English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 16/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’”
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 06/22-27:”The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 15-16/2025
Passing of Mrs. Nihad El-Chami: The Lord Gave, and the Lord Has Taken Away—Blessed Be His Name/Elias Bejjani/May 14/2025
A video link to a commentary by the distinguished writer, historian, and media figure Ibrahim Eissa, from the “Hadith Al-Qahira” platform.
U.S. sanctions two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators for the group
LBCI Exclusive: US steps up pressure on Hezbollah, Morgan Ortagus details sanctions and vision for Lebanon's future
Israeli Drone Strike Kills Hezbollah Operative
Riyadh Without Beirut: Lebanon’s Omissive Absence From a Key Regional Summit
UNIFIL says Israel hit base with 'direct fire'
Casualty reported as Israeli drone bombs bulldozer in South
Israeli attacks in south Lebanon: Latest developments
Parliament doubles penalty of those who fire into air
President Aoun receives Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador, discusses UN support
Lebanon’s Finance Minister prepares for IMF visit, says reforms key to restoring international confidence
Lebanon's Sports Minister arrives in Morocco for Youth and Sports Ministers of Francophone Countries conference
From six seats to full power: New law could reverse limit on expat voting in Lebanon's 2026 elections
Geagea urges Hezbollah to 'draw lessons' from what's happening in region
Roumieh inmates riot demanding amnesty and shorter prison year
Will lifting of Syria sanctions push refugees in Lebanon to return home?
Disarming Hezbollah key to recovery but task complicated by regional shifts, ceasefire violations
83 Draft Laws Submitted, Only One Passed
Behind the ScenesMunicipal Elections in Beirut: Will “Change MPs” Be Punished by Voters?
Hezbollah-Affiliated Religious Singer Accused of Spying for Israel
Two Judges Elected Ex Officio to the Higher Judicial Council
Disarming Hezbollah is key to Lebanon’s recovery − but task is complicated by regional shifts, ceasefire violations

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 15-16/2025
Trump’s Middle East tour has more substance than the White House let on
Tehran has not received any fresh US proposal to resolve nuclear dispute: Official
Trump Says Expects Iran Diplomacy Will 'Work Out'
Trump says ‘getting close’ to deal to avoid Iran war
IRGC chief says Iran considers Trump ‘murderer’ of Qassem Soleimani
France says it will file a court complaint against Iran over citizens’ detention
UAE says to invest $1.4 trillion in US over 10 years
Trump says Qatar will invest $10 billion in US airbase
Rubio stresses US desire to ‘give Syria a chance at greatness’ before meeting FM
Trump’s pick for top Middle East diplomat says Syria and Lebanon have ‘golden opportunity’
US preparing to issue some sanctions relief to Syria
Israel Army Chief Says Will Use 'All Tools' to Find West Bank Attackers
Trump suggests US ‘take’ Gaza, make it ‘freedom zone’
US would make Gaza a 'freedom zone', Trump says in Qatar
People take cover, while sirens sound in Jerusalem, May 13, 2025. Israel’s military
Saudi Arabia slams Israel’s targeting of Gaza civilians, attack on European Hospital
Israeli airstrikes on Gaza kill over 100 as manhunt unfolds in West Bank
A US-backed group says it will deliver aid to Gaza, but humanitarian organizations are skeptical. Here’s what we know
Turkey says it expects Syrian Kurdish militia to fulfil Damascus deal
Peace breakthrough unlikely as Putin declines to meet Zelenskyy in Turkey
Zelenskiy describes Russia's delegation to peace talks as 'decorative'
Al Qaeda Affiliate: 200 Soldiers Killed in Attack on Burkina Military Base

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sourceson on May 15-16/2025
When Sacred and Profane Diplomacy Suddenly Intersect/Alberto M. Fernandez/National Catholic/May 15/2025
The World Is Being Reshaped from Our Region… What Will We Choose: Dialogue or Conflict?/Mustafa al-Kadhimi-Former Iraqi Prime Minister/Asharq Al Awsat/15 May 2025
Looking Back On the Oslo Accords (1)/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/15 May 2025
The England We Once Respected/Nils A. Haug/Gatestone Institute/May 15/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 13-14/2025
Passing of Mrs. Nihad El-Chami: The Lord Gave, and the Lord Has Taken Away—Blessed Be His Name
Elias Bejjani/May 14/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/05/143294/
With deep reverence and steadfast faith in the promise of eternal life, it was announced this morning that Mrs. Nihad El-Chami has passed away. We pray that our Lord Jesus Christ may grant rest to her soul in His eternal peace, and may her memory be everlasting and blessed.
With her passing today, a radiant chapter of divine grace and unwavering faith in Lebanon comes to a close. Chosen by the Lord to be a living testimony of His power and miracles, Mrs. El-Chami received a miraculous healing through the intercession of Saint Charbel, Lebanon’s beloved saint. Now, she has departed to enjoy eternal rest alongside her heavenly intercessor, the saints, and the righteous in the holy dwellings of paradise. Mrs. Nihad El-Chami was a symbol of unshakable faith and absolute trust in God’s might. Her miraculous healing stands as living proof of the power of prayer and the nearness of God to those who call upon Him with sincere hearts. Her story, marked by divine intervention through the intercession of Saint Charbel, stirred hearts and rekindled faith in many, bearing witness to the greatness and mercy of our Lord.Her departure in the flesh is not the end of her story, but a passage into a greater, holier realm. Her memory will remain alive in the hearts of all who knew her or heard her story. It will continue to be told to generations as a testament to the power of faith and the efficacy of the saints’ intercession. Saint Charbel, the great Lebanese saint, awaits her, joined by the angels and the righteous, ready to welcome her into the heavenly kingdom where there is no sorrow, no pain, and no mourning—only everlasting joy and light. Let us hold firmly to our belief that God is capable of all things and hears the heartfelt prayers of His faithful. In a moment of weakness and hope, Mrs. El-Chami sought the intercession of Saint Charbel, and the Lord, in His mercy, granted her a miraculous healing. This truth remains a beacon that lights our path, reminding us that heaven is open to our prayers, and that God’s mercy knows no bounds.May the Lord have mercy on the soul of Mrs. Nihad El-Chami. May heaven receive her with open arms. And may Saint Charbel be her intercessor and companion on this sacred journey. Her memory will endure forever, a living witness to the greatness of God and the holiness of His saints.

A video link to a commentary by the distinguished writer, historian, and media figure Ibrahim Eissa, from the “Hadith Al-Qahira” platform.
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/05/143345/
In his objective analysis, Ibrahim Eissa discusses the significance of President Trump’s Gulf tour, while simultaneously casting doubt on the possibility that the terrorist Al-Jolani could transform into a just ruler and abandon his criminal Muslim Brotherhood ideology. He poses the question: Does anyone truly believe that Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani will ever cease to be a terrorist.
15 May/2025

U.S. sanctions two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators for the group
Doug Cunningham/UPI/May 15, 2025
The U.S. Treasury Department Thursday sanctioned two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators for what it said were roles in coordinating financial transfers to the group. "Today's action underscores Hezbollah's extensive global reach through its network of terrorist donors and supporters, particularly in Tehran," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender in a statement. "As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran's support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities."Treasury sanctioned Mu'in Daqiq Al-'Amili as a senior Hezbollah official involved in coordinating the delivery of cash from Iran to senior Hezbollah officials in Lebanon. Jihad Alami was sanctioned for allegedly receiving and distributing the funding.Treasury said following the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Amili "coordinated the delivery of at least $50,000 to Alami in Lebanon, which was collected from Iran likely for onward transfer to Gaza."Fadi Nehme, described by Treasury as an accountant and business partner of Hezbollah's Chief of its Central Finance Unit, was also sanctioned as an alleged Hezbollah financial facilitator. Treasury said Senior Hezbollah official Hasan Abdallah Ni'mah was sanctioned for his alleged role in funding and networking for Hezbollah across Africa. That included managing millions of dollars in transactions, according to the Treasury. "As of August 2022, Ni'mah coordinated the delivery of hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars to the Hezbollah-aligned Islamic Movement of Nigeria," the Treasury said in a statement. "Ni'mah has had longstanding connections with senior Hizballah leaders, including the now-deceased Hezbollah Secretary General Nasrallah."The Treasury Department said it will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities."Treasury's Faulkender said in a statement, "As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran's support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities."

LBCI Exclusive: US steps up pressure on Hezbollah, Morgan Ortagus details sanctions and vision for Lebanon's future
LBCI/May 15/2025
In an exclusive interview with LBCI, U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus confirmed the imposition of new U.S. sanctions targeting Hezbollah on Thursday, stressing Washington's commitment to cutting off illicit financing to Iran and its proxies in the Middle East. Speaking shortly after the announcement, Ortagus stated that the administration has revived the "maximum pressure" campaign originally launched during Donald Trump's presidency, particularly targeting Iran and affiliated groups like Hezbollah.
"These sanctions aim to identify and expose individuals and networks facilitating illicit financing for Hezbollah. This is part of our broader strategy to ensure that terror proxies throughout the region, especially those funded by Iran, are held accountable," she said. She emphasized that this effort would continue with additional sanctions on the way. When asked whether Israel's occupation of five strategic sites in South Lebanon offers Hezbollah justification to keep its weapons, Ortagus firmly rejected the notion. "Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon into wars twice in the past two decades—wars the Lebanese people did not choose. They destroy the south every time," she said. "There is no justification for Hezbollah to keep its arms."Ortagus reiterated the United States' desire to work with Lebanese leaders, including President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Speaker Nabih Berri, to create a new economic future for Lebanon. "But that future is only possible when the Lebanese state, through the Lebanese Armed Forces, has the exclusive authority over weapons," she noted. The interview also discussed the possibility of Lebanon joining the Abraham Accords, which were brokered during the Trump administration to normalize ties between Israel and several Arab nations. While Ortagus did not confirm any current negotiations with Lebanon, she underscored Trump's commitment to peace in the region and the success of the accords. "President Trump was the only modern leader to achieve peace deals between Israel and Arab states after 26 years," she stated. Ortagus was also asked about reports of her upcoming visit to Lebanon. While she did not confirm specific dates, she mentioned her regular visits and expressed hope to return soon, joking, "Who can pass up a summer in Beirut?"Turning to broader regional issues, Ortagus highlighted Trump's Middle East diplomacy, recalling the former president's first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia—a sign of strategic commitment.  "We work very closely with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar on regional policy. There is no daylight between us," she indicated. Ortagus emphasized that peace and prosperity for Lebanon are only possible through the disarmament of Hezbollah, not just in the south but across the country. On the recent decision to lift sanctions on Syria, Ortagus said Lebanon should observe the approach taken by Syrian leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. She described ongoing dialogue aimed at protecting minorities and encouraging inclusive governance. "The path forward for Syria and Lebanon is not war, but peace and stability," she concluded.
As the interview wrapped up, Ortagus reiterated her hopes to return to Lebanon soon. "Inshallah," she said with a smile.

Israeli Drone Strike Kills Hezbollah Operative
This Is Beirut/May 15/2025
One person was killed Thursday in an Israeli drone strike in the plain of Yohmor al-Shaqif, in the Nabatiyeh district (caza), the Ministry of Public Health announced. According to available information, the strike targeted a bulldozer believed to be operated by Hezbollah member Mohammad Marouni. The deadly attack was part of a wider escalation along Lebanon’s southern border, with several other Israeli drone and helicopter strikes reported throughout the day and overnight. In the town of Kfar Kila, an Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade on a residential house, while another drone launched a similar device over the already-destroyed Dhayra school in the western sector. Earlier on Thursday at dawn, Israeli forces also struck a prefabricated room in the town of Odaisseh. The israeli army declared: “Earlier today (Thursday), an israeli army aircraft struck and eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of Arnoun who attempted to re-establish Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area”. Overnight, from Wednesday into Thursday, an Israeli Apache helicopter launched three successive attacks on the town of Hula within the span of 30 minutes. One of the missiles targeted a prefabricated building belonging to the “Watanuwa” association.

Riyadh Without Beirut: Lebanon’s Omissive Absence From a Key Regional Summit
Natasha Metni Torbey/This Is Beirut
Riyadh, May 2025—In the heart of the Saudi desert, a private summit between US President Donald Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Syrian President Ahmad el-Chareh reignited crucial conversations on the Middle East’s future. But one absence was consistently noted: that of Lebanon.While Lebanon’s persistent crises were central to the discussions, its absence spoke volumes. Was this a sign of a country paralyzed by its internal divisions or a reflection of shifting regional priorities?
A Void at the Table… But Not a Diplomatic Snub
Despite speculation, Lebanon's absence wasn’t viewed as a diplomatic snub. Analysts interviewed by This Is Beirut point to improved relations between Lebanon’s president—who selected Riyadh for his first official visit—and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This marks a significant shift after years of diplomatic strain during the presidency of Michel Aoun. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also participated in a Ramadan prayer with MBS this past March, a symbolic gesture underscoring their growing ties. So, why the absence? According to Fares Souhaid, former MP and president of the National Council for Lifting Iran's Occupation of Lebanon, the summit was focused on Syria, specifically the potential lifting of US sanctions on Damascus. This diplomatic initiative, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, has broken the deadlock between Washington and a post-Assad Syria. Ironically, Lebanon stands to benefit politically, economically and socially from this shift. The normalization of Syria extends beyond symbolism. By acknowledging the end of the Assad regime and advocating for rapid institutional stabilization, the United States has sent a decisive message, says Fares Souhaid: Syria must be integrated into the regional fold—but only under strict conditions. These include halting military operations toward Israel from southern Syria, enforcing a ban on weapons and restoring control over the borders—measures reportedly accepted by President el-Chareh. For Lebanon, this shift is crucial. A stable and controlled Syria would significantly curb arms smuggling, armed group infiltration and cross-border instability. Recently, three trucks carrying illegal weapons to Lebanon were intercepted, underscoring the need for accelerated border demarcation. In March, Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa and his Syrian counterpart Murhaf Abu Qasra signed an agreement in Saudi Arabia to delineate the borders to address pressing security and military concerns. This strategic move aims to ensure Lebanon’s military maintains effective control over its territory. Washington’s Support for Beirut: Action Required
While Syria’s stabilization is essential for Lebanon's recovery, Washington has not forgotten Lebanon. President Trump, speaking from Riyadh, made it clear: the US is ready to support Lebanon, but it expects tangible and immediate actions in return.
Two key issues dominate Western expectations: Lebanon’s monopoly on arms, particularly addressing Hezbollah’s weaponry, and Lebanon's stance on the Abraham Accords. If Beirut wants to regain its regional influence, it must back peace initiatives and make substantial progress on security.
“Despite the election of a new president and government formation, there has been no meaningful political shift,” says journalist and political analyst Ali Hamade. “Reforms remain stalled and Lebanon’s promises to restore state sovereignty, especially concerning Hezbollah’s weapons, are still unresolved.” Lebanon’s continued inaction is frustrating the international community, especially the United States and its Arab allies, particularly Saudi Arabia. “The pressure is mounting for Lebanon to take decisive action on Hezbollah, which must disarm and become a purely political and civilian entity,” he says. “Until Lebanon regains control over its affairs, any meaningful regional engagement with Beirut will remain out of reach.”
Shaping Lebanon’s Future: From Bystander to Regional Actor
On the ground, discussions are underway about placing heavy and medium weapons under the exclusive control of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), stored in government-run depots. Small arms would also be registered and regulated. The goal is to make the army the sole legitimate military force, in full compliance with UN Resolution 1701—a framework Hezbollah has reportedly agreed to honor, as part of a ceasefire arrangement struck in November 2024, and extended thereafter.
At this critical turning point in regional geopolitics, Lebanon stands at a crossroads. The shifting dynamics between the Arab world and the West, particularly with the United States, offer a historic opportunity. Yet, for Beirut to seize this moment, Lebanon must move from the sidelines to the center of regional affairs, actively shaping its future rather than passively watching the region’s new landscape unfold around it.

UNIFIL says Israel hit base with 'direct fire'
Agence France Presse/May 15/2025
The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has protested at "direct fire" by the Israeli military at one of its positions, the first since a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. UNIFIL sits on the international committee created to supervise the ceasefire agreement that kicked in on November 27 and ended more than two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. In a statement, UNIFIL said it was "concerned by the recent aggressive posture of the Israel Defense Forces (Israeli army) involving UNIFIL personnel and assets." That included an "incident in which a direct fire hit the perimeter of a UNIFIL position south of the village of Kfar Shouba," which it said took place on Tuesday. The force said it "observed two shots fired from south of the Blue Line," in reference to the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon.It was the first time since November 27 that Israel has directly hit a UNIFIL position, it said. At the height of the fighting last October, the peacekeeping force accused Israel of having hit its positions or peacekeepers at least 20 times. As well as the "direct hit" on Tuesday, UNIFIL said there were "at least four other incidents involving IDF (Israeli army) fire near its positions" and "other aggressive behavior by the IDF (Israeli army) towards peacekeepers performing their operational activities."It said that on Tuesday that peacekeepers patrolling alongside the Lebanese Army "reported being targeted by a laser from a nearby IDF (Israeli army) position.""UNIFIL protests all such and we continue to remind all actors of their responsibility to ensure the safety and security of U.N. personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of U.N. assets and premises at all times," the statement read. According to the terms of the ceasefire, the Israeli military is required to withdraw completely from southern Lebanon while Hezbollah must dismantle its military assets in the region and withdraw north of the Litani river. Israel has largely completed its withdrawal, though it insisted on keeping its forces at five points inside Lebanon that it considers strategic and has repeatedly launched strikes inside the country. The ceasefire is based on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires that U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese Army be the only armed bodies in southern Lebanon.

Casualty reported as Israeli drone bombs bulldozer in South
Naharnet/May 15/2025
An Israeli drone strike on Thursday targeted a bulldozer near a factory between the southern towns of Yohmor al-Shaqif and Arnoun, causing one casualty, the National News Agency said. Israel has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon despite the November 27 truce which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah including two months of full-blown war. Under the deal, Hezbollah was to pull back its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south. Israel was to withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, but it has kept troops in five areas that it deems "strategic". Lebanon says it has respected its ceasefire commitments and has called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its attacks and withdraw all its troops.

Israeli attacks in south Lebanon: Latest developments
Naharnet/May 15/2025
Israeli drones on Thursday dropped percussion bombs on the destroyed school in the southern town of al-Dhayra and on a home in the southern border town of Kfar Kila. An Israeli attack had at dawn targeted a prefabricated room in the southern town of Adaisseh, following three Apache helicopter strikes on a prefabricated home belonging to an NGO in the southern town of Houla. Israel has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon despite the November 27 truce which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah including two months of full-blown war.Under the deal, Hezbollah was to pull back its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south. Israel was to withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, but it has kept troops in five areas that it deems "strategic".Lebanon says it has respected its ceasefire commitments and has called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its attacks and withdraw all its troops.

Parliament doubles penalty of those who fire into air
Naharnet/May 15/2025
Parliament on Thursday approved an urgent draft law doubling the penalty of illegal shooting into the air, which was proposed by MP Ashraf Baydoun. The development comes days after dozens of people were arrested for firing into the air during the country’s municipal elections.
Celebratory gunfire that erupted Sunday in the wake of north Lebanon’s municipal elections had wounded several people, including LBCI reporter Nada Andraous, and a child who was critically wounded. The army meanwhile issued a statement announcing the arrest of 35 people suspected of firing in the air after the elections. It also said that it seized arms and ammunition and that are efforts were underway to arrest more suspects. Whether it's joy, political passion or grief, for many Lebanese, there's only one way to show it: by lifting a gun and firing off rounds into the air. But the deadly practice, a tradition in many Arab countries, has been largely condemned in recent years following a spate of deaths and serious injuries in incidents involving indiscriminate gunfire. Officially, celebratory gunfire is illegal in Lebanon, where firearm ownership remains widespread more than three decades after the end of its 1975-1990 civil war. A 1959 law stated "anyone firing in residential areas or in a crowd, whether their gun is licensed or not" faces up to three years in prison or a fine.

President Aoun receives Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador, discusses UN support
LBCI/May 15/2025
President Joseph Aoun received the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to Kuwait at the Baabda Presidential Palace on Thursday afternoon. He congratulated Aoun on his election and briefed him on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) role, which includes 15 independent states represented at the United Nations and holds significant political weight during General Assembly deliberations. The ambassador highlighted the importance of Lebanon engaging with this group, particularly when addressing issues of national interest at the U.N. and on the broader international stage. He also noted that Antigua and Barbuda is home to a Lebanese community of around 700 people. President Aoun thanked the Ambassador for his support and for offering the backing of the country he represents in regional and international forums.

Lebanon’s Finance Minister prepares for IMF visit, says reforms key to restoring international confidence
LBCI/May 15/2025
Finance Minister Yassine Jaber met with the International Monetary Fund’s representative in Lebanon, Frederico Lima, at his office on Thursday as part of preparations for the IMF delegation’s upcoming visit later in May. The meeting reviewed the steps the Ministry of Finance is taking on the path to fiscal reform, and the importance of laws passed by the government and parliament related to the regulation of the banking sector, as well as those expected to be approved in the near future. According to a statement from the ministry’s media office, the meeting followed up on discussions held during last month’s Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, which Jaber attended as head of Lebanon’s official delegation. The delegation also included Economy Minister Amer Bisat, Central Bank Governor Karim Souaid, and representatives from the Presidency and the Prime Minister’s Office. Jaber expressed satisfaction with the government’s current course, saying, “All parties involved in the financial and monetary tracks are serious about implementing the required reforms to revive the economy and restore international confidence in Lebanon.” He described this as “a key step toward encouraging donor and lending institutions to help Lebanon build its capacities, whether in infrastructure or reconstruction.”He added that this would also encourage many investors to inject capital into various sectors in Lebanon, noting that the meetings held with them in Washington were very promising in this regard.

Lebanon's Sports Minister arrives in Morocco for Youth and Sports Ministers of Francophone Countries conference
LBCI/May 15/2025
Lebanese Youth and Sports Minister Nora Bayrakdarian arrived in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, to participate in the Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers of Francophone Countries. She was received at the airport's VIP lounge by senior officials from Morocco's Ministry of Youth and Sports and Lebanon's Ambassador to Morocco, Ziad Atallah. Minister Bayrakdarian is accompanied by her Francophone Affairs advisor, Ibrahim Mnassa, and youth policy expert Edgar Blanc. Mnassa and Blanc are participating in the experts' meetings, while Bayrakdarian will lead the Lebanese delegation in the ministerial sessions scheduled for Friday.

From six seats to full power: New law could reverse limit on expat voting in Lebanon's 2026 elections
LBCI/May 15/2025
A group of Lebanese MPs from various political blocs introduced a draft law to amend the country's electoral legislation to preserve the full voting rights of Lebanese expatriates in the 2026 parliamentary elections. The proposal aims to allow expats to vote for candidates in their home electoral districts in Lebanon, rather than restrict them to electing only six MPs representing the diaspora across six continents, as Law 44/2017 outlines. The proposed amendment, submitted by a group of independent and Change MPs alongside lawmakers from the Lebanese Forces, Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), and the Tashnag party, seeks to modify some articles related to non-resident voting and eliminate others.
A total of 54 MPs have publicly declared their support for the initiative.
However, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) opposes the proposal, with its leader MP Gebran Bassil advocating for the original plan that grants six exclusive seats to expatriate MPs. Hezbollah and the Amal Movement have yet to state their position on the matter. The impact of expat voting in the 2022 elections is central to the debate. According to a study by Information International, the 141,575 diaspora votes cast in 2022 played a decisive role in shaping outcomes in 13 parliamentary seats across eight districts. The study suggests that several key results would have been different without the expatriate vote. In Beirut I, the Lebanese Forces candidate Elie Charbachi would have secured the minorities seat instead of Cynthia Zarazir. In Beirut II, Zeina Mounzer would have won the Druze seat from Democratic Gathering bloc MP Faisal Al Sayegh, while Khaled Kabbani would have defeated MP Waddah Sadek for the Sunni seat. In Tripoli, Faisal Karami would have replaced MP Ramy Finge, whose victory was later contested, and Bader Eid would have taken the Alawite seat from Firas Salloum, also subject to appeal. In Zgharta, MP Michel Douaihy, backed by Change MPs, would have lost to Marada's Jawad Boulos. Similarly, in Koura, Marada candidate Fadi Ghosn would have replaced MP Adib Abdel Massih. In Zahle, Lebanese Forces MP Bilal Houshaymi benefited from the expat vote, which otherwise would have delivered a victory to a Sunni seat, Omar Halablab from MP Michel Daher's list. In West Bekaa-Rachaiya, MP Ghassan Skaff's win would have gone to former Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli, backed by the Amal-Hezbollah duo.
Change MP Yassine Yassine would have lost to Mohammad Qaraawi, and in Jezzine, Amal candidate Ibrahim Azar would have replaced MP Charbel Massaad.  In the South III district, Marwan Kheireddine would have secured a seat instead of MP Firas Hamdan. Despite being submitted as an urgent draft law, the proposed amendment was not added to Thursday's parliamentary session agenda, as the schedule was finalized the previous week and the draft was introduced on Friday.

Geagea urges Hezbollah to 'draw lessons' from what's happening in region
Naharnet/May 15/2025
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday pointed out that U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia and the political steps decided “prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the right path leading to a Palestinian state."
"After the (Axis of) Defiance advocates and those who claim to be a resistance -- through their actions, behavior and ideas -- transformed Israel into a giant in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's policy has returned Israel to its normal size,” Geagea added. He added that he believes that "the current scene emanating from Saudi Arabia is the right path to resolving the region's problems, foremost among them the Palestinian issue.""The time of using the Palestinian cause as a pretext and hiding behind it to control Arab capitals, overthrow regimes or replace one ruler with another is over,” Geagea said. “May the Defiance advocates in Lebanon learn from everything that is happening in the region at the present time, cease their transgressions and surrender their weapons to the state so that we may have a real and effective state that can begin the process of development and reconstruction, and so that Lebanon may return to its former glory, not only as the Switzerland of the East, but as a shining beacon of knowledge, culture, civilization and progress in the East and West alike," he added.

Roumieh inmates riot demanding amnesty and shorter prison year
Naharnet/May 15/2025
Lebanon’s central Roumieh Prison has witnessed rioting on Wednesday and Thursday coinciding with a legislative session in parliament.Inmates are demanding a general amnesty and the slashing of the prison year, currently at nine months. During the protests, some inmates hung mock nooses, saying: “Take us out to freedom or else our fate will be death, seeing as we’re slowly dying every day.”Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots as inmates living in poor conditions demand better treatment and speedier trials.

Will lifting of Syria sanctions push refugees in Lebanon to return home?
Associated Press/May 15/2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that the U.S. will ease sanctions on Syria could eventually facilitate the country's recovery from years of civil war and transform the lives of everyday Syrians. But experts say it will take time, and the process for lifting the sanctions — some of which were first introduced 47 years ago — is unclear. "I think people view sanctions as a switch that you turn on and off," said Karam Shaar, a Syrian economist who runs the consultancy firm Karam Shaar Advisory Limited. "Far from it." Still, the move could bring much-needed investment to the country, which is emerging from decades of autocratic rule by the Assad family as well as the war. It needs tens of billions of dollars to restore its battered infrastructure and pull an estimated 90% of population out of poverty. And Trump's pledge has already had an effect: Syrians celebrated in streets across the country, and Arab leaders in neighboring nations that host millions of refugees who fled Syria's war praised the announcement.
What are the US sanctions on Syria? -
Washington has imposed three sanctions programs on Syria. In 1979, the country was designated a "state sponsor of terrorism" because its military was involved in neighboring Lebanon's civil war and had backed armed groups there, and eventually developed strong ties with the powerful Hezbollah. In 2003, then-President George W. Bush signed the Syria Accountability Act into law, as his administration faced off with Iran and Tehran-backed governments and groups in the Mideast. The legislation focused heavily on Syria's support of designated "terror" groups, its military presence in Lebanon, its alleged development of weapons of mass destruction, as well as oil smuggling and the backing of armed groups in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion. In 2019, during Trump's first term, he signed the Caesar Act, sanctioning Syrian troops and others responsible for atrocities committed during the civil war.Caesar is the code name for a Syrian photographer who took thousands of photographs of victims of torture and other abuses and smuggled them out of the country. The images, taken between 2011 and 2013, were turned over to human rights advocates, exposing the scale of the Syrian government's brutal crackdown on political opponents and dissidents during countrywide protests.
What has been the impact of U.S. sanctions on Syria? -
The sanctions — along with similar measures by other countries — have touched every part of the Syrian economy and everyday life in the country.They have led to shortages of goods from fuel to medicine, and made it difficult for humanitarian agencies responding to receive funding and operate fully. Companies around the world struggle to export to Syria, and Syrians struggle to import goods of any kind because nearly all financial transactions with the country are banned. That has led to a blossoming black market of smuggled goods. Simple tasks like updating smartphones are difficult, if not impossible, and many people resort to virtual private networks, or VPNs, which mask online activity, to access the internet because many websites block users with Syrian IP addresses. The impact was especially stark after a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and northern Syria in February 2023, compounding the destruction and misery that the war had already brought. Though the U.S. Treasury issued a six-month exemption on all financial transactions related to disaster relief, the measures had limited effect since banks and companies were nervous to take the risk, a phenomenon known as over-compliance. Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa — who led the insurgency that ousted President Bashar Assad — has argued the sanctions have outlived their purpose and are now only harming the Syrian people and ultimately preventing the country from any prospect of recovery.
Trump and al-Sharaa met Wednesday.
Washington eased some restrictions temporarily in January but did not lift the sanctions. Britain and the European Union have eased some of their measures.
What could lifting the sanctions mean for Syria? -
After Trump's announcement, Syria's currency gained 60% on Tuesday night — a signal of how transformational the removal of sanctions could be.
Still, it will take time to see any tangible impact on Syria's economy, experts say, but removing all three sanctions regimes could bring major changes to the lives of Syrians, given how all-encompassing the measures are. It could mean banks could return to the international financial system or car repair shops could import spare parts from abroad. If the economy improves and reconstruction projects take off, many Syrian refugees who live in crowded tented encampments relying on aid to survive could decide to return home. "If the situation stabilized and there were reforms, we will then see Syrians returning to their country if they were given opportunities as we expect," says Lebanese economist Mounir Younes. The easing of sanctions also has an important symbolic weight because it would signal that Syria is no longer a pariah, said Shaar. Mathieu Rouquette, Mercy Corps' country director for Syria, said the move "marks a potentially transformative moment for millions of Syrians who have endured more than 13 years of economic hardship, conflict, and displacement."
But it all depends on how Washington goes about it. "Unless enough layers of sanctions are peeled off, you cannot expect the positive impacts on Syria to start to appear," said Shaar. "Even if you remove some of the top ones, the impact economically would still be nonexistent."

Disarming Hezbollah key to recovery but task complicated by regional shifts, ceasefire violations
Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College/Associated Press/May 15/2025
(THE CONVERSATION) Within a span of two weeks from late April to early May 2025, Israel launched two aerial attacks ostensibly targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon: The first, on April 27, struck a building in Beirut's southern suburbs; the second, an assault in southern Lebanon, left one person dead and eight others injured. While the attacks may not be an aberration in the long history of Israel's military action in Lebanon, the latest episodes were notable given the context: Israel and Hezbollah have been nominally locked in a truce for five months.
As an expert on Lebanese history and culture, I believe the latest violations clearly show the fragility of that ceasefire. But more importantly, they complicate the Lebanese government's mission of disarming Hezbollah, the paramilitary group that remains a powerful force in the country despite a series of Israeli targeted killings of its senior members. That task forms the backbone of a nearly 20-year-old United Nations resolution meant to bring lasting peace to Lebanon.
The long road to a ceasefire -
In the aftermath of Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Hezbollah vowed solidarity with the Palestinian movement, resulting in a running series of tit-for-tat attacks with Israel that escalated into a full-blown war in the fall of 2024. On Oct. 1, 2024, Israel invaded Lebanon – the sixth time since 1978 – in order to directly confront Hezbollah. That operation led to the killing of an estimated 3,800 Lebanese people and the displacement of over 1 million civilians. The damage to Lebanon's economy is estimated at US$14 billion, according to the World Bank.
Hezbollah lost a lot of its fighters, arsenal and popular support as a result. More importantly, these losses discredited Hezbollah's claim that it alone can guarantee Lebanon's territorial integrity against Israel's invasion. The United States and France brokered a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Nov. 27, 2024. The agreement was based in part on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 to end that year's 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah. The resolution had as a central tenet the disarmament of armed militias, including Hezbollah, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. The 2024 ceasefire built on that resolution. It required Hezbollah's retreat beyond the Litani River, which at its closest point is about 20 miles from northern Israel. In return, and by February 2025, Israel was to gradually withdraw from Lebanese territories in order to allow the Lebanese army to take control of areas in the south and to confiscate all unauthorized weapons – a nod to Hezbollah's arsenal.
Yet, Israel maintained the occupation of several posts in southern Lebanon after that deadline and continued to launch attacks on Lebanese soil, the most recent being on May 8, 2025.
- The challenge of disarming Hezbollah -
Despite these violations, large-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah has not resumed. But the next step, a lasting peace based on the laying down of Hezbollah arms, is complicated by a series of factors, not least the sectarian nature of Lebanese politics. Since its inception in 1920, Lebanon's governance has been defined by a polarized and formally sectarian political system, which seeded the roots of a decades-long civil conflict that began in 1975. A series of invasions by Israel in response to attacks from Lebanese-based Palestinian groups exacerbated sectarianism and instability. From this mix, Hezbollah emerged and became a powerful force during the late 1980s. The Taif Agreement, ending Lebanon's civil war in 1989, formally recognized the state's right to resist the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territories – and with it Hezbollah's presence as a force of resistance. An uneasy coexistence between the government and Hezbollah emerged, which often spilled over into violence, including assassinations of important public figures. More recently, Hezbollah was responsible for a two-year political vacuum as it mobilized members to repeatedly block opposition candidates for the vacant presidency in the hopes of installing a leader that would support its agenda. In January 2025 that standoff ended when Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun, a Maronite Christian, as president.
The acquiescence of Hezbollah and its allies was in part a sign of how much the power of the Shiite militia had been diminished by Israel during the conflict. But it is also the result of a widespread general understanding in Lebanon of the need to end the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's war. The new president has brought much-needed hope to a battered country – one that has been plagued by numerous crises, including a collapsed economy that by 2019 had pushed 80% of the population into poverty. But Aoun's presidency signals the changing political environment in another key way; unlike his predecessors, Aoun has not endorsed Hezbollah as a legitimate resistance movement.Further, Aoun has announced his intentions to disarm the groupand to fully implement resolution 1701. To this end, Aoun has made impressive gains. According to state officials, the Lebanese army had by the end of April 2025 dismantled over 90% of Hezbollah's infrastructure south of the Litani River and taken control over these sites.
Yet Hezbollah's chief, Naim Kassem, doggedly rejects calls to disarm and integrate the group's fighters into the Lebanese armed forces. Even in Hezbollah's weakened position, Kassem believes only his movement, and not the Lebanese state, can guarantee Lebanon's safety against Israel. And Israel violations of the ceasefire only play into this narrative. "We will not allow anyone to remove Hezbollah's weapons," Kassem said after one recent airstrike, vowing that the group would hand over weapons only when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon and ended it's air incursions.
- The challenge going forward -
Yet countries including the United States and Qatar – not to mention Israel – consider Hezbollah's disarmament a prerequisite to both peace and much-needed international assistance. And this makes the task ahead for Aoun difficult. He will be well aware that international aid is desperately needed. But pressing too hard to accommodate either Israel's or Hezbollah's interests risks, respectively, exacerbating either domestic political pressures or jeopardizing future foreign investment. To complicate matters further, the situation in Lebanon is hardly helped by developments in neighboring Syria. The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024 has added another element of regional uncertainty and the fear in Lebanon of further sectarian violence. Although Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has vowed to protect all religious groups, he was not able to prevent the massacre of Alawite civilians in several coastal towns – an attack that triggered a fresh wave of refugees heading toward Lebanon.
The removal of Assad was another blow for Hezbollah, a strong Assad ally that benefited from years of Syrian interference in Lebanon.
- The challenge of international relations -
For now, a return to full-scale war in Lebanon does not appear to be on the table.
But what comes next for Lebanon and Hezbollah depends on many factors, not least the state of Israel's ongoing war on Gaza and any spillover into Lebanon. But the actions of other regional actors, notably Saudi Arabia and Iran, matter too. Should Saudi Arabia be encouraged down the path of normalizing relations with Israel – a process interrupted by the Oct. 7 attack – then it would impact Lebanon in many ways. Any deal would, from the Saudi perspective, likely have to include a solution to the question of Palestinian statehood, taking away one of Hezbollah's main grievances. It would also likely put pressure on Lebanon and Israel to find a solution to its long-standing border dispute. Meanwhile, Iran, too, is seemingly turning to diplomatic means to address some of its regional issues, with nascent moves to both improve ties with Saudi Arabia and forge forward with a new nuclear deal with the U.S. This could see Tehran turn away from a policy of trying to impose its influence throughout the region by arming groups aligned with Tehran – first among them, Hezbollah. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/disarming-hezbollah-is-key-to-lebanons-recovery-but-task-is-complicated-by-regional-shifts-ceasefire-violations-255671.

83 Draft Laws Submitted, Only One Passed
This Is Beirut/May 15/2025
On Thursday, May 15, MPs gathered at Nejmeh Square for a legislative session with an exceptionally heavy agenda: 83 draft laws were submitted for review, underscoring a chronic governance crisis oscillating between institutional paralysis and reform efforts. Only one law was approved by the end of the session: an amended law criminalizing celebratory gunfire, which includes a provision doubling the penalties for offenders. The Parliament has passed an urgent draft law amending Law No. 71 of October 27, 2016, which criminalizes celebratory gunfire. The amendment, introduced by MP Ashraf Beydoun, doubles the penalties for offenders. Another urgent proposal was approved, granting retroactive tax and fee exemptions—starting from October 8, 2023—to individuals and residences directly affected by Israeli attacks. The law also includes exemptions for the heirs of Lebanese victims killed or who may be killed in the ongoing hostilities. In contrast, the urgency status was lifted for several other laws, including one seeking to amend Law No. 131/2019 on the protection of Beirut’s pine forest (Horsh Beirut), and another related to the 1986 law prohibiting the sale of Lebanon’s gold reserves without parliamentary approval. Other de-prioritized proposals included MP Fouad Makhzoumi’s law to convert the Costa Brava landfill into a solar plant serving Beirut Airport, and one restoring key powers to the president and council of the Lebanese University. Tensions rose during the session following the adoption of the exemption law, with the Lebanese Forces (LF) bloc opposing its limited scope. They criticized the exclusion of sectors like tourism and hospitality, which have also suffered under the conflict, and called for broader compensation measures.
What about the other draft laws that were set to be reviewed?
Economic Reforms and Fiscal Adjustments
One of the most sensitive proposals seeks to amend Law No. 42/1986, which prohibits the sale of Lebanon’s gold reserves held by the central bank (BDL). The amendment aims to further restrict any form of sale—direct or indirect—unless authorized by parliamentary legislation. This comes amid a depletion of reserves due to the ongoing financial crisis. Economic items on the agenda also include several bills addressing pension reform, particularly in the public, military and education sectors. Proposals include raising the retirement age and revising the pension structure for Lebanese University professors. Another draft law aims to incorporate fixed allowances into the pension base for military retirees, whose benefits have been drastically eroded by the currency collapse. At the same time, the agenda included items aimed at safeguarding the economic rights of specific populations. Notably, a bill to protect bank deposits drew significant attention, as it has been a recurring demand since the onset of the economic crisis. Another proposal grants tax exemptions to residents of southern Lebanon directly affected by Israeli attacks since the onset of the war between Hezbollah and Israel, as well as to the families of those killed in the bombardments. Another bill proposes waiving water, electricity and penalty fees for these southern localities in recognition of the war’s toll.
Justice and Legal Sovereignty
A highly charged set of proposals concerns the Beirut port blast investigation. Among them: a bill to lift parliamentary and administrative immunities related to the case—an effort to remove legal obstacles hampering judicial proceedings. Lawmakers also submitted texts to facilitate prosecutions and to honor the victims, including through the official recognition of the grain silos site as a memorial. The session also addresses major overhauls in Lebanon’s legal system. Some proposals seek to amend core articles of the Penal Code and civil and criminal procedure codes. While framed as reforms, observers warn of potential political motives behind attempts to reshape the judiciary. In the international arena, one draft law proposes Lebanon's accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the recognition of its jurisdiction over Israeli crimes committed on Lebanese territory since July 1, 2002. Although symbolically powerful, such an accession would raise the question of how to reconcile national judicial sovereignty with regional power relations.
Syrian Refugees: A Divisive Debate
The Syrian refugee crisis is featured prominently, with two urgent draft laws: one barring any form of integration for Syrian refugees, and another calling for the deportation of those residing illegally. These proposals rekindle the explosive debate surrounding the Syrian presence in Lebanon, at a time when community tensions and the economic crisis are fueling hostile rhetoric. In addition, a controversial bill proposes prohibiting landlords from renting apartments to anyone residing in Lebanon without proof of identity or legal entry, at risk of fines and penalties. If adopted, this law would increase pressure on Syrian refugees and others without legal status.
Housing, Rent and Civil Responsibility
Faced with the increasing number of collapses of old buildings, and given the rising tensions on the rental market, several texts have attempted to redefine the legal responsibilities of landlords subject to exceptional rent laws.
One bill would exempt landlords from civil and criminal responsibility, while another clarifies how rent increases should be calculated under a 2017 law.
Also under review: a draft law assigning liability for damages caused by building collapses—an urgent issue following the Tayouneh building collapse in Beirut. On April 22, a building collapsed in Beirut’s southern suburbs due to structural cracks attributed to repeated Israeli airstrikes, though no injuries were reported. According to Lebanon’s real estate association, between 16,000 and 18,000 buildings in Beirut have sustained damage since the 2020 port explosion. This figure does not account for housing affected by the 2024 northern Lebanon earthquake, which struck already fragile and often unregulated structures.
Education and Public Sector
The education sector, already in dire condition, saw the emergence of two striking proposals. One aimed to cancel the official brevet exams, while the other, more structural, sought to re-establish the authority of the President and Council of the Lebanese University (LU), in a context of weakening university autonomy and State disengagement. Several proposals also deal with public sector reforms, including the retirement age, access to competitive examinations and the status of Lebanese University teachers. These texts often reflect the social pressures of professional bodies exsanguine after years of wage collapse.
Security and Defense
Several texts concern the security forces and the army. One of them provides for the automatic promotion of non-commissioned officers in the Internal Security Forces, probably in response to an internal motivation crisis. Other laws seek to harmonize or strengthen the rights of retirees from the armed forces, public security and intelligence services. In the field of public order, a project to strengthen the law criminalizing celebratory gunfire has been put forward, while another has been proposed to outright ban electronic gambling, deemed uncontrolled and harmful.
Environment and Energy
On a more consensual note, a bill to transform the former Costa Brava landfill site into a solar power plant to supply Beirut International Airport (AIB) illustrates an attempt at energy transition in a country where electric power remains a scarce commodity. All in all, the May 15 session reveals more about the country's fragmentation than its ability to produce systemic solutions. Urgent laws continue to accumulate in a Parliament lacking a coherent political roadmap. While the country missed a key opportunity to reposition itself at the Riyadh summit, its legislature remains bogged down in the consequences of a multi-layered crisis—economic, judicial, social and security-related—that demands far more than a stack of draft laws.

Behind the ScenesMunicipal Elections in Beirut: Will “Change MPs” Be Punished by Voters?
This is Beirut/May 15/2025
Well-informed sources about the electoral dynamic in Beirut's constituency report a sharp anger among voters against the so-called “Change” MPs. Behind the “reformist” rhetoric and breakaway slogans, more and more voters are perceiving ambiguous and sometimes confusing positions on sensitive issues, fuelling doubts about their true intentions.Their proximity to “certain NGOs and lobbies claiming to be in favor of reform”, but considered by many Beirut residents as “out of touch with local realities”, further aggravates this loss of trust. Still, according to these sources, these parliamentarians' open support for a specific municipal list could even cost them dearly. This list, which achieved somewhat decent results in the last municipal elections in 2016, is now in danger of seeing its chances seriously undermined. It seems that “certain alliances, far from being beneficial, end up being detrimental”. And voters don't seem to want to let it go. Many would be ready to “sanction at the ballot box” those who, while “ignoring the potholed sidewalks, mountains of trash, lack of street lighting and growing fear in the streets, choose to campaign on civil marriage and individual freedoms”. Valid battles indeed, but far removed from the vital priorities of an asphyxiated capital, where people suffocate and slip on garbage, and where going out after sundown requires courage. In short, while the house burns down, some people continue to debate the color of the curtains.

Hezbollah-Affiliated Religious Singer Accused of Spying for Israel
This is Beirut/May 15/2025
The Lebanese government’s commissioner at the military court, Judge Fadi Akiki, filed charges on Wednesday against Mohammad Hadi Saleh, a Shiite religious singer (mounshid) known for his close ties to Hezbollah. Saleh is accused of “collaboration with the Israeli enemy” and “complicity in acts that led to the deaths of Lebanese citizens.”According to the indictment, Saleh allegedly received $23,000 from Israel in exchange for espionage services. He was initially under investigation in connection with a financial fraud case, but a search of his phone during the inquiry reportedly uncovered evidence linking him to Israeli intelligence services. The case has sparked widespread attention due to Saleh’s background. According to the news site Jounoubia, he is the brother of a Hezbollah “martyr” and the son of a fighter in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. Citing security sources, Jounoubia reported that Saleh was likely recruited by Israel’s Mossad, potentially through social media. He is believed to have supplied precise coordinates of Hezbollah sites, which were then used in Israeli strikes that killed several Lebanese nationals, including Hezbollah officials and fighters. His name has also been linked to last Thursday’s Israeli air raids on the southern city of Nabatieh—the most intense since the November 27 ceasefire—and to the April 1 strike in Beirut’s southern suburb that targeted Hezbollah commander Hassan Bdeir and his son, Ali.

Two Judges Elected Ex Officio to the Higher Judicial Council
This is Beirut/May 15/2025
Judges Nada Dakroub and Habib Rizkallah have been elected ex officio as members of the Higher Judicial Council following a vote held on Thursday at the Palace of Justice in Beirut. Judge Dakroub now presides over the Eighth Chamber of the Court of Cassation, while Judge Rizkallah heads the Ninth Chamber. They join the Council for a three-year term, in accordance with applicable legal provisions. The election was held at the invitation of the First President of the Court of Cassation, Judge Souheil Abboud, in the presence of the electoral body, which includes the chamber presidents and both titular and substitute judges of the Court of Cassation, as defined by Decree No. 8785 of September 27, 2002. According to this decree, every chamber president is by default a candidate in the election, unless they declare otherwise or are subject to non-renewal restrictions. The Higher Judicial Council will soon be completed by a presidential decree appointing its tenth member.

Disarming Hezbollah is key to Lebanon’s recovery − but task is complicated by regional shifts, ceasefire violations
Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College/The Conversation/May 15, 2025
Within a span of two weeks from late April to early May 2025, Israel launched two aerial attacks ostensibly targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon: The first, on April 27, struck a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs; the second, an assault in southern Lebanon, left one person dead and eight others injured.While the attacks may not be an aberration in the long history of Israel’s military action in Lebanon, the latest episodes were notable given the context: Israel and Hezbollah have been nominally locked in a truce for five months. As an expert on Lebanese history and culture, I believe the latest violations clearly show the fragility of that ceasefire. But more importantly, they complicate the Lebanese government’s mission of disarming Hezbollah, the paramilitary group that remains a powerful force in the country despite a series of Israeli targeted killings of its senior members. That task forms the backbone of a nearly 20-year-old United Nations resolution meant to bring lasting peace to Lebanon.
The long road to a ceasefire
In the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Hezbollah vowed solidarity with the Palestinian movement, resulting in a running series of tit-for-tat attacks with Israel that escalated into a full-blown war in the fall of 2024.On Oct. 1, 2024, Israel invaded Lebanon – the sixth time since 1978 – in order to directly confront Hezbollah. That operation led to the killing of an estimated 3,800 Lebanese people and the displacement of over 1 million civilians. The damage to Lebanon’s economy is estimated at US$14 billion, according to the World Bank. Hezbollah lost a lot of its fighters, arsenal and popular support as a result. More importantly, these losses discredited Hezbollah’s claim that it alone can guarantee Lebanon’s territorial integrity against Israel’s invasion. The United States and France brokered a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Nov. 27, 2024. The agreement was based in part on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 to end that year’s 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah. The resolution had as a central tenet the disarmament of armed militias, including Hezbollah, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. The 2024 ceasefire built on that resolution. It required Hezbollah’s retreat beyond the Litani River, which at its closest point is about 20 miles from northern Israel. In return, and by February 2025, Israel was to gradually withdraw from Lebanese territories in order to allow the Lebanese army to take control of areas in the south and to confiscate all unauthorized weapons – a nod to Hezbollah’s arsenal. Yet, Israel maintained the occupation of several posts in southern Lebanon after that deadline and continued to launch attacks on Lebanese soil, the most recent being on May 8, 2025.
The challenge of disarming Hezbollah
Despite these violations, large-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah has not resumed. But the next step, a lasting peace based on the laying down of Hezbollah arms, is complicated by a series of factors, not least the sectarian nature of Lebanese politics. Since its inception in 1920, Lebanon’s governance has been defined by a polarized and formally sectarian political system, which seeded the roots of a decades-long civil conflict that began in 1975. A series of invasions by Israel in response to attacks from Lebanese-based Palestinian groups exacerbated sectarianism and instability. From this mix, Hezbollah emerged and became a powerful force during the late 1980s. The Taif Agreement, ending Lebanon’s civil war in 1989, formally recognized the state’s right to resist the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territories – and with it Hezbollah’s presence as a force of resistance. An uneasy coexistence between the government and Hezbollah emerged, which often spilled over into violence, including assassinations of important public figures. More recently, Hezbollah was responsible for a two-year political vacuum as it mobilized members to repeatedly block opposition candidates for the vacant presidency in the hopes of installing a leader that would support its agenda. Plumes of smoke rise from explosions. In January 2025 that standoff ended when Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun, a Maronite Christian, as president. The acquiescence of Hezbollah and its allies was in part a sign of how much the power of the Shiite militia had been diminished by Israel during the conflict. But it is also the result of a widespread general understanding in Lebanon of the need to end the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s war. The new president has brought much-needed hope to a battered country – one that has been plagued by numerous crises, including a collapsed economy that by 2019 had pushed 80% of the population into poverty. But Aoun’s presidency signals the changing political environment in another key way; unlike his predecessors, Aoun has not endorsed Hezbollah as a legitimate resistance movement. Further, Aoun has announced his intentions to disarm the group and to fully implement resolution 1701. To this end, Aoun has made impressive gains. According to state officials, the Lebanese army had by the end of April 2025 dismantled over 90% of Hezbollah’s infrastructure south of the Litani River and taken control over these sites. Yet Hezbollah’s chief, Naim Kassem, doggedly rejects calls to disarm and integrate the group’s fighters into the Lebanese armed forces. Even in Hezbollah’s weakened position, Kassem believes only his movement, and not the Lebanese state, can guarantee Lebanon’s safety against Israel. And Israel violations of the ceasefire only play into this narrative. “We will not allow anyone to remove Hezbollah’s weapons,” Kassem said after one recent airstrike, vowing that the group would hand over weapons only when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon and ended it’s air incursions.
The challenge going forward
Yet countries including the United States and Qatar – not to mention Israel – consider Hezbollah’s disarmament a prerequisite to both peace and much-needed international assistance. And this makes the task ahead for Aoun difficult. He will be well aware that international aid is desperately needed. But pressing too hard to accommodate either Israel’s or Hezbollah’s interests risks, respectively, exacerbating either domestic political pressures or jeopardizing future foreign investment. To complicate matters further, the situation in Lebanon is hardly helped by developments in neighboring Syria. The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024 has added another element of regional uncertainty and the fear in Lebanon of further sectarian violence. Although Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has vowed to protect all religious groups, he was not able to prevent the massacre of Alawite civilians in several coastal towns – an attack that triggered a fresh wave of refugees heading toward Lebanon. The removal of Assad was another blow for Hezbollah, a strong Assad ally that benefited from years of Syrian interference in Lebanon.
The challenge of international relations
For now, a return to full-scale war in Lebanon does not appear to be on the table.
But what comes next for Lebanon and Hezbollah depends on many factors, not least the state of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and any spillover into Lebanon. But the actions of other regional actors, notably Saudi Arabia and Iran, matter too. Should Saudi Arabia be encouraged down the path of normalizing relations with Israel – a process interrupted by the Oct. 7 attack – then it would impact Lebanon in many ways. Any deal would, from the Saudi perspective, likely have to include a solution to the question of Palestinian statehood, taking away one of Hezbollah’s main grievances. It would also likely put pressure on Lebanon and Israel to find a solution to its long-standing border dispute. Meanwhile, Iran, too, is seemingly turning to diplomatic means to address some of its regional issues, with nascent moves to both improve ties with Saudi Arabia and forge forward with a new nuclear deal with the U.S. This could see Tehran turn away from a policy of trying to impose its influence throughout the region by arming groups aligned with Tehran – first among them, Hezbollah.
***This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 15-16/2025
Trump’s Middle East tour has more substance than the White House let on
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN/May 15, 2025
There’s more to Donald Trump’s Middle East trip than billion-dollar contracts, parades of camels and a storm back home over Qatar’s offer to give the president a new Air Force One. A tour narrowly billed by the White House as a chance for Trump to show he’s a master dealmaker is jumbling the region’s geopolitical jigsaw puzzle. Wherever he goes, Trump brings disruption that can forge possibilities. And he takes risks – for instance, his decision on this trip to lift sanctions on Syria to give a war-ravaged nation a second chance. But the move revives a perennial question about Trump’s entire foreign and trade policy. Can he apply himself sufficiently to reach genuine breakthroughs from openings he creates? The White House’s obsession with lionizing Trump means his most significant initiatives are often swamped by hype. So a deal for Qatar to buy Boeing jets worth tens of billions of dollars got more attention back home Wednesday than his encounter in Riyadh with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. The historic first meeting between US and Syrian leaders in 25 years could be the signature initiative of Trump’s tour. Before he overthrew the murderous dictator Bashar al-Assad, al-Sharaa was a rebel leader who pledged allegiance to al Qaeda and had a $10 million US bounty on his head. Yet Trump sat with him and lifted US sanctions on his civil war-wracked country, hoping to give it a chance to unify and rescue civilians facing severe hunger.
Trump’s regional diplomatic ambitions are expanding
Trump’s geopolitical shake-up doesn’t end in Syria. He’s used the trip to build new pressure on Iran to agree to restrictions on its nuclear program – warning of military action if it refuses but clearly trying to head off the dire prospect of a new Middle East war. His journey has also highlighted growing daylight with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who was seen as an ideological soulmate of the 47th president but who is increasingly an object of Trump’s frustration. Behind the scenes, Trump’s team has been talking with Qatari and Saudi officials about how to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by Israel’s blockade and an onslaught that has killed tens of thousands of civilians. Netanyahu’s response has been to declare he has “no choice” but to keep fighting, and he targeted the Hamas leader who’d be needed for any peace talks, in a strike on a hospital. There’s no sense that the US alliance with Israel is at risk. But gaps between Trump and Netanyahu have also opened over a US pact to halt rocket attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen that did not include Israel; Trump’s bypassing of the Israelis in a deal this week to free the last living American hostage in Gaza; and on the Syria sanctions decision. Trump was not solely focused on the Middle East in recent days. He’d also hoped to fly to Turkey for a startling photo-op with Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine that would have validated his thus far unsuccessful attempt to end their war. Neither rival leader is likely to show up to Thursday’s talks, prompting Trump to abandon his plans for an unexpected side trip and casting further doubt on his peace initiative.
Trump’s big Syria gamble
Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria represents one of the biggest foreign policy gambles so far in his second term. Details of the intricate diplomacy that must have led up to this decision have not yet been revealed. But the move reflects an understanding that Syria, devastated by years of civil war, is at a turning point, occupies a vital place on the map of the region and has the potential to tip into greater chaos if it deteriorates further. The president told reporters that he believed that al-Sharaa has “got a real shot at holding it together.” Officials said later that Trump wants Syria to eventually recognize Israel. This would represent an extraordinary transformation in a region wracked by hate. Firas Maksad, director of outreach at the Middle East Institute, told CNN’s Becky Anderson that the Syria move was a significant win for Trump on a trip dominated by economic concerns. “I think Trump has been very careful and very, I would say, keen on unlocking geopolitical successes, too,” Maksad said. “Whatever happens in Syria doesn’t stay in Syria.”The president’s move mirrors a willingness of some European and Middle Eastern leaders to shelve distaste for al-Sharaa’s past activity in the hope he can stop a return to civil war. Unusually, a Trump policy decision is winning praise even among some longtime critics. “I think it’s a good move,” Leon Panetta, a former CIA director and US defense secretary, told “CNN News Central” on Wednesday. “I think that (Trump) is right because this individual was able to lead that rebellion, was able to depose Assad and, as far as I can see, is working to try to stabilize a difficult challenge with regards to Syria.”Trump’s decision to lift sanctions came at the urging of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which both want to avoid unrest in Syria spreading. There is also a desire in Riyadh, Washington and Doha to prevent a return of outside powers to Syria, which has endured decades of foreign interference from states including Iran, Russia, Turkey and Israel.
But Trump is taking a risk.
While al-Sharaa is seen outside the country as Syria’s best hope for stability, concern is growing that his government is not protecting religious and ethnic minorities. In Washington, meanwhile, senior members of Congress will want assurances that he’s driving out ISIS elements before they agree to lift sanctions enshrined in law that the president cannot waive on his own. “To seize the moment, it will be important for the President’s decision to be swiftly implemented and for the Syrian government to move quickly to address U.S. national security concerns,” Sens. Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen, the Republican chairman and the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. “This will help Syria remain on the path to freedom from the malign influence of Iran and Russia, from China’s attempt to gain an economic foothold in the Middle East, and from the resurgence of ISIS.”South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, struck a note of caution. “I am very inclined to support sanctions relief for Syria under the right conditions,” Graham said in a statement released from Turkey. “However, we must remember that the current leadership in Syria achieved its position through force of arms, not through the will of its people.”Graham noted that Israel was especially concerned by the decision to lift sanctions on Syria and argued that the US must work together with allies to coordinate the new opening. “This newly formed government in Syria may be a good investment and could be the pathway to unifying Syria, making it a stable part of the region. However, there is a lot that must be learned before making that determination,” Graham said. “A stable Syria would be a game changer for the region, but given its past, their progress must be evaluated closely.”
‘Good luck, Syria’
If Trump is to shepherd Syria toward stability, he’ll need to use the power of the United States to convene like-minded nations. This kind of work with allies is hardly a hallmark of this White House. And it’s another challenge for a stretched foreign policy team hampered by chaotic staffing decisions and the inexperience of some key players – for instance, Trump’s envoy for all occasions Steve Witkoff. Trump already seemed to be laying the groundwork for the laying of blame, should his decision backfire, noting several times that part of his reason for lifting sanctions was because of the advocacy of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump said. Some of Trump’s recent wins hardly suggest he’s ready to do the hard work of diplomacy. He claimed he reached big trade deals with the UK and China. But they’d be better described as announcements of an intent to reach agreements. If Tuesday’s sanctions move is similar, his Syria diplomacy will never reach its goals. There’s another reason for anxiety. Al-Sharaa seems to have activated Trump’s weakness for strongmen. He described the former terrorist as a “great young attractive guy” and a “fighter.” Jarringly, given the Syrian leader’s al Qaeda associations, the president commented that he had “a very strong past.”History is full of examples in which Washington put its trust in Middle East tough-guy leaders to keep countries torn by religious and tribal divides in one piece. In Iraq, such a bet ended up costing thousands of US lives. But Trump is more optimistic.“It’s their time to shine,” he said. “Good luck, Syria. Show something very special.”

Tehran has not received any fresh US proposal to resolve nuclear dispute: Official
Reuters/15 May ,2025
Iran has not received any fresh proposal from the United States to resolve a decades-long nuclear dispute, a senior Iranian official told Reuters, adding that Tehran would only ship its highly enriched uranium abroad if US sanctions were lifted “verifiably and effectively.”

Trump Says Expects Iran Diplomacy Will 'Work Out'
Asharq Al Awsat/15 May 2025
US President Donald Trump voiced hope on Wednesday that diplomatic efforts would succeed on Iran's nuclear program, even as he vowed rigorous enforcement of sanctions. Trump, on his first visit to the Middle East since returning to the White House, said he spoke about Iran with the leader of Qatar, which maintains relations with both longtime adversaries. "It's been really an interesting situation. I have a feeling it's going to work out," Trump said of Iran after talks with the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, AFP reported. The Trump administration has held four rounds of talks with Tehran, as the president seeks to avert a threatened Israeli military strike on the Iranian nuclear program. "I want to make a deal with Iran. I want to do something, if it's possible," Trump told a summit of Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh earlier Wednesday.
"But for that to happen, it must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons. "I'm strongly urging all nations to join us in fully and totally enforcing the sanctions" imposed on Iran by the United States, he said.
The Trump administration in recent weeks has imposed sanctions on a series of entities and individuals linked to Iran's oil industry and nuclear program.
'Very deceptive view'
In 2018, Trump walked out of a landmark agreement between major powers and Iran that gave it sanctions relief in return for UN-monitored restrictions on its nuclear activities. He slapped sweeping sanctions on Iran, including secondary measures against any country that buys Iranian oil. Trump said that such secondary sanctions "are in certain ways even more devastating" than direct sanctions on Iran. Trump in a speech Tuesday in Riyadh also said he favored diplomacy but harshly criticized Iran's clerical leaders, saying they were "focused on stealing their people's wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad".Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that he had listened to the remarks and "unfortunately a very deceptive view has been put forward". Iranian officials and the Trump administration have both offered positive takes on the initial talks. But it is unclear whether they went in depth, including on the key issue of whether the US will insist on ending all Iranian uranium enrichment, including for civilian purposes. Asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether he was prepared to exert more pressure on Iran, Trump said: "Let's see what happens over the next week."Iran also said it would hold talks in Türkiye on Friday with representatives of Britain, France and Germany. The three European powers were part of the 2015 agreement ripped up by Trump in his first term. "While we continue the dialogue with the United States, we are also ready to talk with the Europeans," Araghchi said.

Trump says ‘getting close’ to deal to avoid Iran war
Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2025
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that a deal was close with Iran that would avert a military strike on the country’s contested nuclear sites. “We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran,” Trump said in Qatar, the second stop of his multi-day Gulf tour. “I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this.”

IRGC chief says Iran considers Trump ‘murderer’ of Qassem Soleimani
Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2025
The chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, told US President Donald Trump on Thursday that the Iranian nation considered him the “murderer” of former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of the IRGC. He was killed in Iraq in a drone strike on January 3, 2020, ordered by Trump during his first term in office. Trump had said earlier that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Tehran.

France says it will file a court complaint against Iran over citizens’ detention
Reuters/15 May ,2025
France will file a legal complaint on Friday against Iran at the International Court of Justice for violating the right to consular protection, foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said on Thursday. Two French citizens, Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, have been held in Iran for three years. France is accusing Iran of keeping them in conditions akin to torture in Tehran’s Evin prison and not allowing proper consular protection. Iranian officials deny these accusations. Speaking to reporters, Christophe Lemoine said Paris would file a complaint with the international court, which is based in The Hague. Iranian state television had aired a video some time after the couple’s arrest in May 2022, with them appearing to confess to acting on behalf of French intelligence services, something categorically denied by Paris. French officials have toughened their language towards Iran, notably over the advancement of its nuclear program and regional activities, but also the detention of European citizens in the country.

UAE says to invest $1.4 trillion in US over 10 years
Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2025
The president of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday said his country planned to invest $1.4 trillion in the United States over 10 years, lauding a “strong partnership” that flourished under US President Donald Trump. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed announced the “UAE’s plan to invest $1.4 trillion in the United States... over the next 10 years,” in fields including technology, artificial intelligence and energy, speaking from the presidential palace in Abu Dhabi alongside Trump. MBZ also said his country is keen on continuing to work with the United States to achieve peace and stability in the region. Trump visited the UAE's capital city on Thursday, the last stop of a tour of Gulf states. MBZ also told Trump that the bilateral relationship had taken “a significant leap forward since you took office.” During their meeting, Trump told MBZ that the UAE president was a “great warrior,” adding that their relationship was so good, “it cannot get better.” Trump also received the Order of Zayed, the UAE’s highest civilian distinction. With agencies

Trump says Qatar will invest $10 billion in US airbase
Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2025
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Qatar will invest $10 billion in coming years in the Al Udeid Air Base southwest of the country's capital Doha, the largest US military facility in the Middle East. In a speech to US troops at the base during his tour of the Gulf, Trump also said Qatari defense purchases signed on Wednesday are worth $42 billion.

Rubio stresses US desire to ‘give Syria a chance at greatness’ before meeting FM
Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday “reaffirmed the United States’ desire to give Syria a chance at greatness,” before meeting his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, in Turkey. US President Donald Trump shocked the world this week when he announced, during his trip to Saudi Arabia, that he would suspend all sanctions against Syria. He said he made the move at the urging of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkey’s president. Trump became the first US president to meet their Syrian counterpart since Bill Clinton and then-Syrian president Hafez al-Assad met in 2000. The Trump administration has been hesitant to engage the new Syrian government, headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a US-designated terrorist who had a $10 million bounty on his head until late last year. But in another surprise move, Trump agreed to meet with Sharaa in Riyadh this week and told reporters that he has “a real shot at holding it together.” Trump called him “a young, attractive guy, with a very strong past.”Al-Sharaa was held by US forces in Iraq for several years after he fought alongside al-Qaeda affiliates in the country. The Syrian foreign ministry said that Rubio and Syria’s foreign minister met in Turkey on Thursday, alongside Ankara’s top diplomat, to discuss the details of lifting US sanctions on Syria, improving ties between Washington and Damascus, and explore ways to build a strategic relationship. Rubio had earlier met with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the UK on the sidelines of the NATO Informal Foreign Ministers Meeting in Turkey. “Secretary Rubio briefed the ministers on President Trump’s efforts to halt the senseless bloodshed in Ukraine and emphasized that European leadership is critical for getting Russia and Ukraine to negotiate in good faith for a swift and durable peace settlement,” the State Department said. He also stressed that US defense companies were “integral” to the transatlantic industrial base and “should not be sidelined in Europe’s rearmament efforts.” The Trump administration has been calling on European countries to step up their investment in their respective defense sectors across the continent, particularly regarding support for NATO. The ministers also spoke about the need to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and countering China’s influence.

Trump’s pick for top Middle East diplomat says Syria and Lebanon have ‘golden opportunity’
Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2025
President Donald Trump’s nominee for the top State Department post overseeing the Middle East said Thursday the US was offering Syria’s interim authorities a “golden opportunity,” following Trump’s decision to lift all sanctions on Damascus. “I think the president is giving the Syrian people and the Syrian interim authorities a golden opportunity -- a chance to rebuild after half a century under oppressive rule,” said Joel Rayburn, nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rayburn said Washington had outlined clear expectations for Syria’s interim government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa. These included normalizing relations with Israel and expelling Palestinian militants and other foreign fighters. Turning to Lebanon, Rayburn said the country also had a window to advance, citing Iran and Hezbollah’s weakened position. “I think the new Lebanese government has a golden opportunity to take advantage of that and, I know that the administration is working very closely with the Lebanese authorities to help empower them to be able to take advantage of that opportunity,” he said, adding that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is part of that. He emphasized the importance of maintaining the ceasefire with Israel and stabilizing the border. “I think in the past, they’ve had some capacity problems. There’s also been a problem of political will. It seems like things are changing in Beirut now, so there’s an opportunity for them to move forward in a way that I think has not been possible,” Rayburn added.

US preparing to issue some sanctions relief to Syria
Humeyra Pamuk/Reuters/May 15, 2025
ANTALYA, Turkey - The United States is likely to issue some sanctions relief to Syria in coming weeks following President Donald Trump's announcement that all sanctions targeting Damascus would be lifted. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Trump intends to issue waivers under the "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act", through which Washington imposed stiff sanctions on former President Bashar al-Assad's government and secondary sanctions on outside companies or governments that worked with it. A Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday that the Treasury Department "would likely issue general licenses covering a broad range of the economy that is critical to rebuilding in the coming weeks."Trump said on Tuesday that he would order the lifting of all sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, in a major U.S. policy shift that took some in his own administration off guard and left the Treasury and State departments scrambling to understand how to unwind the sanctions.Speaking to reporters in Antalya, Turkey, Rubio said the U.S. wants to do everything it can to help achieve a peaceful, stable Syria as the country emerges from 13 years of war. He added that Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. Congress had asked the Trump administration to use waiver authorities in the "Caesar Act" to lift sanctions. "That's what the president intends to do. Those waivers have to be renewed every 180 days. Ultimately, if we make enough progress, we'd like to see the law repealed, because you're going to struggle to find people to invest in a country when in six months sanctions could come back," Rubio said.
"We're not there yet, that's premature."
Overturning the bill would require congressional action, but it includes a provision allowing the president to suspend the sanctions for national security reasons. Trump could also issue a general license suspending some or all of the sanctions.
"I think as we make progress hopefully we'll be in a position soon, or one day, to go to Congress and ask them to permanently remove the sanctions," Rubio said.
PREPARATORY WORK UNDERWAY
Syria's foreign minister was in Washington two weeks ago and preparatory work was already under way regarding the Syria sanctions, most of which are statutory under the "Caesar Act," Rubio said. Removing U.S. sanctions that cut Syria off from the global financial system would clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organizations working in Syria, easing foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds. Trump said he would remove all sanctions, saying they had served an important function, but it was time for Syria to move forward. The Treasury Department in a post on X on Thursday said it was working with the State Department and National Security Council to execute Trump's decision. "We look forward to implementing the necessary authorizations that would be critical to bringing new investment into Syria," it said. "Treasury's actions can help rebuild Syria's economy, financial sector, and infrastructure and could put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous, and stable future."

Israel Army Chief Says Will Use 'All Tools' to Find West Bank Attackers
Asharq Al Awsat/15 May 2025
Israel's military will use "all the tools" at its disposal to find the perpetrators of a West Bank attack that left a pregnant Israeli woman dead, army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said Thursday. "We will use all the tools at our disposal and reach the murderers in order to hold them accountable," Zamir said as he visited the scene of the attack on the woman's vehicle in the north of the occupied West Bank. "After struggling to save the life of the woman who was critically injured in the shooting attack in Samaria and arrived during resuscitation, the medical teams were forced to pronounce her dead," Beilinson Hospital said in a statement, using the biblical name to refer to the West Bank. It added that the baby was delivered via caesarean section and transferred to another hospital.

Trump suggests US ‘take’ Gaza, make it ‘freedom zone’
Brett Samuels/The Hill/May 15, 2025
President Trump on Thursday suggested the U.S. would look to take control of the Gaza Strip and turn it into a “freedom zone,” highlighting one of his more controversial foreign policy proposals during a visit to Qatar. “I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good: Make it a freedom zone. Let the United States get involved, and make it just a freedom zone,” Trump said during a business roundtable. “I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone, let some good things happen. Put people in homes where they can be safe, and Hamas is going to have to be dealt with,” Trump added. Qatar has played host to periodic ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in an attempt to stop the fighting between the two sides, but so far negotiations have been at a stalemate as bombings continue. The president earlier this year first proposed the idea of the U.S. taking control of Gaza, which has been devastated by Israeli military strikes as it carries out its campaign against Hamas following October 2023 attacks by the group that killed more than 1,100 Israelis. Israel’s subsequent attacks have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians. Trump has previously suggested Palestinians living in Gaza would relocate elsewhere in the region while the U.S. rebuilt the strip. He has brushed off questions about how the U.S. would take over the territory, though he previously floated that Israel would turn it over at the conclusion of its war with Hamas. The idea has drawn pushback from the head of the Palestinian National Authority, as well as from U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia.

US would make Gaza a 'freedom zone', Trump says in Qatar
Gram Slattery/Reuters/May 15, 2025
DOHA - President Donald Trump on Thursday reiterated his desire to take over the Gaza Strip, telling a business roundtable in Qatar that the U.S. would "make it a freedom zone" and arguing there was nothing left to save in the Palestinian territory. Trump first pitched his Gaza idea in February, saying the U.S. would redevelop it and force Palestinians to go elsewhere. The plan drew global condemnation, with Palestinians, Arab nations and the U.N. saying it would amount to ethnic cleansing. Most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is internally displaced as Israel presses a military assault that has killed nearly 53,000 Palestinians and ravaged much of the enclave. Israel began its assault after the October 2023 Hamas attack. Speaking to a group of officials and business leaders in Qatar, which has hosted Hamas' political office in Doha for years, Trump said he has "concepts for Gaza that I think are very good: Make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved". Trump said he had seen "aerial shots where, I mean, there's practically no building standing. It's not like you're trying to save something. There's no buildings. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable." "I want to see that (Gaza) be a freedom zone. And if it's necessary, I think I'd be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone. Let some good things happen." Trump has previously said he wants to turn Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East."Palestinians vehemently reject any plan involving them leaving Gaza, comparing such ideas to the 1948 "Nakba," or "catastrophe," when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed of their homes in the war that led to the creation of Israel. Many say they would rather live in the ruins of their homes. Commenting on Trump's remarks in Qatar, Hamas official Basem Naim said the president "possesses the necessary influence" to end the Gaza war and help establish a Palestinian state. But Naim added: "Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian land - it is not real estate for sale on the open market."Direct U.S. involvement in Gaza would draw Washington deeper into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and potentially mark its biggest Middle East intervention since its 2003 Iraq invasion. Many Americans view foreign entanglements with skepticism. Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken as hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Earlier this month, Israel approved expanded offensive plans against Hamas that might include seizing the Strip and controlling aid. At least 70 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday, medics said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described Trump's idea as "a bold vision," and has said that he and the U.S. president have discussed which countries might be willing to take Palestinians who leave Gaza.

People take cover, while sirens sound in Jerusalem, May 13, 2025. Israel’s military
Reuters/15 May ,2025
The Israeli military’s aerial defense systems are currently operating to intercept a missile launched from Yemen, the army said on Thursday in a statement. Alarms sounded in several areas in Israel following the projectile’s launch, the army added in a separate statement.

Saudi Arabia slams Israel’s targeting of Gaza civilians, attack on European Hospital
Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2025
Saudi Arabia on Thursday condemned Israel’s “continued military escalation against defenseless civilians” in Gaza, including the deadly attack on the European Hospital in Khan Younis, according to a statement from the Saudi foreign ministry.
The Kingdom reiterated its “categorical rejection of the continued Israeli genocidal crimes” and called for an immediate ceasefire. For the latest updates on the Israel-Palestine conflict, visit our dedicated page. “The Kingdom holds the Israeli occupation forces fully responsible for their continued violations of all international and humanitarian norms and laws,” the statement added. At least 28 people were killed in Israeli strikes Tuesday around the European Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency. The Israeli military said it hit a Hamas “command and control center.”On Wednesday, witnesses and medics said an Israeli airstrike hit a bulldozer that approached the area of the strike at the European Hospital, wounding several people.

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza kill over 100 as manhunt unfolds in West Bank
Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2025
Palestinian rescuers reported more than 100 people killed Thursday in Israeli strikes on blockaded Gaza, where a US-backed organization said it intends to begin distributing aid by the end of the month. In the occupied West Bank, raids were ongoing and roads blocked after Israel’s military chief vowed to find the perpetrators of an attack that killed a pregnant Israeli woman. Gaza’s civil defense agency said the death toll from Israeli bombardment since dawn on Thursday had risen to 103. Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza on March 2, before resuming operations on March 18, ending a six-week ceasefire. “Israel’s blockade has transcended military tactics to become a tool of extermination,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) interim executive director Federico Borello said in a statement Thursday. HRW said “the Israeli government’s plan to demolish what remains of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure and concentrate the Palestinian population into a tiny area would amount to an abhorrent escalation of its ongoing crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide.”Amir Selha, a 43-year-old Palestinian from north Gaza, reported “intense Israeli shelling all night.” “Tank shells are striking around the clock, and the area is packed with people and tents,” he said. He added that in early morning Israeli army drones dropped leaflets in his neighborhood, warning residents to move south. Most Gazans have been displaced at least once during 19 months of war between Israel and Hamas. Israel says the pressure aims to force Hamas to free the remaining hostages seized in the October 2023 attack which triggered the war. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-supported NGO, said it would begin distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza this month after talks with Israeli officials. In a joint statement on Tuesday, five European members of the UN Security Council said that they were “deeply concerned” at the Israeli plan, “which the United Nations has said would not meet humanitarian principles.”
Evacuation orders
The Gaza health ministry said Thursday that 2,876 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,010. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, according to Israeli tallies. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead. The United Nations estimates that 70 percent of Gaza is now either an Israeli-declared no-go zone or under evacuation order. Civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said Israel was “employing a policy of shrinking areas and emptying populated regions to pressure and terrorize civilians.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday the military would enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days. Despite the bombardment, efforts are still under way for a new hostage release and ceasefire deal. With US President Donald Trump touring Gulf Arab states, his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff discussed the hostages issue with Netanyahu on Wednesday. Hamas accused Netanyahu of undermining ceasefire and hostage release efforts “through deliberate military escalation, showing indifference to his captives, endangering their lives.”In the northern West Bank, the Israeli military said a manhunt was under way after an attack that killed a pregnant woman. Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said: “We will use all the tools at our disposal and reach the murderers in order to hold them accountable.”
Calls for revenge
Users of Palestinian Telegram channels sharing information on West Bank checkpoints reported many road closures in the north of the territory on Thursday.
WhatsApp groups for Israeli settlers in the West Bank were rife with calls for vengeance in retaliation for the attack. “To make sure this never happens again... we need real revenge! Erase every terror village,” one user said. In the northern village of Tammun, Israeli troops killed five Palestinians in a raid the military described as targeting buildings suspected of being used to plan attacks. “The occupation forces killed five young men after besieging a house in the center of the village,” Tammun mayor Samir Qteishat told AFP. The Israeli military said “soldiers identified armed terrorists who barricaded themselves in a building.”“Following an exchange of fire, five terrorists were eliminated, and an additional terrorist was apprehended,” it said.
The West Bank has seen an upsurge in violence since the beginning of the Gaza war.
With AFP

A US-backed group says it will deliver aid to Gaza, but humanitarian organizations are skeptical. Here’s what we know
Mick Krever, CNN/May 15, 2025
A controversial new American-backed organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has announced it will begin delivering aid to the besieged territory within two weeks and says it has Israel’s approval. The move would provide some relief for Gazans facing acute hunger from 19 months of war and a two-and-half month Israeli blockade of all food, water, medical and humanitarian supplies.More than half of Gaza’s population faces “emergency” or “catastrophic” levels of hunger, according to a UN-backed panel considered an authority on the matter.
But the foundation has come under significant criticism from top humanitarian officials, who warn that it is insufficient, could endanger civilians and even encourage their forced displacement. Here’s what we know about the new aid mechanism.
Why is Israel blocking food from entering Gaza? Israel started a total blockade on Gaza on March 2, the day after the initial phase of a ceasefire with Hamas expired. Officials said their goal was to force the group to accept new ceasefire terms and release hostages taken from Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel and the United States have also accused Hamas of stealing aid intended for Gaza’s civilian population. Hamas has rejected those claims, and humanitarian aid organizations say the overwhelming majority of food aid reaches civilians in need.
Whatever the motivation, the impact is clear. The hunger crisis long predates Israel’s total blockade. Since Hamas’ attack, Israel has severely restricted the amount of aid that can enter Gaza. And even before October 2023, Israel and Egypt had imposed a partial blockade on Gaza, meaning that 63% of the population was food insecure. Now that figure is 100%, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). It says that 70,000 children need urgent treatment for “acute malnutrition.”
What is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?
It’s a non-profit set up at the urging of the American government to help alleviate hunger in Gaza, while complying with Israeli demands that the aid not reach Hamas.
The American ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, laid out some of the goals for the organization in a press conference in Jerusalem last week. It’s being led by Jake Wood, a US military veteran who founded and ran Team Rubicon, which has provided humanitarian relief during natural disasters. “Aid diversion, active combat, and restricted access have prevented life-saving assistance from reaching the people it is meant to serve and eroded donor confidence,” the foundation said in a memorandum on its objectives. “GHF was established to restore that vital lifeline through an independent, rigorously-audited model that gets assistance directly – and only – to those in need.”In its initial press releases, the GHF listed some heavy hitters that would sit on its board, lending it significant legitimacy: David Beasley, the former executive director of the WFP, and Nate Mook, the former head of World Central Kitchen. But both Beasley and Mook told CNN that contrary to those initial announcements, neither is currently working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. More on that in a bit.
How would it work?
The foundation says that it will set up “Secure Distribution Sites” to feed 1.2 million of Gaza’s estimated 2.1 million population – eventually ramping up, it hopes, to serve every Gazan. It says that it will provide “pre-packaged rations, hygiene kits, and medical supplies.” It plans to move the aid through “tightly controlled corridors, monitored in real time to prevent diversion.”It will accept both financial donations and “goods-in-kind,” meaning direct donations of food and other aid.
The group says that it will coordinate with the Israeli military, but that security will be provided by private military contractors, including an American firm that was on the ground during a ceasefire earlier this year. A person involved in the planning told CNN on Thursday that following discussions with GHF, Israel had agreed to allow some aid into Gaza in the coming days. However, Israeli officials have yet to publicly confirm that. Israeli authorities did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
The foundation said in a statement on Wednesday that it has called on Israel to authorize the entry of aid through existing mechanisms as a stop-gap measure until it is up and running. Israel has not yet publicly agreed.
Where would the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation get its food and money? It’s unclear. In its announcement this week, the GHF said that it was “in the final stages of procuring large volumes of food aid to supplement existing pledges from humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza.” It said that that would equate to more than 300 million meals.
It did not list the suppliers.
Huckabee told reporters last week that “there are some people who have already committed to helping fund” but that “they don’t want to be disclosed as of yet.”What about the United Nations? The UN has long carried the heaviest burden in feeding, education, and treating Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has long had a contentious relationship with UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, but it was completely ruptured in the aftermath of October 7. The Israeli government says that some UNRWA staff members participated in the October 7 attack on Israel; the agency fired most of those accused, but says that Israel never provided it with evidence against them. That led Israel’s parliament to ban UNRWA from operating in Israel, making any UN-led humanitarian efforts extremely difficult. But more importantly, the UN has said that it refuses to participate in the new American-backed Gaza aid initiative.
Why are the UN and humanitarian groups so critical of it?
The UN’s humanitarian chief called it a “cynical sideshow” at the UN Security Council this week. The UN and other aid groups say that the way the GHF intends to work violates some basic humanitarian principles.
The fact that the initial sites would only be in southern and central Gaza could, the UN warned, be seen to be encouraging Israel’s publicly stated goal of forcing “the entire Gazan population” out of northern Gaza, as Defense Minister Israel Katz put it earlier this month. (The foundation says it has asked Israel to help up set up distribution points in the north.). The UN says that the Israeli military’s involvement in securing the sites – even at a remove – could discourage participation, or lead to recipients facing reprisals. Private military contractors, the UN warns, could use force as a crowd control mechanism.
And crucially, it says that the initiative is simply insufficient. There are currently 400 distribution points in Gaza; this program would only have a handful, forcing people to “walk long distances carrying heavy rations.”The US and the GHF have both been at pains to say that it is not an Israeli initiative – despite Israel’s support for it, and role in designating and securing the distribution sites. “They will not be involved in the distribution of the food or even in the bringing of the food into Gaza,” Ambassador Huckabee said, referring to Israel. “Their role will remain on the perimeter.”The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, was scathing in his assessment to the UN Security Council this week. “It restricts aid to only one part of Gaza, while leaving other dire needs unmet,” he said. “It makes aid conditional on political and military aims. It makes starvation a bargaining chip. It is cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement.”

Turkey says it expects Syrian Kurdish militia to fulfil Damascus deal
Reuters/15 May ,2025
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday that Turkey expects the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia to fulfil a deal the group agreed with the Syrian government, under which it is to integrate into Syria’s armed forces. Turkey regards the YPG as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has fought the Turkish state for four decades and which announced on Monday that it had decided to disarm and disband. “We see that there has been no step taken by the YPG so far. We expect these steps to be put into practice,” Fidan told a press conference at an informal NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in southern Turkey’s Antalya province. “In order for stability to be achieved in Syria, there must be a comprehensive government, a single legitimate armed force,” he added. The YPG spearheads the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces which control much of Syria’s oil-rich northeast and which signed a deal with Damascus in March to join Syria’s new state institutions. The March deal also called for SDF-controlled border crossings, an airport and oil and gas fields in eastern Syria to become part of the Damascus administration. Implementation is due by the end of the year, but it was unclear how the SDF’s military operation would be integrated.

Peace breakthrough unlikely as Putin declines to meet Zelenskyy in Turkey
Reuters/15 May ,2025
Russia’s Vladimir Putin spurned a challenge to meet face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey on Thursday, dealing a blow to prospects for a peace breakthrough. The Russian president dispatched a second-tier team of aides and deputy ministers to take part in talks in Istanbul, while US President Donald Trump, on a tour of the Gulf, undercut the chances of major progress when he said there would be no movement in the absence of a meeting between himself and Putin. Zelenskyy said Putin’s decision not to attend but to send what he called a “decorative” line-up showed the Russian leader was not serious about ending the war. He said he himself would not go to Istanbul, but would send a team, headed by his defense minister, with a mandate to discuss a ceasefire. It was not clear when the talks would actually begin. “We can’t be running around the world looking for Putin,” Zelenskyy said after meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. “I feel disrespect from Russia. No meeting time, no agenda, no high-level delegation – this is personal disrespect. To Erdogan, to Trump,” Zelenskyy told reporters. Zelenskyy backs an immediate, unconditional 30-day ceasefire but Putin has said he first wants to start talks at which the details of such a truce could be discussed. More than three years after its full-scale invasion, Russia has the advantage on the battlefield and says Ukraine could use a pause in the war to call up extra troops and acquire more Western weapons.Both Trump and Putin have said for months they are keen to meet each other, but no date has been set. Trump, after piling heavy pressure on Ukraine and clashing with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February, has lately expressed growing impatience that Putin may be “tapping me along.”“Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Diplomatic confusion
The diplomatic disarray was symptomatic of the deep hostility between the warring sides and the unpredictability injected by Trump, whose interventions since returning to the White House in January have often provoked dismay from Ukraine and its European allies. While Zelenskyy waited in vain for Putin in Ankara, the Russian negotiating team sat in Istanbul with no one to talk to on the Ukrainian side. Some 200 reporters milled around near the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus that the Russians had specified as the talks venue.
The enemies have been wrestling for months over the logistics of ceasefires and peace talks while trying to show Trump they are serious about trying to end what he calls “this stupid war.”Hundreds of thousands have been killed and wounded on both sides in the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Washington has threatened repeatedly to abandon its mediation efforts unless there is clear progress. Trump said on Thursday he would go to the talks in Turkey on Friday if it was “appropriate.”“I just hope Russia and Ukraine are able to do something. It has to stop,” he said. Russia accused Ukraine of “trying to put on a show” around the talks. Its lead negotiator said the Russians were ready to get down to work and discuss possible compromises. Asked if Putin would join talks at some future point, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “What kind of participation will be required further, at what level, it is too early to say now.”Russia said on Thursday its forces had captured two more settlements in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. A spokeswoman for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointedly reminded reporters of his comment last year that Ukraine was “getting smaller” in the absence of an agreement to stop fighting.
First talks for three years
Once they start, the talks will have to address a chasm between the two sides over a host of issues. The Russian delegation is headed by presidential advisor Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister who has overseen the rewriting of history textbooks to reflect Moscow’s narrative on the war. It includes a deputy defense minister, a deputy foreign minister and the head of military intelligence. Key members of the team, including Medinsky, were also involved in the last direct peace talks in Istanbul in March 2022 – a signal that Moscow wants to pick up where those left off. But the terms under discussion then, while Ukraine was still reeling from Russia’s initial invasion, would be deeply disadvantageous to Kyiv. They included a demand by Moscow for deep cuts to the size of Ukraine’s military. With Russian forces now in control of close to a fifth of Ukraine, Putin has held fast to his longstanding demands for Kyiv to cede territory, abandon its NATO membership ambitions and become a neutral country. Ukraine rejects these terms as tantamount to capitulation, and is seeking guarantees of its future security from world powers, especially the United States. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Zelenskyy had shown his good faith by coming to Turkey but there was an “empty chair” where Putin should be sitting. “Putin is stalling and clearly has no desire to enter these peace negotiations, even when President Trump expressed his availability and his desire to facilitate these negotiations,” he said. Highlighting the level of tension between Russia and the US-led alliance, Estonia said Moscow had briefly sent a military jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an attempt by the Estonian navy to stop a Russian-bound oil tanker thought to be part of a “shadow fleet” defying Western sanctions on Moscow.

Zelenskiy describes Russia's delegation to peace talks as 'decorative'
Reuters/May 15, 2025
KYIV - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday Ukraine would decide on the next steps in talks with Russia after his meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Zelenskiy told reporters at Ankara's airport that the level of the Russian delegation despatched to Turkey for talks was low rank and had an unclear mandate. "The level of the Russian (delegation) is not known officially to me but from what we see, it looks more like it's on a decorative level," Zelenskiy said. "We need to understand what kind of level the Russian delegation is, and what mandate they have and whether they can make any decisions."Zelenskiy said the Ukrainian delegation included his foreign minister, military and intelligence chiefs, and also senior officials from his office.

Al Qaeda Affiliate: 200 Soldiers Killed in Attack on Burkina Military Base
Asharq Al Awsat/15 May 2025
An attack on a Burkina Faso army base killed 200 soldiers, the SITE Intelligence Group quoted Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM as saying on Thursday. The base in the northern town of Djibo came under attack on Sunday morning, and a police station and market were also targeted, security sources told Reuters. Although there was no official toll, three Djibo residents told Reuters dozens of soldiers and civilians were killed. US-based SITE, which tracks online activity of militants, said JNIM made the claim in a formal statement. "The operation comes amid increased JNIM activity in Burkina Faso over the past month inflicting a high number of casualties," SITE said. The organization previously said Ousmane Dicko, head of JNIM in Burkina, had appeared in a video urging residents of Djibo to leave the town for their own safety.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on May 15-16/2025
When Sacred and Profane Diplomacy Suddenly Intersect
Alberto M. Fernandez/National Catholic/May 15/2025
The coincidence, or the divine Providence, seems eerie. Pope Leo XIV’s brand new account on X, began by tweeting repeatedly on May 14 about the need for peace, about being “willing to help enemies meet, so they may look each other in the eye and so people may be given back the dignity they deserve: the dignity of peace.”
Meanwhile, that most controversial of peace paladins, President Donald Trump, made peace and the dignity of others the centerpiece of his first official state visit as president (as he did in 2017) to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
For someone accused by his political enemies of being an opportunist, Trump’s interest in peace is not new. A decade ago, he was the only Republican presidential candidate to openly condemn the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 as “a mistake.” That claim, made during a 2016 GOP debate, drew boos from the audience. During his first term, Trump resisted his own hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton. Trump later mocked Bolton, saying, “If I’d listened to him, we would be in World War VI by now.”
Only in its fourth month, the Trump administration is deep into peace discussions on Ukraine, Gaza and Iran, sensitive discussions that show promise but could, of course, also fail. In Riyadh, reportedly against the wishes of some of his own NSC staff and the views of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump announced the lifting of all U.S. sanctions on Syria, a decision received by open celebrations in the Syrian capital and approval in much of the Sunni Muslim world for whom Syria is a special cause.
Trump’s generous, open-handed gesture was followed by face-to-face meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara’a, who Trump praised. It is not the first time that an American president has met with a former terrorist turned head of state, but it is the first time that the president meets with a former member of al-Qaida and the Islamic State (ISIS) who is now a statesman.
The United States has stated real demands to Syria — no support for terrorists, expelling them, guarding jailed ISIS supporters and calm, leading to eventual peace, with Israel. Also of real concern by the administration is the fate of Syria’s ancient Christian community.
But the seemingly sweeping, unconditional gesture by Trump certainly caught the Arab imagination. Trump’s Syria decision is seen as a triumph of Saudi diplomacy but was also sought by America’s Islamist allies in Turkey and Qatar.
For the Syrian people — almost all impoverished now, desperate, broken after 13 years of brutal civil war — the announcement brought renewed hope and perhaps unrealistic expectations, but also a possible path forward towards a better future. The Trump decision should also help the economy of neighboring Lebanon, often seen as an entryway into Syria and economically linked to its neighbor in many ways.
The Iraq War that Trump criticized as a mistake in 2016 succeeded in bringing about the destruction of most of Iraq’s historic Christian community. Only about one-tenth of the Christian population that the country had in 2003 remains. Trump’s Syria decision could materially help Syrian and Lebanese Christians and improve the chance that they remain rooted in their ancestral homelands.
There was a curious echo of this on May 14 in Pope Leo XIV’s remarks during meetings for the Jubilee of the Eastern Churches, where he thanked God “for those Christians — Eastern and Latin alike — who, above all in the Middle East, persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them.”
Trump made further news in Saudi Arabia where he delivered a much-lauded — by Arab opinion makers (American pundits seemed to have ignored it) — speech, which praised what the Gulf states have been able to build and contrasted it with decades of expensive, failed American intervention in the region: “This great transformation has not come from Western interventionists … giving you lectures on how to live or how to govern your own affairs. No, the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called ‘nation-builders,’ ‘neo-cons,’ or ‘liberal non-profits,’ like those who spent trillions failing to develop Kabul and Baghdad, so many other cities.” Trump’s pointed remarks against the “interventionists” and the “nation-builders” is a repudiation of both the $8 trillion “forever wars” and of the liberal internationalist “assistance-industrial complex” that was a feature of the bipartisan Washington Consensus for decades.
It is anybody’s guess if Trump’s multiple efforts at peacemaking will yield real peace. Obama left Iraq in 2011 only to have to return in 2014 with the rise of ISIS. But the focus of the new administration is crystal clear.
There is a strange irony here. Often criticized for being chaotic, Trump stays on target, speaking of “peace through strength.” Meanwhile, it was the supposedly savvy experts of the Biden administration that became deeply involved in two wars, in Ukraine and the Middle East, and found a way to both alienate allies while failing to defeat adversaries.
For the Vatican, the American president’s frenetic efforts at peacemaking present both a puzzle and an opportunity. Some in the clerical left seem to expect or wish to see major clashes between the new Pope and the new president.
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago mentioned immigration, climate change and the drug and weapons trade in Latin America as possible priorities for Pope Leo XIV that would “complete and complement our political agenda.” The sense seemed to be that this meant an adversarial relationship between the Vatican and Washington. Perhaps.
But on the subjects mentioned by the Holy Father’s social media account on its first day — peace and the survival of the Christians of the East — the Vatican and the White House seem to find themselves, for now and possibly subject to change, on exactly the same side.
**Alberto M. Fernandez Alberto M. Fernandez is a former U.S. diplomat and a contributor at EWTN News.

The World Is Being Reshaped from Our Region… What Will We Choose: Dialogue or Conflict?
Mustafa al-Kadhimi-Former Iraqi Prime Minister/Asharq Al Awsat/15 May 2025
Romanticizing history is not acceptable anymore. Our people in Iraq have been particularly obsessed with their history, so much so they have forgotten about their future. Debates are centered around their ancestors, overlooking how to make their own history today. Those who do think about shaping their future are shaping history today, striving to make the best out of the present. This is something I have always seen in my meetings and discussions with our brothers, the leaders of the Gulf states, who prioritize shaping the future of their countries and peoples because they believe that history is written by the people of today, the people of yesterday will not lead us to a tomorrow that meets our ambitions and aspirations.
It may seem paradoxical, but it is the natural result of rethinking our approach to governance. We see this clearly in the developments currently unfolding in the region: summits, visits, meetings, decisions, and most recently, the visit of US President Donald Trump. Every step leads in the same direction: the future.
In Iraq, meanwhile, the public discourse remains captive to the past, not as a series of events, but as an extension of the mindset shaping our approach to the sustainable development our people need, enhancing services, and ideologies that undermine our ability to think freely, make overtures to others, and contribute to building our future with them.
What saddens me today is that Iraq’s brothers- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the State of Qatar- speak of investments and partnerships that are changing the face of the region and accelerating global progress, especially in technology. Meanwhile, only a few hundred kilometers away, we are still debating how to reach a point at which the state can deliver the bare minimum. We are still discussing the scope of state sovereignty, or democracy, and how to implement it, and we go into a rage when we hear opinions different from our own, to say nothing about cross-border projects that will soon become history.
I am sincerely calling on all of us to catch up with the times and set new priorities before it’s too late. Progress is no longer measured in decades but in years or even months. The Iraq authorities must take serious steps on the domestic front to allow for the development we need and to open up to our brothers and neighbors in pursuit of economic integration, through strategic partnerships and major projects undermined by a vision and planning, not nepotism, transactional exchanges, or prejudice.
Our region is rapidly stabilizing and setting new foundations. It is building economies that could become real alternative models for others. This raises the following question: where is Iraq? Are we destined to remain prisoners of the past? Or can we be part of the future? The natural answer is that we must join the effort to shape tomorrow.
Is there a roadmap for doing so? It could be summed up in the following broad bullet points:
1. All political forces, parties, and communities, without exception, must believe in the state.
2.Transnational ideologies and political projects must be abandoned in favor of a firm commitment to the principle of Iraq First.
3.We must pursue real democracy. Our consociational democracy cannot produce a responsible government and parliament, only paralyzed or unproductive governance.
4. Planning, planning, and more planning- after developing a holistic national vision that covers legal, political, economic, and social questions. This vision must take threats, opportunities, capacities, and resources into account. And if we (as Iraqis) fail, we must either delegate this task to or cooperate with, international experts.
5. Fighting deeply the entrenchment of corruption, not only within the state’s institutions, but everywhere, as it has taken many forms and reached extremely high.
6. Work, work, and more work...
These are the broad steps we must take to move forward. We have an opportunity, and as far as I know, our brothers are waiting for Iraq to take the initiative. They have extended their hand, but we need concrete actions to encourage them to move toward us. Otherwise, how could we expect them to engage with us at a time when our discourse is sectarian, extortionist, and tainted by barren ideologies? How can they take steps toward us when lawlessness and the proliferation of weapons, in all their forms, have become synonymous with Iraq and its identity? And how can we hope for a partnership with these growing economies while we remain wedded to a rentier economy that fuels unemployment, inflating the public sector at the expense of expanding and investing in the private sector and encouraging youths and skilled workers to enter the market?
The opportunity exists. However, it is limited, and it will be missed if we do not act quickly enough. Everyone should understand this clearly. We must learn to distinguish between those who genuinely seek to help Iraq and work for it and those who raise boisterous slogans as they conspire against it. As the saying goes, “Opportunities pass like clouds. Seize the good ones while you can.”

Looking Back On the Oslo Accords (1)
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/15 May 2025
The 1993 Oslo Accords are put forward as proof that peace with Israel is impossible in every debate on war and peace. These accords tested Israel's desire for peace, and Israel failed; put the same test, Palestinians (and Arabs) passed and affirmed the sincerity of their desire for peace.
Accordingly, we must look back on this agreement to reassess a few convenient fundamental assumptions that have underpinned conclusions about war and peace, thereby justifying the avoidance of any critical reexamination.
The urgency of our need for such a re-examination stems from another, practical aim. Across the Levant, we no longer have the luxury of claiming that we do not want peace- even if it is exceedingly difficult and even on the grounds that Israel cannot move forward with it.
Oslo was the apex of what could be achieved through a plausible peace. However, the fact that it was “plausible” does not negate the shortcomings of this peace. While those shortcomings could partly be attributed to the fact that stumbles are inherent to beginnings, the agreement’s flaws were compounded by a profoundly unequal power dynamic and a history of absolute mutual suspicion.
Even with Oslo’s major shortcomings- chief among them the deferral of “final status” issues to an uncertain time in the future and leaping over core questions that resist delay- the Palestinians would have received far less than Osla had offered if the outcome of the talks had been determined by the sheer balance of power. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) came to the negotiating table with nothing left in the tank. The PLO entered the process after the Lebanese Civil War, the Israeli invasion that led to the its expulsion from Lebanon to Tunisia, Syria’s relentless and brutal campaign that was not satisfied with severely weakening the PLO, pushing it, under the pressure of violent rivalry with Hafez al-Assad, to one of its worst mistakes: siding with Saddam Hussein as he invaded Kuwait in the summer of 1990.
The consequences of this support were nothing short of disastrous: the PLO lost the substantial financial and political support it had received from the Gulf states up until then. Internationally, the collapse of the Soviet Union, “our great ally,” worsened what had already been a massive disparity. On the other hand, Israel not only benefited from its membership in the alliance that had won the Cold War, it also benefited from the arrival of one million immigrants following the Soviet collapse.
For all of its significance, the Palestinians’ only asset at the time, the First Intifada of 1987, was far too modest to present a counterweight to all of those sweeping geopolitical shifts.
Coupled with profound and chronic mutual distrust, and the fact that Israeli politics has been closely influenced by hysteria over security, this power imbalance rendered the political process paternalistic, nasty, and alienating, as the powerful Israelis never stopped scrutinizing and testing the weak Palestinians.
Even so, Oslo offered a new beginning that, at least in principle, made betting on a happy ending tenable. It offered Palestinians an identity card and passport, a governing authority theoretically destined to become a state, and the right of return of tens to thousands of Palestinians, whose numbers never stopped growing. Between 1993 and the Second Intifada of 2000, Palestinians enjoyed greater autonomy in areas identified in the agreement. Moreover, the United States, the European Union, and even Israel recognized the PLO as the “legitimate representative” of the Palestinian people. And, for his part, Yasser Arafat had recognized the State of Israel and condemned terrorism.
As for Gaza, it was always in the thick of things. In fact, the implementation phase of the Oslo process for Palestinian self-rule partly began with Gaza and Jericho, as per what became known as the “Cairo Agreement” of 1994. In late 1998, US President Bill Clinton visited Gaza to attend the opening of an airport planned for construction in Rafah (southern Gaza) that was meant to offer an alternative to Egypt’s El Arish Airport and the Israeli airports that Palestinians had been forced to use. Clinton’s presence, along with the funding that several countries (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands) had offered for the construction of the airport, reflected political support meant to push back against Israel’s excessive restrictions and obstruction.
This new political direction taken by the Jewish state, and the broad popular support that its “peace camp” had attained, did not emerge in a vacuum. They cannot be understood in isolation from the cultural and intellectual shifts in Israel that began in the 1980s. The “New Historians,” a term coined in 1988 by one of its members, Benny Morris, emerged during this decade, and it also included Ilan Pappé, Avi Shlaim, Tom Segev, Shlomo Sand, and Simha Flapan. They reexamined the foundational narratives of their state and exposed attempts to erase the atrocities inflicted on Palestinians in 1948. This was also when we saw the emergence of critical approaches to Zionism and its colonial dimension in sociology and the humanities, with the works of Baruch Kimmerling, Uri Ram, Gershon Shafir, and others. More broadly, a phenomenon that came to be known as “post-Zionism” became part of the Israeli cultural mainstream, constituting the intellectual wing of the peace process.
On a global and ideological level, the Oslo Accords seemed to fit into the post–Cold War climate and the global wave of demands for democratization and conflict resolution. Thus, Palestinian and Arab engagement with Oslo, swam with the tide of a global shift, which is far from typical in modern Arab history.
But where did things go from there?

The England We Once Respected
Nils A. Haug/Gatestone Institute/May 15/2025
The future of Israel and its people will therefore rest on Israel's own ability to defend its nation...
Israelis will live, and thrive, in their homeland despite ill-intent by their enemies. After all, the Jews are sacred custodians of eternal truths and morality – as the Torah makes clear. The world needs them.
"Instead of demonizing and vilifying Israel, the world should be thanking Israel for being on the front lines in saving Western civilization and the free world." — Elon Gold, reported by David Suissa, The Jewish Journal, April 29, 2025.
As for England and all of Great Britain, the greatest empire of its time is no more -- long gone. Rule Britannia no longer rules anything, not even the streets of London.
Since 1650, after a relatively undisturbed period in England of nearly 400 years, publicly expressed animosity toward the Jews is escalating. Islamist influence in Britain is growing exponentially. The UK's weak leadership falls into a category of cognitive dissonance from reality, as does its cowardly display against vociferous and dangerous Jew-hatred on the streets of London. Pictured: Anti-Israel protesters in London, on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
Jews have a long history of residence in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, under King Edward I in 1290 CE, England was one of the first countries to expel Jews from its borders -- an event which Oliver Cromwell remedied in 1650, after nearly 400 years.
Since 1650, after a relatively undisturbed period in the UK of nearly another 400 years, publicly expressed animosity toward the Jews is escalating. Towards the end of April 2025, a British journalist who frequently appeared on the BBC's Arabic channel commenting on Gaza events, reportedly called for "Jews to be burned 'as Hitler did.'" The BBC lamely explained that the person was not "a member of staff nor part of the BBC's reporting team." Even so, the BBC – Britain's official broadcaster – has frequently allowed pro-Palestinian content and, by implication, anti-Jewish sentiment to be promoted.
A prominent campaigner against antisemitism, David Collier, expressed his frustration with UK authorities blatantly permitting such pervasive Jew-hatred:
"[T]he police are lost, the education system is turning our children into progressive, dumbed-down clones, the government is acting like a band playing music on a sinking ship, and much of legacy media has been overrun by naïve, bloated, arrogant and decadent supremacists — or ex al Jazeera staffers — who together are spinning lies daily to their British audience..."
It does not help matters when Jewish academics, such as UK professor Avi Shlaim, opines, "Zionists bombed Iraq to frighten Iraqi Jews into fleeing to Israel." He added that "Zionism is an Ashkenazi thing, nothing to do with us." It also indirectly feeds into Jew-hatred when the Church of England's official Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the English monarch King Charles III, who is head of the commonwealth group of countries, included Islam in his Easter message:
"The love He showed when He walked the Earth reflected the Jewish ethic of caring for the stranger and those in need, a deep human instinct echoed in Islam and other religious traditions, and in the hearts of all who seek the good of others."
Easter is a period regarded as holy and exclusive – pertaining to Christians alone.
The English monarch's Easter message on Holy Thursday 2025 looks "more like multicultural slop than it does a fierce protection of Christianity in the lead up to the sacred Easter holiday" wrote Teri Christoph, who added, "Christians around the world, and especially those in the U.K., are outraged that King Charles used this holiest of days to spew this nonsense."
In similar vein, the GB News channel opined that Charles displayed "weak leadership." In all, "Charles faces swathes of criticism after choosing to reflect on Judaism and Islam in his message – on a holiday that celebrates Christianity."
Charles has long been a proponent of inter-faith activities. In March, he arranged for Windsor Castle to open its doors for the Islamic Iftar celebration, when "more than 360 Muslim guests gathered in St George's Hall to break their Ramadan fast."
A public prayer (Azan) to Allah was issued by the Islamic priest (Mu'adhdhin) in charge. Consequently, King Charles's dubious "role as Defender of the Faith was rightly called into question."
Islamist influence in the UK is growing exponentially. It is claimed that about 2,000 mosques or prayer facilities operate in the UK. It has also been claimed that some 130 Sharia Courts or Councils exist, with some public schools teaching Islam in religious education classes.
Hence, as David Collier pointed out, the UK has significantly capitulated to Islamist influence, starting at the top. Weak leadership in the UK falls into a category of cognitive dissonance from reality, as does its cowardly display against vociferous and dangerous Jew-hatred on the streets of London.
Due to the permitted rise of violent Islamism in their midst, Jews in the UK should not be fooled in complacency. The horrendous pogroms against their peaceful community at York, London, and other cities in 1189 and 1190 might be borne in mind. It can rightly be said that "Some of the worst atrocities committed against European Jews in the Middle Ages took place in England in the late 12th century." History has an uncomfortable habit of repeating itself at will.
Despite strong US support for Israel in its defense against Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and other Iranian proxies since October 2023, an April 2025 Pew Research survey revealed the American "public's views of Israel have turned more negative over the past three years."
Western communities, particularly its politicians, have increasingly been turning their backs on their Jewish citizens, as they predominantly did during Europe's fascist era. The future of Israel and its people will therefore rest on Israel's own ability to defend its nation, perhaps with assistance from a diminishing brace of loyal allies.
The history of Israel, and the Jews themselves, emphasizes the need for self-reliance from the masses of evil forces determined to seek their downfall. Israel's history also assures that strong leaders will rise up at a time of need to protect the nation, starting with Moses and King David. The land covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob remains immutable. Israelis will live, and thrive, in their homeland despite ill-intent by their enemies. After all, the Jews are sacred custodians of eternal truths and morality – as the Torah makes clear. The world needs them.
For all those antisemites and anti-Zionists of the West, perhaps the cutting words of comedian Elon Gold might strike some sense into them:
"Instead of demonizing and vilifying Israel, the world should be thanking Israel for being on the front lines in saving Western civilization and the free world."
As for England and all of Great Britain, the greatest empire of its time is no more -- long gone. Rule Britannia no longer rules anything, not even the streets of London.
Nils A. Haug is an author and columnist. A Lawyer by profession, he is member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Dr. Haug holds a Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology and is author of 'Politics, Law, and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and 'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.' His work has been published by First Things Journal, The American Mind, Quadrant, Minding the Campus, Gatestone Institute, National Association of Scholars, Jewish Journal, James Wilson Institute (Anchoring Truths), Jewish News Syndicate, Tribune Juive, Document Danmark, and many others.
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21622/england-we-once-respected