English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  November 11/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them
John 10/07-10: “Again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 10-11/2025
Text & Video/The Danger, Sin, and Foolishness of Worshiping and Idolizing Politicians and Leaders/Elias Bejjani/November 09/2025
Netanyahu says Israel will enforce Lebanon, Gaza ceasefires with ‘iron fist’
One killed in Israeli drone strike on Baysariyeh
Yazid bin Farhan in Beirut Tomorrow
Aoun: The Army Alone, with No Partner, to Extend Sovereignty and Confine Weapons
Israel pushes Lebanon army to search more intrusively for Hezbollah arms, sources say
US official calls on Lebanon to end ‘malign influence of Iran through Hezbollah’
Senior US official says Aoun will help realize 'Trump's vision for peace'
Israeli official vows gradual pullout if Lebanon disarms Hezbollah
Israel wages new airstrikes on south and east Lebanon
Aoun: Our army's mission is crucial in these circumstances
Bulgaria adjourns extradition hearing for Beirut blast shipowner
Report: Egypt spy chief may return to Beirut amid broad discussions
Army refuses to raid houses in south in search for Hezbollah weapons, report says
Sami Gemayel proposes amending constitution to include Lebanon's neutrality
US official says discussed with Aoun ways to stop money flow from Iran to Hezbollah
Salam meets US treasury delegation in Beirut
Lebanon: Negotiations and the Crisis of Limited Sovereignty/Sam Menassa/ASharq Al-Awsat/November 10/2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 10-11/2025
US envoy holds talks with Netanyahu amid efforts to ensure Gaza truce holds
Al-Sharaa meets Trump, becomes first Syrian president to ever visit White House
The Treasury Department suspended the imposition of Caesar Act sanctions for 180 days
Syria foiled ISIS plots on President al-Sharaa’s life, sources say
Kushner in Israel as trapped Hamas fighters issue bedevils Gaza truce progress
US envoy holds talks with Netanyahu amid efforts to ensure Gaza truce holds
Turkiye helping in talks over Hamas militants holed up in Gaza, sources say
Gaza's health ministry says 15 Palestinian bodies received under truce exchange deal
Israel confirms receiving remains of soldier killed in Gaza in 2014
UAE 'probably' won't join Gaza stabilization force
Israel army chief urges ‘systemic’ probe into Oct 7 attack
Iran says US claim on plot to kill Israeli ambassador in Mexico 'absurd'
France’s ex-leader Sarkozy says after jail release ‘truth will prevail’
The Illusion of Betting on Nabih Berri/Saleh Al-Mashnouq/Nidaa Al-Watan/November 11/2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on November 10-11/2025
Mamdani: Debunking the Fallacies of an Islamist Demagogue/Charles Chartouni/This Is Beirut/November 10/2025
Iran Seeking to Revive the 'Axis of Resistance' Against Israel/Khaled Abu Toameh/November 10/2025
That photo at the White House/Ghassan Charbel/Al-Awsat newspaper/November 10, 2025
The inequality gap threatens to dim Africa’s bright AI future/Tony Elumelu/Arab News/November 10/2025
Is peace between Morocco and Algeria finally within reach?/Said Temsamani/The Arab Weekly/November 10/2025
Hamas’s “Rigid Pragmatism”: Between Tactical Flexibility and Ideological Intransigence/Neomi Neumann/The Washington Institute,/November 10/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 10-11/2025
Text & Video/The Danger, Sin, and Foolishness of Worshiping and Idolizing Politicians and Leaders
Elias Bejjani/November 09/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/11/133977/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOUV38WHAd0
Worshiping and idolizing politicians and leaders is not merely dangerous; it is a grave sin and an act of profound foolishness that imperils the very essence of human freedom. When we elevate politicians or leaders to the status of idols, we don’t just admire them—we surrender our critical faculties and relinquish the sovereignty of our own minds and souls. This misplaced worship extinguishes the spirit of critique and accountability within us, which are the bedrocks of any true democracy and free society.
True freedom is not merely the ability to make choices; it is the courage to acknowledge the flaws and errors of those in power, no matter how influential or revered they may be. When we idolize leaders, we willingly strip ourselves of this courage, becoming submissive followers who march in lockstep without question or reflection. This kind of voluntary blindness doesn’t just empower leaders; it emboldens them, placing them on a perilous pedestal where they begin to see themselves as above the law, unaccountable, and immune to criticism.
It is vital to understand that the instinct to worship is deeply embedded in human nature. We are instinctively driven to seek something greater than ourselves—be it in the form of religious faith, ideals, or leaders—toward which we can direct our love and devotion. However, the true measure of wisdom lies in how we channel this instinct. Wise individuals direct their worship toward enduring values and principles, not fallible, mortal human beings. To do otherwise is to surrender our intellect and emotions to mere mortals who are as susceptible to error and corruption as any of us.
Idolizing human beings, particularly those in positions of political power, is not just a mistake—it is a dangerous abdication of our responsibility to hold them accountable. Politicians and leaders are inherently fallible, and when we place them on a pedestal of worship, we create a toxic environment of unchecked power. This paves the way for tyranny, where the leader becomes seen as infallible in the eyes of their followers, enabling them to commit grave injustices without opposition or restraint.
*The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: https://eliasbejjaninews.com

The Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel
Elias Bejjani/November 08/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/11/148978/
Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel. Who is he, and what is the historical ecclesiastical background of this feast?
Michael, the Prince of the Heavenly Host, is the one who fought with his righteous angels against the arrogant Devil and his wicked angels, casting him out of heaven with the cry: “Who is like God?” This is the meaning of his name, “Michael” (Mi−kha−′el), as stated in the Book of Revelation (12:7). The Holy Church has adopted him as its patron and advocate.
The Miracle in Colossae
The Church commemorates this day as the anniversary of the miracle he performed in the city of Colossae (well-known from the Epistle of Saint Paul). A pagan man came with his daughter, who had been mute since birth. He saw a crowd of Christians bathing in the water basin near the Church of Saint Michael. He did the same and gave his daughter some of the water, and she was immediately cured. The man and some of his acquaintances believed. The angry pagans attempted to destroy the church by digging around it to divert a river’s water towards it. The church guard, named Archippus (from Baalbek), pleaded with God and invoked the help of Saint Michael. The Archangel Michael appeared to the pagans at night while they were digging, and he diverted the water away from the church by cleaving a rock with his staff, causing the water to disappear into the fissure, thus saving the church. Many pagans believed as a result. This event is dated to around the Second Century A.D. His prayer is with us. Feast of the Archangels and Angels (November 8th)
1. Origin and History in the Eastern Tradition
The Churches that follow the Byzantine Tradition (such as the Eastern Orthodox and Melkite Greek Catholics) celebrate on November 8th a glorious, collective feast for the Archangels Michael and Gabriel and all the Bodiless Hosts (Angelic Orders).
The origins of this celebration trace back to the Fourth Century A.D. in the East. The organization of this veneration followed a period of theological debate, where the Church had to distinguish between worship due to God alone and veneration/intercession of the angels and saints who are servants of the Lord.
Condemnation of Worship, Not Veneration: The local Council of Laodicea (c. 343-381 A.D.) is mentioned in this context, as its 35th Canon condemned the worship of angels as a heresy. This canon did not abolish their veneration or intercession but prevented them from being worshipped as creators or essential mediators.
Substitution of Pagan Feasts: Ancient Church Fathers, such as Pope Silvester of Rome and Patriarch Alexander of Alexandria (+ 328 A.D.), replaced pagan festivals with Christian feasts to consecrate time.
Symbolic Interpretation of November 8th: The choice of November is symbolically interpreted in the Eastern tradition as the ninth month if the year is counted from March (as per some ancient calendars). The number nine (9) corresponds to the Nine Choirs (Orders) of Angels that are collectively celebrated on this feast.
2. Who is Saint Michael?
Michael is one of the Seven Archangels (in the Eastern Christian tradition) or one of the three most prominent (in the Western tradition). His name in Hebrew means “Who is like God?” (Mi−kha−′el).
Primary Function: He is depicted in the Holy Scriptures and Christian tradition as the Commander of the Heavenly Host and the Defender of God’s people against the powers of evil and the Devil.
Other Functions: He is traditionally credited with four main roles:
Fighting Satan.
Rescuing the souls of the faithful from the enemy’s power, especially at the hour of death.
Serving as the Patron of the Church and Defender of God’s people.
Calling the souls of humanity to Judgment (the Resurrection).
Origin: His existence dates back to the divine creation of the angels, making him a spiritual being that predates human history.
3. Michael’s Biblical Story and Mentions
Saint Michael is explicitly mentioned by name four times in the Holy Bible:
Biblical Reference/Context and Role
Daniel 10:13/Mentioned as “one of the chief princes” who assisted the messenger angel sent to Daniel.
Daniel 12:1/Mentioned as the great prince who “stands watch” over the people of Israel during times of great distress.
Jude 1:9 Mentioned when “contending with the devil and disputing about the body of Moses,” deferring judgment to the Lord (“The Lord rebuke you!”).
Revelation 12:7 Mentioned as the leader of the heavenly war: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon…”

Netanyahu says Israel will enforce Lebanon, Gaza ceasefires with ‘iron fist’
AFP/10 November/2025
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would strongly enforce its ceasefire agreements in Lebanon and Gaza, vowing that “whoever seeks to harm us, we harm them.” “We are determined to enforce with an iron fist the ceasefire agreements where they exist against those who seek our destruction, and you can see what happens every day in Lebanon,” Netanyahu told lawmakers in parliament.

One killed in Israeli drone strike on Baysariyeh
Naharnet/November 10/2025
One person was killed Monday in an Israeli drone strike that targeted his car on the Baysariyeh-Sarafand road in south Lebanon, putting the toll from Israeli strikes since Saturday at six. Israeli airstrikes later targeted al-Qatrani, al-Mahmoudiyeh and al-Jarmaq in south Lebanon, a pickup truck in Hermel, and the Shaara region in the Bekaa. On Sunday, Israeli strikes killed two people in south Lebanon, one in Houmin in the Nabatieh district and another person on the Sawaneh-Kherbet Selem road. On Saturday, Israeli strikes killed three people, including two brothers, and wounded several more, with Israel claiming the brothers were arms smugglers from a group affiliated with Hezbollah. Another strike on a car in the southern village of Baraashit killed one person and wounded four. Despite a ceasefire reached in November last year, Israel has kept up its strikes, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives. It is also still occupying five hills in south Lebanon that it deems "strategic."

Yazid bin Farhan in Beirut Tomorrow
Aoun: The Army Alone, with No Partner, to Extend Sovereignty and Confine Weapons
Nidaa Al-Watan/November 11, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
The United States and Israel met publicly yesterday, for the first time, to pressure Lebanon to dry up Hezbollah's financial and military sources within two months, coinciding with a historic and unprecedented event: the reception of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa by President Donald Trump at the White House. A comparison between the agenda of the White House meeting and the talks of the US Treasury delegation in Beirut shows where Syria has reached and what has happened to Lebanon. The reason is that Iran, which suffered a defeat in Syria, still holds influence in Lebanon.
In his first statement after Al-Sharaa's visit, President Trump described him as a very strong leader coming from a very difficult place, and a tough man. Trump said: "I like him, I get along very well with him, and we are going to do everything we can to make Syria successful, because that's an essential part of aid and peace." He added: "We now have peace in the Middle East, for the first time, and we want to see Syria succeed with the rest of the region... I have great confidence that he will be able to do the job, absolutely."
Nidaa Al-Watan learned from sources following the White House talks that the most important topics Trump raised with Al-Sharaa, in addition to terrorism, ISIS, and relations with Israel, was the protection of the rights and safety of minorities, especially Christian minorities, according to the sources. The White House was keen to keep Al-Sharaa's visit out of the spotlight and did not open the Oval Office to the press, as is the case with the visits of most other world leaders.
No Comfort in the Government Serail
In Beirut, Nidaa Al-Watan learned that an atmosphere of discomfort prevails in the Government Serail. This atmosphere was formed through contact with some Arab and foreign ambassadors, and most importantly, the meeting with the US Treasury delegation, which demanded serious and decisive steps from Lebanon regarding "Hezbollah." Information indicates that Lebanon is facing a specific deadline until the end of the year to either do something about the "Party's" file or be left for Israel to act freely without constraints, while the level of US pressure on the government and the state to do what is required of them is increasing.
Aoun: The Army Alone Has No Partner
In Sofia, during his official talks in Bulgaria yesterday, President of the Republic Joseph Aoun said: "The mission of our army is fateful in these circumstances, because it alone, I repeat, alone, without a partner, neither from outside the state nor from outside Lebanon, must extend the authority of our state over all its territory and borders, and impose its full sovereignty, so that Israeli attacks on our land cease, and Israel withdraws from the points it occupies inside Lebanon. This must be accompanied by a negotiation track, which we consider the only way to achieve our national goals and Lebanon's supreme interest. Exactly as Lebanon has previously initiated and negotiated more than ten times, with the unanimous consensus of all its current political forces without exception. The last of which was between 2020 and 2022 to complete the maritime demarcation between Lebanon and Israel, and last November specifically, to stop the aggressions and confine all weapons to the hands of the Lebanese state."
Bin Farhan in Beirut Tomorrow
Meanwhile, a diplomatic source in Beirut revealed to Nidaa Al-Watan that the Saudi envoy tasked with following up on the Lebanese file, Prince Yazid bin Farhan, will arrive tomorrow, Wednesday, at the head of a large delegation comprising 27 specialized figures in investment, economic, developmental, and tourism fields, among others. This move expresses the Kingdom's seriousness in approaching the Lebanese file from a new angle, whose title is investing in opportunities, not in illusions, for the benefit of the Lebanese people."
Washington: "Ending Iran's Malign Influence Through Hezbollah"
The US Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, John Hurley, called from Beirut on the Lebanese to "end Iran's malign influence through Hezbollah," affirming that his country is "very serious about cutting off the sources of funding for the 'Party' from its supporter, Tehran." In an interview with three media outlets, including Agence France-Presse, shortly after meeting with Lebanese officials yesterday, Hurley said: "We believe that the key to the Lebanese people reclaiming their country lies in ending the malign Iranian influence through Hezbollah," confirming that "the current US administration is very serious about cutting off Iran's funding," which the Treasury estimates has transferred more than $1 billion to the "Party" since the beginning of the year.
3 American and Israeli Tracks
Prominent political circles told Nidaa Al-Watan that the situation in Lebanon is currently proceeding along three tracks:
The track of the US Treasury delegation's tour to dry up Hezbollah's funding sources, which constitutes a strength for the "Party" through illicit money. This indicates a clear US decision heading in this direction and going to the end in the path of financially isolating the "Party." When the US Treasury says that $1 billion reached the "Party," it means that the Americans have mechanisms for how this money enters and are working to control it.
The track of diplomatic containment through negotiation after an official agreement initiated by President of the Republic Joseph Aoun. This path will take its course toward resolving the complications between Lebanon and Israel.
The track of military containment implemented by Israel.
Informed sources on the negotiations told MTV that the Egyptian side seems to be more lenient towards the "Party" regarding the complete withdrawal of its weapons, which Saudi Arabia and the United States reject.
Israel Demands, Army Refuses House Searches
Concurrently, three Lebanese security officials and two Israeli officials said that Israel is pressuring the Lebanese army to be stricter in implementing the confinement of Hezbollah's weapons by searching private properties in the South for arms. The Lebanese security officials told Reuters that this request was raised in the past few weeks and rejected by the Lebanese Army command for fear that it would ignite civil conflicts and impede the disarmament strategy, which the army views as a cautious yet effective strategy.
The army expressed confidence in its ability to declare South Lebanon free of Hezbollah weapons by the end of 2025, in line with last year's ceasefire agreement. Two Lebanese civilian sources familiar with the army's operations reported that searches of valleys and thickets led to the discovery of more than 50 tunnels and the confiscation of more than 50 guided missiles and hundreds of other weapons.
However, the Lebanese security officials said that the army's plan never included searching private properties. Israel is skeptical of the plan's success without such measures. Two Lebanese security officials said that Israel requested such raids during meetings of the "Mechanism" committee in October. Shortly after, Israel escalated its ground operations and air strikes on South Lebanon, saying it was targeting Hezbollah's rearmament attempts. The Lebanese security officials said that these strikes were seen as a clear warning that the failure to search more effectively could lead to a new, comprehensive Israeli military campaign.
"They are demanding that we conduct house-to-house searches, and we will not do that... We will not do things their way," one official said. Lebanese security officials said the army fears that residents of the South would view home raids as submission to Israel. Beirut also fears that Israel will continue to demand more, making escalatory strikes a constant danger and undermining attempts to achieve stability in a country suffering from geopolitical and economic unrest, according to security officials and a political official.
However, Israeli officials say that Hezbollah is stepping up its efforts to rearm in locations in the South and North, and that the Lebanese armed forces are unable to confront the group. Israel passes intelligence information about suspected Hezbollah warehouses to the joint monitoring mechanism, which in turn refers it to the Lebanese army for action. An Israeli military official told Reuters that Israel has taken direct action, particularly against Hezbollah's weapons transfers or when it sees that the Lebanese armed forces are not moving quickly enough. Lebanese security officials confirm that the new checkpoints established by the army in the South prevent Hezbollah from transferring weapons.
Raids in the South and Beqaa
On the ground, Israeli warplanes targeted a civilian car at dawn yesterday on the coastal road near the town of Al-Bissariye in the South, resulting in the death of a person named Abu Ali Samir Faqih, the official of the "Khaddam Al-Imam Hussein" Association. At noon, a drone targeted the Al-Dhohour area on the outskirts of the town of Al-Humayri in the Tyre district. In the afternoon, warplanes launched two raids on the outskirts of the eastern mountain range in the Baalbek district, one on the outskirts of Nabi Chit, and the second on the Al-Sha'ra locality near Janta. Simultaneously, Israeli raids were recorded on the Al-Rayhan mountain range and the Al-Qatrani and Al-Mahmoudiya areas. An Israeli drone targeted a pickup truck in Hermel, without any injuries. Israeli raids also targeted Jabal Al-Rafi' in the Iqlim al-Tuffah and the vicinity of Al-Jarmak. Israeli Army spokesman Avichay Adraee announced yesterday that since the beginning of the month, the Israeli army has killed 15 Hezbollah elements.
Is there anything else I can help you translate or provide information about?

Israel pushes Lebanon army to search more intrusively for Hezbollah arms, sources say
Reuters/10 November/2025
Israel is pressing Lebanon’s army to be more aggressive in disarming the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah by searching private homes in the south for weaponry, three Lebanese security officials and two Israeli officials have said. The demand has emerged in recent weeks and been rejected by Lebanon’s military leadership, who fear it would ignite civil strife and derail a disarmament strategy seen by the army as cautious but effective, the Lebanese security officials told Reuters. The army is confident it can declare Lebanon’s south free of Hezbollah arms by the end of 2025, in line with a truce deal that ended a devastating Israeli war with Hezbollah last year. A sweep of valleys and forests has located more than 50 tunnels and resulted in the confiscation of over 50 guided missiles and hundreds of other weapons, according to two Lebanese civilian sources briefed on army operations. But the army’s plan never included searching private property, according to the Lebanese security officials. Israel doubts it will succeed without such measures.
Lebanese and Israeli armies monitor ceasefire
Two of the Lebanese security officials said Israel requested such raids in October meetings of the “Mechanism,” a US-led committee bringing together Lebanese and Israeli officers to monitor implementation of the truce. Shortly after, Israel stepped up ground operations and air strikes in southern Lebanon, which it said were targeting attempts by Hezbollah to re-arm. Those strikes were seen as a clear warning that failure to search more intrusively could prompt a new full-blown Israeli military campaign, the Lebanese security officials said. “They’re demanding that we do house-to-house searches, and we won’t do that ... we aren’t going to do things their way,” one of the officials said. Hezbollah has been severely weakened by the Israeli incursion and by Israeli and US attacks on its backer Iran, but still wields enormous power among Shias in Lebanon’s fragile sectarian-based system of governance.
All the sources declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Lebanese army declined to comment, in line with its usual media policies. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment, but Netanyahu said on November 2: “We expect the Lebanese government to do what it committed to do, namely to disarm Hezbollah, but it is clear that we will exercise our right to self-defense as stipulated in the ceasefire conditions. We will not allow Lebanon to become a renewed front against us and will act as needed.”
Lebanon wants to avoid showdown
Lebanon’s army fears that residents of the south would see house raids as subservience to Israel, which occupied south Lebanon for nearly two decades until 2000 before entering again last year, the Lebanese security officials said. Beirut also worries that Israel will keep moving the goalposts, creating a permanent risk of escalatory strikes and undermining attempts to stabilize a country battered by geopolitical and economic upheavals, the security officials and a political official said. But Israeli officials say Hezbollah is accelerating efforts to re-arm from properties in the south and further north, and that the Lebanese army is failing to confront it. Israel passes intelligence on suspected Hezbollah depots to the Mechanism, which passes it to the Lebanese army to address. Israel has also taken direct action, notably against Hezbollah weapons transfers or when it deems Lebanese troops have not acted swiftly enough, an Israeli military official told Reuters. The Lebanese security officials insist that new army checkpoints around the south are preventing Hezbollah from moving weapons.
Hezbollah denies it is rebuilding in the south.
It has not obstructed Lebanese army sweeps there and has not fired on Israel since last year’s ceasefire. But it has also repeatedly refused to disarm fully. Last week, it issued a public statement saying it has a “legitimate right” to defend Lebanon against Israel.
The Israeli military official said that Hezbollah wanted to remain a dominant force in Lebanon - a desire shared by Iran.
US nudges Lebanon toward talks
Beirut is also being urged by the United States to establish political channels with Israel to reach a lasting ceasefire and resolve their long-standing land border dispute. “The path ... needs to be to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv for a conversation,” US envoy Thomas Barrack said at a security conference in Bahrain this month. He suggested President Joseph Aoun “pick up the phone and call Netanyahu and say, ‘let’s end this garbage’.” Aoun has said he is ready for talks, without saying whether he would consider direct contact. Hezbollah has rejected all negotiations, and the four Lebanese officials remained wary. They pointed to Gaza and Syria, where Israel added last-minute conditions that halted progress towards ending conflict, and said its demand for house raids amounted to the same thing. “The format doesn’t matter as much as the commitment,” the Lebanese political official said. “Direct, indirect, the Mechanism, something else. Once there is Israeli commitment and US guarantees, then we can start putting the pieces on the board.”

US official calls on Lebanon to end ‘malign influence of Iran through Hezbollah’
Al Arabiya English/10 November/2025
A US official visiting Lebanon called on its authorities Monday to end “the malign influence of Iran through Hezbollah,” adding that his country was determined to cut off Tehran’s funding of the group. “We think the key for the Lebanese people getting their country back is ending the malign influence of Iran through Hezbollah in Lebanon,” deputy director for counter-terrorism John Hurley told journalists. The US “administration is very serious about cutting off Iran’s funding” to Hezbollah, he added. A Lebanese official said earlier on Monday that a US delegation on a visit to discuss ways to cut off Iran-backed Hezbollah’s funding streams had called on Beirut to take “real action” on money laundering. The delegation headed by senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka held talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Monday. Salam discussed with US officials “the government’s efforts to combat money laundering” and “strengthening state authority over ports and airports,” according to his office. A Lebanese official who requested anonymity told AFP that the US delegation “delivered a very firm and clear message: they want real action before the end of the year.”
“They want Lebanese authorities to counter money laundering, the cash economy and close al-Qard al-Hassan,” the official said, referring to a Hezbollah-linked financial firm sanctioned by Washington. Since January 2025, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has “transferred over $1 billion” to Hezbollah, “mostly through money exchange companies,” said a US Treasury statement. Aoun said he told US officials on Sunday that “Lebanon strictly applies the measures adopted to prevent money laundering, smuggling, or its use in financing terrorism.”Hezbollah was severely weakened in its most recent war with Israel, which was halted by a November 2024 ceasefire. Despite the ceasefire, Israel has kept up attacks on Lebanon, where it continues to hold five positions. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called for direct talks with Israel to end the attacks. Gorka said on X on Monday that today Aoun “is positioned to help realize (US) President Donald Trump’s vision for peace in the Middle East under a new, broader Abraham Accords.” A number of Arab countries normalized ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords. The United States has intensified pressure on the Lebanese authorities to disarm Hezbollah, a plan opposed by the Iran-backed group and its allies. On Thursday, the US imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members allegedly involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars from Iran, the group’s main sponsor.
Part of the funding was via money exchange businesses that operate in cash, the US Treasury said. With AFP

Senior US official says Aoun will help realize 'Trump's vision for peace'
Naharnet/November 10/2025
Senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka described Monday President Joseph Aoun as a "friend" who will help realize U.S. President Donald Trump's vision for peace in the Middle East. "Today this leader is a friend and is positioned to help realize President Donald Trump's vision for peace in the Middle East under a new, broader Abraham Accords," Gorka posted on X. A U.S. treasury delegation headed by Gorka had met Sunday with Aoun in Beirut, as Washington works to cut off Hezbollah's funding and Lebanon's government tries to disarm it. "Lebanon has suffered long enough under the wicked influence of Iran," Gorca said. Aoun and Gorka discussed ways in which the U.S. can partner with Lebanon to stop the flow of money from Iran to Hezbollah and create a safer and more prosperous Lebanon, deputy director for counter-terrorism John Hurley said after the meeting.

Israeli official vows gradual pullout if Lebanon disarms Hezbollah
Naharnet/November 10/2025
Israel will gradually withdraw from south Lebanon if the Lebanese Army disarms Hezbollah and efforts are ongoing to eliminate any threat from Hezbollah, an Israeli official said on Monday.“We will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its strength again,” the official told Al-Arabiya television. “If the Lebanese Army does not remove Hezbollah’s weapons south of the Litani, we will do so,” the official added.

Israel wages new airstrikes on south and east Lebanon
Naharnet/November 10/2025
Israeli warplanes on Monday waged two waves of airstrikes on the heights of Jabal al-Rafih, al-Jarmaq, al-Wadi al-Akhdar and al-Mahmoudiyeh in south Lebanon. Simultaneously, Israeli warplanes bombed the outskirts of al-Nabi Sheet and the al-Shaara area in the Baalbek district near Syria’s border. A drone strike meanwhile hit a pickup truck in the nearby Hermel region, causing no casualties. The Israeli claimed the south strikes targeted “a Hezbollah site that had been used to launch rockets in which terrorist Hezbollah activities and weapons directed at Israel were detected in recent months.” It added that other strikes hit “several terrorist infrastructure sites” in the Nabatieh region, adding that the Bekaa strikes targeted “infrastructure inside a site for the production and storage of strategic weapons.”Israeli drones were meanwhile overflying Beirut and its southern suburbs and other Lebanese regions at low altitudes.

Aoun: Our army's mission is crucial in these circumstances
Naharnet/November 10/2025
President Joseph Aoun announced Monday that the Lebanese Army “has a crucial mission in these circumstances.”“It alone -- I reiterate, it alone, without a partner, neither from outside the state nor from outside Lebanon -- has to extend our state’s authority over all its territory and borders and to impose its full sovereignty, for the Israeli attacks on our land to cease and for Israel to withdraw from the points it is occupying inside Lebanon,” Aoun added, at a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart in Sofia. “This should be accompanied by a negotiations course, which we consider as the only way to achieve our national goals and Lebanon’s higher interest, exactly as Lebanon has negotiated for more than 10 times with the unanimity of all its political forces without exception, the last of which was from 2020 to 2022 in order to accomplish maritime demarcation between Lebanon and Israel,” the president said.

Bulgaria adjourns extradition hearing for Beirut blast shipowner
Agence France Presse/November 10/2025
A Bulgarian court on Monday adjourned an extradition hearing for a shipowner wanted over the devastating blast at Beirut port in 2020, asking Lebanon to confirm he would not face the death penalty. Lebanon wants Bulgaria to extradite Igor Grechushkin, a 48-year-old Russian-Cypriot, over the disaster -- one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions -- which destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital, killed more than 220 people and injured more than 6,500. Grechushkin, who was arrested in September at Sofia airport, is accused by Lebanese judicial authorities of "introducing explosives into Lebanon -- a terrorist act that resulted in the death of a large number of people, disabling machinery with the intent of sinking a ship," according to Bulgarian prosecutors. The court in Sofia decided on Monday to adjourn the extradition hearing until December 10, pending a response from Beirut. President Joseph Aoun, who was in Sofia on Monday, told reporters there: "We remain steadfast in our determination to uncover the circumstances and shed light on the truth." He stressed "the importance of judicial and criminal cooperation" between Bulgaria and Lebanon. Authorities in Lebanon say the explosion on August 4, 2020, was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer had been stored haphazardly for years, despite repeated warnings to senior officials. Beirut authorities have identified Grechushkin as the owner of the Rhosus, the ship that brought the ammonium nitrate into the port. A Lebanese investigation into the blast was bogged down by legal and political wrangling. Judge Tarek Bitar resumed the probe earlier this year when Lebanon's balance of power shifted.Hezbollah had spearheaded a campaign for Bitar's resignation but it was weakened as a result of attacks by Israel. Those questioned in the investigation include former Lebanese prime minister Hassan Diab, as well as military and security officials.

Report: Egypt spy chief may return to Beirut amid broad discussions
Naharnet/November 10/2025
Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad may return to Beirut soon to hold further consultations and contacts aimed at backing the “non-escalation course,” Egyptian sources said. “Egypt is engaged in direct contacts with France and the U.S. over the situation in Lebanon, and the efforts of the past days led to a host of remarks and proposals related to the Egyptian initiative and the possibility of introducing amendments to it,” the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper. “These proposals are being discussed on a broad level and are part of a series of discussions over Hezbollah, its arms and the mechanism to deal with it in a way that would guarantee avoiding a domestic political crisis or tensions with Tel Aviv on the border,” the sources said. According to the sources, part of the U.S.-French concentration is currently focused on halting Hezbollah’s funding and intensifying financial pressures on it, in parallel with the policy of tightening border control which the Lebanese Army is currently practicing. “Halting the flow of weapons from Syria and organizing inspection of flights might curb Hezbollah’s ability to persevere militarily,” the sources said.

Army refuses to raid houses in south in search for Hezbollah weapons, report says
Naharnet/November 10/2025
Israel is pressing the Lebanese army to search private homes in south Lebanon for weapons, a media report said, after Lebanon's government tasked the army with a plan to disarm Hezbollah. The report, quoting Lebanese and Israeli officials, said Israel requested these house-to-house raids in October during meetings of the ceasefire monitoring committee, adding that Lebanon has not accepted to do so. "They're demanding that we do house-to-house searches, and we won't do that... we aren't going to do things their way," the report quoted a Lebanese official as saying, adding that the army has already succeeded in locating more than 50 tunnels and has confiscated over 50 guided missiles and hundreds of other weapons.

Sami Gemayel proposes amending constitution to include Lebanon's neutrality
Naharnet/November 10/2025
Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel said Monday that he had submitted a proposal to introduce Lebanon's neutrality into the Lebanese constitution. In a press conference, Gemayel said that Lebanon has an opportunity today to "turn the page", adding that neutrality does not mean not taking positions on issues of justice in the world but it means that Lebanon would not militarily participate in any regional conflicts. Earlier on Monday, Gemayel told al-Jadeed TV channel that Hezbollah's weapons were incapable of protecting Lebanon and that the group has disastrously failed, leading to destruction and suffering. "Our goal is to protect everyone," he said.

US official says discussed with Aoun ways to stop money flow from Iran to Hezbollah
Agence France Presse/November 10/2025
President Joseph Aoun has told U.S. officials that Lebanon was tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism, days after Washington imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members. The trio were accused of money laundering to fund Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other Western powers. The U.S. delegation's visit to Beirut, headed by senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, came as Washington works to cut off Iran-backed Hezbollah's funding and Lebanon's government tries to disarm it. The group was severely weakened in its most recent war with Israel, which was halted by a November 2024 ceasefire. "Lebanon strictly applies the measures adopted to prevent money laundering, smuggling, or its use in financing terrorism, and severely punishes financial crimes of all kinds," Aoun said he had told the delegation. On Thursday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members allegedly involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars from Iran, the group's main sponsor. Part of the funding was via money exchange businesses that operate in cash, said a U.S. Treasury statement. Since January 2025, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have "transferred over $1 billion" to Hezbollah, "mostly through money exchange companies", it added. "Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous and secure -- but that can only happen if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran's funding and control," deputy director for counter-terrorism John Hurley said Thursday. Hurley later posted on X that he, Aoun and Gorka had "discussed ways in which we can partner together to stop the flow of money from Iran to Hezbollah and create a safer and more prosperous Lebanon". Israel on Sunday carried out new strikes in south Lebanon, killing two people according to the health ministry, putting the toll from Israeli strikes since Saturday at five. Aoun called on Sunday for "pressure on Israel to stop its ongoing attacks".

Salam meets US treasury delegation in Beirut
Naharnet/November 10/2025
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Monday with a U.S. treasury delegation in Beirut, headed by senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, as Washington works to cut off Hezbollah's funding and Lebanon's government tries to disarm it. Deputy director for counter-terrorism John Hurley had said after the delegation met President Joseph Aoun on Sunday that Lebanon can only be free, prosperous and secure if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran's funding and control. Gorka said Aoun is a friend and "is positioned to help realize President Donald Trump’s vision for Peace in the Middle East under a new, broader Abraham Accords." "Lebanon has suffered long enough under the wicked influence of Iran," Gorka wrote on the X platform. Salam, in a televised interview Sunday, said he was determined to disarm Hezbollah. "If enforcing the law is stubbornness, then yes, I am stubborn, and I will not yield to the threats of civil war," he said.

Lebanon: Negotiations and the Crisis of Limited Sovereignty
Sam Menassa/ASharq Al-Awsat/November 10/2025
It seems that the negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, whether they are held directly or indirectly, are more than just talks over the latter’s occupation of Lebanese territory and the border disputes of the two countries. They mirror Lebanon’s broader crisis: the state’s capacity to make decisions is constrained, the country’s sovereignty is limited, and it is home to a struggle between statehood and anti-statehood. Every time the question of negotiations is raised, the same questions resurface: Who decides for Lebanon? Who has the authority to say yes and no?
For decades, the question of direct and indirect negotiations has polarized the country. This question is not a diplomatic formality; it reflects a chronic structural deadlock. This impasse cannot be understood in isolation of Hezbollah’s dominance. The party effectively dictates the terms of negotiations, while officials continue to reject direct talks under the pretext of the taboo around normalization. Beneath the surface, however, we find fears of their fragility being laid bare before both domestic and foreign audiences. Any direct contacts would expose the country’s failure to unite around a decision and the conflicting loyalties of Lebanon’s political and sectarian forces.
Lebanon expressing the desire to negotiate with Israel is often presented as an exceptional development. As a matter of fact, however, negotiating with the enemy is the natural path of states seeking to safeguard their interests. The problem, however, lies not in the principle but in the form and substance of the talks, especially amid American pressure and the ambiguity of Egypt’s initiatives. Regarding form: who will negotiate? Military officers, civilians, or a mixed delegation? Will Hezbollah accept a delegation that does not represent it? If its allies take part in the talks, how can the state make pretenses to independent decision-making? If its allies are not present, would the party abide by the agreements reached through the negotiations?
On substance: while the state’s demands are clear (Israel’s withdrawal from the territory it occupies, the release of prisoners, an end to attacks, and border demarcation) there are questions around its negotiating leverage. What can it offer in return in light of Hezbollah’s “red lines:” laying its arms, a permanent truce, Lebanon ending its state of military conflict with Israel, and normalization. These positions were reaffirmed in its “open letter” to Lebanon’s three top officials, in which Hezbollah rejects negotiations and places itself above the state as the ultimate decision-maker.
The focus on the question of armament has obscured a deeper dilemma that might be even more critical. Even if Hezbollah were to agree to a settlement by which it hands over its heavy weapons to appease Israel, would it lose its grip on Lebanon’s political, security, and economic decision-making? Would its organic link to Iran be broken? Would it abandon its monopoly on Shiite representation and release the state from the paralysis of consensual power-sharing? Or would disarmament merely entail superficial changes while allowing Hezbollah to maintain control?
These questions encapsulate Lebanon’s predicament. Any forthcoming negotiations (if they take place) would remain modest so long as the national decisions are in the hands of the Shiite duo and the countries’ divisions and decay deepen. In this event, the negotiations would amount to nothing more than another attempt to buy time. A state that negotiates with someone else’s voice, and whose only policy is to bury its head in the sand, cannot conclude an agreement that enshrines its sovereignty. It can only agree to temporary truces that leave it trapped in stagnation.
The Lebanese authorities likely realize that negotiations are not a strategic shift so much as a new attempt to break the vicious cycle that began on October 8, 2023, which has weakened the state and deepened its fragility and left large swathes of the South, and well as other areas, devastated. The most terrifying specter, however unlikely it may be, is that of Israel launching a fully-fledged war without a political vision for what comes next. Such a conflict would drag Lebanon back into the cycle of occupation, resistance, and displacement, granting Hezbollah a pretext to reemerge under the banner of “liberation.” The state would manage to address the economic and humanitarian fallout of such a war, initiate reconstruction, or begin to recover its sovereignty.'
The authorities seem to have failed to fully grasp the magnitude of current regional shifts: the decline of the “Axis of Resistance” following the fall of the Syrian regime, the collapse of Hamas, Hezbollah losing its regional leverage under the weight of its defeats, and the achievements of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit. Global and Arab actors have taken a united position on these developments, agreeing that support for Lebanon is conditioned on a clear position regarding Hezbollah’s disarmament. The message is now unequivocal: no aid before the state reclaims its sovereignty and seizes all illegal arms.
If the state succeeds in seizing this historical opportunity to restore balance, it could manage to avoid a new round of violence and war and to transform negotiations from a mere tactical maneuver into a gateway to reclaiming sovereignty, consolidating state institutions' legitimacy and the state’s exclusive right to make decisions. Hezbollah, having lost the illusion of deterrence and its foothold in Syria, and as Iran’s support erodes, cannot resist a unified international and Arab front indefinitely.
The authorities are not asked to make miracles, but their task is essential: safeguarding the country’s security and the lives of its people, building confidence between the army and Israel so that the borders can be protected, and ensuring a permanent end to the state of war through a durable truce and security arrangements. Only then can the government turn its attention to the nation’s domestic problems and enter the phase of recovery.

The Illusion of Betting on Nabih Berri
Saleh Al-Mashnouq/Nidaa Al-Watan/November 11/2025 (Translated from Arabic)
The guarantor. The guardian of national unity. The safety valve. The patron of national understandings. The bridge of sectarian communication. The custodian of Musa al-Sadr's legacy. The voice of Shiite moderation. All these titles have been bestowed upon the Speaker of Parliament, not by the supporters of the Amal Movement (but for the 'H' he would be a Prophet), but by the veterans of the Lebanese political class ("the cheese eaters," as the late President Fouad Chehab once called them), who are directly and truly responsible for leading Lebanon to the bottom of the abyss.
In doing so, these individuals (along with many naive international envoys) have managed to entrench Berri's position in the Lebanese political equation in a manner completely contrary to the truth of the person and his political nature. A genius? Certainly. Charming? Perhaps. However, these two qualities are irrelevant to us. What concerns us are the fundamental characteristics: the Republic's Militiaman, the Dictator of Parliament, the Architect of the Mafia-Militia Alliance, the Godfather of the Lower Political Class, the Title of the Departed Guardianship, the Other Side of the "Hezbollah" Coin, the Primary Patron of Systemic Corruption, and the Guardian of all the State's Deep-State Vices in all their variations. Most importantly, the foremost betrayer of Imam Musa al-Sadr's legacy.
Without a doubt, there is no political bet in Lebanon's history, ancient or modern, as failed and harmful (assuming pure intentions) as the bet on Nabih Berri's "nationalism," for which there has been no tangible evidence in the past three decades. Therefore, if the Lebanese genuinely wish to move from one phase to another, from their current situation to a different one, they must finally admit the failure of the bet, turn the page on the "Nabih Berri hoax," and deal with him based on his reality, not on the basis of what we wish him to be.
Let's start with the last chapter of the bet on Nabih Berri (starting from 2005 would require volumes). After Hezbollah's defeat in the recent war with Israel, many believed that Berri would lead the phase of the return of Lebanese Shiites—as a political project—to the Lebanese state (not in the sense of state functions, of which Berri has left nothing intact). This was seen as the only true antithesis to the ideological, cross-border Iranian militancy, and as the true and sole guarantee for their individual and collective future. A parallel theory prevailed, arguing that we must make the "wounded community" feel nationally embraced, and the only way to prove this was by embracing Berri himself, as the "other, moderate voice" within the community.
Thus began a series of political concessions (some unconstitutional) that knew no bounds and defied logic: Minister of Finance for the "Amal" Movement. "Amal's" approval for the fifth Shiite minister, meaning its de facto monopoly on Shiite representation. All key security appointments for "Amal." All key judicial appointments for "Amal." In addition to a veto right on government decisions. This behavior—contrary to the simplest rules of building a modern state and the Taif Constitution—was not applied to any other party or political group. Rather, it was given as a "privilege" to Nabih Berri, on the basis of betting on his nationalism (for the thousandth time), naturally mixed with a feeling of fear of his violent, militia-like reaction if all his demands were not met. The assumption was that Nabih Berri merely wants his "share" in the system (like an opportunistic merchant), but if that is provided, he will deliver nationalism that amazes the world, separates Lebanon from the Iranian project, and solidifies the status of the Lebanese state against the "Hezbollah" militia.
What was the national return on this policy? Nothing. No impact. Cube zero. Quite the opposite. In his "pivotal" speech on the anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, who was kidnapped for confronting the ideological regional projects in South Lebanon, Berri spoke in the language of Hezbollah's radicals, describing the militia's weapon as "honor" and betraying anyone who opposes the weapon as "Israeli." Since the end of the war, Berri has never—not even once—spoken with the logic of a statesman seeking to create a qualitative mental and emotional shift among the "Duo's" public. Of course, even those betting on him do not expect him to be the Shiite de Klerk (the white conservative leader who guided them toward a voluntary handover of power after the fall of apartheid in South Africa). Still, Berri has managed to disappoint even the most enthusiastic advocates of his desired and anticipated role. He has actually become a symbol for the "Party's" own public (who are looking for a leader other than Naim), not as a patron of the anticipated settlement, but to confront and challenge the logic of the state and its "solbata" (Jibran believed this word, and February 6 is not far).
Naturally, some credit Berri to the Lebanese for sponsoring the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, and thus we should be grateful to him. However, "Hezbollah" itself would not have agreed to the same text (or perhaps a more stringent one) had Berri not been deceiving and charming the international envoys with his usual "magic."
In other national issues (other than the militia's weapons), the situation is no better. The voting of Lebanese expatriates in the parliamentary elections is the most prominent example. For more than 6 months, Nabih Berri has prevented elected deputies from voting on a bill that would allow expatriates (numbering two million voters, or 50% of the total voters) to participate in the next elections. In doing so, Berri is not just violating the law; he is systematically engaged in pre-election fraud. He does not care that the majority of the council's deputies have signed the bill, nor that the right of expatriates to participate has become an acquired right that cannot be revoked. Simply put, he sees that the overwhelming majority of Lebanese expatriates are outside his sect and are hostile to his political choices (including his re-election as Speaker), so he grants himself the right to prevent half of the Lebanese from casting their votes.
The tragic irony in this regard is that he does this under the slogan of Shiite parties' inability to participate abroad (his supporters chanted "Berlin has become Chiyah" two years ago), while he prevents any effective opponent in South Lebanon from practicing any political activity whatsoever (Amal militants expelled the opposing Shiite authority, Sayyed Ali Al-Amin, from the South in 2008, and he has been unable to return to his village to this day). And after all this, Berri talks to us about the isolation of the Shiite community!
Nabih Berri is not an alternative to "Hezbollah." Rather, he is a cover for "Hezbollah" in logic, behavior, and practice. Embracing him does not lead to the return of Lebanese Shiites to the logic of the state; quite the opposite. His patronage leads to the exclusion, suppression, and weakening of Shiite opponents who truly believe in the logic of the state. Embracing the Shiites, therefore, is through isolating the "solbata" of Nabih Berri.
The real problem, however, is not with Nabih Berri. It is with those who bet on him, those who believe in his role, those who are enchanted by his person, and those who are subject to his will, both the deluded and the subservient among them. "They asked Pharaoh, 'Who made you Pharaoh?' He replied, 'I didn't find anyone to stop me, until they disrupted my quorum!'"
Would you like me to find information about any of the figures or events mentioned in this article?

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 10-11/2025
US envoy holds talks with Netanyahu amid efforts to ensure Gaza truce holds
Associated Press/November 10/2025
Israel on Monday returned the remains of 15 Palestinians to Gaza in the latest step forward for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as a top White House envoy met with Israeli leaders to discuss the next stages of the fragile agreement. Israel returned the bodies after Palestinian militants released the remains of a hostage Sunday. With the latest exchange, only four bodies of hostages remained in Gaza. As the first stage of the agreement reached its waning days, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, according to a photo released by the premier's office. The last ceasefire agreement in January 2025 fizzled after the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, with Israel launching a wave of airstrikes over Gaza. At the time, mediators were unable to bring Hamas and Israel to the table to negotiate troop withdrawal and future governance of the strip. They face a similar challenge now, as the next stage of the agreement calls for the implementation of a governing body for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force. It is not clear where either stands.
The latest exchange of bodies
The Gaza Health Ministry said the Red Cross handed over the Palestinian bodies Monday, raising the total number received to 315. For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts. Only 91 of the bodies returned so far have been identified, the ministry said. Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza. The ministry posts photos of the remains online, in the hope that families will recognize them. The handover came after Israel on Sunday confirmed it had received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014, closing a painful chapter for the country. The 23-year-old was killed two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that year's war between Israel and Hamas. Goldin's family waged a public campaign for 11 years to bring home his remains. Earlier this year, they marked 4,000 days since his body was taken. Israel's military had long determined that he had been killed, based on evidence found in the tunnel where his body was taken, including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer fringes. His remains had been the only ones left in Gaza predating the current war between Israel and Hamas. Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, on southern Israel, which sparked the war, and 251 people were kidnapped. On Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has risen to 69,176.
US officials try to push ceasefire forward
Netanyahu's office did not immediately say what he and Dermer had discussed in his Monday meeting with Kushner. Kushner, a top adviser to Trump, was a key architect of Washington's 20-point ceasefire plan.The deal that took effect Oct. 10 has focused on the first phase of halting the fighting, releasing all hostages and boosting humanitarian aid to Gaza. Details of the second phase, including deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and governing postwar Gaza, haven't yet been worked out. Kushner was helping to lead negotiations to secure safe passage for 150-200 trapped Hamas militants in exchange for surrendering their weapons after the release of Goldin's remains, according to someone close to the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the talks. Hamas has made no comment on a possible exchange for its fighters stuck in the so-called yellow zone, which is controlled by Israeli forces, though they acknowledged that clashes were taking place there.

Al-Sharaa meets Trump, becomes first Syrian president to ever visit White House
The Treasury Department suspended the imposition of Caesar Act sanctions for 180 days
Al Arabiya English/10 November/2025
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, becoming the first Syrian leader to visit since the country’s independence in 1946. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later Monday, Trump said he wanted to see Syria become “a very successful country,” adding, “I think this leader can do it.”“People say he’s had a rough past,” Trump continued. “We’ve all had rough pasts — and, frankly, if you didn’t have a rough past, you wouldn’t have a chance.”The Treasury Department said it was suspending the imposition of Caesar Act sanctions for 180 days, as Trump and al-Sharaa met. The Syrian Presidency said the Oval Office talks addressed the bilateral ties between Washington and Damascus as well as ways to strengthen and develop them. “Several regional and international issues of common interest” were also discussed, according to the statement. In a separate statement, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani held a meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa greets his supporters outside the White House after meeting with US President Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/0BrVADwFEM
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) November 10, 2025
They agreed to proceed with the agreement to integrate the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian army, the ministry added. Syria recently signed a political cooperation declaration with the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, the Syrian information minister then said. “The agreement is political and until now contains no military components,” he added. The information minister added that Trump expressed support for a potential security arrangement with Israel, and that the US had announced the official reopening of the Syrian embassy in Washington, DC. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a vocal opponent of fully repealing the Caesar Act sanctions, met with al-Sharaa on Sunday. Mast’s signature is required for repeal, but he’s cited concerns that “should be obvious to everybody.”On Monday morning, Mast said he “broke bread” with al-Sharaa and that the Syrian president will officially join the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS during his meeting with Trump.

Syria foiled ISIS plots on President al-Sharaa’s life, sources say
Al Arabiya English/10 November/2025
Syria has foiled two separate ISIS plots to assassinate President Ahmed al-Sharaa, two senior officials said, adding a personal dimension to the leader’s plans to join a US-led coalition to fight the militant group that he has long battled. The sources, a senior Syrian security official and a senior Middle Eastern official, said the plots on al-Sharaa’s life were foiled over the last few months and underlined the direct threat he faces as he tries to consolidate power in a country ruined by 14 years of civil war. The sources said that, in one case, the ISIS plot was centered around a pre-announced official engagement involving al-Sharaa, declining to provide further details due to the sensitivity of the matter. The Syrian information ministry declined to comment on specific plots, citing security reasons, but said ISIS continues to pose “a real security threat to Syria and the region” and added that authorities had in the past 10 months foiled a number of IS attacks on various sites, including places of worship. “Syria affirms its commitment to protecting its people and continuing to fight terrorism in all its forms,” the ministry told Reuters in a statement.
Plots emerge ahead of al-Sharaa meeting with Trump
The reported plots came to light as Syria is poised to join a US-led global anti-ISIS coalition when US President Donald Trump hosts al-Sharaa on Monday for a historic White House meeting, the first ever by a Syrian head of state. The Syrian president came to power last December after the anti-government force he led ousted President Bashar al-Assad. He hopes the meeting with Trump will unlock international support for Syria’s long-term rehabilitation and rebuilding. The move to join the anti-ISIS coalition exemplifies Syria’s shift since the fall of al-Assad from being a key ally of Russia and Iran toward closer ties with the Western and Arab camps. Al-Sharaa’s task in trying to unite Syria remains monumental: His forces have been embroiled in repeated bouts of sectarian violence amid attacks on civilians and security forces that Damascus has blamed on ISIS.
Long fight against ISIS
Over the weekend, the Syrian interior ministry launched a nationwide campaign targeting ISIS cells across the country, apprehending more than 70 suspects, government media said. The senior Syrian security official said they were acting on intelligence that the group was planning operations against the government and Syrian minority groups.It was also intended as a message that Syrian intelligence have deeply penetrated the group and that joining the coalition would bring a major asset to global operations against the militants. Before taking power in an 11-day lightning offensive last year, al-Sharaa led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group that was formerly al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. Al-Sharaa broke those ties in 2016 and has waged battles against ISIS for more than a decade, carrying out a campaign of arrests and military operations against its cells in HTS’ Idlib stronghold. ISIS has tried to stage a comeback in Syria after the fall of al-Assad. It has sought to portray al-Sharaa’s rapprochement with the West and pledges to govern for all of Syria’s religious groups as being at odds with Islam. In June, 25 people were killed in a suicide bombing on a Damascus church, an attack the government blamed on ISIS. The group did not claim responsibility. Al-Sharaa’s government has already been coordinating with the US military for months in the fight against ISIS, according to several Syrian officials, but formally joining is expected to significantly increase cooperation. It is also seen as a key confidence-building measure by al-Sharaa to convince US lawmakers to lift remaining sanctions against Syria before the end of the year. Last week, Reuters reported the US military was preparing to establish a presence at a Damascus airbase for the first time. A US administration official asked that the exact location and name of the base not be published, citing operational security concerns. Syrian state media denied the Reuters report without elaborating on what was false. With Reuters

Kushner in Israel as trapped Hamas fighters issue bedevils Gaza truce progress
Reuters/10 November/2025
US mediators met Israel’s prime minister on Monday with attention turning to the second, far more complex, phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal and the immediate problem of a standoff over a group of Hamas fighters still holed up in tunnels. The meeting between US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes a month after Washington and regional states pressed Israel and Hamas to a truce after two years of devastating war. However, any progress in Trump’s ceasefire plan will not only require both sides to agree on issues that have foiled previous peacemaking efforts, but also to resolve the immediate stalemate over the trapped Hamas fighters. Israel’s government spokesperson said Netanyahu and Kushner had discussed disarming Hamas, demilitarizing Gaza and ensuring the group would never again have a governing role in the enclave – all issues to be resolved in the next phase of truce talks. An official briefed on the details of Monday’s meeting said it had focused on both the issue of the trapped fighters and an international stabilization force envisaged for Gaza under Trump’s plan. There are around 200 fighters in the tunnels under Rafah in the Gaza zone still controlled by Israel’s military, with Hamas demanding they be allowed to depart – something Israel has so far resisted. The Israeli government spokesperson said any decisions on Israel’s policies on Gaza are being made in collaboration with the Trump administration. US envoy Steve Witkoff last week described efforts to resolve the standoff by giving the fighters safe passage back into Hamas-controlled Gaza areas in return for disarming as a test case for future steps in the wider ceasefire plan. Two Western diplomats said Israel was reluctant to allow any safe passage either to elsewhere in Gaza or to Egypt. A Hamas official said talks on the issue were continuing. Hamas was keen to resolve the dispute and “remove any pretext Israel could use to undermine the ceasefire agreement,” he said, but added that Hamas rejected the fighters surrendering. Another Palestinian source said mediators had stepped up their efforts to resolve the dispute, believing any armed attempt to force their surrender could risk the entire ceasefire. Making longer-term progress on the ceasefire plan will require agreement on a transitional governing body for Gaza without Hamas involvement, the formation of the stabilization force and the setting of the terms of its involvement, Hamas disarmament and reconstruction. Each of those elements would likely involve significant pushback from either Hamas or Israel or both. The international force might require a United Nations mandate for countries to risk putting any forces on the ground. The United Arab Emirates does not yet see a clear framework for the force and under current circumstances would not take part, a senior .Both sides accuse each other of breaching truce deal
On Sunday, Hamas returned the body of an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza more than a decade ago. That leaves the bodies of four hostages taken at the outbreak of the most recent war still in the Palestinian territory, although it is unclear whether they can be retrieved. Hamas was supposed to hand over all 28 bodies of hostages remaining in Gaza but Israeli officials have acknowledged that it will be a challenge for the group to access around three of them. An international taskforce will help, according to the truce plan. Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of breaching the October truce deal, with Israel saying Hamas was stalling over returning hostage remains and Hamas saying Israel continued to obstruct aid deliveries. There have been at least two deadly attacks by Palestinian militants on Israeli forces in Rafah, as well as repeated Israeli airstrikes that have killed 244 Palestinians since the truce agreement, according to local health authorities. Two Palestinians, including a child, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday after another man was killed by Israeli fire on Sunday, the local health authorities said. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the strikes.

US envoy holds talks with Netanyahu amid efforts to ensure Gaza truce holds
Associated Press/November 11, 2025
Israel on Monday returned the remains of 15 Palestinians to Gaza in the latest step forward for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as a top White House envoy met with Israeli leaders to discuss the next stages of the fragile agreement. Israel returned the bodies after Palestinian militants released the remains of a hostage Sunday. With the latest exchange, only four bodies of hostages remained in Gaza. As the first stage of the agreement reached its waning days, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, according to a photo released by the premier's office. The last ceasefire agreement in January 2025 fizzled after the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, with Israel launching a wave of airstrikes over Gaza. At the time, mediators were unable to bring Hamas and Israel to the table to negotiate troop withdrawal and future governance of the strip. They face a similar challenge now, as the next stage of the agreement calls for the implementation of a governing body for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force. It is not clear where either stands.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the Red Cross handed over the Palestinian bodies Monday, raising the total number received to 315. For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts. Only 91 of the bodies returned so far have been identified, the ministry said. Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza. The ministry posts photos of the remains online, in the hope that families will recognize them. The handover came after Israel on Sunday confirmed it had received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014, closing a painful chapter for the country. The 23-year-old was killed two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that year's war between Israel and Hamas. Goldin's family waged a public campaign for 11 years to bring home his remains. Earlier this year, they marked 4,000 days since his body was taken. Israel's military had long determined that he had been killed, based on evidence found in the tunnel where his body was taken, including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer fringes. His remains had been the only ones left in Gaza predating the current war between Israel and Hamas. Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, on southern Israel, which sparked the war, and 251 people were kidnapped. On Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has risen to 69,176. Netanyahu's office did not immediately say what he and Dermer had discussed in his Monday meeting with Kushner. Kushner, a top adviser to Trump, was a key architect of Washington's 20-point ceasefire plan. The deal that took effect Oct. 10 has focused on the first phase of halting the fighting, releasing all hostages and boosting humanitarian aid to Gaza. Details of the second phase, including deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and governing postwar Gaza, haven't yet been worked out. Kushner was helping to lead negotiations to secure safe passage for 150-200 trapped Hamas militants in exchange for surrendering their weapons after the release of Goldin's remains, according to someone close to the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the talks. Hamas has made no comment on a possible exchange for its fighters stuck in the so-called yellow zone, which is controlled by Israeli forces, though they acknowledged that clashes were taking place there.

Turkiye helping in talks over Hamas militants holed up in Gaza, sources say
Reuters/November 10, 2025
Turkiye is working with the United States and Arab mediators to secure safe passage for Hamas fighters who are holed up in tunnels in the Israel-controlled area of Gaza, a Palestinian source, a Hamas official and Turkish officials said on Monday. The fate of about 200 fighters has complicated efforts to shift Gaza ceasefire talks, being conducted between Israel and the Palestinians militant group, to the next phase that aims to secure a permanent end to the two-year-old war.A Palestinian source close to the mediation effort said Turkiye was involved in mediation over the fate of the fighters, working alongside Egypt, Qatar and the United States. Two Turkish officials, including the spokesperson for President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, confirmed Turkiye was mediating in talks over the fate of 200 Palestinians, without giving details. Last week, US envoy Steve Witkoff said resolving the standoff would be a test case for future steps in the wider ceasefire plan. He said it could be resolved by providing them with safe passage to Hamas-controlled areas of Gaza. A Hamas official, who asked not to be identified, said Turkiye was a mediator but did not give details about the negotiations, saying they covered a sensitive security issue.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment on Turkiye’s role. Last week, two sources said the Hamas fighters trapped in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza were ready to surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other areas of Gaza. Hamas has not confirmed the number of trapped fighters but has previously demanded that they be allowed to go to areas controlled by the group. Israel has so far resisted this. Turkiye, a fierce critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and with close ties to Palestinian group, was a signatory to the US-backed Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

Gaza's health ministry says 15 Palestinian bodies received under truce exchange deal
Agence France Presse/November 11, 2025
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said it had received on Monday the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire exchange deal. "The ministry of health announces the receipt of 15 bodies of martyrs released today by the Israeli occupation through the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies received to 315" under the hostage-prisoner exchange deal, the ministry said. They were returned in exchange for the remains of Israeli officer Lieutenant Hadar Goldin handed back to Israel the day before. Goldin was killed in the 2014 Gaza war.

Israel confirms receiving remains of soldier killed in Gaza in 2014
Associated Press/November 11, 2025
Israel on Sunday confirmed it had received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014, closing a painful chapter for the country. The 23-year-old was killed two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that year's war between Israel and Hamas. Goldin's family waged a public campaign for 11 years to bring home his remains. Earlier this year, they marked 4,000 days since his body was taken. Israel's military had long determined that he had been killed, based on evidence found in the tunnel where his body was taken, including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer fringes. His remains had been the only ones left in Gaza predating the current war between Israel and Hamas. The remains of four hostages taken in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the current war, are still in Gaza. The return of Goldin's remains were a significant development in the U.S.-brokered truce, which has faltered during the slow return of bodies of hostages and skirmishes between Israeli troops and militants in Gaza. Dozens of people gathered along intersections where the police convoy carried the remains to the national forensic institute, paying last respects. Many more gathered later outside the home of Goldin's parents, who noted the "many disappointments" in their efforts over the years and said that Israel's military and "not anyone else" had brought home their son — apparent criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu told the weekly Cabinet meeting that holding the body for so long caused "great agony of his family, which will now be able to give him a Jewish burial." Israel recovered the remains of another soldier killed in 2014, Oron Shaul, earlier this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has returned to Israel to help press ahead with ceasefire efforts, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity because the visit hasn't been publicly announced. Kushner, a top adviser to Trump, was a key architect of Washington's 20-point ceasefire plan. The deal that took effect Oct. 10 has focused on the first phase of halting the fighting, releasing all hostages and boosting humanitarian aid to Gaza. Details of the second phase, including deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and governing postwar Gaza, haven't been worked out. Kushner was helping to lead negotiations to secure safe passage for 150-200 trapped Hamas militants in exchange for surrendering their weapons after the release of Goldin's remains, according to someone close to the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the talks. Israeli media, citing anonymous officials, previously reported that Hamas was delaying the release of Goldin's body in hopes of negotiating safe passage for more than 100 militants surrounded by Israeli forces and trapped in Rafah. Gila Gamliel, the minister of innovation, science and technology and a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, told Army Radio that Israel wasn't negotiating for a deal within a deal. "There are agreements whose implementation is guaranteed by the mediators, and we shouldn't allow anyone to come now and play (games) and to reopen the agreement," she said. Hamas made no comment on a possible exchange for its fighters stuck in the so-called yellow zone, which is controlled by Israeli forces, though they acknowledged that clashes were taking place there. Goldin's family had held what his mother, Leah Goldin, has called a "pseudo-funeral" at the urging of Israel's military rabbis. But the lingering uncertainty was like a "knife constantly making new cuts." Leah Goldin told The Associated Press earlier this year that returning her son's body has ethical and religious value and is part of the sacrosanct pact Israel makes with its citizens, who are required by law to serve in the military. "Hadar is a soldier who went to combat and they abandoned him, and they destroyed his humanitarian rights and ours as well," Goldin said. She said that her family often felt alone in their struggle to bring Hadar, a talented artist who had just become engaged, home for burial. After the Oct. 7 attack, the Goldin family attempted to help hundreds of families of those taken into Gaza. Initially, the Goldins found themselves shunned as advocacy for the hostages surged. "We were a symbol of failure," Goldin recalled. "They told us, 'we aren't like you, our kids will come back soon.'"
For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. Ahmed Dheir, director of forensic medicine at Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, said that the remains of 300 have now been returned, with 89 identified.
Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, and 251 people were kidnapped. On Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has risen to 69,176. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.

UAE 'probably' won't join Gaza stabilization force
Agence France Presse/November 11, 2025
The United Arab Emirates is not planning to join the international stabilization force for Gaza because it lacks a clear framework, a senior official said on Monday. "The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force, and under such circumstances will probably not participate in such a force," Emirati presidential advisor Anwar Gargash told the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate forum.The U.S.-coordinated international force has been seen as likely to include troops from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, as well as the UAE. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected the force to be in Gaza "very soon", as a fragile ceasefire holds following two years of war. The oil-rich UAE is one of the few Arab nations with official ties to Israel after signing the Abraham Accords during Trump's first term in 2020.

Israel army chief urges ‘systemic’ probe into Oct 7 attack
AFP/November 11, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military chief called on Monday for a “systemic investigation” into the failures that led to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, as the government dragged its feet on establishing a state commission of inquiry on the matter. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir made the call following the publication of a report by an expert committee he himself had appointed, which, according to him, marks the conclusion of the military’s internal investigations into the October 7 attacks. “The expert committee’s report presented today is a significant step toward achieving the comprehensive understanding that we, as a society and as an organization, require,” Zamir was quoted as saying in the report. “However, to ensure that such failures never recur, a broader understanding is needed — one that encompasses the inter-organizational and inter-hierarchical interfaces that have not yet been examined,” he added. “To that end, a broad and comprehensive systemic investigation is now necessary.” According to polls, a large number of Israelis across the political spectrum support the establishment of an inquiry to determine who is responsible for the authorities’ failure to prevent the attack, the deadliest in the country’s history.
But the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far refused to set one up, arguing it cannot be established before the end of the war in Gaza. Under Israeli law, the decision to create a national commission rests with the government, but its members must be appointed by the supreme court. Netanyahu’s right-wing government, however, accuses the court of political bias and of leaning toward the left. The effort to curb the supreme court’s powers lay at the heart of the government’s judicial reform plan — a project that deeply divided Israeli society before the war broke out.
On Monday, when pressed in parliament by the opposition to clarify his position on the creation of a national commission, Netanyahu accused the opposition of seeking to turn it into a “political tool.” Instead, he suggested establishing an inquiry commission “based on broad national consensus,” modelled, he said, on what the United States did after the September 11 attacks — a proposal immediately rejected by the opposition. Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
It triggered a two-year retaliatory campaign by the Israeli military in Gaza, which has killed at least 69,179 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The expert committee’s report acknowledged that Hamas’s attack “occurred against the backdrop of high-quality and exceptional intelligence that was already in the possession of various IDF (military) units.” “From an internal military perspective, it is evident that despite the warning, the necessary military actions were not taken to improve the IDF’s alertness or readiness, nor to adjust the deployment of forces across the different arenas,” the report added. The committee determined that most of the factors explaining the failure spanned several years and multiple branches of the military. It said this indicated a “long-standing systemic and organizational failure.”In February, an internal Israeli military investigation into Hamas’s attack acknowledged the armed forces’ “complete failure” to prevent the assault, saying that for years it had underestimated the group’s capabilities.

Iran says US claim on plot to kill Israeli ambassador in Mexico 'absurd'
Agence France Presse/November 11, 2025
Iran on Monday dismissed accusations by the United States that Tehran had attempted to kill the Israeli ambassador in Mexico, describing it as "absurd"."We found this claim very ridiculous and absurd," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press briefing, adding that it was part of an attempt "to destroy Iran's friendly relations with other countries".

France’s ex-leader Sarkozy says after jail release ‘truth will prevail’
AFP/November 10, 2025
PARIS: France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy vowed on Monday that the truth would win out after he was released from prison under judicial supervision ahead of an appeal trial over Libyan funding. Sarkozy, 70, earlier Monday left La Sante prison in Paris — a 20-day experience the former president called a “nightmare,” after a judge ordered his release. Sarkozy, who maintains his innocence, arrived home in a car with tinted windows, escorted by police motorcyclists. “The truth will prevail,” he wrote on X shortly afterwards. “I will now prepare for an appeal. My energy is focused solely on proving my innocence,” he added, thanking his supporters. “Your thousands of messages moved me deeply and gave me the strength to endure this ordeal.”A lower court in September found the right-wing politician — who was head of state from 2007 to 2012 — guilty of seeking to acquire funding from Muammar Qaddafi’s Libya for the campaign that saw him elected. He was sentenced to five years behind bars.He entered jail on October 21, becoming the first former head of a European Union state to be incarcerated, and his lawyers swiftly sought his release. But the appeal case means that Sarkozy is now presumed innocent again. During the examination of Sarkozy’s request in court earlier Monday, prosecutors had called for him to be freed ahead of the appeal trial set to start in March. “Long live freedom,” one of Sarkozy’s sons, Louis, said on X.
During the court hearing earlier Monday, Sarkozy, speaking via video call from jail, said his time in prison was tough. “It’s hard, very hard, certainly for any prisoner. I would even say it’s gruelling,” he said.He thanked the prison staff, whom he said “showed exceptional humanity and made this nightmare — because it is a nightmare — bearable.”In the prison, the former president was separated from the general population, with two bodyguards occupying a neighboring cell to ensure his safety. In the courtroom showing their support were his wife, the singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of the former president’s sons.
The lower court in late September ordered Sarkozy to go to jail, even if he appealed, due to the “exceptional gravity” of the conviction. Under the terms of his release on Monday, the court banned Sarkozy from leaving France. The former president was also prohibited from contacting former Libyan officials as well as senior French judicial officials including Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin. Sarkozy last month received a visit from Darmanin, despite warnings from France’s top prosecutor Remy Heitz that it risked “undermining the independence of magistrates.” Sarkozy, seen as a mentor to many conservative politicians, still enjoys considerable influence on the French right. “The former president, presumed innocent, is finally free again,” Bruno Retailleau, head of the conservative Republicans, said on X, praising his “courage.”Sarkozy is the first French leader to be incarcerated since Philippe Petain, the Nazi collaborationist head of state, who was jailed after World War II. Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been sent to him, some including a collage, a chocolate bar or a book.
Sarkozy has faced a flurry of legal woes since losing his re-election bid in 2012, and has already been convicted in two other cases. In one, he served a sentence for graft — over seeking to secure favors from a judge — under house arrest while wearing an electronic ankle tag, which was removed after several months.In another, France’s top court is later this month to rule over accusations of illegal campaign financing in 2012. In the so-called “Libyan case,” prosecutors said his aides, acting in Sarkozy’s name, struck a deal with Qaddafi in 2005 to illegally fund his victorious presidential election bid.
Investigators believe that in return, Qaddafi was promised help to restore his international image after Tripoli was blamed for the 1988 bombing of a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, and another over Niger in 1989, killing hundreds of passengers.
The court convicted Sarkozy of criminal conspiracy over the plan. But it did not conclude that he received or used the funds for his campaign.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 10-11/2025
Mamdani: Debunking the Fallacies of an Islamist Demagogue
Charles Chartouni/This Is Beirut/November 10/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/11/149028/
Mamdani is deliberately positioning himself beyond the pale of the American civic culture and its foundational narratives.
The New York elections attest to the ubiquitousness of domestic political events in a globalized era and more specifically in New York City, which recapitulates the promises, illusions, and contradictions of the global era. The overlapping variables of the urban order and its economic, social, cultural, and religious factors coalesce to define the configurations and the dynamics that feature it. If we ever fail to understand the interrelatedness of the variables at stake and their shifting dynamics, we incur the risk of misrepresentation and mismanagement of whatever issues are at hand.
The elections in New York summarize the challenges of a changing American landscape and the need to retool our analytical grids to get a better grasp of the problems. The abrupt societal transitions occurring in a city dealing with demographic, cultural, economic, and religious changes invite political actors to review their playbook and strategies if they are to impact the course of events and address the needs and challenges of their constituencies. Zohran Mamdani's profile is part of this changing landscape and the challenges it raises for policymakers and civic leaders.
There is nothing specific about his profile aside from his obtrusive Islamist militancy and its agenda and his vocal antisemitism. The socialist featuring of his political agenda is a fake representation of what he really stands for: his overt Islamist agenda with flimsy social policy clothing. The mere listening to his rhetoric conveys how faked and spurious are his social policy claims and credentials. While addressing the social issues at stake, observers are referred to an elementary demagoguery, which may apply to Third World countries where social issues are not codified, social policies are nonexistent, and public governance is absent. New York City is historically the passageway that embodied the American dream for generations of migrants. Each migratory wave had to cope with the demanding tasks of integration. The demagoguery that frames Mamdani’s campaign is to represent it as the “dawn” of a new era. The mundane politics of our age are well defined through the interplay among the clustered variables and their incidence on political and social policymaking. The questions of public transportation, child care, and household budgeting are debated at every level of governance and managed through a well-knit web of federal and state agencies. There is nothing specific about these questions where he can claim an innovative input.
Financial, economic, and social policymaking is managed at the different levels of governance, ranging from the federal state agencies to the civil-society actors and their richly textured associative networks. The fake messianic claims of this Islamist demagogue partake of the crisis of political representation in the Western democracies, the debunking of the social myths and politics attached to the socialist narrative, the disarraying effects of financial deregulation and de-industrialization, the substantive restructuring of the professional landscape, and the massive migration elicited by the destructive effects of failed modernization, state failures, abrupt ecological disruptions, the brutality of dictatorships, and the breakdown of normative regulations.
Mamdani is an Islamist militant co-opted by the Democratic Party strategists to claim back their lost credentials and constituencies. The wokists who have taken hold of the party have no other choice but to undermine the national legitimacy of the United States, question its democratic institutions, and misappropriate its public resources to cater to a sectarian political agenda. We are far away from the bipartisanship that characterized the Beltway politics and the American public life at large. The cultural wars, which have been defining the political landscape for the last two decades, are worse than hazardous. They were intentionally instrumented to question the American meta-narrative, its Biblical foundations, Christian intellectual and ethical legacies, and rootedness in the intellectual odyssey of Western civilization.
It is no coincidence that Mamdani’s acceptance speech was eminently political and frontally challenged President Trump. Whereas he was entrusted with the administration of a global city, he deliberately overlooked his primary task as a mayor. The power politics framing of his inaugural address betrays his underlying Islamist agenda. The victory of the Democratic Party is a litmus test that revealed its profound fractures and its inability to restore back the bipartisan culture featured by the earlier generations. Put in other words, the future of the Democratic Party is at stake, and the forthcoming political developments in New York and elsewhere are highly significant since they will delineate the new political configurations of the American political landscape and its actors.
Otherwise, it is going to test the ability of Mamdani to build a professional credibility while addressing public policy issues and dealing with the tasks of daily governance. His total inexperience and the absence of basic knowledge in economics, public policy and governance question his credentials and ability to run a global city like New York. Aside from the fact that the sectarian overtones of his political agenda fundamentally clash with the American national and civic culture, Mamdani, as an Islamist and wokist militant, has put himself beforehand outside the scope of the national and public conversation and its constitutional safeguards. He is deliberately positioning himself beyond the pale of the American civic culture and its foundational narratives. His bombastic rhetoric and its false messianic overtones need to be deconstructed and portrayed for what they are: demagoguery and ideological fraud

Iran Seeking to Revive the 'Axis of Resistance' Against Israel
Khaled Abu Toameh/November 10/2025
This statement [by senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya that the group will "accumulate capabilities to move towards the liberation of Palestine"] contradicts recent remarks by White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who said that Hamas officials told him and Jared Kushner that the terror group will disarm. If Hamas had any real intention of laying down its weapons, its leaders would not be participating in a conference that has come out in public against disarming terror groups in the Middle East. If Hamas were serious about implementing the Trump plan, it would not be participating in a conference that rejects it. The ANC conference in Beirut featuring the Iran-backed "axis of resistance" is a direct challenge not only to the Trump administration but also to the Lebanese government, which has failed to carry out its decision from August 2024 to disarm Hezbollah.
The statements of the leaders of the terror groups at the conference show that they, together with Iran's regime, are determined to continue their Jihad to obliterate Israel and resist attempts to confiscate their weapons.
The war in the Gaza Strip may be over, but the Islamist terrorists' desire to destroy Israel remains as strong as ever.
Although Iran's terror proxies have been weakened, they are trying to rise from the ashes with the help of their patrons in Tehran. A statement by senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, that the group will "accumulate capabilities to move towards the liberation of Palestine," contradicts recent remarks by White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who said that Hamas officials told him that the terror group will disarm. Pictured: Al-Hayya meets with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on February 8, 2025. (Image source: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader)
While US President Donald J. Trump and his administration are working hard to bring peace to the Middle East and disarm terror groups in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the Iranian regime and its proxies are doing their utmost to ensure that their Jihad (holy war) to destroy Israel continues in full force.
The Iranian regime is evidently (and understandably) afraid of losing its terror proxies – Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. These terror groups, whose primary goal is to eliminate Israel, have suffered severe blows over the past two years as a result of Israeli military operations targeting their leaders and military infrastructure.
Although Iran's terror proxies have been weakened, they are trying to rise from the ashes with the help of their patrons in Tehran.
As part of their effort to foil Trump's Gaza peace plan and attempts to persuade more Arab and Islamic countries to join the Abraham Accords with Israel, representatives of the Iran-backed terror groups attended a conference in Beirut in the first week of November organized by a group called the Arab National Conference.
According to Ziad Hafez, the group's former general secretary:
"The Arab National Conference (ANC) is the prime popular Arab nationalist institution in the Arab world. Over the last three decades it has managed to reframe the Arab nationalist narrative and redefine the concept of Arab nationalism. The positions and statements of the ANC are key to the resurgence of Arab nationalism and to the understanding of events currently taking place in the Arab homeland."
The conference was attended by more than 250 "Arab political, cultural, and resistance figures" from several Arab and Islamic countries. Key speakers included leaders of Hamas, PIJ, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, who declared that the "resistance [terrorism] remains the central path to confronting Israel and expansionist agendas across Palestine and the Middle East."
Ma'an Bashour, a prominent Lebanese political figure, said that "resistance" is not merely military but "a political, cultural, and social framework essential for restoring sovereignty."
ANC Secretary-General Hamdeen Sabahi emphasized the need to counter narratives of Arab defeat. "The nation has won, and the day of Palestine's liberation is near," he said.
Sabahi rejected calls by the Trump administration and the Lebanese government to disarm the Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon. These weapons, he added, "represent the dignity of the [Arab] nation."
According to Sabahi, one of the outcomes of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel is the victory in New York City's mayoral election of Zohran Mamdani, "who declared his allegiance to Palestine."
The October 7 atrocities, Sabahi said, also showed that the process of normalization between Arab countries and Israel was "condemned to death on the [Arab and Islamic] popular level."
Senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said in a speech before the conference that the October 7 massacres were "a response to attempts to obliterate the Palestinian cause and build a new Middle East."
Al-Hayya added:
"October 7 registered an epic of heroism inside Palestine and on its borders when the nation participated, each according to its ability, in supporting us. The Al-Aqsa Flood [the name Hamas uses to describe the October 7 atrocities] has placed before us a great duty to develop plans and accumulate capabilities to move towards the liberation of Palestine [a euphemism for the destruction of Israel]."
This statement contradicts recent remarks by White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who said that Hamas officials told him and Jared Kushner that the terror group will disarm. In a speech before the America Business Forum in Miami on November 6, Witkoff said:
"Hamas has always indicated that they would disarm. They've said so – they said it to us directly during that famous meeting that Jared had with them. I hope they keep their word..."
If Hamas had any real intention of laying down its weapons, its leaders would not be participating in a conference that has come out in public against disarming terror groups in the Middle East. If Hamas were serious about implementing the Trump plan, it would not be participating in a conference that rejects it.
Ziyad al-Nakhalah, secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second-largest terror group in the Gaza Strip, and whose members participated in the October 7 attack on Israel, also expressed opposition to any plan to disarm terror groups.
"We are still in the field and we emphasize the need to protect the resistance," al-Nakhalah told the ANC conference. He claimed that the Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip "fought against an international coalition led by the US" over the past two years.
"We emerged from this battle with our weapons in our hands," the PIJ leader said. Referring to the possibility that the terror groups would comply with Trump's plan and lay down their weapons, he said: "Trump's plan has set many obstacles and conditions that cannot be implemented."
Jamil Mazhar, deputy secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Palestinian terror group that pioneered aircraft-hijackings in the late 1960s and early 1970s, told the conference that the fight against the "Zionist enemy" will continue. "We are meeting to renew our pledge against the Zionist enemy and those who are allied with it, and the fighting continues," Mazhar stressed.
Ammar al-Moussawi, Hezbollah's international relations official, also rejected attempts to disarm his organization. "The resistance option in Lebanon was, and still is, a strategic decision stemming from the belief in the justice of the Palestinian cause," al-Moussawi said.
The Hezbollah official claimed that "attempts to restrict the resistance's weapons in Lebanon come in response to Arab and Western pressures." Al-Moussawi said that Hezbollah, "which has sacrificed thousands of martyrs, is capable of producing a new generation that will continue the path of resistance."
The leader of Yemen's Houthi militia, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, warned against attempts by Israel and the US "to disarm the resistance in Lebanon and Gaza." He urged the Arab nations to "preserve and strengthen all elements of power to defeat Israel."
The ANC conference in Beirut featuring the Iran-backed "axis of resistance" is a direct challenge not only to the Trump administration but also to the Lebanese government, which has failed to carry out its decision from August 2024 to disarm Hezbollah.
The statements of the leaders of the terror groups at the conference show that they, together with Iran's regime, are determined to continue their Jihad to obliterate Israel and resist attempts to confiscate their weapons.
The war in the Gaza Strip may be over, but the Islamist terrorists' desire to destroy Israel remains as strong as ever.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22041/iran-reviving-axis-of-resistance
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
**Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

That photo at the White House
Ghassan Charbel/Al-Awsat newspaper/November 10, 2025
Today is the day of the photo. The scene will be very significant and messages will be delivered in several directions. Today will mark the beginning of a new chapter and close an old one. A powerful man called Donald Trump will shake hands at the White House with another powerful man called Ahmad Al-Sharaa. The American master of surprises will receive the man who took the Syrians, the Middle East and world by surprise. No Syrian president has entered the White House since the country gained its independence in 1946. The White House is where alarm, assurances, support and certificates of good conduct are handed out. Neither Hafez Assad nor his son Bashar ever received such a welcome or invitation. Al-Sharaa is treading where no one dared tread before. Benjamin Netanyahu watches the screen. The date is worth waiting for and concerns him. He mutters to himself: this man would not be where he is now were it not for the tonnes of Israeli bombs that struck Iranian sites in Syria and were it not for the crackdown against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that forced it to withdraw its factions, “advisers” and ambitions from Syria. The successive strikes left Vladimir Putin’s forces helpless before the ensuing rapid developments. Saving “Mr. President” was no longer possible, like it was a few years earlier. All Russia could do was provide a plane that flew Bashar to his Russian exile on “humanitarian” grounds.
The rise of Al-Sharaa’s Syria changed balances of power and made the disarmament of armed groups a top priority in Lebanon and Iraq. Netanyahu is envious. The West has never clamored to drop sanctions against a man the way it has done with Al-Sharaa. They dropped the tale of Abu Mohammed Al-Golani and opened the doors to President Al-Sharaa. Netanyahu does not shed a tear for Assad and “Iranian Syria.” He knows that, so far, Al-Sharaa has chosen to quit the military aspect of the conflict with Israel. However, celebrating Al-Sharaa could lead to American and Western pressure on Israel to make concessions in support of the new Syria’s stability. How difficult it is for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to watch the unfolding developments. He abhors Trump — the man who ordered the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the architect of the “Axis of Resistance” and its rockets and tunnels. The man who dispatched jets to strike his nuclear facilities and whose weapons Netanyahu used to rattle Iran’s image, invade its airspace and assassinate its generals and scientists. He also abhors Al-Sharaa — the man who erased Iran’s border with Israel in Syria. The same border it took years, sacrifices and billions of dollars to build. Al-Sharaa’s rise broke the axis that had already been dealt a catastrophic blow with the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, Soleimani’s partner in building the alliance.
Iran also lost its border with Israel in Lebanon. The rise of Al-Sharaa’s Syria changed balances of power and made the disarmament of armed groups a top priority in Lebanon and Iraq. It is effectively an agenda aimed at eliminating Iran’s influence in these countries. The borders of the axis have been changed, so have the borders of Iran’s influence. Reclaiming Syria will be a daunting task.
Putin bitterly watches the unfolding developments. The people of the Middle East court Russia, while their hearts are actually with the US. We once saved Bashar, but Bashar did not save his regime. We advised him to cooperate just a bit with Recep Tayyip Erdogan but he arrogantly refused.
Erdogan himself, the heir of sultans, had bent to the storm and swallowed the bitter pill of seeing Russia and Iran protect Bashar. He waited patiently for the right moment for revenge and he pounced the second it presented itself. He did not hesitate in settling scores, doing so without gloating.
Al-Sharaa himself has chosen to forget that Russian jets had bloodied Idlib and the Syrian resistance. He has chosen to forget that these same jets were searching for him. He has chosen the slogan “Syria first” and has set aside disputes with everyone. He traveled to the Kremlin with an open mind and friendly demeanor. But Al-Sharaa knows that he needs Trump more than he needs Putin. He knows that the future of his regime depends on Washington, not Moscow. Al-Sharaa’s rise curbed Russia’s influence in the Middle East. When the snow starts to pile up, Moscow can be so challenging for those who sought asylum there. The title of “former” or “ousted” president is a difficult pill to swallow. It was so difficult for him to quit a country he was promised to rule forever. His alliances have also evaporated. What a terrible situation. He once believed that the rebellious Idlib would be forced back into his grasp and that Al-Golani would flee and become nothing more than a vague memory.
He finds it hard to process the series of warm receptions accorded to Al-Sharaa everywhere he goes. The palace and Damascus are farther than ever from his grasp. He switches off the television. He cannot stand to see the White House. He tries to console himself. Ruling Syria is not easy at all. The West and those celebrating the new Syria will soon lose their enthusiasm. Syria is a minefield that is difficult to navigate. How difficult it is to sit back and wait, especially when there is no hope to cling on to. He used to walk into the Kremlin as a president, but now its doors are shut to him and his fate lies in the hands and mood of the czar. This is the day of the photo. The scene in Washington is a continuation of the famous handshake in Riyadh, where Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman used his personal influence and the weight of his country and opened the American and Western door to the leader of the new Syria. The series of high-level meetings, however, only adds to the responsibilities on Al-Sharaa’s shoulders. He must now lead the process of reconstruction, fight poverty, build a state of law and consolidate the position of the new Syria, as well as its credibility inside the country and beyond. He must fight Daesh and extremist ideology and answer questions related to Israel and peace proposals. He is a powerful man on a difficult mission. This is the photo of the day. Trump will warmly receive Al-Sharaa. The photo will go down in history, with the hope that Syria will turn to the future so that it can pave the way for stability in its surroundings and so that millions of Syrian refugees and expatriates can return home.
**Ghassan Charbel is editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. X: @GhasanCharbel

The inequality gap threatens to dim Africa’s bright AI future
Tony Elumelu/Arab News/November 10/2025
We do not always associate Africa with technology. Yet we have seen in the telecoms sector how the continent can leapfrog others and lead. According to the GSMA, a global trade association for mobile network operators, sub-Saharan Africa has more than 1.1 billion mobile money accounts. It is the global leader in the adoption of mobile money and, with such transactions in the region valued at $1.1 trillion in 2024, it accounts for nearly 65 percent of worldwide transaction value. Mobile penetration and mobile money have been transformative in Africa, catalyzing businesses, contributing to government revenues and delivering jobs. Can the continent repeat this success with artificial intelligence? We know AI is bringing sweeping changes to our world. Rapid adoption of this technology is transforming the ways in which we live and do business. As with any new technology, it brings with it threats and opportunities.
Call centers, for example, have been the backbone of economic development in some emerging economies and industrialization has driven growth globally. But AI is fundamentally changing the nature of customer service, making human interaction redundant, while robotics and AI are creating silent factories, offering the prospect of jobless industrial growth. Underlying all this is Africa’s unique demographic profile. Seventy percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under the age of 30, our population is expected to double approximately every 29 years and, by 2050, one in four people on this planet will be African. That is 25 percent of humanity; in 1900, we were less than 10 percent. I have firsthand experience of this complex and compelling African cocktail of technology and population growth. As an investor and one of the leading supporters of young entrepreneurs across the continent, I see the passion of its next generation. We have transformed the United Bank for Africa, one of the continent’s largest financial institutions, into a digital powerhouse. We are embedding AI into all that we do. The challenge is not only how to incorporate AI into business operations but how to navigate the journey of disruption and reap the full benefits. For Africa, the stakes are even higher. We must act with urgency to prepare this African generation for the AI-driven economy or risk condemning them to deepening inequality.
McKinsey Global Institute projects that AI will contribute $13 trillion to the global economy by 2030, representing 16 percent of growth in gross domestic product. Beneath the optimism, however, there lies a warning: AI could widen the inequality gap. This poses a particularly significant risk for Africa. We are confronting the possibility of economic marginalization. For Africa to benefit from AI, the continent needs urgent and massive investment in infrastructure if it is to compete and be included.
I was honored to attend the ninth edition of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh last month, at the invitation of Richard Attias, chairperson of the FII Institute, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. I joined a distinguished gathering of change-makers — with more than 8,000 delegates, including 20 heads of state, in attendance — to discuss “The Key to Prosperity.”
The conversations around the transformative potential of AI were exciting. Yet one question dominated my thoughts: Can this technology finally bridge the inequality gap dividing Africa from the rest of the world?
Some 600 million Africans live without access to electricity. Countries such as Nigeria, one of the continent’s largest economies, exemplify the challenge. It generates about 5,000 megawatts of power to serve more than 200 million people, which is far below what is needed for industrial development, let alone AI infrastructure.Africa needs investment partners to help develop the critical infrastructure it needs to thrive in this new world. Lack of access to electricity impacts lives. In sub-Saharan Africa — which represents only 16 percent of the global population but is home to 67 percent of the world’s extreme poor — even the simplest necessities that others take for granted remain impossibly out of reach. Many Africans, desperate for better opportunities, embark on dangerous migration journeys, with 2024 marking the deadliest year on record. Those with access to modest savings, often pooled by family members, relocate to other parts of the world, resulting in a significant brain drain. Poverty and lack of opportunity fuel insurgency and instability. This is not only Africa’s crisis — it is a problem for the entire world and one that must be treated with immediate action. 82My message has been consistent: the unique challenges faced by Africa must be included in these conversations. This is an urgent call for private sector leaders, governments and development partners to frame AI conversations in a way that addresses global equity and equality.
Just two weeks ago, I made the case for this during a panel discussion at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, alongside Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF; Mohammed Al-Jadaan, the Saudi minister of finance; Simon Johnson, the Ronald A. Kurtz professor of entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management; and Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer at Alphabet and Google.
I said during the discussion: “AI and productivity in the 21st century should help to democratize prosperity, not just be for a few to benefit. We must ensure that AI works for Africa by investing deliberately in digital infrastructure, electricity and human capital.”
I witness the consequences of this infrastructure deficit firsthand: small businesses struggle to stay afloat while operating on erratic power supplies. Thanks to the work of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, through which we have funded and supported more than 24,000 young entrepreneurs, we have real-time data on this. Our entrepreneurs are constantly limited not by ideas but by limited access to reliable electricity supplies — a generation of young Africans constrained by circumstances rather than capability.What, then, is the way forward? Firstly, Africa needs investment partners to help develop the critical infrastructure it needs to thrive in this new world. It does not need charity, it needs investment. As I often say, there is no other place to get the kind of returns you can get in Africa. My own investments tell a story of success: through Heirs Holdings, we demonstrate the commercial viability of African infrastructure; through our investments in Transcorp and Heirs Energies, we produce oil, generate and distribute power, and produce gas that fuels power plants, all of which bring us generous returns. This is what I call “Africapitalism” in action: the use of private capital to solve public challenges and the belief that the African private sector must take the lead in efforts to drive economic development through long-term investments, creating both economic returns and social impact in the process. Secondly, the conversation needs to be broadened to address the inequality. The prosperity divide threatens everyone. As I said at the Future Investment Initiative: “To some, it is about AI adoption. To others, it is about AI accessibility. We should, as a global community, play our own role in helping to create AI access so that all of us grow simultaneously.”
Thirdly, we must build for our future leaders. As I noted at the IMF meetings, our youth are creative, energetic and can play their own part in the development of Africa. The AI era holds great promise for the continent. The question is not whether Africa has the talent to thrive in an AI-driven world; it demonstrably does. The question is what will it take to unleash its full potential? This is how we create significant change that will impact the world.
• Tony Elumelu is the chair of family-owned investment company Heirs Holdings and of United Bank for Africa. He and his wife launched the $100 million Tony Elumelu Foundation to empower young entrepreneurs across 54 African countries. In March 2025, he was appointed to the International Monetary Fund’s Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth.

Is peace between Morocco and Algeria finally within reach?
Said Temsamani/The Arab Weekly/November 10/2025
For more than three decades, North Africa has lived under the shadow of a frozen rivalry that has drained political capital, stifled economic integration and denied a young generation the future it deserves. The question of whether Morocco and Algeria could ever move beyond this stalemate has long felt theoretical, a matter for academics and nostalgic diplomats.
Today, it no longer is.
Hints of a US-backed initiative to broker a formal peace agreement have reawakened a possibility many in the region had stopped entertaining: a historic reset between the two most consequential neighbours in the Maghreb. One constant has defined the Moroccan approach for years: strategic patience. King Mohammed VI has repeatedly, almost ritualistically, extended a hand to Algeria, calling for “normal relations” between two peoples bound by history, geography and culture. These messages have not been symbolic gestures; they form a doctrine of stability in which Morocco believes its own future prosperity is tied to a peaceful Algerian neighbourhood. Morocco’s posture is neither naïve nor sentimental. It is a sober calculation that regional stability is a prerequisite for economic modernisation, security cooperation and renewed North African relevance in a world of rising geopolitical blocs. The latest spark came from an unexpected, high-profile source. Appearing on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Steve Witkoff, special envoy to President Donald Trump, revealed that Washington is working on a Morocco–Algeria peace agreement that could materialise “within 60 days.”
For seasoned observers of Maghreb diplomacy, this was a genuine shock. The United States has long supported stability in the region, but rarely with such open ambition. The timing is not accidental: the Sahel is destabilised, Europe is recalibrating its energy dependencies, while global powers see in North Africa a dormant geopolitical space that could tilt toward opportunity, or crisis. Washington appears to believe that breaking the Moroccan–Algerian impasse is no longer merely desirable, but strategically urgent. Despite the diplomatic noise, one reality remains undeniable: the bottleneck is not in Rabat. As Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita bluntly put it: “Morocco and Algeria do not need mediation. They know each other well. If the will exists, dialogue can start immediately.” The key words here are “if the will exists.” Algeria’s governing structure, a complex constellation of military, political and security actors, has long relied on a narrative of perpetual rivalry with Morocco. This narrative has historically served as an internal stabiliser, a convenient political adhesive in times of uncertainty. A genuine reconciliation with Morocco would upend several pillars of this internal architecture:
It would weaken the utility of the “historical enemy” narrative;
It would force long-delayed economic reforms opened by a regional market;
It would shift legitimacy from security-based rhetoric to performance-based governance;
And it would expose the limits of decades of state propaganda to a younger, more connected Algerian generation.
In short, peace is good for citizens, but highly disruptive for entrenched interests.
The price of this hostility is rarely quantified, but it is enormous:
A closed border since 1994.
Trade flows that rank among the lowest of any neighbouring countries in the world.
A paralysed Arab Maghreb Union.
Lost opportunities worth billions annually.
And a region increasingly marginalised in global negotiations on migration, energy, climate, and security.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy is generational: millions of young Moroccans and Algerians have grown up inside a political dispute that predates them, excludes them, and in no way reflects their aspirations.
A Morocco–Algeria détente would be nothing short of transformative.
Consider just a few consequences:
Reopened borders and revived commercial corridors
Coordinated security strategy for the Sahel
A regional market of 100 million consumers
Cross-border energy, hydrogen, and logistics networks
A reactivated Maghreb capable of negotiating with Europe and Africa as a bloc
A geopolitical rebalancing that turns North Africa from a passive spectator into a strategic actor
For the first time in decades, the region would possess the structural tools of collective power, not just diplomatic rhetoric.
Morocco has made its position unmistakably clear: it is open to dialogue, to reconciliation, to looking beyond the past, without preconditions.
But no hand, however outstretched, can shake another that remains clenched.
And even the most well-intentioned US plan will fail unless Algeria makes a deliberate, unified choice to pursue peace, not simply to test diplomatic waters.
North Africa is standing at a crossroads.
It can seize what may be the most promising opportunity in half a century, or it can continue to drift through a geopolitical limbo that no longer serves its people or its interests. Peace between Morocco and Algeria is not an illusion. It is a strategic necessity whose time has come. The only question remaining, perhaps the only one that truly matters, is this: will Algeria choose the future, or remain captive to its past?
**Said Temsamani is a Moroccan political analyst focusing on diplomacy, governance, and international affairs.

Hamas’s “Rigid Pragmatism”: Between Tactical Flexibility and Ideological Intransigence
Neomi Neumann/The Washington Institute,/November 10/2025
Gaza stabilization must include precise disarmament rules, independent monitoring, and pressure from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey to counter Hamas’s blend of flexibility and intransigence.
After the publication of President Donald Trump’s twenty-point plan, many were surprised to see Hamas relinquish some of its ostensibly nonnegotiable demands from the past two years, in particular, by releasing the remaining living hostages without a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. This initially created an impression of moderation, which quickly faded when Hamas launched a brutal retaliation campaign against its rivals and redeployed its security forces through the streets of Gaza. The weapons Hamas seized from rival militias further deepened doubts about its commitment to fulfilling the terms imposed by the Trump peace plan—first and foremost, handing over its light weapons and heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and explosives—and dismantling its military framework.
Hamas’s Strategic Conduct: Rigid Pragmatism
Hamas operates according to rigid pragmatism—a strategy that combines tactical adaptation to shifting realities with uncompromising adherence to ideological principles. This allows it to demonstrate flexibility when doing so serves its long-term goals without abandoning its core tenets: rejection of Israel’s legitimacy, pursuit of dominance in the Palestinian arena, and preservation of armed resistance.
This is not new. In previous years, Hamas made tactical and rhetorical adjustments to signal adaptability to shifting political and security conditions without abandoning its radical, jihadist worldview. In 2017, it published a “Document of General Principles and Policies” that emphasized its nationalist-Palestinian identity and hinted at acceptance of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, though not as a final settlement. In early 2024, following the October 7 attacks, Hamas released “Our Narrative,” portraying itself as a national liberation movement rather than a religious one and implying readiness to relinquish control of Gaza to a Palestinian entity—without recognizing Israel or committing to disarmament. In all cases, its core ideological positions remained intact.
Disarmament: Conditional Flexibility, Nonnegotiable Principle
Hamas has not formally committed to the Trump plan, but it has agreed to its first phase—a ceasefire, hostage-prisoner exchanges, and the transfer of authority in Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic committee supported by Arab and Muslim states. The question of disarmament remains vague in Hamas statements and is apparently being deferred to a later stage, contingent on broader Palestinian consensus. Similarly, the Sharm al-Sheikh declaration of October 13, signed by Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar, does not explicitly call to disarm Hamas or remove it from power, instead opting for a general goal “to dismantle extremism and radicalization in all its forms.” The final communiqué of the Palestinian Dialogue, held in Cairo on October 23 and 24 and attended primarily by Fatah and Hamas representatives, also avoided the disarmament issue and focused on establishing the technocratic committee to manage Gaza.
Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, who lives in Qatar, stated after the Cairo meeting that the group is willing to establish such a committee provided it is not subordinate to the Palestinian Authority (PA) or the PLO and is only a temporary move until general elections and the formation of a Palestinian unity government. He added that Hamas opposes relinquishing its “resistance weapons” as long as “occupation” persists, without entirely rejecting the deployment of a UN force in Gaza to monitor the ceasefire, separate the parties, and secure the borders. Arab sources involved in negotiations with Hamas claim they were led to believe the movement would agree, in the second phase of the Trump plan, to dismantle its “heavy weapons”—primarily rockets and mortars—but not to surrender the personal weapons of its fighters, which it views as defensive.
As in the past, Hamas is expected to show limited and conditional flexibility on the issue of weapons. Its approach will be shaped not only by its ideology and regional dynamics but also by its need to preserve its status within the Palestinian system, especially in Gaza. Hamas is likely to assess whether partial disarmament could help it gain indirect legitimacy to maintain its organizational and political infrastructure in the Strip or enable entry into PLO institutions and participation in future Palestinian elections. For this purpose, it may rely on the legal existence of parties and organizations that are not formally affiliated with it—a method it has employed since the 1990s and one that is common among Muslim Brotherhood groups in the Arab world and the West.
Still, Hamas will be careful not to lose its military dominance in Gaza against other armed militias and rival clans, with which it has clashed extensively in recent weeks, and against PA forces that may be deployed later. For Hamas, retaining its fighters’ personal weapons is a prerequisite for internal control, local deterrence, and protection against being sidelined within the Palestinian system.
Pressures from Qatar and Turkey and Hamas’s Internal Divisions
Pressure from Qatar, Turkey, and other regional actors, who feared that violence from Gaza would spill over into their territories, was a key factor in persuading Hamas to agree to the ceasefire. Hamas understands the cost of clashing with Qatar and Turkey, its main pillars of support. Given the group’s ideological rigidity, it would not likely have agreed to be flexible without clear assurances from those countries, and possibly directly from the United States, that the war would not resume.
A major obstacle to Hamas’s implementation of the second phase of the agreements under the Trump plan is the deep internal rift between the group’s political leadership abroad, primarily in Qatar, and its military wing in Gaza. While the political leaders, led by Khaled Mashal and Khalil al-Hayya, lean toward a rigid pragmatist line and are willing to consider limited and temporary political arrangements, the military wing, aligned with the Iranian axis, opposes any compromise perceived as undermining armed resistance, particularly disarmament. These differences explain Hamas’s conduct—on the one hand, accepting agreements in principle; on the other, obstructing their implementation.
Looking Ahead: Preventing Military Reconstruction Under Political Cover
In the near future, diplomatic efforts will center on refining the draft UN Security Council resolution to mandate the deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza. A clear and comprehensive policy on disarmament must be established—beginning with precise definitions of what constitutes disarmament and outlining the mechanisms for its implementation, and culminating in a detailed framework for the force’s mandate, authority, and composition. Crucially, the policy must eliminate any loopholes that could enable Hamas to retain heavy weapons by classifying them as light arms or to gradually reconstruct its military infrastructure.
At the same time, it is worth remembering that any international effort to stabilize Gaza must be precise, resistant to circumvention, and grounded in a clear understanding of Hamas’s operational logic. Rigid pragmatism is not a sign of moderation—it is a strategy of survival, power preservation, and gradual consolidation. Even when Hamas agrees to temporary arrangements, it ensures it retains the ability to rebuild its strength—whether through an extended ceasefire (hudna), transitional governments, technocratic committees, or indirect political structures. For Hamas, time is a strategic asset.
Hamas will not disarm voluntarily and will likely manipulate this issue, including through the use of “rogues” and the concealment and repurchase of weapons. Therefore, policy must be designed to constrain its room to maneuver and undermine its ability to maintain military dominance in Gaza. Key measures include establishing independent monitoring mechanisms, disconnecting humanitarian aid from Hamas-controlled governance structures, and promoting alternative Palestinian administrative frameworks that enable effective civilian governance—without incorporating Hamas. It is essential to monitor attempts by Hamas to bypass restrictions through proxies and to condition the group’s political participation on explicit commitment to international principles. At the same time, Turkey and Qatar must continue to apply pressure on Hamas to show flexibility, while Egypt must act through its own mechanisms—mediation and the imposition of clear conditions to contain and limit Hamas’s influence.
*Neomi Neumann is a recent visiting fellow at The Washington Institute (2023–2025) who formerly headed the research unit at the Israel Security Agency.