English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For March 04/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Our Father in Heaven Prayer/Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 06/05-15/:"‘Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ‘Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done,on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial,but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 03-04/2025
Text and Video: Hezbollah, Like Its Mullah Masters, Understands Only the Language of Force and Deterrence/Elias Bejjani
Fasting is prayer, contemplation, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God/Elias Bejjani
Aoun from Riyadh: We Appreciate Role Saudi Arabia Is Playing in Supporting Lebanon
Lebanon appreciates Saudi support for its stability: Aoun
Aoun in Riyadh: "An Opportunity to Reaffirm Strength of Bilateral Ties"
The President in Riyadh: Back to the Fundamentals
Kataeb Delegation Tours Southern Villages to Assess Post-War Needs
Ghada Aoun: Retirement Amid Judicial Controversies
Walid Jumblatt during Druze meeting: This period is even more dangerous than past moments in history
Israeli army patrol detains Lebanese farmer near border then releases him

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 03-04/2025
Syria state media says Israel strikes Tartus area
Israel Army Says Struck 'Military Site' in Northwest Syria
Israeli Officials: 1 Killed, 4 Wounded in Stabbing Attack in Haifa
Arab top diplomats hold closed-door talks over post-war Gaza
With Gaza tensions high, Egyptians and Israelis warn of a new war
Israel PM warns Hamas of consequences it ‘cannot imagine’ if Gaza hostages not released
Israeli fire kills two Palestinians in Gaza amid impasse over ceasefire
Israel clears another refugee camp as squeeze on West Bank tightens
Egypt’s alternative to Trump’s ‘Gaza Riviera’ aims to sideline Hamas
Gaza aid stockpiles limited after Israel cuts flows, aid groups warn
Freed Israeli hostage says Hamas mirrored Israel in treatment of captives
Iran’s Zarif Who Was Key to 2015 Nuclear Deal Tenders Resignation under Pressure
Female suicide bomber kills 1 person and injures 3 in southwest Pakistan
Trump Says Will ‘Not Put up with’ Zelensky War Stance
Kremlin Says Someone Needs to Force Zelenskiy to Make Peace after Clash with Trump
Japanese judge Yuji Iwasawa elected new ICJ president: Court
Pope suffers two new episodes of 'acute respiratory failure': Vatican

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on March 03-04/2025
Why Arabs Don't Want To Receive Palestinian Ex-Prisoners/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute./March 3, 2025
Building a world where justice trumps power/Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/March 03, 2025
Why Labour’s path to power is relevant internationally/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/March 03, 2025
Why sanctions relief is critical to Syria’s recovery and political future/ANAN TELLO/Arab News/March 03, 2025
The Tsar’s Night/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/March 3, 2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 03-04/2025
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: Hezbollah, Like Its Mullah Masters, Understands Only the Language of Force and Deterrence
March 02, 2025
Whoever raises the slogan of reconciliation with Hezbollah—the cancerous entity occupying Lebanon—is unfit to be a politician. Those who lack the understanding, culture, and courage to confront the jihadist-Iranian terrorist militia must step aside, resign, and spare the Lebanese people from their ignorance, cowardice, and Dhimmitude.
This message is directed at the majority of the Lebanese politicians who are nothing but slanderers, merchants of war, profiteers masquerading as resistance figures, hypocritical contractors of so-called liberation, and puppet officials. Enough with the humiliation, the servitude, the stupidity, and the disgrace of licking the boots of occupiers! Hezbollah, like its Iranian mullah masters, understands only the language of force and deterrence.
In this context, MP Sami Gemayel, the new government, President Joseph Aoun, and Nawaf Salam must fully grasp the ideology, schemes, and culture of Iran’s religious dictatorship under "Wilayat al-Faqih" (Guardianship of the Jurist). The same applies to every politician, cleric, and activist who continues to indulge in humiliating compromises and self-inflicted defeats.
Every Lebanese—whether in Lebanon or the Diaspora—must comprehend Hezbollah’s true nature: its extremist doctrine, its absolute subordination to Iran, and its role as a mere tool of the mullah regime. Those who remain ignorant of Hezbollah’s mission, education, and the sectarian obligations imposed by "Wilayat al-Faqih" religious doctrine have no business in politics and should resign immediately.
Meanwhile, extending a hand to the Shiite community is an essential national-human priority, but it must be done with clarity—supporting the true victims: the Shiite population that has been hijacked, terrorized, and taken hostage by Iran’s occupying Hezbollah. The Lebanese people must stand with the oppressed, The Shiites community, not with their oppressors, Hezbollah and its masters the Iranian Mullahs.

Fasting is prayer, contemplation, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God
Elias Bejjani/March 02/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/03/83444/
The Lenten (Fasting) period begins with the Holy Miracle at the Wedding of Cana and culminates in the glorious celebration of Easter. In the Maronite Church, Lent starts on Ash Monday, with the preceding Sunday known as Al-Marfah Sunday (أحد المرفع) or Forgiveness Sunday (أحد الغفران).
Lent is a sacred season meant to be dedicated to deep contemplation, self-humility, repentance, penance, forgiveness, prayer, and reconciliation with oneself and others. It is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage toward Jesus, the fountain of all love, mercy, and salvation. During this spiritual journey, Christ Himself accompanies us through the desert of our human frailty, sustaining us as we move toward the profound joy of Easter.
Lent is a spiritual battle, a conscious choice to resist bodily desires and earthly temptations, striving instead for purity in thought and deed. It is a time to fortify our faith and hope, resisting the snares of Satan and keeping far from the despair and corruption of sin. Through prayer and contemplation, we affirm that Almighty God is our protector, guiding our steps throughout this sacred period.
By fasting and praying, we carve out time for God, embracing His eternal truth: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Mark 13:31). In this sacred practice, we enter into profound communion with Jesus, ensuring that no force can shake our faith and hope.
Fasting is a spiritual discipline through which we seek to emulate Christ, who, during His time of fasting in the wilderness, overcame Satan’s temptations. Inspired by His victory, we endeavor to purify our hearts, minds, and souls, striving for holiness and unwavering devotion.
With trust in the Lord as our Shepherd, we hold firm to the words of Psalm 23:4:”Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff comfort me.”
Reading the Holy Bible and engaging in deep prayer immerse us in the divine Word of God, strengthening our souls and minds with His truth. By meditating on His teachings and listening attentively to His voice, we nourish the faith that was instilled in us at Baptism.
Through fasting and prayer, we gain a renewed understanding of time, redirecting our steps toward boundless hope, divine joy, and eternal salvation.

Aoun from Riyadh: We Appreciate Role Saudi Arabia Is Playing in Supporting Lebanon
Asharq Al Awsat/March 03/2025
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun arrived in Riyadh on Monday at the invitation of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, on his first official visit abroad since his election in January. He said the visit “underscores the depth of Lebanese-Saudi relations and is an occasion to express Lebanon’s appreciation to the role the Kingdom plays in supporting its stability and constitutional institutions.”He added that he was looking forward to the talks he will hold with Crown Prince Mohammed on Monday that will pave the way for a later visit during which agreements aimed at bolstering cooperation between the fraternal nations will be signed. Moreover, Aoun stressed the visit will be an opportunity to thank Saudi Arabia for hosting Lebanese people who have flocked to it for several years and who continue to do so, noting their contributions to its construction and economic rise. During his inaugural speech, Aoun had declared that Lebanon will adopt a policy of “positive neutrality” and will steer clear of regional axes. Lebanon aims to establish the best relations with fraternal Arab countries given Lebanon’s Arab identity and belonging, he remarked.

Lebanon appreciates Saudi support for its stability: Aoun
Najia Houssari/Arab News/March 03, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that his visit to Saudi Arabia represents an opportunity to reaffirm the depth of relations between the two nations. He expressed appreciation for the Kingdom’s role in supporting Lebanon’s stability, safety, and the functioning of its institutions, as well as the various forms of assistance provided by Riyadh. The president’s remarks came as he arrived in the Saudi capital in response to an invitation from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Aoun, in his first trip abroad as president, expressed hope that discussions with the crown prince will further enhance cooperation between the two nations. The Lebanese president said that it was “an opportunity to express gratitude to the Kingdom for hosting Lebanese individuals who have come to it years ago and contributed to its urban and economic development.”Aoun arrived at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh in the afternoon, accompanied by Foreign Minister Youssef Raji. Aoun and his delegation are scheduled to travel to Cairo on Tuesday to participate in the extraordinary Arab summit. In Beirut, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam emphasized during his visit to Dar Al-Fatwa and his meeting with the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan that the government had initiated reforms in Lebanon following last week’s vote of confidence. Salam said all efforts would be taken to end Israeli military operations in Lebanon, and that “citizens will experience a new level of government performance and services in the coming months.
“Our primary concern will be the welfare of the Lebanese people, alleviating their burdens, restoring Lebanon to its leading role, and fostering the best relationships with Arab brothers and friendly nations committed to the state of Lebanon, its institutions, and its people.”
Salam said the government would prioritize critical issues “with a focus on living conditions, as well as essential matters such as water, electricity, roads, and the economic, social, and financial situation, particularly the depositors’ funds.”He emphasized that “the government will ensure justice in all cases, appoint the most qualified individuals to fill vacancies, maintain balance, and protect everyone’s rights.”He pledged to address “the plight of detainees who have not been tried for years, some of whom have exceeded their trial periods, particularly the so-called Islamist detainees. Justice must ultimately prevail, with offenders punished and innocents released.”The Interior Ministry stepped up security measures to maintain public order and ensure the safety of citizens after a security meeting chaired by Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hajjar on Monday, emphasizing the importance of coordination between security agencies. On Sunday night, Burj Al-Barajneh was the site of a shooting incident that led to the death of one person not involved in the altercation. The mayor of Burj Al-Barajneh, Atef Mansour, said that Mohammed Wissam Al-Itawi was killed by gunfire exchanged between gangs.
Mansour called on the state to work “through its security apparatus to find an immediate and decisive solution to these dangerous recurrent acts of lawlessness.”Such attacks are claiming the lives of innocent people due to clashes between gangs involved in theft, drugs, and violence, he said. “Swift action, with an iron fist, is urgently needed” to stop the menace, he added. “It is time to end this by effectively deploying the army and internal security forces to protect citizens. This is a demand shared by all, without exception. “Everyone is calling for the streets to be secured and corrupt criminals to be confronted. The citizens can no longer tolerate this lawlessness and the destruction of property by outlaws. “Citizens must feel the presence of the state and its ability to protect them from violent armed gangs that have no regard for human life. The state is the only entity capable of providing security and safety to its citizens across Lebanon and shielding them from this harsh reality,” the mayor added. In recent developments along the southern border, a Lebanese citizen was injured by Israeli gunfire while attempting to inspect his home in the border town of Kfar Kila. The Israeli military, which remains positioned at five strategic Lebanese hills, has raised a new earthen barrier on the road leading to the town of Odaisseh to prevent residents from reaching their properties. Additionally, Israeli soldiers carried out an incursion into the border plain of Al-Abbassieh, detaining a farmer who was working on his land and later releasing him. This comes after Israeli forces opened fire on a group of citizens traveling on the Odaisseh–Kfar Kila road on Sunday evening. On Monday morning, an Israeli military drone flew over Mansouri and Byout Al-Saiyad in the Tyre district, playing an audio recording accusing Hezbollah of obstructing the Lebanese Army’s enforcement of UN Resolution 1701.

Aoun in Riyadh: "An Opportunity to Reaffirm Strength of Bilateral Ties"
This is Beirut/March 03/2025
President Joseph Aoun declared upon his arrival in Saudi Arabia on Monday, during his first official visit abroad: “it is an opportunity to reaffirm the depth of Lebanese-Saudi relations and to express appreciation for the role played by the Kingdom in supporting Lebanon’s stability, safety, and constitutional institutions.”Aoun stressed that “the visit will also be an opportunity to thank the Kingdom for embracing the Lebanese who have come to Saudi Arabia over the years and continue to do so, contributing, as such, to its urban and economic development.” He added: "I look forward with great hope to the talks that I will hold with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this evening, which will pave the way for a subsequent visit during which agreements will be signed that will enhance cooperation between the two brotherly countries.”Aoun is visiting the oil-rich kingdom at the invitation of the Saudi Crown Prince, the country’s de-facto ruler, accompanied by Foreign Minister Joe Rajji. He was greeted at the airport by Deputy Governor of Riyadh Region, Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, and Lebanese Ambassador to the Kingdom, Fawzi Kabbara. After the one-day visit, Aoun will head to Cairo to attend the emergency Arab League summit dedicated to discussing the situation in Gaza in view of US President Donald Trump’s initiative to take control of the enclave after moving Gazans to Egypt and Jordan.

The President in Riyadh: Back to the Fundamentals
Michel Touma/This is Beirut/March 03/2025
Two brief yet decisive statements that speak volumes: “Lebanon has endured enough from other people’s wars” (on its territory); “The decision of war and peace must rest solely with the state.” President Joseph Aoun has repeated these words on multiple occasions, capturing with striking clarity the deep-rooted crisis that has gripped the country for decades. His remarks come at a pivotal moment, on the eve of his crucial visit to Saudi Arabia this Monday, March 3.
Joseph Aoun’s decision to make Riyadh his first official destination abroad is far from coincidental. Highly symbolic and carefully calculated, this visit clearly signals the guiding principle of the new administration, marking the end of a long period of foreign policy drift. Likewise, it is no coincidence—nor a mere balancing act in the distribution of key portfolios—that Lebanon’s diplomacy has finally been entrusted to a fundamentally Lebanese party and a distinguished career diplomat, Joe Raggi. His unwavering commitment to sovereignty and firm adherence to the country’s neutrality leave no room for compromise.
This return to the fundamental principles of Lebanon’s foreign relations is a crucial step in pulling the country out of the prolonged state of decline caused by years of Syrian and Iranian expansionism. It was only natural that the first move toward this diplomatic reset would take place in Riyadh. The reason is clear: Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as a key player on the international stage. In fact, it was in Saudi Arabia that the first public, official meeting between the new U.S. administration and Russia was held since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict.
Saudi Arabia plays a key role in the rapidly changing and somewhat volatile dynamics of the Middle East. It holds an important position in efforts to contain, and potentially eliminate, the destructive expansionism of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. More broadly, the Abraham Accords, launched by President Donald Trump during his first term, and which he aimed to fully realize, can only reach their full potential with Saudi Arabia’s active involvement. The deadly October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, likely instigated by Tehran, appears to have been aimed at halting or delaying the agreement being negotiated between the Gulf’s leading power and Israel. From a strictly Lebanese standpoint, by choosing to begin his official foreign engagements in the Saudi capital, Joseph Aoun is resetting Lebanon's external relations. Far from blind allegiance or complacency, certain realities must be openly acknowledged today. By holding the Lebanese people hostage, the Iranian mullah regime has caused many—at least some—to forget that, throughout the long years of war, Riyadh consistently supported Lebanon, not only politically but, more importantly, financially. Through successive bank deposits, Riyadh played a key role in replenishing the Lebanese Central Bank’s foreign reserves. Furthermore, it is essential to note that Saudi Arabia is the only significant regional power that did not establish or support a destabilizing local militia in Beirut, one that would have been blindly loyal to its interests throughout the Lebanese conflict. The tragic events of recent years have highlighted the serious damage Lebanon suffered when it was pushed (against its will) to distance itself from its natural allies. This was the result of Hezbollah's ongoing aggressive actions against the Gulf states and other friendly nations, all serving Tehran’s growing ambitions. After his election, President Joseph Aoun welcomed Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. A few days later, with genuine contentment, he looked his guest straight in the eyes and spontaneously said, "Finally..." A small word, but one that says it all.

Kataeb Delegation Tours Southern Villages to Assess Post-War Needs
This is Beirut/March 03/2025
A Kataeb delegation visited several villages in South Lebanon on Monday, following a recent tour of Bint Jbeil district. The latest visit covered villages in the Marjayoun and Hasbaya districts, including Qlayaa, Jdeidet Marjayoun and Kawkaba, as part of the party’s efforts to affirm its support for the region, according to a statement. The delegation included Karen Gemayel, wife of Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel, along with political bureau members Maroun Assaf and Rita Boulos, assistant secretary-general Maroun El Hashem and head of Zahrani district Joseph Kassab. They were received by head of Marjayoun-Hasbaya district Saeed Saeed and other party members. According to the statement, the visit aimed to assess residents' situation following the recent war and understand their needs to reinforce their resilience in the area. The delegation’s first stop was in Qlayaa, where they met with priests Father Pierre Al-Rai and Father Antonios Farah in the church hall. This was followed by a meeting at the municipal building with local officials and residents. They later visited Jdeidet Marjayoun for discussions at the municipality with Deputy Mayor Sari Gholmiyeh and municipal members. In Kawkaba, the delegation met with Mayor Elie Abou Nakoul, council members and residents. They then visited the shrine of Our Lady of Hermon and an ancient olive grove estimated to be over 4,000 years old. The tour concluded at the Kataeb’s Marjayoun-Hasbaya headquarters, where a luncheon was held in the presence of the head of Bint Jbeil district, Charbel Louka, and local officials. The delegation praised the steadfastness of Kataeb members in the region in their commitment to Lebanon and the party.

Ghada Aoun: Retirement Amid Judicial Controversies
Natasha Metni Torbey/This is Beirut/March 03/2025
She pursued her judicial campaign until the very last day before the official end of her tenure within the judiciary. On March 1, 2024, the prosecutor at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, Ghada Aoun, who had been dismissed from her duties in May 2023 by the Judiciary’s Disciplinary Council, retired. True to her nature, however, she did not leave the scene without a final dramatic move: despite her dismissal, she filed a last-minute complaint against former caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, his brother Taha Mikati, former Governor of the Central Bank (BDL), Riad Salameh, and others, for money laundering. This move, which aligns with her series of “spectacular” and widely controversial actions, raises a crucial question: what will become of the numerous legal proceedings she initiated, particularly since her dismissal?
A Controversial Judicial Legacy
In the final years of her career, especially after the October 17, 2019 uprising against the ruling power, to which Aoun was close, the prosecutor became known for judicial prosecutions that often took on a highly political nature. A close ally of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), she frequently targeted figures linked to her opponents, while ignoring, under various pretexts, other complaints and appeals against her party or its allies. Her actions, which significantly undermined the credibility of Lebanon’s judiciary, divided public opinion: to her supporters, she represented relentless justice, while her critics accused her of conducting a selective campaign driven by political interests. Now that she has left office, the fate of the cases she initiated seems uncertain. She was summoned multiple times before the Disciplinary Council but refused to appear, fueling criticism that she placed herself above the very rules she enforced on others. For now, it is up to the investigating judge of Baabda, Nicolas Mansour (also close to the FPM), to review the cases in question. However, he could take a “U-turn” in his stance and “accept the appeals filed by the concerned parties against Ghada Aoun’s decisions on procedural and substantive grounds,” as noted by lawyer Mark Habka in an interview with This Is Beirut. The reason for this potential shift is simple. Following the election of a new president and the formation of a new government, the FPM—closely tied to both Ghada Aoun and her supporters—has lost significant influence, holding no ministerial positions in the current cabinet. The new administration could slow down the legal actions she initiated. Consequently, Judge Mansour may choose to sideline, dismiss, or close the cases filed by Aoun. Several cases initiated by Ghada Aoun have been criticized for their questionable legal foundations. Between procedural flaws, excessive zeal, and jurisdictional conflicts, there are ample legal grounds to justify the abandonment of these cases.
What’s Next?
The retirement of a magistrate marks the end of their involvement in the cases they handled. Therefore, Judge Aoun can no longer personally reopen proceedings or intervene directly. “However, her influence does not completely fade,” according to a judicial source. Aoun may, as she has done in the past—and contrary to the principles of her profession—use favorable media outlets or social media to maintain pressure and denounce potential judicial obstruction of her cases. Furthermore, according to the same source, the FPM and its allies may seize upon her “fight” as a political rallying point, emphasizing the need to pursue the cases she opened in an attempt to regain influence in a political landscape where they have lost ground. Additionally, if some of these cases are dismissed, NGOs (such as Sherpa, which has long supported Aoun) or civil parties could turn to the courts to request their reconsideration. The upcoming judicial appointments, expected within a month (as stated by Mark Habka), will be decisive in determining Aoun’s successor, who, based on the principle of judicial independence, could reassess the cases she left behind.

Walid Jumblatt during Druze meeting: This period is even more dangerous than past moments in history
LBCI/March 3, 2025
Sheikh Akl of the Druze community, Sami Abi Al-Muna, emphasized the Druze people's unwavering commitment to the unity of their homelands, particularly Syria. During a meeting of the Druze Council at the community's headquarters in Verdun, Abi Al-Muna urged Syria's free citizens, especially the descendants of Sultan Pasha Al-Atrash, to resist chaos and avoid isolation from their surroundings. He stressed that the Druze remain deeply integrated into their societies and that their protection comes from active participation in their nations, not from any external force with ulterior motives. He reaffirmed the community's determination to uphold its fundamental principles despite shifting regional dynamics and mounting challenges.  Abi Al-Muna also called on Arab nations to take responsibility in confronting what he described as a destructive agenda before it is too late. He warned that while the region is emerging from a devastating war and dealing with the aftermath of the Israeli army's withdrawal, Israel continues to pursue expansionist plans under the pretext of protecting the Druze. Former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Walid Jumblatt, echoed these concerns, stating that the current period is even more dangerous than past Israeli occupations of Beirut and other key moments in history.  "They want to dismantle Jabal Al-Druze. Either we hold onto our Arab identity, or we succumb to the Zionist plan," Jumblatt said. He affirmed that Syrians are fully aware of the stakes and announced his intention to visit Damascus to reaffirm the capital's central role. Jumblatt also warned that external interference is pulling some factions into dangerous territory, cautioning that it could lead to civil wars with unpredictable consequences if this continues.

Israeli army patrol detains Lebanese farmer near border then releases him
LBCI./March 3, 2025
An Israeli army patrol advanced from its position on the southern outskirts of the border town of Aabbasiyyeh into the plains earlier Monday, according to the National News Agency (NNA). The patrol detained a Lebanese farmer working in his field before releasing him.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 03-04/2025
Syria state media says Israel strikes Tartus area
AFP/March 03, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syrian state media said Israeli strikes hit the Tartus area on Monday, after a war monitor reported a blast near the city’s port and the Israeli army said it struck a “military site” further north. Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes after a lightning offensive ousted president Bashar Assad in December, in what it said was a bid to prevent Syrian military assets from falling into hostile hands. Official news agency SANA reported “air strikes carried out by Israeli occupation aircraft on the surroundings of Tartus city, without recording human losses so far.” “Civil defense and specialized teams are working to confirm the location of the targets,” it added. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said that “a strong explosion rocked the Tartus port” at the same time as aircraft flew overhead, reporting smoke rising from the site. Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP the explosion was in a military base near the port. The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces “struck a military site where weapons belonging to the previous Syrian regime were stored in the area of Qardaha.”It added that the decision to strike the site was “due to recent developments in the area,” without elaborating. Qardaha, the hometown of deposed president Assad, is located in Latakia province, some 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of the city of Tartus. Last Tuesday, the Israeli army said it carried out air strikes targeting military sites containing weapons in southern Syria. At least two people were killed by a strike on one of the sites, the headquarters of a military unit southwest of Damascus, the Observatory said at the time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that southern Syria must be completely demilitarised, warning that his government would not accept the presence of the forces of the new Syrian Islamist-led government near its territory. Even before Assad’s fall, during Syria’s civil war which broke out in 2011, Israel carried out hundreds of strikes in the neighboring country, mainly on government forces and Iranian-linked targets. The same day Assad was ousted, Israel announced that its troops were entering a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights. Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in a war in 1967, later annexing the area in a move largely unrecognized by the international community. Participants in Syria’s national dialogue conference last week affirmed their rejection of “provocative” statements by Netanyahu and urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop any “aggression and violations,” condemning “the Israeli incursion into Syrian territory.”Israel on the weekend threatened action if Syria’s new leaders harmed the country’s Druze community, after unrest in a Damascus suburb home to members of the religious minority.

Israel Army Says Struck 'Military Site' in Northwest Syria
This is Beirut/With AFP/March 03/2025
Israel's military said it struck a military site in northwest Syria on Monday, as a Syria war monitor reported an explosion in the Tartus area. An army statement said that Israeli forces "struck a military site where weapons belonging to the previous Syrian regime were stored in the area of Qardaha", the hometown of deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad north of the Tartus port. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "a strong explosion rocked the Tartus port, at the same time as unknown aircraft, likely Israeli", flew overhead, reporting smoke rising from the site. Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP the explosion was in a military base near the port. Syrian state media did not immediately report the incident. Israel carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria during its civil war which broke out in 2011, mainly on government forces and Iranian-linked targets. After the lightning offensive that ousted Syria's longtime president Bashar al-Assad, Israel carried out hundreds more air strikes on Syrian military assets in what it said was a bid to prevent them from falling into hostile hands. Last Tuesday, the Israeli army said it carried out air strikes targeting military sites containing weapons in southern Syria, just days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for demilitarising the area. At least two people were killed by a strike on one of the sites, the headquarters of a military unit southwest of Damascus, the Observatory said at the time.

Israeli Officials: 1 Killed, 4 Wounded in Stabbing Attack in Haifa
Asharq Al Awsat/March 03/2025
A man in his 60s was killed and four other people were wounded in a stabbing attack Monday in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, police said. Israeli authorities said the assailant was killed. Police said they were treating the stabbing, which took place in a central transit hub, as a militant attack. A security guard and a civilian killed the attacker, who police said was an Arab citizen of Israel who had recently returned to Israel after some time abroad. The attack took place as regional tensions are high surrounding the fate of the ceasefire in Gaza.

Arab top diplomats hold closed-door talks over post-war Gaza
AFP/March 03, 2025
CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers met behind closed doors in Cairo on Monday ahead of an extraordinary Arab League summit focused on a plan to counter US President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza and expel its residents. The ministers held a “preparatory and consultative” session centered on an Arab plan to reconstruct the war-battered enclave without displacing its 2.4 million residents, a source at the Arab League told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. The meeting was closed to the press, the source said, adding that the plan “would be presented to Arab leaders at Tuesday’s summit for approval.”Ahead of the session, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held separate meetings with Arab counterparts, including from Jordan, Bahrain, Tunisia, Iraq and Yemen, as well as the Palestinian top diplomat. During the meetings, Abdelatty called for “moving forward with early recovery projects” in Gaza without displacing Palestinians, an Egyptian foreign ministry statement said. Trump triggered global outrage when he floated a plan for the United States to “take over” the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” while forcing its Palestinian residents to relocate to Egypt and Jordan. The plan has united Arab countries in opposition, with Riyadh hosting a consultative meeting of Arab leaders last month to discuss “joint efforts in support of the Palestinian cause.”At a news conference in Cairo on Sunday, Abdelatty said the Gaza reconstruction plan was ready and would be presented to Arab leaders at the summit in Cairo for approval. Trump has recently appeared to soften his stance on the plan. “I think that’s a plan that really works, but I’m not forcing it,” Trump said. “I’m just gonna sit back and recommend it.”

With Gaza tensions high, Egyptians and Israelis warn of a new war
Sarah El Sirgany/CNN/Mon, March 3, 2025
“Are we going to war?” asks a worried Cairo saleswoman upon learning that she’s speaking to a journalist. The ominous question about the prospect of war between Egypt and Israel has crept into many conversations in the country.
These murmurs of war reveal growing concerns among a population worn down by successive economic crises and horrified by the devastation it has seen Israel inflict on Gaza and Lebanon. Over the past few weeks, the diplomatic row over US President Donald Trump’s proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt has intensified this anxiety, turning this chatter into fervent debate.
The same question, along with alarming answers, has ricocheted through Egyptian, Arab and Israeli media. An Israeli website published an AI-generated scenario of an attack destroying Egypt’s strategic High Dam. And an Egyptian YouTuber posted an AI-generated video of an attack on Israel’s nuclear reactor. Keyboard warriors trade accusations and threats on various social media platforms and TV shows debate what they see as evidence of each side’s readiness for war.
According to a report in Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, this “war sentiment” is fueled by misleading information amplified by right-wing outlets in Israel. It debunked many of the claims circulating on social media and TV about an Egyptian military buildup at the border.
Amos Harel, a defense analyst at Israeli newspaper Haaretz, said he doesn’t know “how much (of) this is coordinated and how much is spontaneous,” but added that it may be in the interest of the Israeli far right to “stir the pot regarding Egypt” to divert attention from domestic criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Families of hostages held in Gaza have accused Netanyahu of wavering on a deal to free the captives in order to appease hardliners in his government, which he has denied. Egypt and other mediators are trying to salvage the ceasefire, which went into effect in January and is now hanging by a thread.
Tensions over the Sinai Peninsula
The main point of contention is whether Cairo has deployed more soldiers and military equipment to the Sinai than permitted under the security provisions that followed the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
The treaty, brokered by the United States, ended decades of war between both countries and set limits on Egypt’s military footprint in the Sinai Peninsula that borders Israel. It ushered in an era of close security cooperation between the two, and with the US. Egypt has been keen to emphasize that it is following the rules. In 2016, while fighting a local ISIS branch, it secured Israel’s approval to expand its military presence in the Sinai. When Egypt reinforced its border with Gaza and bolstered its security last year, Egyptian officials insisted the deployment remained within the framework of a 2016 agreement between the two.In September, Egypt conducted a military drill in Sinai using live ammunition, followed by a military parade in October that was attended by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi. Media on both sides of the border have aired footage of these events and said they are signs of possible war preparations.
Such alarm hasn’t been confined to the media, as Israeli officials have also chimed in.
“We have (seen) bases being built that can only be used for offensive operations,” Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, told a meeting of American Jewish leaders in January. He alleged Egypt was in “serious violation” of the peace treaty and that this would be addressed “very emphatically.”
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, reportedly asked why Egypt is spending “hundreds of millions of dollars on military equipment” in an interview with an Israeli radio station. “This should raise alarm bells. We have learned our lesson. We must monitor Egypt closely and prepare for every scenario,” he said. Egyptian and Israeli military spokespeople did not respond to CNN questions regarding the alleged deployments and whether they would constitute a violation of the security agreements. Military analysts on both sides dismiss media reports of Egyptian deployments in Sinai as baseless.
“No (Egyptian) tank enters Sinai without Israel’s approval,” said Hossam el-Hamalawy, a Berlin-based Egyptian security analyst, arguing that Egypt’s military doesn’t have the capacity to enter a war with Israel. Most of the videos of Egyptian military deployment and drills circulating in Arab and Israeli media, he explained, are either old or not filmed in Sinai.
‘If we are destined to fight, we are up to it’
In a rare TV interview with the traditionally media-shy military establishment, a leading Egyptian military commander, Maj. Gen. Ahmad Mahmoud Safi El-Din, told Saudi news channel Al-Hadath on Thursday that Egypt’s military expenditure and efforts to modernize its arsenal were meant to “preserve peace and stability in the region.”Outgoing Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi also addressed the growing concern in a public address last week but said it was not a priority. “We think that it is not a threat at the moment, but it could change in an instant,” he said. With the absence of a stated government position, the matter was left for influential media personalities to interpret. “We are not on the verge of a war with Israel,” popular Egyptian talk show host Amr Adib told viewers in February. Known for his close ties to the Egyptian government, he was careful to couch his reassurance, saying it only reflects the current moment, “as in right now, at 10:15 p.m.,” he said, looking at his watch, implying it could quickly change. Both countries violate the peace treaty, he said, and it would only collapse if one side attacks the other, “but we are not entering war.”
“Israel understands it would be seriously hurt in such confrontation… If we are destined to fight, we are up to it,” he added.
Unprecedented pressure on peace treaty
The creeping threat of war has overshadowed domestic issues facing the leaders of both countries. Yet, analysts also point to a series of events that could potentially undermine the treaty. “Rational minds do not want the treaty to be at risk. The action taken over the past 15 months have put pressure on the treaty that have never been at this level before,” said Nabil Fahmy, former Egyptian foreign minister and dean emeritus of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo. What could eventually tip the balance is the potential expulsion of Gazans into Egypt, which Fahmy said would constitute a threat to Egypt’s national security. In the months leading up to Israel’s operation in the Gazan border city of Rafah, which started in May, Egypt warned that forcing over 1 million Palestinians sheltering there into Egypt, as proposed by some Israeli officials, would put the treaty at risk. A year ago, Sisi, the Egyptian president, told reporters and his European counterparts that any such displacement would mean moving the Palestinian fight against Israel to Egyptian territory. “Sinai would become a base for fighting against Israel… In response, Israel would attack Egyptian territory,” he said. So, when Trump presented his plan to displace Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan and turn Gaza into a Middle Eastern “riviera,” this scenario was already in the back of people’s minds. “Israelis did not take the Trump plan seriously. But on the Egyptian side, it was taken deadly seriously,” explained Max Rodenbeck, the Israel/Palestine project director at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. Fearing that pressure would build up in Washington D.C. for Cairo to comply, Egyptians had to make a show of political force and indicate that the treaty is at risk, he said. Arab nations didn’t want to directly antagonize the US president by engaging in a media spat. In their rejection of the plan, official statements said they looked forward to cooperation with Trump to achieve peace in the region. Arab leaders are expected to meet in Cairo this week to discuss a counter plan to present to Trump. Whether Trump backtracks or not, there is a realization among Arab nations that the region, like the rest of the world, is entering uncharted territory under his second term in office. “Trump’s proposal is in complete contradiction with the whole objective of comprehensive peace between Arabs and Israelis,” Fahmy said. Fahmy, like the security experts who spoke with CNN, downplayed the real-life impact of the media chatter about an impending war, but all were worried by its growing intensity. There is an underlying fear that the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the first between an Arab country and the Jewish state – and which has become a bedrock of regional security – might be facing its greatest threat since it was signed 45 years ago.

Israel PM warns Hamas of consequences it ‘cannot imagine’ if Gaza hostages not released
Arab News/March 03, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas on Monday of consequences it “cannot imagine” if the Palestinian movement does not release the hostages held in Gaza. “I tell Hamas: If you do not release our hostages, there will be consequences that you cannot imagine,” Netanyahu said during a speech at the Israeli parliament, as negotiations for the Gaza ceasefire’s continuation have stalled. Netanyahu’s comments came a day after Israel blocked aid flowing into Gaza, where a six-week truce had enabled a surge of vital food, shelter and medical assistance after more than 15 months of fighting. The move came as talks on a truce extension appeared to hit an impasse, after the ceasefire’s 42-day first phase drew to a close over the weekend. Under the first phase, Gaza militants handed over 25 living hostages and eight bodies in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. Early on Sunday, Israel had announced its support for a truce extension until mid-April that it said US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had proposed.
But Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favoring a transition to the truce deal’s second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to the war. Israeli media on Monday reported that Netanyahu had a plan to exert “maximum pressure” on Hamas to accept an extension of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire under Israel’s terms. Public broadcaster Kan reported that Netanyahu wanted to extend the first stage by at least one week, until the arrival of US envoy Witkoff in the region. Referencing sources close to Netanyahu, Kan reported that the prime minister was waiting to see if mediators could persuade Hamas to extend the first phase, failing which he would consider resuming fighting. Kan said Israel has drafted plans to ramp up pressure on Hamas this week, under a scheme dubbed the “Hell Plan.” The plan includes following up the decision to block aid with displacing residents from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, halting the electricity supply, and a resumption of full-scale fighting, Kan reported. Daily paper Israel Hayom said that Netanyahu, unlike his far-right allies in government, “wants to exhaust all possibilities of freeing hostages before returning to war.”

Israeli fire kills two Palestinians in Gaza amid impasse over ceasefire
Reuters/March 03, 2025
CAIRO: Israeli fire killed at least two people in Rafah and injured three others in Khan Younis in the south of Gaza, raising fear among Palestinians that the ceasefire could collapse altogether after Israel imposed a total blockade on the shattered enclave. A first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas that began in January ended over the weekend with no agreement on what will happen next. Hamas says an agreed second phase must now begin, leading to a permanent Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war. Israel has instead offered a temporary extension into April, with Hamas to release more hostages in return for Palestinian detainees, without immediate talks on Gaza’s future. Two Israeli government officials said mediators had asked Israel for a few more days to resolve the standoff. Israel raised the stakes on Sunday by imposing a total blockade on all supplies, including food and fuel, to sustain the 2.3 million Gazans living among the ruins after the 15-month conflict. Hundreds of lorries carrying supplies were backed up in Egypt, denied permission to enter. Gaza residents said shops had been swiftly emptied of all supplies and the price of a sack of flour had more than doubled overnight.
“Where will our food come from?” said Salah Al-Hajj Hassan, a resident in Jabalia, on Gaza’s northern edge where families have returned to destroyed homes to live in the rubble. “We are dying, and we don’t want war or the alarm bells of displacement or the alarm bells of starving our children.”
TANKS FIRING
Residents said Israeli tanks stationed near the eastern and southern borders of Gaza intensified gunfire and tank shelling into the outskirts throughout the night, raising fears among the population that fighting could resume.
A Palestinian official with a group allied to Hamas told Reuters a state of alert had been declared among fighters.At least two people were killed by an Israeli drone fire in Rafah, and three people were wounded by a helicopter that fired on Khan Younis, medics said.
In a statement, the Israeli military said its forces fired at a motorboat in the coastal area of Khan Younis, violating security restrictions in the area and posing a threat. The military said in another incident in southern Gaza, its forces identified two suspects who were moving toward them and posing a threat. Israeli forces “fired at the suspects to eliminate the threat and identified casualties,” it said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday it had adopted a proposal by US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Jewish feast of Passover, ending around April 20.The truce would be conditional on Hamas releasing half of the remaining living and dead hostages on the first day, with the remainder released at the conclusion if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas says it is committed to the originally agreed ceasefire that had been scheduled to move into a second phase, with negotiations aimed at a permanent end to the war, and hostages could be released only under that plan.
FOOD PRICES SURGE
The Hamas-run Gaza interior ministry called on residents to provide information about merchants raising food prices in the wake of the new blockade. Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza businessman, said that with shops suddenly empty, the price of a sack of flour had risen to 100 shekels ($28) from 40 shekels. Prices for cooking oil, fuel, and vegetables had also surged. “It is catastrophic and things might become worse if the ceasefire isn’t resumed or there is no intervention by the local authorities against greedy merchants,” he told Reuters via a chat app. Salama Marouf, head of the Gaza government media office, urged Gazans not to panic, saying there was enough food in markets for at least two weeks. The economy ministry had initiated an effort to compel merchants not to increase prices. “There are pressures to compel the occupation (Israel) to commit to the ceasefire agreement and to reopen the crossing,” said Marouf in a statement on Monday. Israel’s onslaught has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health authorities, and displaced most of the population. The war began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Fifty-nine hostages are believed to remain in Gaza.

Israel clears another refugee camp as squeeze on West Bank tightens
Reuters/March 03, 2025
RAMALLAH: Israeli troops demolished houses and cleared a wide roadway through the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, in a weeks-long operation against militant groups. The operation, during a fragile ceasefire in Gaza that has halted fighting there for the past six weeks, has forced tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and emptied some of the biggest refugee camps in the northern West Bank in what some Palestinians see as a trial run for wider clearances later. Nur Shams, outside the city of Tulkarm, is the latest camp to be virtually emptied of its inhabitants following a camp in the volatile city of Jenin to the east and a separate camp within Tulkarm itself. Residents say bulldozers have been clearing a broad roadway through the area where houses once stood to create easy access for military vehicles, continuing one of the Israeli military’s biggest operations in the West Bank for years.
Of the usual population of some 13,000, almost none was left inside the main camp, said Nihad Al-Shawish, head of the Nur Shams camp services committee. “There were about 3,000 people left in the camp and as of today, they have all left,” he said. “There are still some people just outside on the outskirts but there is no one left in the camp.”There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has previously said its operation aims to root out fighters from Iranian-backed militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that have established strongholds in the camps of the northern West Bank. At least 12 people have been killed in Tulkarm during the operation, including both armed militants and civilians, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military said it had made hundreds of arrests in the northern West Bank over recent weeks, confiscating 120 weapons and destroying hundreds of explosive devices.
Gaza-style demolition
The military has denied issuing formal evacuation orders to residents of the camp, a crowded township housing descendants of Palestinians who fled their homes or were forced out in the 1948 war at the birth of the state of Israel. But as in Jenin, residents have fled with whatever possessions they could carry in shopping bags or rucksacks as the Israeli bulldozers have demolished buildings and torn up roads, leaving the camp resembling the ruins of Gaza. “People are leaving with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. They need food, clothing, baby milk, everything, Shawish said. Shawish said the operation, which has coincided with Israeli moves to cut out the main United Nations Palestinian relief organization UNRWA by closing its headquarters in Jerusalem, appeared to be a test to prepare for similar moves against refugee camps across the whole of the West Bank. “If it succeeds, they will export it to all the camps,” he said.
The operation has drawn widespread international criticism and comes amid heightened fears among Palestinians of an organized effort by Israel to formally annex the West Bank, the area seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. US President Donald Trump, who recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital during his first term, has not yet indicated whether he would support annexation, a move that could complicate efforts to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia. But he has already proposed moving Palestinians out of Gaza to make way for a US property development, and has said he will give his position on the West Bank, which the Palestinians see as the core of a future independent state along with Gaza, in the near future. For Palestinians, such talk has revived memories of the ‘Nakba’ or catastrophe when some 750,000 Palestinians lost their homes after the 1948 war and became refugees.

Egypt’s alternative to Trump’s ‘Gaza Riviera’ aims to sideline Hamas
Reuters/March 04, 2025
DOHA: A plan for Gaza drawn up by Egypt as a counter to US President Donald Trump’s ambition for a Middle East Riviera would sideline Hamas and replace it with interim bodies controlled by Arab, Muslim and Western states, according to a draft seen by Reuters.The Egyptian vision for Gaza, which is due to be presented at an Arab League summit on Tuesday, does not specify whether the proposal would be implemented before or after any permanent peace deal to end the war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. Trump’s plan, which envisioned clearing Gaza of its Palestinian inhabitants, appeared to back away from long-standing US Middle East policy focused on a two-state solution and sparked anger among Palestinians and Arab nations. Who will run Gaza after the conflict remains the great unanswered question in negotiations over the future of the enclave. Hamas has so far rejected the idea of any proposal being imposed on Palestinians by other states. Cairo’s plan does not tackle critical issues such as who will foot the bill for Gaza’s reconstruction or outline any specific details around how Gaza would be governed, nor how an armed group as powerful as Hamas would be pushed aside.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Egypt's draft Gaza plan has no role for Hamas - draft proposal
• Arab states seek to counter Trump's Gaza vision
• Governance Assistance Mission would replace Hamas-run government International Stabilisation Force would provide security
Under the Egyptian plan, a Governance Assistance Mission would replace the Hamas-run government in Gaza for an unspecified interim period and would be responsible for humanitarian aid and for kick-starting reconstruction of the enclave, which has been devastated by the war. “There will be no major international funding for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Gaza if Hamas remains the dominant and armed political element on the ground controlling local governance,” a preamble outlining the draft Egyptian plan’s objectives said. Details of Egypt’s proposed framework for Gaza’s future have not been previously reported. Egypt, Jordan and Gulf Arab states have for almost a month been scrambling to formulate a diplomatic offensive to counter Trump’s plan. A number of ideas have been proposed, with Egypt’s considered the frontrunner. Reuters was unable to determine whether Arab leaders would support the plan presented by Egypt. The plan does not specify who would run the governance mission. It said it would, “draw on the expertise of Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere to help Gaza recover as quickly as possible.”The draft proposal was shared with Reuters by an official involved in Gaza negotiations who wished to remain anonymous because the draft has not yet been made public. The plan firmly rejects the US proposal for mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, which Arab states such as Egypt and Jordan see as a security threat. “President Trump has been clear that Hamas cannot continue to govern Gaza,” White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said when asked about Egypt’s Gaza plan and whether the US would support it. “While the President stands by his bold vision for a post-war Gaza, he welcomes input from our Arab partners in the region. It’s clear his proposals have driven the region to come to the table rather than allow this issue to devolve into further crisis,” Hughes said.
STABILISATION FORCE
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the group knows of no such proposal by Egypt. “The day after in Gaza must only be decided by the Palestinians,” he said. “Hamas rejects any attempt to impose projects or any form of non-Palestinian administration, or the presence of any foreign forces on the land of the Gaza Strip.”The Egyptian draft does not mention future elections. Egypt’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the office of Israel’s prime minister, whose support for any plan is seen as vital to secure a commitment that any future reconstruction will not be destroyed again. Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has ruled the coastal enclave since 2007. It launched the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and started the Gaza war. A January 19 ceasefire brought a temporary end to the fighting but the first phase of the deal expired on Saturday with no sign of an agreement to move to the second phase. The Egyptian draft does not tackle the issue of what actions could be taken if Hamas refuses to disarm or step aside from politics. The proposal envisions an International Stabilization Force drawn primarily from Arab states that would take over the role of providing security from the militant group, with the eventual establishment of a new local police force. Both security and governance bodies would be “arranged, guided and supervised” by a steering board. The draft said the board would comprise key Arab countries, members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the United States, Britain, the European Union and its member states, and others. The plan does not detail a central governing role for the Palestinian Authority (PA), which opinion polls show has little support among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinian official told Reuters that, like the West Bank, Gaza falls under the PA’s jurisdiction — and it must be run by Palestinians. “We agreed with the Egyptians on a committee made of Palestinian experts that will help the Palestinian Authority in running the Gaza Strip for six months. The committee is made of Palestinian experts and coordinates with the PA, and doesn’t answer to non-Palestinian bodies,” said the official, who asked not to be named for sensitivity.
RECONSTRUCTION BILL
Since Hamas drove the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza after a brief civil war in 2007, it has crushed all opposition there. Supported by Iran, it built an extensive security apparatus and military organization based around a vast network of tunnels — much of which Israel says it has now destroyed. The plan does not say who would pay to rebuild Gaza, a bill estimated by the UN at more than $53 billion. Two sources have told Reuters that Gulf and Arab states would need to commit at least $20 billion in the initial phase of reconstruction. Egypt’s proposal envisions that states on the steering board could establish a fund to support the interim governing body and arrange donor conferences to seek contributions for a longer-term reconstruction and development plan for Gaza. The plan does not contain any specific financial pledges. Oil- and gas-producing Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates could be vital sources of funding from the region. The United Arab Emirates, for instance, sees Hamas and other militant groups as an existential threat and is unlikely to offer any funding until Hamas has been sidelined. The foreign ministries in Qatar and the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s international media office did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Egypt’s plan, or to questions about their willingness to commit funds to rebuild Gaza. The draft plan also calls on the steering board to coordinate with a Civil Society Advisory Board, consisting of academics, NGO leaders and other notable figures.

Gaza aid stockpiles limited after Israel cuts flows, aid groups warn
Reuters/March 04, 2025
GENEVA: Food, medicine and shelter stockpiles in Gaza are limited and aid intended for Palestinians in desperate need may spoil following Israel’s suspension of deliveries to the enclave, humanitarian agencies said on Monday. Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated. “Much of what has come in over the past few weeks has already been distributed...Now, already we are seeing price increases,” a UN official in Gaza told Reuters. Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres warned that the suspension of aid will add significant pressure on the two million Palestinians in the enclave who are still suffering from shortages of essential goods following 16 months of war. Israel has previously accused Hamas of hijacking aid, which the group denied. “Any further challenges to access to food and access to clean water could have devastating consequences. The spike in food and good prices is creating fear and uncertainty,” Caroline Seguin, MSF emergency coordinator, in Gaza told Reuters. Salama Marouf, head of the Gaza government media office, said enough food was in markets for at least two weeks and urged Gazans not to panic.
LOGISTICAL IMPACT
More than 300 trucks loaded with aid were stopped from crossing the border from Egypt on Sunday, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross. Its five warehouses in Egypt that stock food, water and medicines are currently at 50 percent capacity and expiry dates are being checked.
“We have warehouse capacity for now, but we cannot be sure how long that will continue,” operations coordinator for the IFRC in Egypt, Jurgen Hogl, told Reuters. Medecins Sans Frontieres has 14 trucks of aid shipments in Egypt and Jordan, mainly medical supplies, waiting to be shipped into Gaza.
“We are concerned that if drug supplies would be maintained in trucks for months at end, and exposed to the sun, it could shorten the lifespan of medicines and decrease the efficiency of the drugs,” said Seguin. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned it could reach a point that agencies halt shipments of aid altogether, as was the case when aid was restricted at the beginning of the war. “It’s costly for us to keep aid in warehouses or packed up on trucks, waiting in queues,” NRC spokesperson Shaina Low told Reuters. Phase two talks to negotiate a final end to the war have barely begun. Israel, while announcing the halt to aid entry, said it will not allow a ceasefire without the release of all remaining hostages. Hamas has denounced Israel’s move as “blackmail” and a “blatant coup against the agreement.”Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killed 1,200 people, and 251 people were taken into Gaza as hostages. The subsequent Israeli campaign has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, displaced almost all of its 2.3 million population and left Gaza a wasteland.

Freed Israeli hostage says Hamas mirrored Israel in treatment of captives
Adam Schrader/United Press International/March 03/2025
An Israeli hostage who endured more than a year of Hamas captivity has detailed his ordeal as human rights group called the torture suffered by Palestinians held in Israel prisons "shocking."
Eli Sharabi, who was released in the fifth exchange of captives as part of the ongoing ceasefire last month, recounted what he went through to Israel's Channel 12 show "Uvda" on Thursday, according to the English-language Haaretz newspaper.
At the time of his release, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said the detainees had endured torture and enforced starvation with seven taken directly to a hospital for treatment. Sharabi has now revealed that the treatment of Israeli hostages was dependent on how Palestinians held in Israel were treated as reported in Israeli media.
"They came and told us - '[Palestinian] prisoners are not receiving food, so you won't eat. Our prisoners are being beaten, so we'll beat you.' That was the constant threat," he said. Sharabi called the conditions in Hamas' tunnels dire as he detailed the hunger the hostages experienced. With Israel stymying aid to Gaza, Israeli hostages and Palestinians alike have faced famine-like conditions. He described having even a single dry date feeling like "the best meal in the world" with hostages getting as little as 250 calories per day. "You dream every day of opening a fridge and taking out fruit, vegetables, or a slice of bread. You don't care about the beatings you receive," Sharabi said. "They break my ribs, and I don't care -- just give me another pita."
Sharabi also said that the Israeli Defense Forces have little hope of rescuing hostages alive from Hamas' tunnels, stating, "You would get a bullet to the head before Israeli troops stepped into the tunnel."
Meanwhile, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor -- a human rights group that has sought to combat falsehoods spread by Israel- has also been interviewing Palestinian captives and describing their conditions. It released an update after the seventh exchange of prisoners last week calling their conditions "shocking."
"Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, who arrived in the Gaza Strip recently in exceptionally poor health, illustrates its ongoing use of torture to terrorize and persecute prisoners and detainees and break their will until the very end of their detention," the group said. "The effects of torture were clearly evident, with the emaciated bodies of the released individuals reflecting the severity of systematic crimes and inhumane treatment that exceed all legal and moral bounds."
The Euro-Med team documented injuries including limb amputations and "severe swelling brought on by torture." Some were even reportedly incapable of walking without assistance. Israel has claimed that the Palestinian detainees are guilty of crimes, including murder, though human rights groups have long challenged the veracity of such claims. Many are often held in administrative detention without trial, and when trials occur, they happen within the context of Israel's court system making any verdict liable to scrutiny.
With the Gaza ceasefire in limbo, Israel tries to impose an alternative plan on Hamas
Joseph Krauss/The Associated Press/Mon, March 3, 2025
Israel this week introduced what it said was a new U.S. ceasefire plan — different from the one it agreed to in January — and is trying to force Hamas to accept it by imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to it as the “Witkoff proposal,” saying it came from U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. But the White House has yet to confirm that, saying only that it supports whatever action Israel takes.
Netanyahu's remarks came a day after the first phase of the negotiated ceasefire ended, with no clarity on what would come next since the agreement's second phase has not yet been hammered out.
The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages — the militant group's main bargaining chip — in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners — a key component of the first phase. Hamas has accused Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement, which called for the two sides to negotiate the return of the remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire. But no substantive negotiations have been held. On Sunday, Israel halted all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza’s population of some 2 million people and vowed “additional consequences” if Hamas did not embrace the new proposal.
Arab leaders are meanwhile finalizing a separate plan for postwar Gaza to counter Trump's suggestion that its population be relocated so it can be transformed into a tourist destination.
But all bets are off if the war resumes.
The existing agreement is in limbo
The ceasefire reached in January, after more than a year of negotiations mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, laid out a three-phase plan to return all the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and ending the war triggered by the attack.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people that day, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage. More than 100 were released in an earlier ceasefire. Israeli forces rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies before the current ceasefire took hold.
During the first, six-week phase, Hamas released 25 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces withdrew from most of Gaza and allowed an influx of desperately needed humanitarian aid. Each side accused the other of violations, but the deal held.
Phase 2 was always going to be far more difficult because it would force Israel to choose between securing the return the hostages and annihilating Hamas — two of Netanyahu's main war goals.
Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza, has said it will only release the remaining hostages if Israel ends the war. But that would leave the militant group intact and with major influence over the territory, even if it hands over formal power to other Palestinians, as it says it is willing to do. The new plan favors Israel
Hamas still has 59 hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead. Under the so-called Witkoff plan, it would release half the hostages on the first day — apparently without getting anything new in return.
The sides would then have around six weeks — through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday ending April 20 — to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and the return of the remaining hostages.
But with fewer hostages, Hamas' hand would be weakened, and Israel and the United States are already speaking about new conditions — like the disarmament of Hamas or the exile of its leadership — that were not part of the original agreement.
A political lifeline for Netanyahu
Netanyahu's narrow coalition is beholden to far-right allies who want to eliminate Hamas, depopulate Gaza through what they refer to as “voluntary emigration” and rebuild Jewish settlements in the territory. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to bring down the government if Netanyahu enters Phase 2 of the existing agreement and does not resume the war.
The new plan would buy Netanyahu six weeks of breathing room and enough time to pass a budget by the end of the month — something he must do to keep his government from automatically falling. If it falls, elections would be held roughly a year and a half ahead of schedule and could see him removed from power.
Opposition parties say they would ensure Netanyahu's government is not brought down over a deal that returns the rest of the hostages. But that would still weaken him politically.
The American position is unclear
Netanyahu says his government has "fully coordinated" its approach with the Trump administration, which has publicly endorsed Israel's war goals, including the eradication of Hamas. But Witkoff has not said a word in public about the plan that supposedly bears his name.
Trump himself has sent mixed signals about Gaza.
As a candidate, he pledged to end wars in the Middle East, and he took credit for pushing the ceasefire agreement past the finish line just before his inauguration.
But he has also expressed revulsion at Hamas' treatment of the captives and suggested that “all hell” should break loose if they are not immediately returned, while leaving that decision to Israel.
An Arab counterproposal to Trump's Gaza plan
Trump has also floated the idea of relocating Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians to other countries so the U.S. can rebuild it as a tourist destination. Netanyahu welcomed that proposal, which was universally rejected by Palestinians, Arab countries and human rights experts, who warn it could violate international law. It's hard to see how Trump's Gaza plan would be carried out without Israel resuming the war and launching an even bloodier offensive than the last one, which left much of Gaza in ruins and killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They say more than half of those killed were women and children but do not specify how many of the dead were combatants.
Egypt has developed a counterproposal expected to be endorsed at an Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday. Under its plan, Palestinians would remain in Gaza and relocate to “safe zones” while cities are rebuilt. Hamas would hand over power to a transitional authority of political independents while the international community works to empower the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
But Israel, which has ruled out any role for the Palestinian Authority in postwar Gaza, is unlikely to accept such a plan. And while Trump has called on Arab countries to come up with their own proposal, it's unclear whether he would go for it either.

Iran’s Zarif Who Was Key to 2015 Nuclear Deal Tenders Resignation under Pressure
Asharq Al Awsat/March 3, 2025
A former Iranian foreign minister who was key to the country's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers reportedly tendered his resignation Monday from the government of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, caving in to pressure from hard-liners. The resignation of Mohammad Javad Zarif signaled Tehran's rapid retreat from its outreach to the West as US President Donald Trump intensifies sanctions on the country. Zarif has served as vice president to Pezeshkian and has long been a target of hard-liners within the country's theocracy. He had tried to resign once before as vice president. The development comes after Iran's parliament on Sunday impeached Finance Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati, who once ran for the presidency, signaling he'd be willing to talk to the US president directly. While lawmakers focused on their criticism of Hemmati over Iran's plummeting rial currency, his removal also underscored the danger faced by Pezeshkian, who won election last year promising to reach out to the West to get sanctions lifted. “Pezeshkian may have worse days ahead,” warned Mohmmad Ebrahim Ansari Lari, a reformist and a political analyst.
A new resignation from Zarif
The state-run IRNA news agency reported on Monday that Zarif handed in his resignation to Pezeshkian late the previous night, though it was unclear if the president accepted it. It marked the second time Zarif has attempted to resign as Pezeshkian's vice president for strategic affairs. Writing on the social platform X, Zarif said he met Sunday with the head of the country's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei. “Referring to the country’s conditions, he recommended that I return to university to prevent further pressure on the government,” Zarif wrote. "I immediately accepted.”Zarif did not elaborate on what Mohseni-Ejei told him and there was no readout from the judiciary on the conversation. However, hard-liners had targeted Zarif since Pezeshkian's election, citing a law that bars people from any sensitive Iranian public office if they have children holding foreign passports. Zarif's children are naturally born US citizens as he had lived in the United States when serving as a local staffer with Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York. That had not previously stopped Zarif from rising within Iran's Foreign Ministry.
Zarif has used resignation announcements in the past in his political career as leverage, including in a dispute last year over the composition of Pezeshkian's Cabinet. The president had rejected that rsignation. On Monday, Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said Pezeshkian had yet to accept Zarif's resignation. “The law on recruiting individuals for sensitive positions will deprive the country from many of its human resources,” she said, criticizing the law that entangled Zarif.
Iran's position on talks harden
In recent months, things have changed drastically for Iran following Trump's return to the White House. While Iran's 85-year-old supreme leader in August opened the door to negotiations with the West, Ali Khamenei slammed it shut again in February. Trump, while suggesting he was willing to negotiate with Tehran, also has embarked on a renewed “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions. Pezeshkian himself on Sunday seemingly followed suit with Khamenei's new edict. “My belief was that talks are better, but the supreme leader has said we do not negotiate with the US and we will go forward in the direction of the statements of our top leader,” Pezeshkian said. The US sanctions come as Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium, according to a report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog seen by The Associated Press. Iran maintains its program is peaceful, but US intelligence agencies assess Tehran has “undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so.” Iranian officials also increasingly hint they could seek the bomb. Both Israel and the US have said they won't allow Iran to make a nuclear weapon, raising the possibility of further escalation after Tehran has twice attacked Israel during its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Female suicide bomber kills 1 person and injures 3 in southwest Pakistan
Abdul Sattar/QUETTA, Pakistan (AP)/March 3, 2025
A female suicide bomber killed one person and injured three when she targeted the vehicle of a paramilitary patrol in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, a police official said Monday. Female suicide bombers are rare in Pakistan. The last confirmed suicide attack by a woman was in 2022, when three Chinese teachers and their Pakistani driver were killed in an explosion that ripped through their van at a university campus in Karachi. Monday’s assault was in Kalat, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of Balochistan’s capital Quetta. Images from the blast site showed a scorched Frontier Corps vehicle with its doors blown off. The explosion killed the vehicle driver and injured three security personnel, Kalat police official Habibullah said. Body parts of the assailant were recovered from the scene, Habibullah said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army. It is waging an insurgency against the central government and wants independence. Authorities estimate that the group, which Pakistan and the U.S. have designated a terrorist organization, has around 3,000 fighters. It regularly targets security forces but has also in the past attacked Chinese nationals working on megaprojects in the country.

Trump Says Will ‘Not Put up with’ Zelensky War Stance
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 03/2025
Donald Trump said Monday that Washington would "not put up with" Volodymyr Zelensky's rhetoric much longer, as the US president prepared to meet his top team after a disastrous Oval Office row with the Ukrainian. "This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer," Trump said on social media, citing a story quoting Ukraine's president saying the end of the war with Moscow was far off. "This guy doesn't want there to be Peace as long as he has America's backing."Trump also took aim at European leaders who met Zelensky for crisis talks in London at the weekend, saying that they had "stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US.""Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking," Trump said on his Truth Social network. Trump's broadside came after a meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelensky at the White House on Friday which descended into an extraordinary on-camera argument. Trump and Vance raised their voices and accused Zelensky of being disrespectful and ungrateful for US military assistance, as the Ukrainian pushed his demand for US security guarantees as part of any truce. Zelensky was then told to leave the White House, with a crucial deal giving Washington preferential access to Ukraine's mineral resources left unsigned. Trump is now meeting his top advisors on Monday to discuss next steps on Ukraine, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told reporters. White House officials did not confirm a report by the news outlet Axios that Trump was considering cutting all military aid to Kyiv following the row. European leaders, who have offered peacekeepers to guarantee any ceasefire but also want a US "backstop", met in London on Sunday in a desperate bid to resolve the row. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone Monday with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to discuss the leaders' meeting in London. Rubio "confirmed the United States is ready to negotiate to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict and will continue working with the UK towards peace in Ukraine," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

Kremlin Says Someone Needs to Force Zelenskiy to Make Peace after Clash with Trump
Asharq Al Awsatt/March 03/2025
The Kremlin said on Monday that someone needed to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to make peace after a clash with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office that showed just how hard it would be to find a way to end the war.
"What happened at the White House on Friday, of course, demonstrated how difficult it will be to reach a settlement trajectory around Ukraine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "The Kyiv regime and Zelenskiy do not want peace. They want the war to continue.""It is very important that someone forces Zelenskiy himself to change his position," Peskov said. "Someone has to make Zelenskiy want peace. If the Europeans can do it, they should be honored and praised."President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022, triggering the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the depths of the Cold War, Reuters reported. The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces. President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said, was familiar with the "unprecedented event" in the Oval Office - which showed, Peskov said, Zelenskiy's lack of diplomatic abilities at the very least. "In addition, we see that the collective West has partially begun to lose its collectivity, and a fragmentation of the collective West has begun," Peskov said.

Japanese judge Yuji Iwasawa elected new ICJ president: Court
LBCI/AFP/March 3, 2025
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday appointed Yuji Iwasawa as its new president, replacing Nawaf Salam, the new prime minister of Lebanon.The 70-year-old will head the court until Salam's term was due to expire on February 5, 2027, the ICJ said in a statement.

Pope suffers two new episodes of 'acute respiratory failure': Vatican
LBCI/AFP/March 3, 2025
Pope Francis suffered two new breathing attacks on Monday, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old pontiff struggles to recover from pneumonia. "Today, the Holy Father experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm," it said in a statement.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on March 03-04/2025
Why Arabs Don't Want To Receive Palestinian Ex-Prisoners
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute./March 3, 2025
The Jordanians and Lebanese, for their part, have not forgotten how Palestinians sparked civil wars in their countries in the 70s and 80s.
[The Arab countries'] refusal to take in Palestinian prisoners probably arises from the fact that these countries actually do not care about the Palestinians and even consider them an ungrateful people and troublemakers. Many Arabs also seem to have lost faith in the Palestinians' ability to implement reform and end rampant financial and administrative corruption in their governing bodies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"The Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization. Help us modern-minded, secular, liberal Muslims marginalize their influence by declaring what they are: a terrorist organization." — Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, in testimony before the US House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, July 11, 2018.
"In point of fact, nothing would be more pro-Muslim than the marginalization of the Muslim Brotherhood and its direct affiliates. Making the Muslim Brotherhood radioactive would allow the light to shine upon the most potent antagonists in Muslim communities: those who reject political Islamist groups and believe in liberty and the separation of mosque and state." — Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, in testimony before the US House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, July 11, 2018.
"Call on American Muslim leaders to take a position on the Muslim Brotherhood and its overarching theo-political ideology. I ask my fellow Muslims: Will they be the side of freedom, liberty, and modernity, or will they be on the side of tyranny of the Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey's AKP, the Iranian Khomeinists, or Pakistan's Jamaat e-Islami?" — Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, in testimony before the US House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, July 11, 2018.
"Develop foreign policy mechanisms to disincentivize Qatari and Turkish Government facilitation of the Brotherhood and ultimately think about suspending Turkey from NATO." — Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, in testimony before the US House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, July 11, 2018.
"And please stop engaging Muslim Brotherhood legacy groups in government, media, and NGOs, and recognize their Islamist terrorist sympathies." — Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, in testimony before the US House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, July 11, 2018.
Such a designation would also make it far more difficult for the countries that support the Muslim Brotherhood, especially Turkey and Qatar, to keep on doing so. The Muslim Brotherhood has already been declared a terrorist organization by the governments of Austria, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Most of the Arab countries are refusing to receive Palestinians released from Israeli prison, many of whom belong to the Iran-backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist groups, as part of the US-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire-hostage deal. The Jordanians and Lebanese, for their part, have not forgotten how Palestinians sparked civil wars in their countries in the 70s and 80s. Pictured: Crowds of celebrating Palestinians, some waving Hamas and Hezbollah flags, great Palestinian terrorists who were set free by Israel in exchange for Hamas releasing Israeli hostages, on January 20, 2025, in Beitunia, on the outskirts of Ramallah. (Photo by Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)
Most of the Arab countries are refusing to receive Palestinians released from Israeli prison as part of the US-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire-hostage deal. In the past few weeks, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners -- many of whom were imprisoned for acts of terrorism -- in return for Israeli hostages who kidnapped to the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel. At least 1,200 Israelis were murdered and thousands wounded on that day. Another 251 were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and "ordinary" Palestinians.
Some of the prisoners were released to the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem. Many others were released to Egypt, with the hope that other Arab countries would host them. According to Palestinian sources, the Egyptians have agreed to allow only a handful of ex-prisoners to remain in Egypt, while dozens of others are searching for countries that will agree to receive them. With the exception of Qatar and Turkey (a non-Arab Muslim country), most of the Arab countries have reportedly refused to allow the released prisoners into their borders, the sources revealed.
The ex-prisoners, many of whom belong to the Iran-backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist groups, are stuck in Cairo, where they are staying in hotels and hospitals.
The Arab countries that refused to host the ex-prisoners have not announced their position officially, for fear of facing a backlash from Palestinians and their own people. It seems the Arab states are not eager to provide shelter to Islamist jihadists who could join forces with other terror groups and pose a threat to the regimes that have taken them in.
The Jordanians and Lebanese, for their part, have not forgotten how Palestinians sparked civil wars in their countries in the 70s and 80s.
After the Palestinians tried to overthrow their host, King Hussein of Jordan, in 1970; then started a civil war in Lebanon right after that; then, when welcomed into Kuwait, took the side of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait in 1990, it is hard to blame any regime.
The refusal of the Arab countries to play host to the ex-prisoners is seen by many Palestinians and Arabs as yet another sign that the Arab heads of state and governments do not really care about the Palestinians, which largely may be true. It also exposes the big difference between the Arabs' public support for the Palestinians and their true actions, or rather inaction, to help them.
Egyptian-American author Dr. Sam Yousef commented:
"Arabs are really a disgrace to humanity and Islam!
"Tunisia and Jordan refuse to receive any of the released deported prisoners stuck in Egypt, and Algeria has not responded yet, while Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan will each receive 45 prisoners."
Nizam Mahdawi, a former Palestinian correspondent for several Arab satellite channels, also expressed outrage with the Arab countries for refusing to host the ex-prisoners:
"Algeria gave initial approval to receive a number of prisoners from a specific faction [belonging to the ruling Fatah faction headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas], while Tunisia refused to receive any of the released prisoners.
"The Algerian regime raised the slogan of solidarity with Palestine and affirmed that it is its cause and that it will not abandon the Palestinians, but now it agrees to receive prisoners from a specific faction only. Yet, it has not received anyone so far.
"As for Tunisia, its president, Kais Saied, used the Palestinian cause as a slogan for his election campaign, but today he refuses to receive the released prisoners.
"A nation that is unable to receive its heroes! If the rejection was out of fear of Israel and America, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to receive them without fearing anyone. This is a lack of courage [on the part of the Arabs].
"We are in the stage where the masks are being removed."
The Palestinian social media account Al-Quds Yantafeth ("Jerusalem Erupts") pointed out that many of the ex-prisoners remain stranded in Egypt:
"The prisoners who were released and deported from Palestine and now stuck in hotels in Cairo. They are still wearing their prison clothes and have not changed them.
"There is no Arab country willing to accept them, not even those countries that were crying over the Gaza Strip, the Gazans and Palestine [during the Israel-Hamas war], and even keyboard heroes are unable to pressure their governments to accept the prisoners."
The Arab countries' refusal to receive the ex-prisoners should not come as a surprise to those familiar with the problematic relationship between the Palestinians and their Arab brethren. It is not uncommon to hear from many Palestinians how they have always felt betrayed by the Arab countries.
Most of the Arab states did almost nothing to help the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the war, which was triggered by the October 7 massacre of Israelis.
Their refusal came about partly because those countries despise Hamas and, unsurprisingly, consider it a threat to their national security.
The refusal to take in Palestinian prisoners probably arises from the fact that these countries actually do not care about the Palestinians and even consider them an ungrateful people and troublemakers. Many Arabs also seem to have lost faith in the Palestinians' ability to implement reform and end rampant financial and administrative corruption in their governing bodies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Many Arabs have evidently not forgotten how the Palestinians sided with Iraq's then dictator Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait in 1990. Kuwait was one of many wealthy Arab countries that used to provide the Palestinians with millions of dollars in aid every year. After Iraq invaded Kuwait, most of the Palestinians there took Hussein's side, not Kuwait's. When the Iraqi occupiers were driven out of Kuwait in 1991, roughly 400,000 Palestinians who had lived and worked in the emirate found themselves abruptly deported.
In the past few decades, many Arab states, despite repeated pledges of hundreds of millions of dollars, have significantly reduced financial aid to the Palestinians. According to the Palestinian Authority (PA) Finance Ministry, the PA's funding from Arab countries dropped from $265.5 million in 2019 to $40 million in 2020. The biggest cut was from Saudi Arabia, which reduced its $174.7 million aid to the PA in 2019 to only $32 million in 2020 -- a decrease of 81.4%.
The Arab countries' refusal to accept the released Palestinian prisoners also shows what a mistake it would be to rely on these countries to assist in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in the post-war era.
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, has become the source of almost all Sunni Islamic extremism and terrorism, and is currently represented in more than 70 countries. Its ideology is being spread throughout the Middle East and Asia by Qatar's Al-Jazeera broadcasting empire, as well as in Europe and the United States. The motto of the Muslim Brotherhood is:
"Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
Ironically, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in what must be one of the few matters about which they agree, recently banned Al-Jazeera from operating in their jurisdictions.
It would be extremely helpful if the US were officially to designate the Muslim Brotherhood, in addition to Hamas, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It is the root from which so many of the Islamic terrorist organizations grow.
Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, an observant American Muslim, testified in 2018 before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security:
"The Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization. Help us modern-minded, secular, liberal Muslims marginalize their influence by declaring what they are: a terrorist organization.
"Unfortunately, much of the conversation about the Brotherhood has been obstructed, muted, marginalized, deferred, minimized by the Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers or their allies here in the West....
"In point of fact, nothing would be more pro-Muslim than the marginalization of the Muslim Brotherhood and its direct affiliates. Making the Muslim Brotherhood radioactive would allow the light to shine upon the most potent antagonists in Muslim communities: those who reject political Islamist groups and believe in liberty and the separation of mosque and state...
"So my final recommendations, Chairman, is to, one, designate the MB a foreign terrorist organizations beginning in Egypt, and then on a country-country basis in Libya, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, and Yemen. Call on American Muslim leaders to take a position on the Muslim Brotherhood and its overarching theo-political ideology.
"I ask my fellow Muslims: Will they be the side of freedom, liberty, and modernity, or will they be on the side of tyranny of the Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey's AKP, the Iranian Khomeinists, or Pakistan's Jamaat e-Islami?
"Develop foreign policy mechanisms to disincentivize Qatari and Turkish Government facilitation of the Brotherhood and ultimately think about suspending Turkey from NATO....
"And please stop engaging Muslim Brotherhood legacy groups in government, media, and NGOs, and recognize their Islamist terrorist sympathies."
Such a designation would also make it far more difficult for the countries that support the Muslim Brotherhood, especially Turkey and Qatar, to keep on doing so. The Muslim Brotherhood has already been declared a terrorist organization by the governments of Austria, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Many of these Arabs understand that Hamas and many other Palestinians have no intention of abandoning the fight against Israel, a move that will result in more violence, bloodshed and destruction. That is also probably why no Arab country is going to invest one dollar in the Gaza Strip as long as Hamas remains in power and as long as Palestinian children are indoctrinated to murder Jews.
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
**Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. 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.

Building a world where justice trumps power
Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/March 03, 2025
International law is fighting for relevance. The outcome of this fight is likely to change the entire world’s political dynamics, which were shaped by the outcome of the Second World War and sustained through the selective interpretation of the law by dominant countries. In principle, international law should always have been relevant, if not paramount, in governing the relationships between all countries, large and small, to resolve conflicts before they turn into outright wars. It should also have prevented a return to the era of exploitation that allowed Western colonialism to practically enslave the Global South for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, international law, which is in theory supposed to reflect a global consensus, is hardly dedicated to peace or genuinely invested in decolonization.
From the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan to the war on Libya and numerous other examples, past and present, the UN has often been used as a platform for the strong to impose their will on the weak. And whenever smaller countries collectively fight back, as the UN General Assembly often does, those with veto power and military and economic leverage use their advantage to coerce the rest based on the maxim “might makes right.”
Therefore, it should hardly be a surprise to see many intellectuals and politicians in the Global South arguing that, aside from paying lip service to peace, human rights and justice, international law has always been irrelevant.
This irrelevance was on full display through the 15 months of relentless Israeli genocidal war on Gaza that killed or wounded some 160,000 people — a number that, according to several credible medical journals and studies, is expected to dramatically rise.
Yet, when the International Court of Justice last year opened an investigation into a plausible case of genocide in Gaza, followed by a decisive ruling regarding the illegality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the international system began showing a pulse, however faint. The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant offered further proof that Western-centered legal institutions are capable of change.
The angry American response to all this was predictable. Washington has been fighting against international accountability for many years. In 2002, the US Congress passed a law that shielded American soldiers “against criminal prosecution” by the International Criminal Court, to which the country is not a state party. The so-called Hague Invasion Act authorized the use of military force to rescue American citizens or military personnel detained by the court.
Naturally, many of Washington’s measures to pressure, threaten or punish international institutions have been linked to shielding Israel under various guises.
The global outcry and demands for accountability following Israel’s genocide in Gaza have once again put Western governments on the defensive. For the first time, Israel was facing the kind of scrutiny that rendered it, in many respects, a pariah state.
However, instead of reconsidering their approach to Israel and refraining from feeding the war machine, many Western governments lashed out at civil society for merely advocating the enforcement of international law. Those targeted have included UN-affiliated human rights defenders.
On Feb. 18, German police descended on the offices of the Junge Welt newspaper in Berlin as if they were about to apprehend a notorious criminal. They entered the building in full riot gear, sparking a bizarre drama that should never have taken place in a country that perceives itself as democratic. The reason for the security mobilization was a speech by Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer and outspoken critic of the Israeli genocide in Gaza who is the current UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Territories.
If it were not for the UN’s intervention, Albanese could have been arrested simply for demanding that Israel must be held accountable for its crimes against Palestinians.
Germany, however, is not the exception. Other Western powers, lead among them the US, are actively taking part in this moral crisis. Washington has taken serious and troubling steps, not just to protect Israel and itself from accountability under international law, but to punish international institutions, judges and officials for daring to question Israel’s behavior.
Many of Washington’s measures to pressure, threaten or punish international institutions have been linked to shielding Israel.
Indeed, on Feb. 13, the US sanctioned the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor due to his investigations into Israeli officials. After some hesitance, Karim Khan last year did what no other prosecutor had done before: request arrest warrants for two Israeli leaders, Prime Minister Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Gallant. The warrants were issued in November, meaning Netanyahu and Gallant are currently wanted for “crimes against humanity and war crimes.”The moral crisis deepens when those seeking to implement international law become the accused, as Khan found himself on the receiving end of endless Western media attacks and abuse, in addition to US sanctions. As disturbing as all this is, there is a silver lining — specifically, an opportunity for the international legal and political system to be fixed based on new standards: justice that applies to all and accountability that is expected from all.
Those who continue to support Israel have practically disowned international law altogether. The consequences of their decisions are dire. But for the rest of humanity, the Gaza war can be an opportunity to construct a more equitable world, one that is molded not by the militarily powerful but by the need to stop the senseless killing of innocent children.
**Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and author. He is editor of The Palestine Chronicle and nonresident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappe, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out.” X: @RamzyBaroud

Why Labour’s path to power is relevant internationally
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/March 03, 2025
The UK Labour Party last week celebrated the 125th anniversary of its founding, following last year’s 100th anniversary of the first Labour government. While sometimes written off as a political force in the past, the party’s landslide victory in 2024 may now offer insights for other centrist and center-left parties seeking to win back power.
To be sure, Labour’s election record is not nearly as good as that of its chief rival, the Conservative Party, which is sometimes called the most successful democratic political party in the world. Nonetheless, from humble origins, Labour has put its stamp on UK politics in the 20th and 21st centuries. It was on Feb. 27, 1900, that trade unions and socialist groups came together to form the UK Labour Representation Committee. This was the first step toward the party’s formation. What started with a motion from railway workers in Doncaster led to a meeting in London, where delegates united behind a call for a Labour voice in Parliament. The party won just two seats in the 1900 election, but it gradually built a movement that would win power multiple times.
The party has tended to do best when it has offered a clear, bold and optimistic vision for the future of the country. Thus, Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 1945 developed a historic reform program that included the creation of the National Health Service, helping him win reelection in 1950. This was followed by the modernizing missions of Harold Wilson, who won four general elections (in 1964, 1966 and two in a single year, 1974) and Tony Blair, who won three successive election victories in 1997, 2001 and 2005.
Given the electoral success of the Conservatives, Labour’s victories have often followed significant periods in the political wilderness. The party was shut out of power between 1951 and 1964, 1979 and 1997 and 2010 and 2024, for instance.
At times during these periods, Labour was written off as a political force. Yet, so far at least, the party has always bounced back.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer today finds himself with relatively few left-of-center and centrist allies across the world. This was reinforced by this month’s German election, which saw Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz turfed out of power.
Meanwhile, in the US, the Democrats last November lost control of not only the presidency, but also the Senate. This means that Republicans now control all three federal institutions, the so-called trifecta of power, including the House of Representatives.
As much of the political center and left around the world licks the wounds of defeat, there may be insights from Labour’s last half-decade that are of relevance for a fightback. Labour suffered a significant setback in the 2019 election, winning just 202 seats — its lowest total since the 1935 general election. The party’s pathway since may be particularly relevant for the Democrats ahead of the 2026 congressional elections and 2028 presidential ballot, when President Donald Trump will be constitutionally barred from standing for reelection.
It remains highly uncertain whether the political appeal that surrounds Trump today can be transferred to any single successor, even someone in his family. Instead, like Boris Johnson, whose Conservatives won in 2019 in an election shaped by Brexit, much of the president’s Make America Great Again appeal may be tied to just one individual with unusual political strengths and weaknesses.
Like Labour, the Democrats have proven themselves able to rejuvenate after major setbacks, including three straight presidential election defeats in the 1980s. The reason why the Democrats may now benefit from insights from Labour is that the nature of the Republican victory in 2024 had such parallels with the UK’s Conservatives in 2019.
What delivered Trump’s win was his demolition of the Democrats’ so-called blue wall, including in Michigan and Wisconsin. He also dented Democratic majorities in several northeastern states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Meanwhile, Sun Belt states in the South held strong for Republicans.
This pattern has significant similarities with Johnson’s victory in 2019. Then, he knocked down the “red wall” in the English North and Midlands, while retaining political predominance in Southern England. From humble origins, Labour has put its stamp on UK politics in the 20th and 21st centuries. Both Trump and Johnson effectively tapped into the anti-establishment mood that has shaped the Western political landscape since at least the international financial crisis that began in 2008. They both brought together powerful coalitions defined by cultural conservatism, including on immigration, with promises to support economically challenged regions. These insurgent coalitions were very unusual compared to those led by other Conservatives and Republicans in recent decades. For Johnson, a key focus was winning over voters in the areas Labour tended to regard as its historical political heartland. This saw him espousing what he called a “leveling-up” agenda, with an ambition of seeking to spread economic and social opportunity more equally across the country. However, Johnson was forced out of office in 2022 after a series of scandals, despite some predictions in 2019 that he could remain in power for a decade. So, especially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he got no big, sustained traction on his important agenda and Labour won back a critical mass of the red wall in 2024.While Trump’s coalition won him power again last November, it may also fragment sooner rather than later, especially if the Democrats can respond as quickly to their defeat as Labour did after 2019. The US electorate, like that of the UK, remains febrile and will punish the Republicans if the party is perceived as not delivering in the coming years.
*Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

Why sanctions relief is critical to Syria’s recovery and political future
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/March 03, 2025
LONDON: Ahead of the Syrian Arab Republic’s national dialogue held in Damascus on Feb. 25, the EU made an important gesture of goodwill by agreeing to lift a portion of the sanctions imposed on the now-deposed Bashar Assad regime. However, the full and sustained lifting of all sanctions on Syria is yet to be assured, as Western leaders are currently not convinced that an inclusive administration — willing to implement much-needed reforms — is on the cards. The EU announced on Feb. 24 that it has suspended restrictions on Syria’s oil, gas, electricity, and transport sectors with immediate effect, while also easing its ban on banking ties to allow transactions for humanitarian aid, reconstruction, energy, and transport. In addition, five financial entities — the Industrial Bank, Popular Credit Bank, Saving Bank, Agricultural Cooperative Bank, and Syrian Arab Airlines — have been removed from the asset freeze list, allowing funds to reach Syria’s central bank. The decision came a day before Syria’s interim government launched its national dialogue, where President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who was appointed in December to lead until March 1, pledged to form an inclusive transitional government. Al-Sharaa and his armed group, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which overthrew the Assad regime on Dec. 8 following a lightning offensive from its stronghold in Idlib, touted the forum as a crucial step toward democracy and reconstruction. Although critics said preparations for the event had been rushed, it attracted around 600 delegates and marked an important step toward drafting a new constitution, the reform of institutions, and a road map for the economy. For these aims to succeed, however, rights groups and experts have called for sanctions on Syria, especially US restrictions, to be lifted as a vital prerequisite for economic, social, and political recovery.
“Lifting sanctions is crucial at this moment to promote a stable and peaceful political transition in Syria,” Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Arab News. Ibrahim Al-Assil, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, likewise stressed that “rebuilding Syria’s middle class is essential for any meaningful political transition” — a goal that cannot be achieved without first lifting sanctions. “Economic devastation limits Syrians’ ability to engage in the political transition,” Al-Assil told Arab News. Emphasizing that sanctions have “severely damaged” Syria’s economy and “crippled society’s ability to function,” Al-Assil warned that “prolonging sanctions risks undermining the country’s fragile transition and could doom efforts to establish a stable and inclusive future. “Syrians need support, not continued economic restrictions, to move forward,” he added. Likewise, the New York-based monitor Human Rights Watch has warned that Western sanctions are “hindering reconstruction efforts and exacerbating the suffering of millions of Syrians struggling to access critical rights, including to electricity and an adequate standard of living.”In a statement in February, the monitor said more than half of Syrians lacked access to nutritious food, while at least 16.5 million were in need of humanitarian aid. “It’s very difficult to say how bad the situation is,” Karam Shaar, a senior fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, told Arab News.
“Without either lifting sanctions or being provided with an injection of funding from abroad, as Qatar has promised, the situation could implode at any moment.”
Concerns over continued US sanctions recently led Qatar to delay pledged funds to support Syria’s public sector, which had been promised a 400 percent pay raise.
The EU has likewise been cautious, saying in its Feb. 24 statement that the continuation of sanctions relief hinges on the interim government’s performance. The bloc warned that sanctions could be reinstated if Syria’s new authorities do not implement reforms. “If everything does not go right, then we are also ready to put the sanctions back,” said the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas. She said that “any kind of government needs to be all-inclusive and take into account all the different groups that are in Syria.”And while a technocratic government was not established as expected on March 1, Al-Sharaa announced on March 2 the creation of a seven-member committee to draft a temporary constitution. “Syria’s new leader faces the formidable challenge of navigating the expectations of both liberal and ultraconservative factions,” Syrian-Canadian analyst Camille Otrakji told Arab News. “While Al-Sharaa’s personal leanings align with the conservatives, he cannot afford to dismiss the strong recommendations from his Western and moderate Arab interlocutors. “Thus far, however, his response has been largely symbolic — appointing Christian representatives to committees and inviting minority groups to dialogue sessions,” he added, stressing that “symbolic gestures will not suffice.”Media reports suggest the government’s formation could be delayed until the last week of March or beyond, potentially postponing decisions to ease more sanctions.
Aid agencies and economists warn that further delays in lifting sanctions could do more harm than good, particularly during this critical transition. “Rather than take a ‘wait and see’ attitude toward lifting the sanctions, which may squander today’s long-awaited opportunity for a new Syria, Western governments should lift the sanctions now, conditioned on Syria continuing in a rights-respecting direction,” Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, told Arab News.“While there has been some easing of sanctions, particularly for humanitarian aid, the continuing sanctions are a big impediment to economic progress.”Roth, author of “Righting Wrongs,” which opens with a chapter on Syria’s Idlib, cautioned that “while we celebrate the demise of the brutal Assad regime, Syria remains in a precarious position.”Echoing Roth’s concerns, Syrian economic adviser Humam Aljazaeri also said the restrictions should be lifted sooner rather than later. “We understand the position of the international community to attach the lifting of sanctions to political progress — especially to cross towards representative government — but at some point, it might just be too late,” he told Arab News.
Hawach of the International Crisis Group warned that without easing economic and trade restrictions, the country risks renewed fighting. “After more than a decade of conflict, the new leadership faces daunting challenges in rebuilding institutions and stabilizing the economy,” he said. “If Syria has any chance of succeeding, it needs sanctions relief, otherwise, the country risks falling into renewed cycles of violence and conflict.”
Noting that while “European efforts to ease sanctions are a step in the right direction,” Al-Assil of the Middle East Institute said “US sanctions remain the most significant obstacle. “Without their removal, other governments and financial institutions will hesitate to engage with Syria,” he said. Syria has been under Western sanctions for more than four decades, with the most severe imposed after the Assad regime’s crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011 and later the reported use of chemical weapons against civilians. These sanctions included broad restrictions on trade, financial transactions, and key industries, in addition to targeted asset freezes and travel bans. The strictest sanctions are enforced by the US, banning almost all trade and financial transactions with Damascus, except for limited humanitarian aid. The Caesar Act, introduced in 2019, extended these restrictions to foreign companies doing business with the ousted regime. After more than 13 years of civil war, some 90 percent of the population has been driven below the poverty line. The fighting damaged schools, hospitals, roads, water systems, and power grids, crippling public services and sending the economy into freefall. Even after Assad’s 24-year rule collapsed on Dec. 8, the bulk of US, EU, and UK sanctions have remained in place, hobbling the postwar recovery. On Jan. 6, the US Treasury issued Syria General License No. 24 (GL 24), allowing transactions with the transitional Syrian government, easing restrictions on energy-related transactions within Syria, and permitting transactions necessary for processing personal remittances. GL 24, set to expire July 7, 2025, may be extended as the US government monitors the evolving situation in Syria, the Treasury said in a client alert on Feb. 27.
INNUMBERS
• $250bn Projected cost of Syria’s reconstruction.
• $923bn Estimated cost of the Syrian civil war.
(Sources: HRW and UNDP)
“What would be the most important, in my opinion, is re-enabling financial transactions with Syria,” said Shaar of the New Lines Institute. “At the moment, we’ve seen GL 24 from the US. We’ve seen suspensions and carve-outs from the EU.
“However, none of them is sufficient to replug the Syrian banking sector into the rest of the world. And I think this is the main vein.”Otrakji is skeptical about any significant easing of US sanctions happening soon. “Any major rollback remains improbable in the near term,” he said. “Historical precedent suggests that sanctions, once in place, tend to endure — those imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait remained largely intact for two decades, with only partial relief granted in 2010 and further easing in 2013.”Despite concerns that linking sanctions relief to the interim government’s performance may be counterproductive, Western officials want to see the HTS-led administration follow through on promises of inclusive governance and protections for all Syrian ethnic and religious groups. Many Alawites, Christians, Druze, and Kurds fear for their future amid reports of reprisals and sectarian killings since the HTS and its allies seized power. “Al-Sharaa has been saying many inclusive, rights-respecting things,” said former Human Rights Watch chief Roth. “However, we all know that he has an extremist background and that there are many jihadists within the HTS rebel force that toppled Assad.”
HTS, which evolved from the Nusra Front, is designated a terrorist group under UN Security Council Resolution 2254, adopted in 2015. Formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda, the group later broke ties with the extremists and Al-Sharaa has since advocated coexistence. “The question is which way Al-Sharaa proceeds,” Roth said. “His ability to resist extremist pressure will depend significantly on whether he can deliver basic economic improvements to the long-suffering Syrian people, but the continuing sanctions, meant for Assad, not the new government, stand in the way.”
While US-led sanctions were aimed at preventing the ousted regime from committing human rights violations, they worsened conditions for ordinary Syrians. And their continuation after Assad’s fall has only deepened the crisis. Prior to Assad’s downfall, support from his political allies — mainly Iran and Russia — provided some sustenance to the war-devastated nation. But a shift in this dynamic over the past three months may have created a vacuum, making the swift lifting of Western sanctions all the more critical. “Before its fall, the regime was reliant on a network of traders, cronies, and political support of its allies to evade sanctions,” Syrian economic adviser Aljazaeri said, explaining that “this enabled the government to sustain some kind of economic stability, not least through the continuous flow of energy resources.
“Although this stability was increasingly compromised by growing corruption and failed economic policies, especially after 2019, it nonetheless helped sustain the status quo.”
He added: “Today, in the absence of such network and cronies, whether to sustain the flow of money or commodities, not least energy resources (and wheat), and despite the wide political support of the current administration, the economy and subsequently the social and political stability is put at growing risk of fragmentation. “Against this backdrop, lifting sanctions, even gradually, but substantially though, is absolutely critical to achieving some balance.”Hawach of the International Crisis Group also believes easing sanctions is vital for Syria’s recovery and helping its population overcome a decade of economic devastation. He said: “Easing these restrictions would not only boost economic recovery and reduce the reliance on the informal economy, but also strengthen governance, providing Syrians with better living conditions and more opportunities. “For the Syrian people, lifting sanctions would mean tangible improvements in their daily lives.”Although analyst Otrakji agrees that lifting sanctions is crucial for Syria’s recovery, he stressed that it alone “will not be enough to reconstruct the damaged country and its society. “The new administration in Damascus must take the first decisive move — but doing so carries significant risks,” he said, adding that any failed attempt to chart a new course will “expose deep divisions among Syrians, who remain polarized and bitter after 14 years of conflict.”

The Tsar’s Night
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/March 3, 2025
He rubbed his eyes, as if doubting what he saw. The scene was unbelievable—stunning, unexpected. Luck had never been this generous to him. He asked the guard for a big amount of ice and a bottle worthy of an unprecedented celebration. The guard hesitated—his master was not one to drink. He was an athlete who never compromised his fitness. But orders were orders. He poured himself a drink, listening to the ice crack as if it, too, were celebrating. He played the tape again—believe it or not. He closed his eyes. How fortunate that he had not killed Volodymyr Zelensky in a barrage of missiles, as Benjamin Netanyahu had done to Hassan Nasrallah. Or assassinated him in another capital, as Netanyahu had done to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Had he done so, Zelensky would have become a martyr, a hero, with statues erected in his honor across the West, and history reserving him a place on its balcony.
What could be sweeter than seeing your enemy wounded and bleeding? Even better, the wound had come from within his own house—from the leader of the very country that had flooded Ukraine with weapons and billions. And now, that leader questioned Zelensky’s cause, his integrity, demanding he return the generous gifts, sign away Ukraine’s rare minerals, and prepare to cede parts of his inherited homeland. How delightful when an adversary, rather than you, delivers the earthquake that shakes your enemy! And how satisfying when the world watches, while the visitor is portrayed as if he provoked you and invaded your country.
The taste of revenge is intoxicating, especially when the fatal blow does not bear your fingerprints. It washes away the old wounds—the humiliation of the Red Army’s retreat from Afghanistan, that painful night in Dresden when he burned secret documents, the fall of the Berlin Wall, which felt as though it had collapsed onto his very soul. The betrayal of former Soviet republics, scrambling to abandon the sinking ship of the USSR, still stung.
Another sip. He imagined the shock on the man sitting in Charles de Gaulle’s office, the disbelief in Margaret Thatcher’s old chair, the sorrow of Angela Merkel’s successor. He pictured the tense atmosphere in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. How would NATO’s generals react when America itself recognized Putin’s right to carve off a piece of Ukraine? And in Beijing, despite concerns over a rekindled US-Russia “tango,” Xi Jinping must be quietly pleased.
A fleeting thought—what if he were in Zelensky’s place, and Donald Trump had spoken to him with the same tone he had used with his Ukrainian guest? The world would have been on the brink of nuclear war. He chuckled. Impossible. Russia is not Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin is not Zelensky. Fortunately, the man in the White House was a friend—one might even say, their man.
The ice cracked again, much like Zelensky’s dreams and those of his Western backers.
The past three years had been difficult. Kyiv’s leader had not fallen when Russian tanks advanced into Ukraine—territory the West had stolen from Russia. Western aid poured in, and Russian soldiers returned home in coffins. The losses were painful, forcing him to rely on North Korean reinforcements. NATO generals had gloated: If Russia couldn’t crush Ukraine’s army, how would it fare against NATO’s forces, let alone the world’s most formidable military—the United States?
He had waited impatiently for Trump, and the latter had not disappointed, despite European meddling. He had been generous to America, to Israel—never blocking its strikes against Iranian military sites in Syria, nor trying to save Bashar al-Assad as he had in the past. He had merely granted him “humanitarian asylum.” He had not interfered with the great transformation sweeping the Middle East.
He knew what the Europeans were saying—that a Russian victory in Ukraine would whet his appetite for reclaiming more former Soviet lands. Macron warned that Putin would “certainly move on to Moldova, perhaps even Romania.” He also argued that if a ceasefire were declared without security guarantees for Ukraine, America’s “geostrategic deterrence against Russia, China, and beyond” would collapse overnight.
But Europe was old, weary, lacking the will to fight. Whatever aid it could muster for Zelensky would not be enough to mend the deep wound inflicted by Trump’s betrayal. Without America’s overwhelming power, the West could not turn back time—not in Ukraine, not anywhere else.
Trump had executed his mission with masterful precision. Perhaps he deserved a Nobel Prize—or even a Lenin Medal. A man worthy of recognition. James Bond himself could not have done better. The young KGB recruit who had once knocked on the agency’s door had admired 007. But tonight, he would dance with Trump, especially when the man behaved like a wounded tiger.
This was the Tsar’s night—a night worth celebrating. When Donald Trump occupies the Oval Office, the world had better fasten its seatbelts.