashes
Associated Press/July 19, 2025
Renewed clashes broke out overnight between Druze armed groups and members of
Bedouin clans in southern Syria, and government forces were preparing to deploy
again to the area Friday after pulling out under a ceasefire agreement that
halted several days of violence earlier this week, officials said. Government
security forces agreed with some of the Druze factions that they would re-enter
the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two
Syrian officials who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to speak publicly. Syrian government forces had largely pulled
out of the Druze-majority southern province of Sweida after days of clashes with
militias linked to the Druze religious minority that threatened to unravel the
country's fragile post-war transition. The conflict drew airstrikes against
Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze minority before most
of the fighting was halted by a truce announced Wednesday that was mediated by
the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries. Under that agreement, Druze factions and
clerics would be left to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syria's interim
President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Thursday. The clashes initially began between
Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Sunday before government
forces intervened and took the Bedouins' side against the Druze. The fighting
killed hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that
government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned
homes. Israel intervened, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of
government fighters and striking the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in
central Damascus in a major escalation of its involvement. The Druze form a
substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and
often serve in the Israeli military. After the ceasefire and withdrawal of
government forces, clashes once again flared between the Druze and Bedouin
groups in parts of Sweida province. State media reported Druze militias carried
out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of
displacement. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of
Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million
Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and
Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the
1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
Trump says more hostages to
be released from Gaza shortly
Reuters/July 19, 2025
WASHINGTON: Another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly, US President
Donald Trump said on Friday, without providing additional details. Trump made
the comment during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House, lauding the
efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have
been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6,
discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire. “We got most of the
hostages back. We’re going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope
to have that finished quickly,” Trump said. Trump has been predicting for weeks
that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal was imminent, but agreement has proven
elusive. A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian militant
group that controls Gaza, on Friday said the group favors reaching an interim
truce in the Gaza war, but could revert to insisting on a full package deal if
such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations. The truce proposal
calls for 10 hostages held in Gaza to be returned along with the bodies of 18
others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of
detained Palestinians. Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600
Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.Almost 1,650 Israelis and
foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200
killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to
Israeli tallies.
Israeli military says
missile launched from Yemen was intercepted
Reuters/July 18, 2025
Israeli military said late on Friday that it intercepted a missile launched from
Yemen after air raid sirens sounded in several areas across Israel. The
Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have been
firing at Israel and attacking shipping lanes.
Houthis have repeatedly said that their attacks are an act of solidarity with
Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel’s military assault since late 2023 has killed
more than 58,000 people, Gaza authorities say. 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.
Merz tells Netanyahu he hopes for ‘speedy’ Gaza ceasefire
AFP/July 18, 2025
BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu in a phone call on Friday that he hoped for a “speedy ceasefire” in
war-torn Gaza, Berlin said. Merz also “stressed that the urgently needed
humanitarian aid must now reach the people in the Gaza Strip in a safe and
humane manner” and that the “disarmament of Hamas was imperative,” his office
said in a statement. “The chancellor expressed his hope for a speedy ceasefire
in the Gaza Strip. All remaining Hamas hostages, including those with German
citizenship, must be released immediately.” The statement added that Merz
“advocated for finding a viable post-war order for Gaza that takes into account
Israeli security needs and the Palestinian right to self-determination.”The
chancellor also “emphasized that there should be no steps toward annexing the
West Bank.”Speaking earlier at a Berlin press conference, Merz labelled the
events in Gaza as “no longer acceptable.”He also emphasized Germany’s commitment
to Israel’s security, saying: “We are doing everything we can to do justice to
both sides, it is clear where we stand. “But we also see the suffering of the
Palestinian population and are trying to do everything possible to provide
humanitarian aid here as well.”More than 21 months of war have created dire
humanitarian conditions for Gaza’s population, displacing most residents at
least once and triggering severe shortages of food and other essentials.The war
was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in
the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally
based on official figures. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at
least 58,667 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in
Hamas-run Gaza.
Hamas armed wing says
Israel blocking ceasefire and hostage release talks
AFP/July 18, 2025
GAZA CITY: The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday
accused Israel of blocking a deal in talks for a temporary ceasefire and the
release of hostages in Gaza.Abu Obaida, spokesman for the Ezzedine Al-Qassam
Brigades, said in a video statement that Hamas “always proposed a comprehensive
deal that will return all the hostages at once.” But he said Israel “rejected
what we proposed,” urging it to reconsider. “If the enemy remains obstinate in
this round of negotiations we cannot guarantee a return to the partial-deal
proposals — including the 10-prisoner (hostage) exchange offer,” he added.
Clashes at West Bank march
against settler outpost
AFP/July 18, 2025
RABA, Occupied West Bank: Palestinians and the Israeli army clashed on Friday
during a march in a village in the northern occupied West Bank against a newly
established Israeli settlement outpost. “We came to this area to express our
protest and say: ‘this land is ours, not yours’,” Ghassan Bazour, head of Raba’s
village council, told AFP. While all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are
illegal under international law, only outposts such as the one established
overnight in Raba are also prohibited under Israeli law.An AFP journalist at the
scene reported that a group of men holding Palestinian flags and those of
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah party walked from Raba toward a nearby
hill on top of which settlers had established the outpost. After conducting the
Muslim Friday prayer at the base of the hill, people continued toward the
outpost, until Israeli soldiers arrived on the scene and dispersed the crowd
with tear gas, the journalist said. The army did not respond to an AFP request
for comment on Friday’s events in Raba. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported
that its teams had provided support to 13 people suffering from tear gas
inhalation. Village council chief Bazour said that settlers had originally taken
over the hill’s high ground to establish an outpost and deny Palestinians access
to nearby agricultural lands. “There is now a settler outpost here (which) will
continue to devour the land and empty these areas,” Muayad Shaaban, head of the
Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, told AFP.
Despite it being dispersed by the army, Shaaban was enthusiastic about Friday’s
march, given that violence in recent years has made all protests against
settlers dangerous for Palestinians. “This model of resistance must be applied
throughout the West Bank. I call for massive marches... to stop this aggression,
this terrorism,” he said. Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied
since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack of October 2023 triggered the Gaza
war. Since October 7, 2023, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 956
Palestinians, including many militants, according to health ministry figures.
Over the same period, at least 36 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed
in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to
official figures.
Gaza civil defense agency
says Israeli strikes kill 14
AFP/July 18, 2025
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency said on Friday that Israeli strikes
killed 14 people in the north and south of the war-ravaged Palestinian
territory. The emergency service said fighter jets conducted air strikes and
there was artillery shelling and gunfire in the early morning in areas north of
the southern city of Khan Yunis.Agency official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir said 10
people were killed in two separate strikes in the Khan Yunis area, with one
hitting a house and the other tents sheltering displaced people.In Gaza’s north,
four people were killed in an air strike in the Jabalia Al-Nazla area, he added.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is
unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and
other parties. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which
asked for exact coordinates to look into the reports when contacted by AFP.
The latest strikes came after Israel said it mistakenly hit Gaza’s only Catholic
church with a “stray” round on Thursday, killing three and provoking
international condemnation. On Wednesday, at least 20 people were killed in a
crush at a food aid distribution center in the south of the territory run by the
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.Indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian
militant group Hamas began in the Qatari capital Doha on July 6 to try to agree
on a 60-day ceasefire after 21 months of hostilities.The war was sparked by
Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 which led to the deaths of 1,219
people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official
figures.Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 58,667
Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run
Gaza.
Pope urges Netanyahu to end
‘heartbreaking’ Gaza war in rare call after church strike
AFP/July 18, 2025
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of protecting places of
worship in a call Friday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following
Israel’s deadly strike on Gaza’s only Catholic Church, the Vatican said. The
pontiff also renewed his appeal for negotiations, a ceasefire and the end of the
war, while reiterating his concern for the “dramatic humanitarian situation” in
the Palestinian territory, it said in a statement. The Vatican said Netanyahu
initiated the call on Friday morning, the day after Israeli fire on the Holy
Family Church in Gaza City killed three people and provoked international
condemnation. “During the conversation, the Holy Father renewed his appeal to
revive negotiations and reach a ceasefire and the end of the war,” the Vatican
said in a statement, noting that Leo was at his summer residence in Castel
Gandolfo, south of Rome.
“He once again expressed his concern for the dramatic humanitarian situation of
the population in Gaza, whose heartbreaking toll is borne particularly by
children, the elderly and the sick. “Finally, the Holy Father reiterated the
urgency of protecting places of worship and especially the faithful and all
people in Palestine and Israel.”
Netanyahu has said Israel “deeply regrets” the strike, and blamed a “stray
round.”
He repeated this regret in the conversation with the pope, which was “friendly,”
a spokesman for Netanyahu told AFP, adding that the two men agreed to meet soon.
The conversation took place as two of the most senior Christian leaders in
Jerusalem made a rare visit to Gaza on Friday. The Roman Catholic Latin
Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and his Greek Orthodox
counterpart, Theophilos III, greeted local Christians and toured the Holy Family
Church, which was hit by the Israeli strike. Both men, in full black clerical
robes in the searing heat, arrived in two battered people carriers, one with the
yellow, white and cross-keys flag of the Vatican fluttering from the front
window, before heading inside. "The Patriarchs met with families who have sought
shelter there. They offered condolences, conveyed pastoral encouragement, and
personally observed the damage sustained by the church during the recent
strike," the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said. At the Greek Orthodox Saint
Porphyrius Church, they "offered words of comfort and solidarity" to the
displaced, in a visit the Greek Orthodox Jerusalem Patriarchate called a
"powerful expression" of church unity.
The two Jerusalem church leaders said aid agencies helped facilitate the "full
pastoral visit", which also involved the delivery of food supplies and emergency
medical equipment, and medical evacuation of the injured.
Iraq makes ‘decisive
findings’ over Israel-Iran war drone attacks
AP/July 18, 2025
BAGHDAD: Drones used to attack military bases in Iraq during the recent
Israel-Iran war were manufactured outside Iraq but were launched inside its
territory, according to the “decisive findings” of an investigation published on
Friday. The report of an investigative committee formed under the directive of
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani did not identify who was behind the
attacks that targeted radar and air defense systems last month. The attacks on
several military bases, including some housing US troops, damaged radar systems
at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, and at Imam Ali Base in Dhi Qar province.
Iraqi army spokesperson Sabah Al-Naaman said the investigation had reached
“decisive findings.”He said the drones used were manufactured outside Iraq but
were launched from locations inside Iraqi territory. All drones used in the
attacks were of the same type, indicating that a single actor was behind the
entire campaign, he said. Al-Naaman said the investigation had identified the
entities responsible for coordinating and executing the operations, but he did
not name them. “Legal measures will be taken against all those involved, and
they will be referred to the Iraqi judiciary to be held accountable in
accordance with the law,” the statement said. Before the drone attacks,
Iran-backed Iraqi militias had previously threatened to target American bases if
the US attacked Iran. Some of the militias are part of the Popular Mobilization
Forces, a coalition of armed groups that is officially under the command of the
Iraqi military, although in practice they largely act independently. More
recently, several oil fields in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region have
come under attack by drones, further exacerbating tensions between the central
government and Kurdish authorities and raising concerns over the security of
Iraq’s critical infrastructure.
Australia delivers Abrams tanks to Ukraine for war with
Russia
Reuters/July 19, 2025
SYDNEY: Australia’s government said on Saturday it had delivered M1A1 Abrams
tanks to Ukraine as part of a A$245 million ($160 million) package to help the
country defend itself against Russia in their ongoing war. Australia, one of the
largest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine, has been supplying aid, ammunition and
defense equipment since Moscow invaded its neighbor in February 2022. Ukraine
has taken possession of most of the 49 tanks given by Australia, and the rest
will be delivered in coming months, said Defense Minister Richard Marles. “The
M1A1 Abrams tanks will make a significant contribution to Ukraine’s ongoing
fight against Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion,” Marles said in a
statement. The tanks formed part of the A$1.5 billion ($980 million) that
Canberra has provided Ukraine in the conflict, the government said. Australia
has also banned exports of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to
Russia, and has sanctioned about 1,000 Russian individuals and
entities.Australia’s center-left Labor government this year labelled Russia as
the aggressor in the conflict and called for the war to be resolved on Kyiv’s
terms.
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources
on July 18-19/2025
The West's Mainstream Media: Iran's New
Mouthpiece
Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/July 18, 2025
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21734/media-iran-mouthpiece
This time the lies are being
fabricated by Iran and its proxy Hamas -- with the generous help of the
"international community" not least the UN, the Red Cross and a variety of
NGOS...
It has apparently made no difference to mainstream media reporting that there is
footage showing that Hamas deliberately shoots at Gazans waiting for aid, or
shoots them as punishment for receiving it; or that local Gazans working for GHF
have testified that Hamas deliberately targets the aid sites where GHF operates
and that 12 of its local staff have been murdered, and others tortured; or that
audio has been released in which a resident in Gaza explains how Hamas
operates....
It has also apparently made no difference to the mainstream media that the Al-Hayat
Al-Jadida daily newspaper in the Palestinian Authority, a self-declared enemy of
Israel, has, in an article, "accused Hamas of murdering Gaza residents trying to
get to the American food aid distribution centers established in the Gaza
Strip."
Hamas wants to regain control of the humanitarian aid entering Gaza. These
donations are now distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which
is backed by the US and Israel. Previously, aid was distributed via UNRWA, which
is fully infiltrated by Hamas. Pictured: Gazans cheer after receiving food
parcels from a GHF distribution point on June 26, 2025, in central Gaza. (Photo
by Moiz Salhi/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
When Iran's proxy Hamas, on behalf of Iran, invaded Israel to carry out the
worst massacre against the Jews since the Holocaust, the thin civilizational
veneer that used to stop most of "elite" society from displaying the ugliest
parts of its Jew-hatred completely peeled off. It is now on full display, though
still cloaked in the transparent pretense of "anti-Zionism." Its vilifications,
falsely defaming the Jewish state and its inhabitants, embody echoes of Nazi
propaganda.
Since Hamas launched the Gaza war in October 2023, contemporary versions of the
false accusation that Jews kill non-Jews to use their blood for ritual purposes
have proliferated. It is a lie that was widely spread by the Nazis, especially
by Julius Streicher, the propagandist and publisher of the Third Reich
newspaper, Der Stürmer.
This time the lies are being fabricated by Iran and its proxy Hamas -- with the
generous help of the "international community" not least the UN, see also here,
the Red Cross and a variety of NGOS, see for instance here, here, here and here
-- and eagerly and enthusiastically spread and propagandized by Western legacy
media, see for instance here, here, here, here and here for just a tiny fraction
of the more recent examples. Having long ago discarded religion, the "ritual"
aspect of the libel has been removed, and instead the media spreads the totally
false messages that Jews kill for "genocide" and "apartheid."
Iran, Hamas and their more-than-willing helpers in the West have been through
several iterations of this defamation in the past 20 months and continue to
regularly recycle them to fit the current Hamas agenda of maintaining control in
Gaza, presumably to continue presiding over Israel's eradication.
At the moment, however, Hamas needs to regain control of the aid entering Gaza.
These donations are distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which
is backed by the US and Israel. Previously, aid was distributed via UNRWA, which
is fully infiltrated by Hamas -- see here for nearly 50 examples of Hamas-UNRWA
collaboration -- which meant that the terrorist organization was able to siphon
off the humanitarian aid and use it for its own purposes and sell the leftovers
at premium prices to the Gazans for whom it was intended for free. As the GHF is
independent, UNRWA and a host of other NGOs are clamoring for it to be abolished
and the UN to be reinstated.
To make GHF go away, Hamas has been shooting at Gazans lining up for aid at the
sites where GHF operates and then accusing -- together with its accomplice UN --
Israel of committing the massacres. The legacy media, as always, have eagerly
spread the lie, while the UN keeps repeating it at every possible occasion,
conjuring up the Nazi-like images of evil Jewish soldiers killing helpless
Palestinians children as they line up to receive aid:
"Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is
inherently unsafe. The search for food must never be a death sentence," UN chief
Antonio Guterres said. Most recently, Hamas has enlisted what the media claims
to be 170 charities and NGOs -- including Oxfam, Amnesty International and Save
the Children -- who have called for an end to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
It has apparently made no difference to mainstream media reporting that there is
footage showing that Hamas deliberately shoots at Gazans waiting for aid, or
shoots them as punishment for receiving it; or that local Gazans working for GHF
have testified that Hamas deliberately targets the aid sites where GHF operates
and that 12 of its local staff have been murdered, and others tortured; or that
audio has been released in which a resident in Gaza explains how Hamas operates:
"Look, this is how Hamas forces operate. They shoot the people...
deliberately... They want to show the people that the [Israeli] army is shooting
at them."
It has also apparently made no difference to the mainstream media that the Al-Hayat
Al-Jadida daily newspaper in the Palestinian Authority, a self-declared enemy of
Israel, has, in an article,
"accused Hamas of murdering Gaza residents trying to get to the American food
aid distribution centers established in the Gaza Strip. According to the
article, 'death squads' from Hamas's Al-Sahm unit hunt down Gazans coming to the
distribution centers, shoot at them and kill them on the pretext that they are
collaborating with the distribution centers and with Israel.
"The article added that Hamas does not hesitate to target Gaza residents in
order to maintain its monopoly on the distribution of food and thus its control,
and that Hamas steals the food aid and sells it on the black market."
Iran and Hamas would be nothing if it were not for the legacy media, which for
all purposes has become Der Stürmer of our times; a media that displays zero
desire to investigate and question the claims of Hamas, instead relentlessly
inciting against Israel, and feigning acute deaf- and blindness, whenever their
defamatory propaganda is exposed for what it is.
The effort by Western legacy media organizations on behalf of Hamas and Iran --
which have wanted to politically isolate Israel as part of their war on the
Jewish state – has evidently paid off: a majority of adults in many Western
countries now harboring negative views of Israel.
According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, "In 20 of the 24 countries
surveyed, around half of adults or more have an unfavorable view of Israel.
Around three-quarters or more hold this view in Australia, Greece, Indonesia,
Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkey."
As former NPR and CNN reporter Josh Levs notes, "The Mainstream Media Is Biased
Against Israel. I Know, I Was Part of It."
"For decades, many news organizations have framed their coverage of the Middle
East, either consciously or unconsciously, with an anti-Israel bias. Many even
have rules to enforce this bias. I know because as a journalist at two of them
(NPR and CNN), I saw these rules in action."
Former AP correspondent Matti Friedman concurs in a Free Press article: "The New
goal [in journalism] was not to describe reality, but to usher readers to the
correct political conclusion.... By selectively emphasizing some facts and not
others, by erasing historical and regional context, and by reversing cause and
effect, the story portrayed Israel as a country whose motivations could only be
malevolent, and one responsible not only for its own actions but also for
provoking the actions of its enemies. The activist-journalists, I found, were
backed up by an affiliated world of progressive NGOs and academics who we
referred to as experts, creating a thought loop nearly impervious to external
information. All of this had the effect of presenting a mass audience with a
supposedly factual story that had a powerful emotional punch and a familiar
villain."These are just two testimonies. For more, start here, here, here, here,
here and here.And there you have it.
*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
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
The perils of peacemaking ...Sometimes, you need to give war a chance
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/July
18/2025
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jul/15/history-shows-tyrants-iran-russia-china-respond-decisive-force-empty/
“You don’t make peace with friends. You make it with very unsavory enemies.”
That aphorism, attributed to former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, has
always struck me as more hopeful than convincing. Americans didn’t make peace
with the Nazis. We made peace with those we permitted to hold power in Germany
after we decisively defeated the Nazis. Today, there is no conceivable way that
Israel can make peace with Hamas, a military wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, and
a Tehran-backed terrorist organization committed to jihad, the annihilation of
Israel, and the genocide of Israelis. Since its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7,
2023, Hamas’s strategy has been Leninist: “The worse, the better,” meaning the
more that Gazans suffered, the worse it would be for Israel and the better for
them.
They understood the animus toward Israel of UN officials, faux human rights
organizations, leftists in the media, and radical activists on campuses. Hamas
gave Gazans a choice: “Conquest or martyrdom!” Those preferring a third option
were out of luck.
The most important backer of Hamas has long been Ali Khamenei, the “supreme
leader” of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He sees himself as a revolutionary and
a jihadist. He claims to be the “deputy” on earth to Imam Mahdi, a messianic
figure in Shi’a Islam.
Like his friends in Hamas, he has no interest in making peace with those he
regards, for theological reasons, as his enemies. It is not true that his hatred
for Israel, America, and the West has to do with “grievances,” such as the 1953
overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. As an aside,
Iranian-born scholar Ray Takeyh’s essays on the topic in “Foreign Affairs” and
“Commentary” make clear that the CIA and MI6 were not key players in that
affair. President Trump hoped last month’s Twelve-Day War might persuade Mr.
Khamenei to curb his ambitions, to conclude, however reluctantly, that
peacemaking was in the best interest of his regime.
On Truth Social, the president posted: “Iran has to get back into the World
Order flow, or things will only get worse for them.”But the Ayatollah is
insisting that his regime was “victorious” in the conflict and that it
“delivered a heavy slap to America’s face.”
Threats to assassinate President Trump as an “enemy of Allah” have been renewed.
Mohammad-Javad Larijani, a top Khamenei advisor, declared on Iranian state
television that Mr. Trump “can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago” because a
“small drone might hit him in the navel.” According to the best assessments,
American B-2s and Massive Ordnance Penetrators set back Tehran’s nuclear weapons
program by roughly two years.
The regime’s fangs may need to be trimmed again. Such dentistry can be performed
by the U.S., Israel, or both. Absent that, the theocrats will rebuild their
nuclear weapons programs while continuing to support terrorists abroad. Their
brutalization of civilians at home – especially minorities – has only
accelerated over recent days.
Vladimir Putin is another unsavory enemy with whom it is not possible to make
peace. His immediate mission is to turn Ukraine into a vassal state, like
Belarus, or a colony like Chechnya and Tatarstan. So long as he believes that
goal remains achievable, he’ll persist in raining death from the sky on
Ukrainian civilians. Over recent days he’s deployed nearly a thousand drones,
more than a thousand guided aerial bombs, and almost 100 missiles.
President Trump now appears to grasp that reality.
During a cabinet meeting last week, he said: “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at
us by Putin.” He added: “I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too
bad.”With that in mind, the president reversed an order from “restrainers” in
the Pentagon to halt munitions shipments to Ukraine. Those restrainers
apparently don’t understand what a serious mistake it would be for President
Trump to abandon Ukraine as President Biden abandoned Afghanistan.
Xi Jinping, China’s ruler, would reason: “Biden capitulated to the Taliban and
now Trump won’t even sell American weapons to Ukrainians being slaughtered by
Putin. That tells me I needn’t worry about any American president sending his
warships and fighter jets to defend the Taiwanese.”On Monday, President Trump
said he would impose 100% “secondary” tariffs on Russia’s trading partners – the
countries financing Russia’s war machine – if Mr. Putin doesn’t conclude a
ceasefire within 50 days.
He also said he will send Ukraine Patriot missile defense batteries which NATO
members will pay for. Left unclear was whether Ukraine also will receive
long-range rockets and permission to use them to strike military targets deep
inside Russia. Such permission – which President Biden refused to grant – is
necessary to convince Mr. Putin that, in the end, the war he takes will be equal
to the war he makes.
Two final questions for today:
What’s the chance that Mr. Xi will accept the fact that the free people of
Taiwan don’t want to be ruled by the Communist Party of China and that he should
therefore make peace with them?What’s the chance that Kim Jung Un will accept
the fact that the free people of South Korea don’t want to live under his
jackboot and that he should therefore make peace with them? You know the
answers.
It’s also unrealistic to believe that the rulers of Russia, China, Iran, and
North Korea – an axis grounded in anti-Americanism – will make peace with
America.
What is realistic is for Americans to limit the ability of these unsavory
enemies to successfully wage war against us and other free nations. “Peace
through strength” implies nothing more – and nothing less – than that.
**Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD), a columnist for the Washington Times, and host of the
“Foreign Podicy” podcast.
US getting creative in
search for Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal
Luke Coffey/Arab News/July 18, 2025
US President Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark
Rutte on Monday drew considerable attention for what appeared to be a shift in
tone on Ukraine. But amid the headlines, another noteworthy — yet underreported
— statement emerged. During a media Q&A, Trump declared that his administration
was now close to finalizing a long-term peace agreement between Armenia and
Azerbaijan. This is no small claim. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in some
form of conflict since the collapse of the Soviet Union. What began as fighting
in the early 1990s led to a frozen conflict and an Armenian occupation of a
sizable chunk of Azerbaijani territory. This conflict exploded into a full-scale
war in 2020, which ended in an Azerbaijani victory and the deployment of Russian
peacekeepers to the region. By 2023, Azerbaijan had completed the liberation of
all its territory taken by Armenia in the 1990s, Russian peacekeepers departed,
and Baku and Yerevan started peace talks. However, a major sticking point
remains. As part of the ceasefire agreement brokered in November 2020, Armenia
committed to “guarantee the security of transport connections” between
Azerbaijan proper and its Nakhchivan exclave via Armenia’s Syunik Province.
However, no progress has been made on implementing this pledge.For Baku, the
so-called Zangezur Corridor is a strategic priority. There is no direct land
route connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan and access through Armenia would
resolve this logistical challenge. Baku has consistently stated that it does not
seek Armenian territory, but merely a secure transport link. Domestic Armenian
concerns, coupled with broader regional anxieties, have complicated any effort
at compromise. Similar arrangements exist elsewhere in the world without raising
sovereignty concerns. For instance, the US relies on transit through Canadian
territory to access Alaska from the American mainland via the Alaska Highway.
Likewise, Oman maintains a transit route through the UAE to connect with its
Musandam exclave on the Strait of Hormuz — without infringing on Emirati
sovereignty. In both cases, sovereignty remains respected, while practical
transit needs are met.
For Yerevan, however, the proposal has become politically toxic. Many Armenians
fear that implementing the corridor would weaken their sovereignty or lead to
the perception of territorial compromise. These domestic concerns, coupled with
broader regional anxieties, have complicated any effort at compromise. Iran, in
particular, has pressured Armenia against accepting such an agreement, driven by
its long-standing geopolitical rivalry with Azerbaijan.
So, what gives the Trump administration confidence that a final peace is within
reach? To be fair, the Biden administration deserves credit for bringing both
sides to the negotiating table in recent years. Trump has largely continued this
process. Around the time of Trump’s comments, the US ambassador to Turkiye
floated an unusual idea: America could lease and manage the 43km stretch of road
in Syunik for 100 years to guarantee its neutrality and security.
Although Yerevan quickly rejected the suggestion, the fact that such creative
proposals are being considered reflects an active American diplomatic effort
behind the scenes. It also illustrates how this seemingly small strip of land
has become symbolic of broader regional dynamics.
Russia, long the dominant powerbroker in the South Caucasus, has been largely
sidelined in the current talks. This reflects Moscow’s diminishing influence,
which stems from several factors: its overreach in Armenia, intervening in that
country’s domestic affairs; recent tensions with Baku over the arrest of
Azerbaijani nationals in Russia; and the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane
over the North Caucasus earlier this year by Russian air defense missiles.
Russia’s faltering war effort in Ukraine has further diminished its credibility
across the region. Iran strongly opposes the Zangezur Corridor. There are two
key reasons for this. First, such a route would facilitate greater connectivity
between Turkiye and Central Asia — reducing Iran’s own relevance as a transit
country. Second, it would diminish Tehran’s influence over Azerbaijan.
Currently, Baku relies on Iranian airspace and infrastructure to reach
Nakhchivan. If the Zangezur Corridor were to become operational, Iran would lose
this leverage.
Russia, long the dominant powerbroker in the South Caucasus, has been largely
sidelined in the current talks. Turkiye, meanwhile, sees the corridor not just
as a logistical link but as a manifestation of a larger geopolitical and
ideological vision. The road and rail connections through Armenia would link
Anatolia to the Turkic states of Central Asia — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and
beyond. This would physically tie together a broader Turkic world, which Ankara
seeks to strengthen through forums like the Organization of Turkic States.
For the US, the Zangezur Corridor reflects a broader dilemma: how to engage
effectively in a strategically important but geographically distant and complex
region like the South Caucasus. While Trump touts his record of avoiding new
wars, it is worth remembering that the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War erupted
during his first term in 2020. That conflict, and the ceasefire it produced,
laid the foundation for today’s geopolitical situation in the region.
Still, Trump’s administration has invested considerable diplomatic energy into
peacemaking — from Ukraine to the Middle East to Africa. The Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict offers another opportunity to “make a deal.” But like most issues in
the South Caucasus, the reality is far more complicated than it may first
appear. That is why the US leasing a corridor through Armenia, while innovative,
is unlikely to gain traction. It faces domestic resistance in Yerevan, legal and
sovereignty concerns, and geopolitical opposition from Russia and Iran. Yet the
broader goal — peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan — is both worthwhile and
achievable. Normalization between these two neighbors would have cascading
benefits. It would pave the way for diplomatic ties between Turkiye and Armenia,
which would open new trade, energy and transportation opportunities across the
South Caucasus. Armenia, long excluded from regional infrastructure projects due
to its conflict with Azerbaijan, would stand to gain significantly. This comes
at a time when Armenia’s economy is under pressure and its foreign policy
orientation is slowly drifting away from Russia and toward Europe.
For Washington, a stable South Caucasus aligns with US interests. It would
enhance regional connectivity and reduce vulnerabilities in NATO’s energy
security — especially important given Europe’s increasing reliance on Caspian
energy resources as an alternative to Russian supplies. Whether the Trump
administration can ultimately broker a lasting peace between Armenia and
Azerbaijan remains uncertain. But it deserves recognition for trying. With
sustained effort, strategic creativity and regional buy-in, the US has a real
chance to help end one of the post-Soviet world’s longest unresolved conflicts.
*Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. X: @LukeDCoffey
Will UK-France ‘one in, one out’ deal solve migration dilemma?
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/July 18, 2025
Forget the rebranding of the UK-France “entente cordial” as the “entente amicale,”
as expressed by King Charles when he toasted the relations between the old
neighbors when he received Emmanuel Macron during last week’s first state visit
for a French president since 2008. Forget also the joint nuclear deterrent
agreement reached between London and Paris.
Forget Macron’s mantra of standing together to “save” European democracy. Forget
the need to unhook Europe’s excessive dependencies “on both the US and China.”
Forget the need to save a democratic model that is under threat from “foreign
interference, information manipulation, domination of minds by negative emotions
and addictions to social media,” as Macron told Parliament. Forget the
commitment to save and defend Ukraine, used repeatedly by British and French
leaders at every official meeting. Lastly, forget the commitment to finding a
solution to the Gaza conflict or a means to lessen the humanitarian blockade
starving the Palestinians, as well as the threat to unilaterally recognize
Palestine.
Forget all these important issues that were evoked during Macron’s three-day
state visit. Instead, most of the attention focused on the vexing issue of
cross-Channel migration, which has become a major headache for UK Prime Minister
Keir Starmer’s one-year-old Labour government — just like it has been for all
prime ministers, without exception, since the mid-1990s. But it is becoming
increasingly problematic because the failure to manage UK migration policy has
become the ladder climbed by right-wing populist parties like Reform UK. The
“one in, one out” policy that London and Paris last week unveiled as a pilot
program — meaning some of the migrants arriving in the UK on small boats will be
returned to France — may not be the silver bullet needed to save Starmer’s
premiership. Though Starmer described the deal as “groundbreaking” and capable
of stemming the record numbers of people who have embarked on the perilous
journey so far this year, it will need time to prove its effectiveness.
The failure to manage UK migration policy has become the ladder climbed by
right-wing populist parties.Starmer hopes that the deportation of those who
cross the English Channel from France will break the model that has been used
for the past few years. And he hopes that it will signal to migrants that, if
they cross in a small boat, they will ultimately end up back where they started.
In exchange for every return, a different individual will be allowed to come to
the UK in a legal and safe manner, as part of a scheme for reuniting families or
for those who already have a link with the country.
The pilot program is understood to start with 50 returns a week and is likely to
be ready to commence in the coming weeks.
More than 21,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in rudimentary vessels so far
this year, 55 percent more than in the same period last year. While the new
measures are yet to be tested, some other new powers recently demonstrated by
French police could yield different results. Police officers were seen slashing
the small rubber boats with knives as they tried to pick up migrants in shallow
waters. This dangerous new practice is yet to be contested in court by human
right defenders, while it might also not be easy to apply along the entire
coastline.
Data gathered from both the British and French sides is alarming. Just since May
2024, when the Home Office began publishing this data, the French authorities
have prevented more than 33,000 migrants from crossing the Channel to the UK.
This includes 21,317 individuals who were prevented from crossing in May to
December last year and 12,321 so far in 2025.
France has also engaged in 1,158 “events” in that same period, referring to
small boats not being allowed to leave or the arrest of smugglers. That means
only about four out of every 10 migrants are being stopped from crossing — a
figure that Starmer will want to see rise, as he is under pressure from those
using migration failures to turn public opinion against the government. At the
same time, they are sowing discontent in some communities that could lead to
violent acts, threatening the peace and civil cohesion.
The truth came in a statement made by Macron, as he blamed Brexit for the sharp
increase in migrant arrivals.The truth that neither the government nor the
people of the UK wanted to hear came in a statement made by Macron during his
visit, when he blamed Brexit for the sharp increase in migrant arrivals. He
claimed that Britain’s 2020 departure from the EU had worsened the situation in
the Channel, cutting off legal migration routes and London’s access to the
bloc’s returns agreements. It appears that those who so hastily engineered and
enforced Brexit did not consider the legal parameters that needed to be in place
to send people back. That void has become the pull factor and, as a result, the
bitter truth is that leaving the EU has had the opposite effect on migration to
what the Brexiteers promised.
However, Brexit may not be solely to blame, as other factors have left the
immigration processing system exposed, such as the policy of austerity during
the 14 years of Conservative government up to last July and the slow and
ineffective visa schemes that brought much-needed workers to the country. Many
of those workers ended up playing the system and becoming a burden on the
welfare state, which was already suffering after years of underinvestment.
Last week’s UK-France summit yielded a lot in terms of upgrading the cooperation
between these two neighbors and strategic allies. But its success or failure
hinges entirely on the ability of both countries to curb cross-Channel
migration, the rise of which was a clear result of Brexit. The one in, one out
plan looks good on paper, but its implementation relies on many variables that
neither Macron nor Starmer control.
It is worth mentioning that, when accounting for population, the UK receives
fewer asylum applications than France and the EU average. The French Interior
Ministry recorded 157,947 asylum applications in 2024, compared to 108,138
applicants in the UK. Across the EU, there were just under a million
applications for the same period. The UK will have to prepare to receive some of
these if its new deal with France is going to work.
**Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years’
experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.
Selected Tweets for
18 July/2025
Danny Danon דני דנון
UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres
continues to expose his moral bankruptcy.
While members of the Druze community are being brutally slaughtered in Syria, he
once again chooses silence. Instead of calling for swift action in Syria, he
chooses to vilify Israel—the only country actively fighting the forces of evil
in the region. The UN failed to condemn Hamas following the horrors of October
7th . And now, after the massacre of the Druze in Syria, the shameful silence
continues.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
https://x.com/i/status/1945909535740191208
Druze of Syria parade #Israel flag in the streets alongside the Druze flag while
bystanders shout "Allah Hayyou!" (roughly, God give you life).
The Druze don't forget who stood by them. Wish the Iraqis thanked America for
ridding them of bloody Saddam or the Lebanese thanked Israel for crushing
Hezbollah for them.
Giulia
URGENT: #Suwayda is cut off — no electricity, no internet, no communication.
Families are trapped. We don’t know what’s happening on the ground.
We call on @elonmusk to urgently enable #Starlink over Suwayda to restore vital
connectivity and help save lives.
Marc Zell
Here’s the latest from retired Druze IDF Col. (Res.) Dr. Anan Wahabi:
“The mask is finally off, off of the so- called Syrian Government ( read: the
current incarnation of Al Qaeda) and their paymasters from the Muslim
Brotherhood namely the Erdogan government of Turkey together with the Al Thanis
of Qatar. They dress in expensive suits, live well and speak like civilized
diplomats . But the blood drips from their well manicured hands and history,
like vengeance itself will be served to them cold. But for now we can at least
see the demons for who they really are while we bury our Children of Light in
love. “Again, the Trump administration is not giving the Israeli government a
green light to act freely n Syria. Terrorist militias are so close to civilian
society, and we're afraid that another massacre is about to start. To the
Americans, we say: You are gambling with the blood and lives of the children and
women of the Druze community. You are not preventing genocide. Every drop of
innocent blood will judge you. The next Nobel 🏆 goes to those who prevent
bloodshed. Please. God forbid.”Please @POTUS and @SecRubio don’t remain silent
in the face of these atrocities. Your leadership has been bold and focused. That
is all that is needed now.
UN Watch
"What happened in Syria? They raped a 5-year-old girl. They entered a holy place
where women were hiding, and burned them alive. They killed, beheaded, it was
pure cleansing. This is only because they are Druze and do not believe as they
do.”
— Druze leader Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif
أحمد شريف العامري
@ahhmedshh
The Muslim Brotherhood wants to act like they’re the voice of the people?
They’re not the voice, they are the cancer eating away at freedom from the
inside.They don’t build, they manipulate. They don’t inspire, they control.We
shouldn’t be here to play along with their tired narrative. We should be here to
call them out, break their script, and watch their whole charade fall apart.
Dalia Ziada - داليا زيادة
The Middle East, specifically the Levant, is heading into a brutal ideological
battle as the radical Islamist Sunni axis, particularly Salafi-jihadists, is
trying to harvest the gains of Israel's successful crackdown on the Shiite
radical axis, headed by Iran.
Do not believe the propaganda from Syria’s (literally Jihadist) regime of Ahmed
Al-Sharaa when they claim that their so-called “public security” forces are
slaughtering the Druze in Suwayda or the Alawites in the coastal area to
establish order and security.
They are lying to justify the atrocities committed by their bloodthirsty
so-called “military men” against the non-Sunni Syrian population. They are only
fulfilling the goals of their radical ideology that prompted them to practice
terrorism from the beginning.
The current so-called “public security forces” in Syria are a terrifying mix of
radical Islamist terrorist groups, not all of whom are Syrians, that have been
wreaking havoc in Syria for over a decade. Al-Sharaa, who was one of these
terrorists himself, only unified them into one large terrorist organization and
named it the Defense and Public Security Forces.
By making his fellow terrorists act as the official army of the state, he gave
them legitimacy and cover to kill anyone who does not follow their (and his)
Salafi-Jihadist ideology, under the pretense of restoring order or fighting
against the loyalists of the Al-Assad regime.
Just remember, despite the statesman’s outfit and trimmed beard, Al-Sharaa has
neither denounced nor renounced his jihadist ideology and declared himself a
repentant, normal, moderate Muslim.
He still dearly embraces the radical beliefs that gave him power as a career
terrorist who spent more than half of his life in savage terrorist organizations
like Al-Qaeda.
It is only the delusions of Western politicians and observers who fall for his
soft tones that make them believe that a career terrorist like Al-Jolani can
ever be a “moderate” leader. In the same way, they thought of the Taliban in
Afghanistan.
Killing innocent civilians, slaughtering families in their homes, attacking
medical teams at hospitals, and humiliating people by shaving their mustaches
and calling them “pigs” just because they follow a different religious belief
are not actions meant to restore order, but systematic atrocities intended to
wipe out entire sects. It is an ideological war that Al-Sharaa is leading
against the Syrian people.
Just let this sink in for a moment: The jihadist ideology from which Al-Jolani
and his regime of jihadists come does not believe in nation-states. They speak
in the name of Syria, not because they believe in Syria as a state, but as the
launchpad of their global jihadist mission. They will start in Syria and will
not end there; they will not even end in the region, but will expand to Europe
and North America.
Those in the Arab Gulf and Turkey who support Al-Sharaa’s criminal regime and
are trying to give his Salafi-jihadist campaign a cover naively believe that Al-Sharaa
aligns with their Sunni ideology and that he will enable them to make this
ideology dominant in the region again and thus empower them politically.
They are mistaken. They will be the first targets of Al-Sharaa and his
blood-thirsty jihadists as soon as they get strong enough to go beyond Syria.
But… Thank God! Israel exists in the region and won’t let this happen.
سوريا الدروز الجولاني أحمد الشرع البدوية إسرائيل
Brother Rachid الأخ رشيد
Al-Julani has adopted a new-old strategy: tell the West what they want to hear —
speak of peace, prosperity, and a Syria for all Syrians. Meanwhile, he sends his
forces to target Alawites and Druze. And when atrocities are committed, he
blames ‘rogue factions,’ promises investigations, accountability… and then
nothing ever happens.
Joshua Landis
Interviewed with an Israeli-Druze friend.
He is well plugged into government circles concerning the recent battle over the
Jabal Druze.
I asked, "How are the Druze in Israel responding to events in #Syria?"
He explained: "On the Druze street (in Israel), the #Druze lost their mind when
they saw videos of the cleric having his mustache shaved and another having his
plucked out. I have to say, it drove me crazy. We are only 150,000 Israelis but
we have great capacity when it comes to the fate of our brothers. The mindset
here (in Israel) is that this guy (Sharaa) needs to have a bullet between his
eyes."
"Natayahu understands that he has to keep the Druze close. He cannot alienate
us. We have stood by Israel."Israel forced Syria's President Sharaa to withdraw
his troops from the Druze Mountains. It seemed as if the Druze forces were on
the verge of defeat. But then Israel bombed the Ministry of Defense and
threatened to escalate if Syrian government troops were not withdrawn. Israel
informed Turkey that they were going to bomb the ministry, and Turkey informed
Sharaa. Israel wanted to ensure that people were not killed. The US stepped in
to help broker a ceasefire that seems to be holding.
Sharaa's Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs clearly miscalculated the
Israeli response. Read what @SyriaTransition
has to say about this.
I asked if President Sharaa could strangle the Jabal Druze economically.
My friend insisted: "The Jabal Druze can survive even if Damascus tries to
strangle it economically."
"There are about 600 thousand people in the Jabal," he said. "It has lots of
underground water. It has agriculture. It has a problem of energy, which can be
solved by renewables. It has about 200 to 250 megawatts of electricity."
"The government used to collect some 300 million dollars in taxes from Jabal
Druze so there is money.""Israel will not let the Jabal starve. Israel can
airlift food into the Jabal if it gets into trouble. People here are thinking
about solutions very seriously"
I asked what this means for Syria's Kurds.
He said: "This strengthens the channels between Israel and the Kurds. The
prevailing thinking in Israel is not to capitulate in the face of Islamists.
Turkey is conceived of as an islamist state.""Israel will do more to strengthen
the Kurds. And will apply a lot of pressure in DC not to throw the Kurds under
the bus."
"The main problem is not in Damascus. No one here cares what the Arabs think or
what they want. The main problem is what is happening in DC. There is a massive
Qatari campaign in DC on this matter.