English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 13/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit
John 12/20-28: “Among those who went up to worship
at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in
Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus. ’Philip went and told
Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The
hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless
a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain;
but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and
those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever
serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever
serves me, the Father will honour. ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I
say “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come
to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have
glorified it, and I will glorify it again.
Titles For The Latest English
LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October
12-13/2025
Thanksgiving Day: Obligations, Prayers & Gratitude/Elias Bejjani/October
13, 2025
Israel is answering your debauchery, bragging and macho posturing/Elias
Bejjani/October 11/2025
He Who Rolls a Stone Will Have It Roll Back on Him/Elias Bejjani/October 10/2025
Aoun's Message: "Stubbornness May Lead to Catastrophic Results"
Intense Israeli Airstrikes Hit Msayleh
Aoun condemns 'heinous Israeli aggression' that came after 'agreement in Gaza'
UN force in Lebanon says peacekeeper wounded by Israeli grenade
Lebanon urges UN to act after Israeli strike on Msayleh
Lebanon’s President offers condolences to Qatar’s PM over diplomats killed in
car accident
PM Salam offers condolences to Qatar over death of diplomats in car accident
Lebanon’s FM directs urgent UN complaint against Israel
Syrian detainees in Lebanon: Legal hurdles shape possible returns
Failure to Disarm Hezbollah Blocks Reconstruction Efforts/Bassam Abou Zeid/This
Is Beirut/October 12/2025
'Northern Shield:' Deep Beneath the Border, a Hunt for the Tunnels of
Death/Natasha Metni Torbey/This Is Beirut/October 12/2025
Geagea urges Hezbollah to cede arms instead of criticizing state
October 13: The Soldiers Stood Firm, and the Commander Failed Them/Jean
Al-Faghali/Nidaa Al-Watan/October 13/2025
Aounists and the Axis of Resistance: Psychology of a Friendship/Hisham Bou
Nassif/Nidaa Al-Watan/October 13/2025
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October
12-13/2025
Trump Announces End of 'Gaza War' and
Predicts Ceasefire Will Hold...Says a 'Peace Council' will be quickly formed for
Gaza
Netanyahu Warns of 'Enemies' Planning to Attack Israel Again..Says the Hebrew
state achieved "tremendous victories" but "the battle is not over yet"
Araghchi: We will not participate in the Sharm El-Sheikh summit and will not
communicate with those who attacked our people
Trump, El-Sisi to chair Gaza peace summit on Monday: Egypt
Countdown to hostage release as Trump to host Gaza peace summit
Israeli forces raid houses of Palestinian prisoners ahead of release in Gaza
deal
Urgent: Chief of Staff General Eyal Zamir in a message to IDF commanders and
soldiers on the eve of the release of the abductees: On October 7th, the IDF
went out to a difficult and painful existential war and won!
Palestinians find Gaza City in ruins as Hamas warns tough talks ahead
Preparations begin to ramp up aid in Gaza
What to know as Israel and Gaza await the release of hostages, prisoners, aid —
and Trump’s visit
Frankly Speaking: What comes next in Gaza?
Tony Blair and Palestinian vice president discuss ceasefire, Gaza reconstruction
Gaza hostage swap brings hope to Palestinian prisoners’ family
Officials say food sites run by controversial US-Israeli-backed group in Gaza
are being shut down
Syrian and Turkish armies to cooperate in counterterrorism, border control
3 Qatari diplomats killed in car crash while heading to Egyptian resort of Sharm
El-Sheikh
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
on October
12-13/2025
The Palestinian Campaign to Undermine
Relations between Christians and Israel/Amit Barak/ Gatestone Content:/October
12, 2025
The Manchester Synagogue Attack Exposes Islam’s Three Most Dangerous
Doctrines/Raymond Ibrahim/October 12/2025
Harris’ memoir deepens the Democrats’ divide/Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/October
12, 2025
Starmer consolidates his foreign policy successes/Andrew Hammond/Arab
News/October 12, 2025
Selected English Tweets from X Platform For 12 October/2025
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October
12-13/2025
Thanksgiving Day: Obligations,
Prayers & Gratitude
Elias Bejjani/October 13, 2025
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ
Jesus.”(1 Thessalonians 5:18)
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/67920/
Every year, on the second Monday of October, Canada celebrates Thanksgiving Day
— a blessed and joyful occasion deeply rooted in faith, gratitude, and humility.
It is a day when families and friends gather to thank Almighty God for the
countless blessings He has poured upon them — the gift of life, the fruits of
the earth, and the comfort of home and community.
Thanksgiving in Canada dates back hundreds of years, when early settlers and
Indigenous peoples celebrated the harvest season by offering gratitude to the
Creator for the abundance of food and the safety of their communities. Through
time, this practice became a national celebration of thankfulness, generosity,
and hope.
Let us never forget that we have a holy obligation to continuously and joyfully
thank Almighty God for His love, His mercy, and His everlasting grace. Gratitude
is not a passing emotion; it is a spiritual discipline that purifies the soul
and draws us closer to God. A thankful heart is a humble heart, one that
recognizes every blessing as a divine gift, not a personal achievement.
On this day, while we celebrate with family and friends, let us look around and
remember the millions of people across the world who live in deprivation and
hardship — those who are hungry, displaced, persecuted, or alone. To truly
appreciate what we have, we must first recognize how many are without.
Let us therefore pray with sincerity and reverence, thanking God for His
generosity, and let us combine faith with good deeds, prayer with compassion,
and gratitude with action. A true believer’s weapons against adversity are
faith, honesty, righteousness, prayer, and trust in the Lord.
Let us pray for ongoing peace and prosperity in our beloved Canada — the land
that welcomed us with open arms and provided us a home when we most needed it.
Let us also pray for peace, freedom, and justice in our original homeland,
Lebanon — the Land of the Holy Cedars — and for its persecuted and impoverished
people who continue to suffer and hope.
Let us pray for the souls of Lebanon’s martyrs who sacrificed their lives
defending their country’s dignity and independence. May their memory remain
eternal.
Let us pray that Jesus Christ may bless Lebanon with faithful clergy and brave,
righteous political leaders who fear God and act in accordance with His will.
Let us pray that all families may reunite in love, heal their wounds, and honor
their parents with respect and gratitude.
As we lift our prayers today, let us trust that Almighty God always listens and
responds — not always as we expect, but always in ways that fulfill His divine
purpose.
May this Thanksgiving renew in each of us a spirit of humility, compassion, and
generosity.
For when we thank God with sincere hearts, His blessings are renewed,
multiplied, and everlasting.
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to
their parents, ungrateful, unholy.”(2 Timothy 3:1-2)
Those who live without gratitude fall into spiritual darkness, but those who
give thanks live in light. Gratitude keeps our hearts alive, our faith strong,
and our lives filled with peace.
Happy Thanksgiving Day to all!
May the Lord bless Canada and Lebanon, and may He fill every heart with
thankfulness, peace, and love.
Selected Biblical Verses on Gratitude
“As long as you live and have breath, give thanks to the Lord and praise His
mercy.” (Sirach 17:27)
“We give God great thanks for saving us from great dangers.” (2 Maccabees 1:11)
“If you and your children are well and everything you wish is as you desire, I
give great thanks to God; my hope is in Heaven.” (2 Maccabees 9:20)
“Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the
Lord.” (Psalm 118:19)
“Before the angels I will sing your praise; I will bow down toward your holy
temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your
faithfulness.” (Psalm 138:1–2)
“Be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15)
“We thank God without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
“I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience.” (2
Timothy 1:3)
“Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20)
“Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance
of His holy people in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:12)
“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17)
“I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being
reported all over the world.” (Romans 1:8)
“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1
Corinthians 15:57)
“Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and manifests
through us the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in every place.” (2 Corinthians
2:14)
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for
you.” (Colossians 1:3)
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2)
“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.”
(1 Thessalonians 1:2)
“I thank my God every time I remember you.” (Philippians 1:3)
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ
Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so,
because your faith is growing more and more.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me
trustworthy, appointing me to His service.” (1 Timothy 1:12)
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that
we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” (1 Timothy
2:1–2)
“Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be
to our God forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 7:12)
“We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, because You have
taken Your great power and have begun to reign.” (Revelation 11:17)
This Is What Many Canadians Do On Thanksgiving Day?
Many people have a day off work on the second Monday of October. They often use
the three-day Thanksgiving weekend to visit family or friends who live far away,
or to receive them in their own homes. Many people also prepare a special meal
to eat at some point during the long weekend. Traditionally, this included roast
turkey and seasonal produce, such as pumpkin, corn ears and pecan nuts. Now, the
meal may consist of other foods, particularly if the family is of non-European
descent. The Thanksgiving weekend is also a popular
time to take a short autumn vacation. This may be the last chance in a while for
some people to use cottages or holiday homes before winter sets in. Other
popular activities include outdoor breaks to admire the spectacular colors of
the Canadian autumn, hiking, and fishing. Fans of the teams in the Canadian
Football League may spend part of the weekend watching the Thanksgiving Day
Classic matches.
Background
The native peoples held ceremonies and festivals to celebrate the completion and
bounty of the harvest long before European explorers and settlers arrived in
what is now Canada. Early European thanksgivings were held to give thanks for
some special fortune. An early example is the ceremony the explorer Martin
Frobisher held in 1578 after he had survived the long journey in his quest to
find a northern passage from Europe to Asia. Many thanksgivings were held
following noteworthy events during the 18th century. Refugees fleeing the civil
war in the United States brought the custom of an annual thanksgiving festival
to Canada. From 1879, Thanksgiving Day was held every year but the date varied
and there was a special theme each year. The theme was the “Blessings of an
abundant harvest” for many years. However, Queen Victoria’s golden and diamond
jubilees and King Edward VII’s coronation formed the theme in later years.
From the end of the First World War until 1930, both Armistice Day and
Thanksgiving Day were celebrated on the Monday closest to November 11, the
anniversary of the official end of hostilities in World War I. In 1931,
Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving Day was moved to a
Monday in October. Since 1957, Thanksgiving Day has always been held on the
second Monday in October.
Israel is answering your debauchery,
bragging and macho posturing
Elias Bejjani/October 11/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/148125/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXKbS6-ruv0
Nabih Berri’s weeping and lamentations;
Hezbollah’s and Jumblatt’s hollow condemnations; the demagogic narratives from
the brigade of advisers in the presidential Baabda Palace; and the
opportunistic, vomitous rhetoric of the merchants and liars who call themselves
the “resistance” and “liberation” — the cowards, charlatans and political flock
who preach anti-Israel hatred — have done nothing to slow or stop Israel’s
self-defense.
Wake up. Stop calling for drowning Israel in the sea, killing Jews, praying in
Jerusalem, or erecting a mullah-run republic in Lebanon. Your reckless,
preaching rhetoric will not save you — it will bury you. Accept the consequences
of your words and deeds, or be consumed by them.
Pack up your tin weapons, hand them over to the state, make peace with the State
of Israel, and apologize to the Lebanese people for your crimes, your
obscenities and your terrorism.
He Who Rolls a Stone Will Have It Roll Back on Him
Elias Bejjani/October 10/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/10/148087/
To my friends and my enemies alike, to those near and far, I say this with love:
Life offers only two paths — good and evil — each carrying profound spiritual,
human, and practical meanings. Every one of us must choose one of these two
roads and bear full responsibility for that choice, remembering with complete
awareness that no one, no matter how hard they try, can escape the consequences
of their deeds, whether good or evil. For the justice of God never fails.
If you are a righteous and wise person, who fears God in word and deed, and
believes in the Day of Judgment, then understand that evil brings nothing but
destruction to its doer. True wisdom lies in self-control and in avoiding harm,
cruelty, and injustice. For every word you speak and every act you commit will,
sooner or later, return upon you.
But if your heart has grown hard, your vision dimmed, your sense of shame
extinguished, your ears closed, and your conscience silenced — then remember
this: the pain and harm you sow in the lives of others will one day take root in
your own. Divine justice may seem delayed, but it never disappears.
The Holy Bible affirms this timeless truth in the Book of Proverbs (26:27):
“Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; and he who rolls a stone, it will roll
back on him.”
And our Lebanese folk wisdom echoes it beautifully:
“Surely, you will drink from the same cup you made others drink from.”
How many arrogant, foolish, short-sighted, and vindictive people ignore this
obvious truth! They conspire, plan evil, and rejoice in the suffering of others,
imagining that cruelty grants them power or prestige — yet, in the end, they
reap only ruin, emptiness, and the decay of their souls.
We all encounter such people in our daily lives — those who make harm their goal
and hatred their tool, who wound those closest to them, whether family or
friends. They have lost the grace of conscience and replaced compassion with
resentment, and love with envy.
Let us pray that God may grant those who walk the paths of malice, slander,
hatred, and blind envy the grace of repentance, humility, and awareness before
it is too late. May they realize that whoever digs a pit for others will fall
into it, whoever rolls a stone to harm another will have it roll back upon
himself, and whoever serves others from a bitter cup will one day be forced to
drink from it too.
As for those who do not fear God in their words, actions, and thoughts, let them
know that their end will be in the flames of Hell that never die, amid the worms
that never rest, and the torment that never ends.
Remember always: life is a divine scale of justice that never tilts.
What you sow today, you will reap tomorrow.
What you use to hurt others will return upon you many times over.
And the stone you roll against another will, one day, roll back upon you.
Aoun's Message: "Stubbornness May Lead to Catastrophic
Results"
Nidaa Al-Watan/October 13, 2025 (Translated from
Arabic)
Who would have expected that the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, which the
"Hamas" movement dragged Gaza into, and which "Hezbollah" followed with a war of
"support and engagement" and dragged "Lebanon" into, would end with a "Peace
Flood" whose harbingers are visible today from Sharm El-Sheikh? Had this path
not been imminent, US President Donald Trump would not have come to the region.
Where does Lebanon stand amidst all these developments? And it is not a mere
detail that the summit is named the "Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit."
Lebanon, following the advanced position of the President of the Republic,
General Joseph Aoun, after the raids on Al-Msayleh, is now in a state of
"conflict disengagement" with the region's developments. In this context, "Nidaa
Al-Watan" learned that the security file jumped to the forefront after the
Al-Msayleh raids, and official Lebanon intensified its contacts. In this
framework, a prominent position by the President of the Republic emerged, where
he continues his stance calling for the monopolization of arms and demanding
that those who entered the "war of support" for Gaza see what those they
supported have done, take the same stance, and advance one step towards
supporting the state and legitimacy, which alone provides protection, and begin
cooperating to confine arms. This position is thus considered an explicit call
from President Aoun to "Hezbollah" to refrain from involving Lebanon in the
region's problems and to immediately start confining arms, because stubbornness
may lead to catastrophic results.
Complaint to the UN Security Council
Lebanon also made diplomatic moves at the highest levels. Prime Minister Nawaf
Salam contacted Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji and asked him to submit an urgent
complaint to the Security Council regarding the recent Israeli aggression that
targeted civilian and commercial installations in Al-Msayleh, which constitutes
a blatant violation of Resolution 1701 and the arrangements for the cessation of
hostilities issued last November. Minister Rajji instructed Lebanon's Permanent
Representative to the United Nations in New York to submit an urgent complaint.
Rajji also asked Lebanon's Permanent Mission in New York to publish the
complaint letter and circulate it as an official document to all member states
of the Security Council.
Hezbollah Is Stalling
Amidst all the developments in the region, where does "Hezbollah" stand? The
"Party" continues its popular displays, the latest of which was yesterday, where
it held a festival at the City Sports Hall under the title "Generations of
Al-Sayyed," commemorating Al-Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Hashim Safieddine, and
celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the "Imam Al-Mahdi
Scouts Association." Notably, Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem,
considered in his speech that "Resistance is an educational, moral, cultural,
Jihadi, and political choice," without mentioning that "Resistance is a military
choice."
Aside from the content, observers noted the following observations:
In the City Sports Hall, alongside the Lebanese flag, flags of Palestine, Iran,
and Yemen were raised.
The participants from the "Al-Mahdi Scouts" were children under the legal age,
which means that the "Party is exploiting" minors with "revolutionary" chants
and slogans that are closest to "brainwashing" operations. This prompted
observers to question the "Party's" intention in exploiting children. Observers
also noted "Hezbollah's" method of inflating numbers by exaggerating figures, as
they spoke of over 74,475 participants, while the seating capacity of the City
Sports Hall is said to be much less than these numbers.
Washington Atmosphere: Don't Miss the Opportunities
Amidst this atmosphere, and according to information from the American capital,
US diplomats warned against missing opportunities to exploit peace and
de-escalation. Sources close to the US State Department indicated that
"Hezbollah" is still seeking to exploit the state of instability in Lebanon.
They said that the end of the Gaza war should be like an "awakening," and that
Lebanon must benefit from Donald Trump's tenacious personality and his will to
impose a peace agreement and be prepared for it. Trump, according to White House
sources, will not leave the Lebanon file open. Rather, he will work through the
new US Ambassador, Michel Issa, to prepare the Lebanese ground for an agreement
similar to Gaza's.
Geagea: No one is willing to help a state that does not monopolize the decision
of war and peace
In terms of political stances, the head of the "Lebanese Forces" party, Samir
Geagea, said, "No one is willing to help a state that does not monopolize the
decision of war and peace, nor arms, nor take responsibility for security and
foreign policy. What is required of some, instead of shedding crocodile tears
daily, is to hand over their weapons to the state today, not tomorrow, to enable
it to carry out its duty to stop these aggressions and permanently remove Israel
from South Lebanon." He added in a statement: "Whenever the Lebanese are
subjected to Israeli attacks that shed blood, cause dead and wounded, and
inflict massive material losses on the country, verbal duels and a race take
place among what is called the 'Axis of Resistance' group to condemn the
attacks, to the end of the tune we have heard from the 'setback' until today, as
if we are at a Zajal (poetry) party where the 'poets' compete to raise their
voices the most, while the Lebanese continue to die, be displaced, face
destruction, and have their lives disrupted." He continued: "He who calls on the
state in its current situation and under the current equation to play its role
is distorting reality, just as he has done for 35 years until today; the state
will not be able to benefit from its Arab and Western friendships until it
becomes an actual state capable of monopolizing the decision."
Intense Israeli Airstrikes Hit Msayleh
This is Beirut/October 12/2025
At around 3:45 AM, Israeli warplanes carried out twelve air raids targeting the
area surrounding the Msayleh–Najariya highway and the adjacent valley, causing
extensive destruction and cutting off the main road. The strikes destroyed more
than 300 heavy machines, including bulldozers and excavators, among them over
100 small “Bobcat”-type vehicles. Several large industrial and construction
equipment showrooms, including those belonging to Diab, Tabbaja, Jaafar, Safawi,
and Tarhini, some of the biggest in Lebanon, were completely destroyed. Losses
are estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
The bombings also damaged the 66-kilovolt high-voltage power network and
shattered the windows of dozens of homes, shops, and businesses located several
hundred meters from the blast site.According to a statement from the Emergency
Operations Center of the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, the Israeli strike
on the Msayleh area killed one person, a Syrian national, and injured seven
others, including one Syrian and six Lebanese, two of whom were women. The Civil
Defense continued clearing rubble and reopening the Zahrani–Msayleh highway,
while search operations were still underway for two missing individuals,
believed to be employees of the damaged showrooms. The Lebanese Army Engineering
Corps also issued a statement regarding an unexploded missile found at the site,
noting: “We will wait 72 hours before moving it to a
safe location. It will not be detonated in the Msayleh area.”For its part, the
Israeli military said it had “targeted and dismantled a Hezbollah terrorist
infrastructure in southern Lebanon,” claiming that heavy machinery in the area
was being used to “rebuild terrorist infrastructure.”A car was also hit by an
Israeli drone strike on Saturday afternoon in the town of Qlaileh, in the Bint
Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, killing one person. President Joseph Aoun
said that “once again, southern Lebanon is coming under blatant Israeli
aggression targeting civilian infrastructure, without justification or even
pretext.”“What makes this latest assault particularly alarming is that it comes
after the Gaza ceasefire agreement, and after the Palestinian side agreed to the
mechanism set out in that deal to contain and neutralize weapons. This raises
fundamental questions for us as Lebanese, and for the international community:
is there anyone seeking to make Lebanon a substitute for Gaza, in order to
sustain a political livelihood built on fire and blood?” he added. He continued:
“Since Lebanon was dragged into the Gaza war under the slogan of supporting
those who launched it, isn’t it both logical and rightful now to support Lebanon
by applying the Gaza truce model, especially since all parties have expressed
their backing for it?”The president concluded that “our responsibility toward
all the people of Lebanon and every part of its territory compels us to raise
these challenges, not merely to offer the necessary condemnation of a blatant
act of aggression.”
Aoun condemns 'heinous Israeli aggression' that came after 'agreement in Gaza'
Agence France Presse/October 12/2025
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Israel on Saturday for carrying out
overnight strikes on civilian facilities that the health ministry said killed at
least one person.
"Once again, southern Lebanon has been the target of a heinous Israeli
aggression against civilian installations -- without justification or pretext,"
Aoun said. "The seriousness of this latest attack lies in the fact that it comes
after the ceasefire agreement in Gaza."
The health ministry said an Israeli strike on the Al-Msayleh area left one
person dead and seven others wounded. Lebanon's official National News Agency
said Israeli warplanes conducted 10 raids targeting bulldozer and excavator
yards. The Israeli army confirmed it conducted strikes in Lebanon. In a
statement, it said it had "struck and dismantled Hezbollah terrorist
infrastructure in the area of southern Lebanon, where engineering machinery used
to re-establish terrorist infrastructure in the area" was located.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite a November ceasefire, which
followed more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group
that culminated in two months of open war.
UN force in Lebanon says peacekeeper wounded by Israeli
grenade
AFP/October 12, 2025
BEIRUT: The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said Sunday that one
of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in
the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month. The
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been working with the
Lebanese army to support a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a
year of hostilities between Israel and militant group Hezbollah that culminated
in two months of open war. “Just before noon yesterday, an Israeli drone dropped
a grenade that exploded near a UNIFIL position” in Kfar Kela, the force said in
a statement published on Sunday. “One peacekeeper was lightly injured and
received medical assistance.” Earlier this month, UNIFIL said Israeli drones had
dropped multiple grenades near peacekeepers providing security for workers
clearing rubble left over from the war. And in a similar episode in September,
UNIFIL said Israeli drones had dropped four grenades near peacekeepers, with
Israel insisting at the time that there had been “no intentional fire” directed
at the force. UNIFIL said Saturday’s incident represented “another serious
violation of resolution 1701 and concerning disregard for the safety of
peacekeepers.” UN Security Council Resolution 1701 ended a 2006 conflict between
Israel and Hezbollah and formed the basis of the November ceasefire.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah and Israel were both required
to withdraw from south Lebanon, while UNIFIL deployed there alongside the
Lebanese military, in part to help dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure. Israel
has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon on what it says are Hezbollah targets
despite the truce, and has maintained its troops in five locations it deems
strategic. “We again call on the (Israeli army) to cease attacks on or near
peacekeepers, who are working to rebuild the stability that both Israel and
Lebanon have committed to restore,” the UN peacekeeping force said. UNIFIL has
been deployed since 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon, and numbers some 10,000
personnel from almost 50 countries. In August, the Security Council voted to end
UNIFIL’s mission in 2027.
Lebanon urges UN to act after Israeli strike on Msayleh
LBCI/October 12/2025
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he contacted Foreign Minister Youssef
Rajji on Sunday, urging him to file an urgent complaint with the United Nations
Security Council over the recent Israeli attack that targeted civilian and
commercial facilities in Msayleh.
Salam described the strike as a “blatant violation” of U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1701.
Lebanon’s President offers condolences to Qatar’s PM over diplomats killed in
car accident
LBCI/October 12/2025
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun offered his condolences to Qatar’s Prime
Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani over the death of three Qatari
diplomats in a car accident early Sunday while they were on their way to Sharm
el-Sheikh to attend Monday’s summit. President Aoun expressed his sorrow over
the tragic loss and wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the accident.
PM Salam offers condolences to Qatar over death of
diplomats in car accident
LBCI/October 12/2025
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, to offer condolences to him, the families of
the victims, and the Qatari people over the fatal car accident. The accident
claimed the lives of Qatari diplomats who were on their way to attend the Sharm
el-Sheikh summit.
Lebanon’s FM directs urgent UN complaint against Israel
LBCI/October 12/2025
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji has instructed the country’s permanent
representative to the United Nations in New York to file an urgent complaint
with the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. Secretary-General. The complaint
concerns Israeli airstrikes targeting a series of exhibitions featuring
bulldozers and excavators in Msayleh. The strikes killed and injured several
civilians and caused significant damage to the commercial facilities targeted.
Rajji requested that Lebanon’s permanent mission in New York circulate the
complaint as an official document to all U.N. Security Council member states.
Syrian detainees in Lebanon: Legal hurdles shape possible
returns
LBCI/October 12/2025
Since Syria requested the repatriation of Syrian detainees held in Lebanese
prisons, questions have arisen about Lebanon’s position on the issue and which
individuals are affected. Last week, the Syrian foreign minister visited
Lebanon, with this issue a central topic. Next week, the Syrian justice minister
is scheduled to visit Beirut, and it remains one of the main files on the
agenda. According to the information at hand, the Syrian request is limited to
Syrian prisoners. Lebanon’s response has been clear: legal frameworks must be
respected. According to available information, if Syrians were previously
detained solely for belonging to groups considered illegal or terrorist at the
time, but are no longer classified as such, the judiciary can review their
cases, with the final decision resting with the courts.
Failure to Disarm Hezbollah Blocks Reconstruction Efforts
Bassam Abou Zeid/This Is Beirut/October 12/2025
Israeli airstrikes targeting bulldozers and excavators in Msayleh, southern
Lebanon, on Saturday were not an isolated incident. Similar attacks occurred
earlier, on September 3, in the Ansariyeh region. Heavy machinery, including
excavators and bulldozers, has been repeatedly struck in several towns and
villages along—and even beyond—the border. On September 29, for instance, an
excavator was hit in Sohmor, western Beqaa, far from the Lebanese-Israeli
frontier, killing its operator. It has become increasingly clear that Israel
will not allow the reconstruction of any building previously used by Hezbollah
for military purposes. Most of these structures are residential properties owned
by Hezbollah members or their relatives. According to security sources, the main
targets are villages and towns adjacent to the border, though some strikes have
reached deeper into Lebanese territory, including the Beqaa Valley. The same
sources indicate that Israeli forces continue to monitor previously hit sites.
Any movement toward—or within—the vicinity of these locations remains a
potential target. There is no assurance that the attacks will cease unless the
Lebanese state establishes exclusive control over all weapons and dismantles
Hezbollah’s military and security infrastructure. Informed sources revealed that
Israel has repeatedly conveyed—both publicly and through diplomatic
channels—that such strikes will continue. Reconstruction of any structure
previously used by Hezbollah as military infrastructure is prohibited unless the
state alone controls arms. Efforts by European countries and the United Nations
to halt these attacks have so far proven unsuccessful. Meanwhile, official
Lebanese sources maintain that diplomacy is the only viable path to halt the
strikes and launch reconstruction. Yet, progress on both fronts depends on the
implementation of disarmament. These sources stress that Hezbollah must
acknowledge this reality to spare the Lebanese population further casualties and
destruction and to enable the flow of international funding necessary for
rebuilding.
'Northern Shield:' Deep Beneath the Border, a Hunt for the Tunnels of Death
Natasha Metni Torbey/This Is Beirut/October 12/2025
A siren pierces the cold southern Lebanese night. Peacekeepers cross the Blue
Line, weapons and detectors in hand. Beneath their feet, invisible and silent,
tunnels snake for hundreds of meters, potential routes for stealth incursions or
kidnappings. It’s December 2018. Israel is about to launch Operation “Northern
Shield,” a systematic hunt for Hezbollah’s underground passages, which, even
today, have not been fully dismantled. In 2025, these
tunnels still worry Tel Aviv, as tensions remain high along the Lebanese-Israeli
border, exacerbated by the open war launched by Hezbollah after the attack of
October 7, 2023. Long viewed as conduits for infiltration and surprise assaults,
these underground networks remain a prime target for the Israeli army. To grasp
their scale and sophistication, This is Beirut revisits the 2018 operation and
gathers the testimony of a former commander with the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
A December Night
On December 4, 2018, UNIFIL’s liaison team was urgently called up. Dispatched
across the border, they were informed that Israel had discovered cross-border
tunnels attributed to Hezbollah, tunnels that defied geology itself, carved
through carbonates and dolomites that should have made such work impossible. “At
dawn, we crossed the Blue Line to reach Rosh Hanikra, on the Israeli side,”
recalls a former UN officer interviewed by This Is Beirut. “Dozens of soldiers
stood ready, tense and silent. An Israeli engineer told us that a large-scale
destruction operation was about to begin.”Code-named “Northern Shield,” the
operation lasted six weeks. Israel mobilized massive resources: engineering
units, drilling machines, acoustic and seismic sensors and ground troops to
secure the sites. Every village, every hill, every square meter was under close
surveillance. The objective: to locate and neutralize the tunnels crossing the
Blue Line from southern Lebanon before they could be used for attacks inside
Israel. After six weeks, despite extreme tension and constant underlying danger,
Operation Northern Shield ended on the Israeli side without a single shot fired.
By that time, five cross-border tunnels, located several kilometers apart, had
been detected and destroyed. Six months later, a vast underground network was
also uncovered, revealing the true scale of these clandestine infrastructures.
Tunnels as Instruments of War
“These tunnels were astonishingly complex,” recalls the commander. “Some
stretched for hundreds of meters, equipped with ventilation, electricity and
stairs, sometimes passing under inhabited or agricultural zones. All were
located in strategic areas.”
His explanations, combined with in-depth studies conducted by various experts on
the subject, have brought to light the following findings. In Kfar Kila, the
discovery shocked many soldiers. Three tunnels had been dug beneath a tectonic
block along the fault line. The largest extended nearly 200 meters, reaching 37
meters inside Israeli territory. Its entrance, hidden within a Lebanese
industrial structure, passed under a UNIFIL post and continued beneath Israeli
farmland. In order to neutralize it, Israeli engineers used a silent weapon: a
thick mixture of bentonite injected from their side of the border, sealing the
tunnel forever – a serpent of earth stopped mid-slither. From Kfar Kila, Israeli
engineers and special units moved westward. There, from the Lebanese village of
Ramya toward Zar’it in Upper Galilee, a network of tunnels obviously targeted
Israeli surveillance infrastructure. Further east, a massive tunnel discovered
on June 3, 2019, after six months of painstaking investigation, emerged on a
wooded slope stretching nearly one kilometer down to the Trans-Galilee Highway.
The Zar’it Mega-Tunnel
Carved through alternating layers of hard and semi-hard limestone, the tunnel
descended 80 meters deep, cutting through karst cavities filled with rock and
soil to mask debris. To avoid detection, workers advanced barely one or two
meters a day, likely since 2014, using a single manual drilling machine. No
ventilation shafts were found, which is proof of sophisticated concealment. Its
walls, partially reinforced with cement, contained wiring for electricity,
ventilation and communication, as well as a rail to transport materials. The
entrance, hidden in a sloped civilian building, allowed quick access by
staircase, perfect for the swift passage of fighters.
On the Israeli Side
As Israeli teams advanced, they discovered zigzagging corridors with cemented
stairs at 45 degrees, while on the Lebanese side, the 750-meter passage inclined
gently. Eight meters below the surface, a two-level chamber with some kind of
balcony appeared, perhaps designed to blast open an exit. As for the Israeli
end, it remained invisible, buried 5 to 10 meters deep, another mark of
precision concealment. The digging even appeared to favor an upward slope,
making it easier to remove debris either by rail or manually.These tunnels were
clearly built as hidden arteries — covert corridors to launch guerrilla
incursions, seize key northern Israeli positions and create chaos before a
counterattack.
A Strategic Vision Underground
In the east near Kfar Kila, the tunnels could have enabled lightning strikes
along Highway 90, the siege of Metula or even threats toward Kiryat Shmona, just
three kilometers away — enough to create confusion and delay Israel’s response.
In central Galilee, they offered hidden mobility to capture night
surveillance posts perched on hilltops. In the west, near Zar’it, the tunnels
opened toward watchtowers and the main Upper Galilee road, potentially creating
a corridor to the coastal plain. The vision that
emerges is that of a grand, audacious plan, designed to turn the underground
into a strategic battlefield and the silence of stone into a weapon for sudden,
disorienting offensives. For Israel, neutralizing these structures was therefore
crucial. The operation proved that Hezbollah could pour immense resources into
underground warfare, but also that Israel had the tactical and geotechnical
capabilities to counter it. The experience has since become a model for
confronting cross-border and subterranean threats. Still, the danger has not
vanished: sporadic infiltration attempts and reconstruction efforts by Hezbollah
remain possible—a reminder that the war beneath the surface is far from over.
Geagea urges Hezbollah to cede arms instead of criticizing state
Naharnet/October 12/2025
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Sunday called on Hezbollah to hand over
its arms to the Lebanese state instead of criticizing it over Israel's attacks
and the stalled reconstruction efforts. "The state won't manage to benefit from
its Arab and Western friendships before becoming an actual state that is capable
of monopolizing decisions," Geagea said in a statement. "No one is willing to
help a state that does not monopolize the decisions of war and peace or arms and
that is not in charge of security and foreign policy," Geagea added. "Instead of
shedding crocodile tears, some must immediately hand over their weapons to the
state to enable it to perform its duty in halting these attacks and removing
Israel permanently from south Lebanon," Geagea went on to say.
October 13: The Soldiers Stood Firm, and the Commander
Failed Them
Jean Al-Faghali/Nidaa Al-Watan/October 13/2025 (Translated from Arabic)
The officers and soldiers on the fronts of Dahr al-Wahsh, Dhour El Choueir, and
Bsous did not have a "transistor radio" to listen to the "statement of
surrender" that General Michel Aoun had recorded in his own voice, over the
phone, for Radio Lebanon in Fanar. General Aoun had already arrived at the
French Embassy in Mar Takla in Hazmieh. He called Professor Rafic Challala at
the radio station from the phone of the French Ambassador, René Alá, and told
him he wanted to record a statement to be broadcast to the servicemen. Professor
Rafic completed the task and broadcast the statement in which General Aoun
requested the servicemen to take orders from General Émile Lahoud.
General Aoun surrendered, but his officers and soldiers did not know of his
surrender, so they continued fighting until the last bullet. Some were martyred,
some were executed, and some were captured by the Syrian army. They believed
that General Aoun was managing the operations, while the truth was that he had
moved to the French Embassy by armored personnel carrier. A former head of
security services, who played a pivotal role from that period until 2005 and is
still alive and active in politics, recounts that General Aoun took a large sum
of money, in US dollars, millions, with him to the embassy.
The Syrian leadership had set a date for Aoun's envoy, Pierre Raffoul, on
October 13, the day General Aoun fell. It was Elie Hobeika who secured the
appointment for Raffoul from the Syrian leadership and informed him of it. This
was not the first time Raffoul had met with the Syrians at General Aoun's
request. This is one of the irrefutable facts about October 13, 1990, and there
is no benefit in falsifying facts and misleading people, as the truth is held by
two: those who were martyred and those who were in the field and survived. The
second truth is that it is absolutely incorrect that anyone other than the
Syrian forces bombed the Baabda Palace. This is documented in the operations
room of the Lebanese Army Command at the time, and the officers who were at the
command headquarters know its records, and some of them are still alive. There
are documented testimonies from officials who were axis and front commanders,
and they were given strict orders not to fire a single shot starting at 6:00 AM,
an hour before the Syrian attack began.
The third truth, and perhaps it should be the first in order, is that General
Michel Aoun was never an adversary or enemy of Syria. The Syrian leadership had
a hand in appointing him Army Commander, succeeding General Ibrahim Tannous in
1984, and from the moment of his appointment, he "had his eye" on the
presidency. His correspondence with the Syrian leadership was conducted through
former ministers and MPs Albert Mansour and Mohsen Dalloul, and Professor Fayez
Kazzi. When he despaired of Syria accepting him as President of the Republic, he
announced the "War of Liberation." He did not inform even his closest associates
of the declaration of war. Practically, it was not a "War of Liberation," in the
military sense, as much as it was artillery shelling that ended in an attempt to
breach the Souk El Gharb front. However, a hero of the Lebanese Army, the late
Brigadier General Selim Klass, was the one who saved the front and prevented the
fall of the main defense line for the Baabda Palace.
The failure of the "War of Liberation" paved the way for the Taif Agreement, and
this is the greatest truth: "Had it not been for the War of Liberation, there
would have been no Taif." The urgent truth is that the Army Command must reclaim
the memory of October 13 from its usurpers, to stop the exploitation of it and
"gathering popular support on its back." What does the Free Patriotic Movement
have to do with the anniversary of October 13? On October 13, General Michel
Aoun's gamble that he would become President of the Republic by force failed. He
used the Lebanese Army to remain in the Baabda Palace, not to liberate. If he
truly wanted liberation, why did he wait from September 23, 1988, the date of
his entry into the palace, until March 14, 1989, to begin the liberation? Why
did he wait six months? And after the battle of Souk El Gharb in August 1989,
why did he accept a ceasefire, after he had destroyed the army?
Perhaps General Aoun should have said then: "If only I had known!"
But to this day, he has not learned his lesson.
Aounists and the Axis of Resistance: Psychology of a
Friendship
Hisham Bou Nassif/Nidaa Al-Watan/October 13/2025 (Translated from Arabic)
In recent days, reactions have converged on three fundamental wars in the
history of our country and the region: the battles of October 13, 1990, in
Lebanon; the October 7, 2023, Gaza incursion (ghazwa) by Hamas; and the war of
support that began in South Lebanon the day after the Gaza incursion. These
battles were not an inescapable fate. They all resulted from decisions by
leaders known by name: October 13 came at the end of a sequence launched by
Michel Aoun, then-head of the transitional government in Lebanon, who fought the
War of Liberation against Hafez al-Assad, promising to "break his head," just
months before the last stronghold of free Lebanon fell into the grip of the
Syrian occupation. The Gaza incursion was planned by Yahya Sinwar. And the war
of support, which Hassan Nasrallah said began on October 8, was launched by the
late leader of "Hezbollah," by his own admission. We know today that the
consequences of these decisions were catastrophic for the societies in whose
name the battles were fought in Lebanon and Palestine. The War of Liberation,
the Gaza incursion, and the war of support are patent defeats. Yet, we also know
that the three leaders behind these battles are icons for their followers, from
the Aounist bases infatuated with "the General," to the bases of "Hamas" and
"Hezbollah." Although the alignment of Lebanese Christians with a single axis
alongside Shia Khomeinist fundamentalists and Sunni fundamentalists in Gaza who
emerged from the Muslim Brotherhood is not easily understood, there is one clear
issue that unites the three bases: a pure loyalty to leaders who remain beloved
even when defeated. This issue raises central questions worth pausing for: Why
do the defeated celebrate their defeat? And how do leaders who take their
societies to the furnace become symbols for large segments of those societies?
What is wrong here?
I will start by saying that infatuation with leaders, no matter what they do, is
not necessarily an unavoidable global phenomenon. A few years ago, French
President Emmanuel Macron broke through his country's political life and came to
power propelled by an overwhelming popular current that shook the traditional
Right/Left duality in France. Today, Macron is a political corpse, even though
he did not lead his country to a defeat of the type mentioned in this article.
Nor did former US President Joe Biden drag his country into a furnace; he merely
failed to solve a highly complex problem related to inflation and high prices.
The result was that enough Democratic Party voters detached themselves from him
to facilitate the transfer of power to Donald Trump. And the latter's popularity
is declining in the US according to its latest polls, especially as the problems
of inflation and high prices continue. Winston Churchill also comes to mind
here, the British Prime Minister who led his country to victory in World War II,
but then lost the first subsequent election to an obscure Labour leader, because
the British public was fed up with living conditions. Whether we talk about the
supporters of Macron, Biden, Trump, or Churchill, their contract with their
leaders seems conditional, and therefore, open to reconsideration, at least for
significant segments of them. In contrast, the worship of Aoun, Sinwar, and
Nasrallah is a different matter.
How can this be explained? Can one argue that societies in which religious faith
plays a major role in shaping their consciousness are inherently predisposed to
the extraordinary and the metaphysical, and are thus easily led to believe in
political saviors, just as they believe on a religious level in esoteric
doctrines that are necessarily free from the need for reason and logic? Is
there, in other words, a transfer of blindly following a religious savior to
blindly following a temporal savior—a leader who is beyond criticism no matter
what happens? If this assumption holds true, it means that the formation of a
broad secular bloc in societies is a prerequisite for the possibility of modern
political life emerging in them.
Is the issue, on the other hand, that defeated societies search for a savior to
miraculously pluck them out of their defeat? The history of the region's
Christians, Shiites, and Palestinians is tragic. Perhaps intense faith in a
leader who rebels against the status quo of frustration and defeat is the flip
side of a collective longing that rejects an unbearable reality.
Or is the issue one of an educational system based on rote learning and
memorization, not on critical thinking, which produces generations of educated
degree-holders who are nonetheless uncultured and therefore incapable of
deconstructing political propaganda once it controls their consciousness? Or is
the issue one of unfree media, where a small army of professionals works to
flatten consciousness and mythologize leaders? Or does the loss of societies'
most vital elements due to emigration condemn them to stagnation?
I am posing questions, not giving answers, because I do not have them. All these
factors may be at the heart of the matter, or the answer may lie elsewhere
entirely. What is certain, however, is that the relationship with ruling elites
is supposed to be conditional, and loyalty is open to reconsideration, depending
on the results. Elites who are assured of their bases' loyalty, no matter what
they do, lead them to disasters that remain real, even if accompanied by much
cheering, mass hysteria, and shouts of support.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October
12-13/2025
Trump Announces End of 'Gaza War' and Predicts Ceasefire Will Hold
Says a 'Peace Council' will be quickly formed for Gaza
Washington: "Asharq Al-Awsat"/October 12/2025
US President Donald Trump announced the end of the Gaza war, indicating that
"things will go well in Gaza."
Speaking before departing for Israel and Egypt on a highly significant trip, the
US President said: "We have many verbal guarantees regarding Gaza, and the
hostages may be released a little early." Trump added: "I believe the ceasefire
between Hamas and Israel will hold, and a peace council for Gaza will be quickly
formed," noting that Gaza "looks like a demolition site." The US President
headed to Israel and Egypt on Sunday for a trip he described as "very special,"
as part of efforts to end the war in Gaza. The presidential plane took off from
Andrews Air Force Base near Washington in rainy weather. The White House said
Trump is accompanied on his trip by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of
Defense Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Netanyahu Warns of 'Enemies' Planning to Attack
Israel Again..Says the Hebrew state achieved
"tremendous victories" but "the battle is not over yet"
Tel Aviv: "Asharq Al-Awsat"/October 12/2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted on Sunday that his country
had achieved "tremendous victories" in its war against the Hamas movement in the
Gaza Strip, stressing that "the battle is not over yet," according to the Agence
France-Presse (AFP). Speaking in a speech on the eve of the expected return of
hostages held in the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said:
"Together we have achieved tremendous victories that astonished the entire
world. And I want to tell you: everywhere we fought, we achieved victory, but at
the same time, I tell you that the battle is not over."
He added: "We still face very great security challenges. Some of our enemies are
trying to recover to strike us again. But we... will take care of them," without
providing further details. Netanyahu announced that Israel is ready to receive
all the hostages held in Gaza, where the Hebrew state and Hamas will begin
implementing an exchange operation on Monday, involving hostages and Palestinian
prisoners under the ceasefire agreement. He said in a statement released by his
office: "Israel is prepared and ready to receive all the hostages immediately."
Araghchi: We will not participate in the Sharm
El-Sheikh summit and will not communicate with those who attacked our people
Tehran: "Asharq Al-Awsat"/October 12/2025
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that his country is
grateful for the invitation extended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
to his Iranian counterpart to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh meeting, but no Iranian
official will attend the meeting. Araghchi added in a post on the X platform:
"Neither President Pezeshkian nor I can communicate with those who attacked our
people and continue to threaten us and impose sanctions on us." He continued:
"We welcome any initiative that ends the Israeli genocide in Gaza and guarantees
the expulsion of the occupation forces... Palestinians have the full right to
guarantee their right to self-determination and all states are obliged to help
them." Araghchi emphasized that Iran does not seek endless wars like Israel.
Yesterday, the Egyptian Presidency announced that an international summit
titled "Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit" would be held on Monday afternoon,
co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Donald
Trump, with the participation of leaders and ministers from more than twenty
countries. The Presidency added in a statement that the summit aims to end the
war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to establish peace in the Middle East
region, and open a new page of regional security and stability.
Trump, El-Sisi to chair Gaza peace summit on Monday:
Egypt
AFP/October 12, 2025
CAIRO: US President Donald Trump and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will
chair the Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian presidency said on
Saturday. The meeting will take place on Monday
afternoon “with the participation of leaders from more than twenty countries,”
it said. It will aim “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to
achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of
regional security and stability.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he
will attend, as will Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his Italian
counterpart Giorgia Meloni and Pedro Sanchez of Spain. French President Emmanuel
Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also confirmed his attendance. There
was no immediate word about whether Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
would be in Sharm el-Sheikh, while Hamas has said it will not take part. Hossam
Badran, a Hamas political bureau member, told AFP in an interview that the
Palestinian militant group “will not be involved.”Hamas “acted principally
through... Qatari and Egyptian mediators” during previous talks on Gaza, he
said. The first phase of the plan is set to begin with the release of hostages
and Palestinian prisoners by Monday, marking what Britain called a “historic
turning point” after two years of war. Starmer would pay tribute to the role of
Trump and the diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye in brokering the
deal, his office said. He is expected to call for continued international
coordination to implement the next phase, which includes deploying a ceasefire
monitoring mission and establishing transitional governance in Gaza.
Starmer will reiterate Britain’s “steadfast support” to help secure the
ceasefire and deliver humanitarian aid.
Countdown to hostage release as Trump to host Gaza peace
summit
AFP/October 12, 2025
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas will release its remaining hostages on
Monday and will play no role in Gaza’s future government, the group told AFP, as
US President Donald Trump and other world leaders prepared to convene in Egypt
for a major peace summit. Trump will first pass through Israel, addressing
parliament and meeting with hostage families Monday before heading to Egypt’s
Sharm El-Sheikh for the summit, where a “document ending the war in the Gaza
Strip” is expected to be signed, according to Cairo’s foreign ministry. As
anxious but relieved Israeli families counted down the hours until their loved
ones’ return, desperate Palestinians picked through the ruins of their homes in
Gaza City and aid trucks queued to deliver badly needed supplies. The third day
of the ceasefire saw some aid trucks cross into Gaza, but residents in Khan
Yunis, in the south of the Strip, said some shipments were being ransacked by
starving residents in chaotic scenes. “We don’t want to live in a jungle. We
demand aid be secured and respectfully distributed,” said Mohammed Zarab. “Look
at how the food is lying on the ground. Look! People and cars are trampling
it.”For Mahmud Al-Muzain, another bystander, the seizure of the aid parcels
showed that Gaza did not trust that the US-led negotiations would lead to a
long-term peace. “Everyone fears the war will return. People steal the aid and
store it in their homes,” he told AFP. “We stockpile food out of fear and worry
that the war will come back.”
“Nothing looked the same”
Any optimism that 38-year-old Fatima Salem might have felt when Israeli forces
withdrew from her neighborhood in Gaza City was shattered when she returned home
to find it gone. “I returned to Sheikh Radwan with my
heart trembling,” she told AFP. “My eyes kept searching for landmarks I had lost
— nothing looked the same, even the neighbors’ houses were gone. “Despite the
exhaustion and fear, I felt like I was coming back to my safe place. I missed
the smell of my home, even if it’s now just rubble. We will pitch a tent next to
it and wait for reconstruction.”Israelis were looking forward keenly to Monday,
when Hamas is expected to release its remaining 48 hostages, living and dead.
Late Saturday, massive crowds gathered in Tel Aviv to support hostage
families and cheer Trump’s peace envoy, Steve Witkoff.Thousands packed “Hostage
Square” — the scene of many protests and vigils during the two years since
Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attacks triggered the latest war —
chanting “Thank you Trump!.”“My emotions are immense, there are no words to
describe them — for me, for us, for all of Israel, which wants the hostages home
and waits to see them all return,” said Einav Zangauker, mother of 25-year-old
hostage Matan Zangauker.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that
Israel was “prepared and ready for the immediate reception of all our
hostages.”Militants seized 251 hostages during the October 7 attack on Israel,
which led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians.
Prisoner deal
Hamas will free the captives, 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive, in
exchange for nearly 2,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails. “According to the
signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning,”
Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP in an interview. After Trump’s visit to
Israel on Monday, he and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will chair a
summit of leaders from more than 20 countries in the Red Sea resort town of
Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian presidency announced. The meeting will aim “to end
the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the
Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security,” it said. UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he will attend, as has Britain’s
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his counterparts from Italy and Spain, Giorgia
Meloni and Pedro Sanchez, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Hamas and Israel
are not expected to take part. Despite the apparent
breakthrough, mediators still have the tricky task of securing a longer-term
political solution that will see Hamas hand over its weapons and step aside from
running Gaza. A Hamas source close to the group’s negotiating committee told AFP
on Sunday that it would not participate in post-war Gaza governance. “Hamas will
not participate at all in the transitional phase, which means it has
relinquished control of the Strip, but it remains a fundamental part of the
Palestinian fabric,” the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive
matters. But the official pushed back on calls for Hamas to lay down its
weapons. “Hamas agrees to a long-term truce, and for its weapons not to be used
at all during this period, except in the event of an Israeli attack on Gaza,”
the source said. Under the Trump plan, as Israel conducts a phased withdrawal
from Gaza’s cities, it will be replaced by a multi-national force from Egypt,
Qatar, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates, coordinated by a US-led command
center in Israel. Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,682 people,
according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United
Nations considers credible. The data does not distinguish between civilians and
combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.
Israeli forces raid houses of Palestinian prisoners ahead
of release in Gaza deal
Updated 14 sec ago
Arab News/October 12, 2025
LONDON: Israeli forces conducted raids on several homes of Palestinian prisoners
who are expected to be released as part of the captive exchange deal between
Israel and Hamas early on Sunday. Israeli soldiers entered the homes of
prisoners due for release, tampered with their belongings, and issued threats to
family members, warning them against holding any celebrations, according to the
Wafa news agency. Homes in Nablus, the Balata and Askar Al-Jadid refugee camps,
as well as the towns of Salem to the east, Aqraba, and Zeita Jamma’in to the
south, were raided. Similar raids were conducted in Hebron and the nearby Deir
Samet, where one prisoner from the village is scheduled to be released on
Monday, the Wafa added. Nearly 1,950 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from
the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip are set to be freed on Monday in an
exchange deal for 48 Israeli captives, 20 of whom are alive. Late Thursday, the
Israeli government approved a ceasefire in Gaza proposed by US President Donald
Trump. The deal includes a prisoner and captive swap, an end to hostilities in
the Gaza Strip, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory, and
the entry of humanitarian aid.
Urgent: Chief of Staff General Eyal Zamir in a message
to IDF commanders and soldiers on the eve of the release of the abductees: On
October 7th, the IDF went out to a difficult and painful existential war and
won!
Avichay Adraee/platform/ October 12, 2025
Urgent: Chief of Staff General Eyal Zamir in a message to IDF commanders and
soldiers on the eve of the release of the abductees: On October 7th, the IDF
went out to a difficult and painful existential war and won!
The catastrophe of October 7th created a deep wound in the trust that the IDF
has built over the years with the citizens of the State of Israel. From the
heart of that collapse, a generation of fighters, male and female, arose,
turning that dark day into a turning point. The IDF went out to a difficult and
painful existential war and won!
We fought a multi-front war, with an intensity and complexity unknown to the
state since its founding. The battle was not fought only on the battlefields; we
fought it on the home front as well, we created an unprecedented civilian
resilience, we suffered and rose again and again, without stopping, for the
security of the State of Israel - and for its existence. We have re-formulated
the face of the Middle East, the security concept of the State of Israel, and
our strategy in defense and deterrence for the coming years. From the very first
moment, two fundamental goals of the war were set before our eyes: the duty to
bring the sons and daughters home, and the duty to decisively defeat Hamas. We
have created a new security reality. The IDF is now operating with complete
operational control all along the Gaza Strip. The decisive defeat of the enemy
was not only a military goal but for us it was a mandatory path to enhance the
security of Israel's citizens, and for the revival of the people and the land.
Today, as we stand on the threshold of the abductees' return to their homes, we
bow our heads before the unbearable price we have paid. Before the martyrs (the
fallen), before the wounded of body and heart, before the bereaved families, we
swear to be worthy of the resounding loss that will accompany us forever. With
the end of the current phase of fighting, we are repositioning ourselves on the
defense lines anew, in light of lessons learned from the battle, with a firm
operational grip that will not allow the return of renewed threats to our
doorsteps. We will not turn away from the painful, deep, and historic lessons
that we must draw from the failure of October 7th, and from the paths that led
to it, and from the lessons that we must take from the long days of fighting we
have gone through since then. We are ready to stand firm before the mission of
our lives, and we are strong, armed, and determined. We swear not to look away.
Palestinians find Gaza City in ruins as Hamas warns tough
talks ahead
AFP/October 12, 2025
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians
returned to a devastated Gaza City on Saturday, as Hamas warned the next stage
in US President Donald Trump’s peace plan would be more difficult than the
first. Trump’s Middle East envoy promised Israeli
hostage families their loved ones would be returned to them by Monday, and the
region’s top US general visited Gaza one day after the guns fell silent. “Your
courage has moved the world,” US peace envoy Witkoff told the families and huge
crowd in Tel Aviv. “To the hostages themselves: you are coming home,” he
declared, as Israelis chanted “Thank you Trump.” Israel and Hamas are now
expected to release hostages and prisoners, two years after the Palestinian
militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack triggered a counteroffensive that killed
more than 67,000 Palestinians. But mediators still
have to secure a longer-term political solution that will see Hamas hand in its
weapons and step aside from governing Gaza. In an interview with AFP in Qatar,
Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, warned: “The second phase
of the Trump plan, as it is clear from the points themselves, contains many
complexities and difficulties.” Hamas, he said, would not attend the formal
signing of the Gaza peace deal in Egypt, where international leaders are due to
gather Monday to discuss implementing the first phase of the ceasefire. Hamas is
resisting calls to disarm. An official from the group, speaking on condition of
anonymity, told AFP that it was “out of the question.”Hamas ally Iran also
warned it did not trust Israel to respect the ceasefire. “There is absolutely no
trust in the Zionist regime,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said, accusing
Israel of violating previous ceasefires, such as in Lebanon.
- Multinational force -
Under the Trump plan, as Israel conducts a phased withdrawal from Gaza’a cities,
it will be replaced by a multinational force from Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and the
United Arab Emirates, coordinated by a US-led command center in Israel. On
Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Admiral Brad Cooper, special envoy
Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-on-law Jared Kushner visited Gaza. Witkoff,
Kushner and Trump’s daughter Ivanka then went on to Tel Aviv to attend a
gathering with the families of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is one of about 20 hostages believed to still
be alive, said: “We will continue to shout and fight until everyone is home.”“We
finally feel hope, but we cannot and will not stop now,” added Zairo Shachar
Mohr Munder, whose uncle Abraham was abducted during the Hamas attack and his
body recovered in August. Hamas has until noon on Monday to hand over 47
remaining Israeli hostages — living and dead — from the 251 abducted two years
ago. The remains of one more hostage, held in Gaza since 2014, are also expected
to be returned. In exchange, Israel will release 250
prisoners, including some of those serving life sentences for deadly
anti-Israeli attacks, and 1,700 Gazans detained by the military since the war
broke out. The Israeli prison service said Saturday it had moved the 250
national security detainees to two prisons ahead of the handover.
‘Stood and cried’ -
According to Gaza’s civil defense agency, a rescue service operating under Hamas
authority, more than 500,000 Palestinians had returned to Gaza City by Saturday
evening. “We walked for hours, and every step was
filled with fear and anxiety for my home,” Raja Salmi, 52, told AFP. When she
reached the Al-Rimal neighborhood, she found her house utterly destroyed. “I
stood before it and cried. All those memories are now just dust,” she said.
Drone footage shot by AFP showed whole city blocks reduced to a twisted mess of
concrete and steel reinforcing wire. The walls and windows of five-story
apartment blocks had been torn off and now lay choking the roadsides as
disconsolate residents poked through the rubble. The United Nations humanitarian
office says Israel has allowed agencies to start transporting 170,000 tons of
aid into Gaza if the ceasefire holds.
- ‘Ghost town’ -
Men, women and children navigated streets filled with rubble, searching for
homes amid collapsed concrete slabs, destroyed vehicles and debris.While some
returned in vehicles, most walked, carrying belongings in bags strapped to their
shoulders.Sami Musa, 28, returned alone to check on his family’s house. “Thank
God... I found that our home is still standing,” Musa told AFP. “It felt like a
ghost town, not Gaza,” Musa said. “The smell of death still lingers in the
air.”Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,682 people, according to
the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations
considers credible. The data does not distinguish between civilians and
combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which
resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP
tally based on official Israeli figures.
Preparations begin to ramp up aid in Gaza
AP/October 12, 2025
CAIRO: Preparations were underway on Sunday for a ramp-up of aid entering the
war-battered Gaza Strip under a new ceasefire deal that many are hoping will
signal an end to the devastating 2-year-long war between Israel and Hamas. The
Israeli defense body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, said the
number of aid trucks entering the Palestinian territory was expected to increase
on Sunday to around 600 per day, as stipulated in the agreement. Egypt said it
is sending 400 aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday.
The trucks will have to be inspected by Israeli forces before being allowed in.
FASTFACT
The UN has said it has about 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine, and other
humanitarian aid ready to enter once Israel gives the green light. Associated
Press footage showed dozens of trucks crossing the Egyptian side of the Rafah
crossing. The Egyptian Red Crescent said they
carried medical supplies, tents, blankets, food, and fuel. The trucks will head
to the inspection area in the Kerem Shalom crossing for screening by Israeli
troops. Expanding Israeli offensives and restrictions on humanitarian aid have
triggered a hunger crisis, including famine in parts of the territory. The UN
has said it has about 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine, and other
humanitarian aid ready to enter once Israel gives the green light. Abeer Etifa,
a spokeswoman for the World Food Program, said workers were clearing roads
inside Gaza on Sunday to facilitate delivery. The fate
of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli- and US-backed contractor that
replaced the UN aid operation in May as the primary food supplier in Gaza,
remains unclear. Food distribution sites operated by the group in the
southernmost city of Rafah and central Gaza were dismantled following the
ceasefire deal, several Palestinians said on Sunday. Israel and the US had
touted GHF as an alternative system to prevent Hamas from taking over aid.
However, its operations were mired in chaos, and hundreds of Palestinians were
killed by Israeli gunfire while heading to its four sites.
The Israeli military has said its troops fired warning shots to control crowds.
A GHF representative said in a statement that there might be “tactical changes
in GHF operations and temporary closures of some distribution sites” during the
transfer of hostages to Israel, but “there is no change to our long-term
plan.”Palestinians continued to move back to areas vacated by Israeli forces on
Sunday, although many were returning to homes reduced to rubble. Satellite
photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed a line of vehicles traveling
north to Gaza City. The photos taken on Saturday showed a line of vehicles on Al
Rashid Street, which runs north-south along the Gaza Strip’s coastline on the
Mediterranean Sea. Tents along the coast also could be seen near Gaza City’s
marina. Many people have been living along the
sea to avoid being targeted in the Israeli bombardment of the city. Armed police
were seen in Gaza City and southern Gaza patrolling the streets and securing aid
trucks driving through areas from which the Israeli military had withdrawn,
according to residents. The police force is part of the Interior Ministry. The
war has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90 percent of its 2
million residents. It has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked
worldwide protests, and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.
While both Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza welcomed the initial halt to
the fighting and plans to release the hostages and prisoners, the longer-term
fate of the ceasefire remains murky. Amjad Al Shawa, who heads a Palestinian
organisation coordinating with aid groups, estimated that 300,000 tents would be
needed to house 1.5 million displaced Gazans temporarily. "We couldn't believe
the destruction we have seen," Rami Mohammad-Ali, 37, said by phone after
walking 15 km with his son from Deir Al-Balah to Gaza City. "We are joyful to
return to Gaza City but at the same time we have bitter feelings about the
destruction," he said, describing seeing human remains scattered along roads.
Key questions about the governance of Gaza and the post-war fate of Hamas have
yet to be resolved. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X
that he had instructed the Israeli military to prepare to begin destroying the
network of tunnels built by Hamas under Gaza “through the international
mechanism that will be established under the leadership and supervision of the
US” once the hostages are released.
What to know as Israel and Gaza await the release of
hostages, prisoners, aid — and Trump’s visit
AP/October 12, 2025
JERUSALEM: Anticipation built across Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on
Sunday as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held before a critical day for
all sides and the region. Preparations appeared underway for the freeing of the
48 hostages — both alive and dead — still in Gaza, and for the release of
hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. More ramped-up aid was being readied for
Gaza, much in ruins after two years of war that began when Hamas-led militants
attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 killing some 1,200 people and taking about 250
hostage. In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,600 Palestinians were
killed in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. US President Donald Trump
was scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday, staying a few hours before heading
to Egypt. What we know and what remains unknown:
737 days since hostages taken
Sunday was day 737 since the hostages were taken — a number many Israelis have
updated daily on strips of adhesive tape worn in national commemoration.
Israel said Sunday that it expects the 20 living hostages to be released
together on Monday. They were then to be handed to the International Committee
of the Red Cross, and to the Israeli military, which planned to take them to the
Reim military base in southern Israel to be reunited with their families. Israel
then planned to take the hostages to centers around Israel but asked the Red
Cross to have ambulances ready in case a hostage needs immediate care after more
than two years in captivity. It appeared unlikely that the remains of up to 28
others will be returned at the same time. Medical experts and advocates say that
would be crucial to begin the healing process for many families, and for society
at large, but one ceasefire document contains stipulations for remains that
aren’t returned within 72 hours. On Sunday, Israel said “an international body”
will help locate the remains if they are not released tomorrow.
Palestinian prisoners slated for release
As part of the ceasefire deal, Israel is to release around 2,000 Palestinians.
Among them are some 1,700 people that troops seized from Gaza during the war and
have held without charge since. Also among those being released are some 250
Palestinians serving prison sentences. Many are members of Hamas and the Fatah
faction who were imprisoned over shootings, bombings or other attacks that
killed or attempted to kill Israelis, as well as others convicted on lesser
charges. They’ll return to the West Bank or Gaza or be sent into exile. It is
unclear who will be among the prisoners released back into Gaza, and whether any
will be deported.
Aid expected to surge in Gaza
Humanitarian organizations said they’re preparing to surge aid into the Gaza
Strip, especially food that’s been in short supply in many areas. That includes
some 400 trucks from Egypt on Sunday that will have to undergo Israeli
inspection before being allowed into the strip. The Israeli defense body in
charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza said around 600 trucks of aid per day will be
entering soon, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.
The world’s leading authority on food crises said in August that the Gaza
Strip’s largest city was gripped by a famine that was likely to spread across
the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian
aid. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said famine was
devastating Gaza City — home to hundreds of thousands of people. That famine was
expected to spread south to the cities of Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis by
around now if the situation did not change.The larger task of rebuilding Gaza is
daunting, as much of it is in rubble and most of its two million residents
displaced.
Trump to travel to Israel and Egypt
Trump, who pushed to clinch the ceasefire deal, is scheduled to arrive in Israel
on Monday morning. A giant US flag enveloped a building in Jerusalem’s City Hall
complex, and US and Israeli flags were projected onto the Old City’s walls on
Saturday night. The White House schedule has Trump meeting with families of
hostages and speaking at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, before traveling to
Egypt for a “peace summit” attended by regional and international leaders later
on Monday. From there, he was slated to return to the White House, arriving
overnight Tuesday.
Daunting issues remain unsolved
The ceasefire and release of hostages is the first step in the proposed peace
plan. Competing demands remain on the next steps, casting uncertainty on whether
the conflict is indeed over.Israel wants Hamas to disarm, and Hamas wants Israel
to pull its troops out of all of Gaza. The future of Gaza’s government, which
has been in Hamas’ hands for two decades, also remains to be worked out. Gaza’s
Health Ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says
around half the 67,600 deaths were women and children. The ministry is part of
the Hamas-run government, and the UN and many independent experts consider its
figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties
Frankly Speaking: What comes next in Gaza?
Arab News/October 12, 2025
RIYADH: For two years, the world has watched Gaza burn. Tens of thousands have
been killed, and yet amid the rubble, talk of peace has returned in the form of
a new US-led plan that promises not only reconstruction but perhaps even a
renewed path toward Palestinian statehood. The 20-point peace plan outlined by
US President Donald Trump, endorsed by several Arab and Western governments and
accepted at least in part by Israel and Hamas, outlines a roadmap for ending the
conflict and reviving the moribund peace process. But
with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting the two-state solution
outright — and Israeli strikes killing dozens in Gaza even after the plan’s
announcement — many question whether the deal has any real chance of success.
Appearing on the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,”
Omar Awadallah, the Palestinian Authority’s deputy minister foreign of foreign
affairs, discussed the prospects for statehood, the future of Hamas, and the
struggle to restore governance in Gaza. Asked whether Palestinian statehood was
still achievable under the terms of the new Gaza peace plan — despite
Netanyahu’s rejection of a two-state solution — Awadallah was emphatic:
“Definitely, for sure. And we’re working every day relentlessly toward this
goal.”
Israel began bombarding Gaza after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023,
by Palestinian militants in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were
killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s retaliatory
campaign has since killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, most of them
civilians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the enclave.
Awadallah gave credit to the joint efforts of Arab and international partners,
particularly Saudi Arabia and France, for pushing forward a tangible roadmap
through the New York Declaration. “It came up with clear commitment, clear
actions toward the implementation of the two-state solution,” he told “Frankly
Speaking” host Katie Jensen. “Because its practical aspects of resolving the
question of Palestine and bringing peace and security and stability to the
region means that there is a stable, viable state of Palestine.” Awadallah said
that while Netanyahu’s stance is well known, “more than 160 countries already
recognize the state of Palestine.” He said that recent recognition by the UK and
France signaled a global shift toward formalizing Palestinian sovereignty.
“We believe that the ball moved by the international community, by these
countries to recognize the state of Palestine, supporting the Saudi-French
initiative toward having the state of Palestine as a prerequisite for peace,” he
said. “It’s a tangible, irreversible step toward the stabilization, peace, and
security of the region.”By contrast, he accused Netanyahu’s government of
pursuing “an initiative that is full of blood … by Netanyahu and his fascist
government, (Bezalel) Smotrich and (Itamar) Ben-Gvir.”Trump’s peace plan also
makes comprehensive reform of the Palestinian Authority a condition before it
can take charge of Gaza’s reconstruction or future governance.
Asked what reforms are being demanded and who decides their legitimacy,
Awadallah insisted reform was already underway. “First of all, the current
Palestinian government is about reform,” he said. “At the inception of this
government, they were talking about reform, financial stability, and
reconstruction of Gaza in one way or another. So reform is a Palestinian
priority.” He said the PA had already implemented several measures welcomed by
the international community. “We have our progress report, which is public,
actually,” he said. “We are engaging on a daily basis with so many international
players … because we are looking at reform as upgrade, update, develop, renewing
and consolidating the Palestinian institutions. We don’t look at it from the
perspective that this government … is a corrupted PA.”Pressed on whether the
leadership could claim legitimacy after nearly two decades without elections,
Awadallah rejected the premise that the Palestinian Authority was at fault.
“We are not the ones who prevented the elections in East Jerusalem,” he
said. “Israel did that at the critical juncture of time when Mr. Trump
recognized Jerusalem as a unified capital for Israel. We cannot, as
Palestinians, accept any elections without East Jerusalem.”He confirmed that
once the war in Gaza ends, “after one year, we will be having elections … and
having the democratization and the renewal of the Palestinian system.”
Asked about succession planning should PA President Mahmoud Abbas step down,
Awadallah said the people would decide through the ballot box. “The election
will decide what kind of a new leadership in Palestine will be,” he said. “We
have our leadership now in control, and we will continue up until we have
elections to change the system toward what the people are going to choose.”
On the question of intra-Palestinian unity, Awadallah said Fatah is committed to
reconciliation with Hamas — but only under clear terms.
“We wish to have a Palestinian reconciliation process where all the
Palestinians are under the PLO umbrella,” he said. “Accepting its obligations,
its programs, its signed agreements with the international community, and the
status of the state of Palestine all over the international community.”He said
unity was essential to prevent “anyone … from undermining our Palestinian
national project.”As part of the Trump peace plan, Hamas would be required to
lay down its arms in exchange for an end to Israeli military operations. Yet
with no guarantees of a full Israeli withdrawal, Hamas seems reluctant to disarm
entirely. “So, if you ask me, I’m talking about the issue of decommissioning of
the weapons in Gaza first,” Awadallah said. “It was clear in that declaration
that if we want to talk about demilitarization, we need also to talk about the
demilitarization of the Israeli settlers in the West Bank.”Pressed further on
Hamas disarmament, he reaffirmed the PA’s guiding principle: “We are one state,
one government, one rule of law and one gun.
“Any gun in Palestine, including Gaza … should be only with the sole legitimate
representative of the Palestinian people, which is the Palestinian government,”
he said. Awadallah expressed confidence that Hamas
would accept this principle. “We think that Hamas will go in that direction, but
it should not be taken as the way Israel wants to announce its victory over
Hamas and over the Palestinian people.”He said demilitarization must form part
of a comprehensive project addressing Gaza’s future, including the withdrawal of
Israeli forces and protection of civilians. “It’s not only about
demilitarization without protecting the Palestinian people in Gaza that Israel
is still bombing,” he said. On postwar security,
Awadallah said the PA supports deploying an international or Arab stabilization
mission to Gaza — but only under Palestinian invitation and UN mandate.
“If that will be taken as we have it in the New York Declaration, yes, we
will accept,” he said. “We said that we are ready to invite an international
stabilization mission by the invitation of the Palestinian government.”
Palestinian security forces, he added, were already being trained in
Egypt and Jordan to take part. “They are ready to take over and help stabilize
the situation in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “The mandate of this mission should
not substitute the Palestinian presence, but support and oversee it.”With parts
of the West Bank descending into chaos amid Israeli raids, settlement expansion,
and settler violence, Awadallah acknowledged the growing pressure on the PA to
maintain control. “When we are talking about demilitarization, we’re talking
about protecting the Palestinian society,” he said. “That’s why we’ve been
asking the international community to protect the Palestinian people … to send a
peacekeeping mission to Palestine.”He accused Israel of trying to “undermine the
Palestinian government” through blockades, financial pressure, and by carving up
Palestinian areas. “Now Israel is isolating our cities and villages and
communities with 1,200 checkpoints, barriers, iron gates,” he said. “Israel is
trying to extend its genocide from Gaza to the West Bank by forcibly displacing
more than 42,000 Palestinians. And their houses have already been demolished.
What they are doing in East Jerusalem is the same.”He called on the UN Security
Council to act, saying: “The international community should take that seriously
and find a way to protect the Palestinian people.”
Rejecting claims that Palestinian security forces work with Israel to suppress
opposition or combat militants, Awadallah said cooperation exists only at an
administrative level. “There is no coordination
between us and the Israeli occupying forces,” he said. “There is an official
coordination between the working level … because there are Palestinians that are
leaving outside the country via the bridges, via the crossings. We have import
and export. So there are a lot of technical issues that need to be discussed.”He
emphasized that such coordination is “not the relationship between the Israeli
occupying forces” and Palestinian security, but rather a means “to ease the life
of the Palestinian people in administrative issues.”On Oct. 5 and 6, within
hours of Trump’s calls for an end to the bombing, Israeli planes and tanks
pounded areas in Gaza, while in Gaza City Israeli forces pressed ahead with
attacks and warned residents who left against returning. More than 50
Palestinians reportedly died in those attacks. The Trump peace plan promises
much. Yet as smoke still rises over Gaza and Israel rejects the core premise of
two states, the obstacles remain enormous. For Awadallah, however, the goal is
unchanged. “Bringing peace and security and stability to the region means that
there is a stable, viable state of Palestine.”
Tony Blair and Palestinian vice president discuss
ceasefire, Gaza reconstruction
Arab News/October 12, 2025
LONDON: Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, discussed plans for the
day after the war ends in the Gaza Strip with Hussein al-Sheikh, the vice
president of the Palestinian Authority, on Sunday. The meeting in Ramallah, the
administrative seat of the PA, came before Israel and Hamas prepared to release
hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and tens of Israeli hostages on Monday as part
of a deal proposed by the US. Al-Sheikh discussed efforts with Blair to make US
President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza successful, aiming to stop the
Israeli war and establish lasting peace in the region, the Wafa news agency
reported. “We have confirmed our readiness to work with President Trump, Mr.
Blair and the partners to consolidate the ceasefire, the entry of aid, the
release of hostages and prisoners, and then start with the recovery and
reconstruction,” Al-Sheikh wrote on X.
He continued: “We stressed the importance of stopping the undermining of the
Palestinian Authority, and especially the return of the withheld Palestinian
revenues and preventing the undermining of the two-state solution in preparation
for a comprehensive and lasting peace in accordance with international
legitimacy.”Blair, who served as the special envoy of the Quartet on the Middle
East from 2007 to 2015, is included in Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan. He will be
part of an international transitional body responsible for overseeing and
supervising the funding and redevelopment of the Palestinian coastal territory.
Gaza hostage swap brings hope to Palestinian prisoners’
family
AFP/October 12, 2025
QATANNA: A stone’s throw from the wall separating Israel and the occupied West
Bank, the Shamasneh family is ready to welcome home two sons jailed for the past
34 years. Abdel Jawad and Mohammed are expected to be
among the Palestinians freed from Israeli detention under the terms of the
ceasefire agreement approved last week. “Today I’m so
happy the world feels too small for my joy,” declared their elated mother,
83-year-old Halima Shamasneh. “People called us and
said: ‘Their names are on the list — they’re out, they’re registered’,” she
said. Israel has drawn up a list of 250 names of Palestinian prisoners expected
to be released on Monday in exchange for the remaining Israeli hostages held in
Gaza. Halima and her husband Yusef gathered their
children and grandchildren in the family home in the West Bank village of
Qatanna just north of Jerusalem, to celebrate the news.
On the house’s walls, the many photos of the brothers before their arrest
have faded in color. Their clothes reflect the 1980s, the decade in which the
two men were arrested. Abdel Jawad is now 62 and Mohammed in his late 50s. For
the celebration, Halima wore her tabriz dress with a traditional Palestinian
embroidery. Yusef wore a suit, his head adorned with a Palestinian keffiyeh
scarf secured with an agal ring.
Pushback in Israel
In the living room, two large posters printed in the 1990s by the Palestinian
Authority-linked “Prisoners Club,” show the two brothers and urge their release.
“I was nine when my father was imprisoned — now I’m 44, with four children of my
own. To be deprived of your father is a tragedy,” Ajwad Shamasneh, Abdel Jawad’s
son, told AFP as his son played nearby. Like all of Abdel Jawad’s 17
grandchildren, he has never seen his grandfather. “To hug your father after 34
years... it’s indescribable,” he said, while his brothers around him fought back
tears. Ajwad, who works as a day laborer in Israel, said he had not been able to
see his father for the past eight years after prison authorities stopped
allowing visits. No one at the celebration evoked the reasons for Abdel Jawad
and Mohammed’s imprisonment. Abdel Jawad’s file shared by Israel in the list of
prisoners to be released reads that he was committed to a life sentence for
murder, attempted murder and conspiracy. Prisoner release deals between
Palestinians and Israelis are often decried by families of murder victims who
challenge the deals in the country’s supreme court.
The court rejected such a petition on Friday, ruling that “matters of war and
peace, including the government’s agreements with the enemy regarding a
ceasefire and its conditions, are not judicial.”
‘Real hope’
In January 2025, a six-week truce saw hundreds of Palestinians released in
exchange for hostages, but not the Shamasneh brothers. “I had hope, but it
didn’t come true back then. Today, though, it’s real hope,” said Yusef of his
sons. “People have been calling me non-stop,” Yusef said with emotion, before
being called by relatives congratulating him. There is
one cloud of doubt over the celebration. If his sons are freed, they could be
exiled abroad, as sometimes happens to high-profile prisoners. “I hope they come
here. I really hope so. If they go abroad, I won’t be able to see them — neither
I nor their mother,” Yusef said. Israel and Hamas have agreed on the first phase
of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal, based on a 20-point plan
proposed by US President Donald Trump. According to the plan, Israel will
release 250 prisoners and around 1,700 Gazans detained since the war began
following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Asked what she’ll cook her sons upon their return home, Halima answers without
hesitation that it will be a typical lamb and yoghurt Palestinian dish.
“Mansaf! We’ll slaughter a sheep and cook a feast — for them and for the
people who will visit,” she said. “Tonight, we won’t sleep — we’ll stay up
celebrating, welcoming everyone who comes, one after another,” she added, before
breaking off into song.
Officials say food sites run by controversial
US-Israeli-backed group in Gaza are being shut down
AP/October 12, 2025
JERUSALEM: Food distribution sites run by the controversial US and Israel backed
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation are being shut down under the terms of the
ceasefire deal, an Egyptian official and another official in the region told The
Associated Press on Sunday.
Multiple Palestinian witnesses said three of GHF’s distribution sites had been
abandoned, in the southern area of Rafah and in the Netzarim area of central
Gaza. Palestinians, aid workers and health officials have said the system forced
aid-seekers to risk their lives to reach the sites by passing Israeli troops who
opened fire to control crowds, killing hundreds. The Israeli military says it
only fired warning shots. Hoda Goda, a Palestinian woman, said the site she
often went to in Rafah was vacant and Palestinians tore down structures, taking
wood and metal fences. Video circulating online showed people walking away with
scrap metal from the site in the Netzarim area of central Gaza. Israeli troops
pulled out of part of Netzarim on Friday under the terms of the ceasefire deal
and are due to withdraw from parts of Rafah later. A third official, with
knowledge of the situation, said the current plan was to rely on other aid
agencies to supply Gaza. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to discuss the deal’s provisions. A GHF
spokesperson said there will be “tactical changes” to its operations and
“temporary closures” of some sites over the next few days during the transfer of
the hostages to Israel. “There is no change to our long-term plan,” the official
said on condition of anonymity in accordance with the organization’s rules.
UN aid ramping up
The United Nations, which had opposed the GHF distribution, was gearing up to
bring increased aid into the devastated territory after the ceasefire came into
effect Friday. It said it has about 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and
other humanitarian aid ready to enter once Israel gives the green light. The
Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, said the
amount of aid entering the Palestinian territory was expected to increase to
around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement. The UN humanitarian
chief Fletcher told the AP that trucks of aid began going into Gaza on Sunday,
including cooking gas for the first time in months, but not yet at the scale
they hope for in the days and weeks ahead. He said the
UN has a plan for the next two months to restore basic medical and other
services, bring in thousands of tons of food and nutritional supplies, fuel and
remove rubble.
“Much of Gaza is a wasteland,” Fletcher said. “But I’m absolutely determined
that we will not fail. ... We will strain every sinew to deliver for the people
of Gaza.” He said the UN has the networks, the expertise and the experience to
beat the famine that has taken hold in Gaza City. US officials have not said
they expect GHF to halt all its operations in Gaza, but they have also said
there are no current plans to continue funding for it. These officials, speaking
on condition of anonymity because the situation is still in flux, said there
could still be a role for GHF, or an organization like it, if and when a
ceasefire is solidified and if UN and other agencies are not able to handle the
demand for assistance or prevent it from reaching Hamas. COGAT said it was
unclear on GHF’s future in Gaza. It had no immediate comment on whether its role
was coming to an end.
A controversial system
GHF began operating in late May, after Israel had shut off all food to Gaza for
months, pushing the population toward famine. Israel intended for the private
contractor group to replace the UN food distribution system, claiming Hamas was
diverting large amounts of aid. The UN denied the claims. The UN had opposed the
creation of GHF, saying the system gave Israel control over food distribution
and could force the displacement of Palestinians. Throughout the war, the UN led
a massive humanitarian effort with other aid groups, distributing food,
medicine, fuel and other supplies at hundreds of centers around Gaza. The four
GHF distribution sites were located in Israeli military-controlled zones.
Palestinians desperate for food had to walk for miles daily to reach the site
past Israeli troop positions. Witnesses said Israeli troops fired heavy barrages
to keep crowds from moving before the sites’ opening or from leaving designated
roads. Once at the sites, thousands of aid-seekers scrambled in a mad rush to
get to food boxes,. The Gaza Health Ministry says more
than 2,500 people were killed and hundreds more wounded seeking aid, either on
route to GHF sites or when Israeli troops fired as crowds massed waiting for UN
aid trucks entering Gaza. In either case, Israel said it fired warning shots.
GHF says there has been no violence in the aid sites themselves but acknowledged
the potential dangers people face when traveling to them on foot. It said last
week it had distributed the equivalent of 185 million meals in Gaza since it
began operations.
Syrian and Turkish armies to cooperate in counterterrorism,
border control
Arab News/October 12, 2025
LONDON: The Syrian Arab Republic and Turkiye will collaborate on
counterterrorism along their shared border to enhance military cooperation
between the two countries. On Sunday, Syrian Foreign
Minister Assaad Hassan Al-Shaibani discussed these issues with Turkish Foreign
Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and General Intelligence
Chief Ibrahim Kalın. Syria’s Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Murhaf Abu Qasra and
General Intelligence Chief Hussein Al-Salama also joined the high-level
delegation that visited the Turkish capital, Ankara. The talks focused on common
issues in counterterrorism, border control, enhancing regional stability, and
bilateral cooperation. They discussed joint training to improve coordination
between Turkiye and Syria, the SANA news agency reported. “We discussed the
joint steps that can be taken to ensure Syria's full security while preserving
its territorial integrity,” Fidan wrote on X. “The Syrian administration
possesses the determination and resolve to overcome the challenging trials it
faces. We do not view Syria’s security as separate from Turkey’s security,”
Fidan added. Abu Qasra described the meetings with his Turkish defense
counterpart and officials as “a significant new milestone” in strengthening
cooperation between the two armies. He said in a post on X that such
collaboration will “contribute to establishing security and stability in the
region.” Ankara has strengthened its relations with Damascus since December,
after the collapse of the Assad regime last year, which was an ally of Iran and
opposed Turkiye for supporting rebel groups.
3 Qatari diplomats killed in car crash while heading to
Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh
Arab News/October 12, 2025
CAIRO: Three Qatari diplomats were killed in a car crash Saturday while heading
to Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, local health officials and Qatar’s
embassy in Egypt said on Sunday. Two other diplomats were injured when their
vehicle overturned about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Sharm El-Sheikh, the
officials said. Gulf and Arab states meanwhile on
Sunday offered their condolences over the passing of the Qatari officials. Saudi
Arabia, through its foreign ministry, conveyed the “Kingdom’s solidarity with
the families of the deceased and extended its heartfelt wishes for a speedy
recovery to the injured.” The UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait also issued
separate statements commiserating with the Qatari people for the death of the
diplomats. In a post on X, the embassy said the
accident victims were employees of the Amiri Diwan, Qatar’s top government body.
It said two others were injured and were receiving necessary medical treatment
at the city’s hospital. The embassy said the injured and the bodies of the
deceased would be repatriated later on Sunday to Doha. The diplomats, who were
from the Qatari protocol team, were traveling to the city ahead of a high-level
summit celebrating a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the
officials said. Qatar mediated the ceasefire along with Egypt and the US.
Turkiye also joined the negotiations earlier this month in Sharm el-Sheikh,
which was capped by a ceasefire and the release of hostages and hundreds of
Palestinian prisoners. Sharm el-Sheikh will host the summit to be co-chaired by
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt and US President Donald Trump, according
to a statement from the Egyptian presidency. The statement said more than two
dozen world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime
Minister Pedro Sánchez and United Nations Secretary General António Guterres
will attend the summit.With agencies
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources
on October
12-13/2025
The Palestinian Campaign to Undermine
Relations between Christians and Israel
Amit Barak/ Gatestone Content:/October 12, 2025
In recent months, we have witnessed a well-timed campaign led by the Palestinian
Authority, civil society organizations and anti-Israel Christian elements – some
of them declared anti-Semitic – to undermine the relations between the State of
Israel and Christian communities around the world, especially evangelical and
pro-Israel Christians whose long-standing support for Israel is not
self-evident.
Four notable events this year indicate the tremendous power of this campaign:
The blood libel falsely alleging the burning of the Church of St. George in
Taybe; an episode of the Tucker Carlson Show with an American nun who presented
a series of anti-Semitic claims without any factual, historical or theological
basis; the Declaration of the World Council of Churches in June 2025; a
Palestinian food advertisement mocking Christianity.
The World Council of Churches over the years has tried to wear the mask of a
supposedly "neutral" organization. In light of the campaign, it seems that in
this statement, the WCC has dared to say openly what it always wanted but
previously did not dare to say.
This group uses clear anti-Semitic messages, and... the expected response from
the Israeli government was therefore to declare a ban on entry into Israel to
any person who is a member of the WCC or to any activist in the illegal EAPPI
program, which the WCC has been operating in Israel since 2002. But the
government did not declare such a ban.
While the Christian population is persecuted under the Palestinian Authority,
outwardly it conveys a completely opposite image.
This anti-Christian campaign in the PA areas did not reach the wider world or
the international media.
The events listed above are not accidental. They are part of a sweeping campaign
run well by the Palestinian Authority, BDS organizations and anti-Semitic
elements in global religious institutions, aimed at harming Israel's relations
with the Christian world, weakening the support of Christians for Israel, and,
through the churches, isolating Israel in the international arena.
From Taybe to Tucker Carlson, Palestinians are trying to drive a wedge between
the Christian world and Israel, while Israel's government appears to be asleep
on guard duty.
In recent months, we have witnessed a well-timed campaign led by the Palestinian
Authority, civil society organizations and anti-Israel Christian elements – some
of them declared anti-Semitic – to undermine the relations between the State of
Israel and Christian communities around the world, especially evangelical and
pro-Israel Christians whose long-standing support for Israel is not
self-evident.
This campaign includes fake plots, media attacks, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel
messaging, and incitement under the guise of religious discourse or human
rights. Four notable events this year indicate the tremendous power of this
campaign:
The blood libel falsely alleging the burning of the Church of St. George in
Taybe;
an episode of the Tucker Carlson Show with an American nun who presented a
series of anti-Semitic claims without any factual, historical or theological
basis;
the Declaration of the World Council of Churches in June 2025;
a Palestinian food advertisement mocking Christianity.
The plot of a church fire in Taybe
In July 2025, media outlets around the world claimed that "Israeli settlers set
fire to an ancient Byzantine church" in the Christian village of Taybe in the
Binyamin area. Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, Jerusalem
Latin (Catholic) Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and other senior
officials in the churches held a press conference condemning the alleged arson,
which was widely reported all over the world and in Christian communities in
particular.
Foreign ambassadors and various elements who joined the condemnation added fuel
to the fire, and the culmination was probably the words written by US Ambassador
to Israel Mike Huckabee:
"Taybeh is a quiet Palestinian Christian village south of Jerusalem w/ a lot of
American citizens that has been vandalized-including fires set at ancient
church. I visited there today. Desecrating a church,mosque or synagogue is a
crime against humanity & God."
Social networks and international media did not drop the issue for weeks, but
slowly the cracks began to emerge: an independent investigation by the Press
Service of Israel (TPS-IL) revealed that the fire was actually in an adjacent
field and did not even touch the church, and featured videos in which Jewish
shepherds run to put out the fire with blowers and other firefighting equipment.
The report adds:
"Furthermore, separate fires on July 7, 8, and 11 were documented in areas of
pastureland dozens of meters away from the church compound. In all cases, a
Jewish farmer whose farm is next to the church compound complained to the police
that someone had torched the area where his shepherd was grazing. TPS-IL has
obtained time-stamped documentation of these reports."
In the end, the Israel Police announced that the church was not damaged at all,
and following the findings and the investigation, Huckabee retracted his remarks
and even attacked the international media's conduct in the affair.
Such a case requires the use of government spokespersons skilled in "ecclesial
diplomacy" that will appeal to church leaders, publish documentation in English
and Arabic translations, and brief Christian writers. The resources exist, the
personalities, the organizations, but in this case Israeli government ministries
were silenced, and the lack of orderly action can be applied to Christian
support bases in the United States and other countries. The individuals who did
act to expose the truth were civil society organizations such as Regavim, TPS-IL
and independent Christian Israeli activists who worked behind the scenes, as
well as the Binyamin Council.
Tucker Carlson: How do American Christians support the Israeli oppression of
Christians?
On August 11, Tucker Carlson released an 80-minute-long episode on his podcast,
interviewing Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos, an American Greek Orthodox nun.
Stephanopoulos claimed that Israel was practicing apartheid, persecuting
Christians, and committing crimes against humanity, with a clear message:
Christians should stop supporting Israel. The allegations in the interview also
included theological distortions such as "Biblical Palestine" and "Palestinian
Jesus" -- long invalidated by historians and archeologists as well as countless
Christian churches and organizations.
This episode was watched by millions of people; the damage has been done,
especially among American evangelical Christians. Here, too, instead of
providing a fact-based rebuttal with the cooperation of Christian Israelis and
supporters of Israel around the world, the Israeli government did nothing.
Declaration of the World Council of Churches
In June 2025, the World Council of Churches (WCC), representing about 349
churches from various streams around the world, issued a statement at the
closing of its conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. The declaration, along
with praise it gave the South African government "on appealing to justice and
responsibility through the International Court of Justice", the World Council of
Churches for Sanctions on Israel, included recommending an arms embargo, to
remove the "blockade" from Gaza, announced its support for the "right of
return", the "resistance" of Christian Palestinian communities, and the
investigation of Israel by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for
"crimes against humanity" and falsely accused the State of Israel of apartheid.
The WCC over the years has tried to wear the mask of a supposedly "neutral"
organization. In light of the campaign, it seems that in this statement, the WCC
has dared to say openly what it always wanted but previously did not dare to
say.
The WCC uses clear anti-Semitic messages, and the Entry into Israel (Article 2D)
makes it clear that this is a valid reason for prohibiting WCC members into
Israel.
The expected response from the Israeli government was therefore to declare a ban
on entry into Israel to any person who is a member of the WCC or to any activist
in the illegal EAPPI program, which the WCC has been operating in Israel since
2002. But the government did not declare such a ban.
The only body that responded to the matter was the "Jerusalem Initiative" (full
disclosure: the writer is one of its founders), which works to integrate
Arabic-speaking Christians in Jerusalem into Israeli society and consists of
Christian and Jewish activists, clerics and academics. The Jerusalem Initiative
published a public letter in English in response to the WCC's declaration. The
letter exposed the hypocrisy, ignorance and anti-Semitism behind it, and showed
that it should be considered in violation of various laws prohibiting the
boycotting of Israel in many of the countries that the WCC represents.
Zero Tolerance
From the Palestinian Authority, we can learn a lot about marketing messages to
the world. While the Christian population is persecuted under the Palestinian
Authority (such as here and here), outwardly it conveys a completely opposite
image. Unlike official Israel with half a department (the Ministry of Religions
that is responsible for all religions), an anachronistic approach at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and another half department in the Ministry of
Interior, the Palestinian Authority invests considerable resources in messaging
for the Christian world under the "Higher Presidential Committee for Church
Affairs in Palestine," which operates from Bethlehem and Ramallah.
In June 2025, Al-Qasrawi Food Products, a major snack manufacturer from Hebron,
posted the "Last Snack" campaign: a poster with the "Last Supper" image in which
the characters of Jesus and his disciples were replaced by sheep and the table
was covered with the company's products. Following a broad protest (including
the burning of the company's products) by Christians living under the PA and by
Israeli Christians, the company deleted the content and issued an apology for
"unintentional harm."
This anti-Christian campaign in the PA areas did not reach the wider world or
the international media. But it is clear to all of us that if the opposite were
the case, the Palestinian Authority would know how to use it well to its
advantage. Israeli government ministries are probably unaware of the matter or
don't think out of the box.
Systemic failure to deal with the anti-Israel campaign in Christian cloak
The events listed above are not accidental. They are part of a sweeping campaign
run well by the Palestinian Authority, BDS organizations and anti-Semitic
elements in global religious institutions, aimed at harming Israel's relations
with the Christian world, weakening the support of Christians for Israel, and,
through the churches, isolating Israel in the international arena. The lack of
an effective government response by the Ministry of Diaspora and the fight
against anti-Semitism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a large-scale
anti-Israel campaign harms Israel's strategic ties with Christian communities
around the world, especially among evangelicals.
Our failure is clear: lack of awareness, unwillingness, lack of tools and
speakers, zero use of church language (ecclesial diplomacy), and ignoring the
Christian partners themselves. The human resources exist – in Israel and around
the world – but they simply are not mobilized. The ignorance and lack of
acquaintance with the international and local Christian world -- with the
actors, the messages and the facts -- creates an explanatory and diplomatic
vacuum in front of Christian target audiences -- and this space is easily
perceived and filled by anti-Semitic and anti-Israel narratives.
One Israeli Christian remarked:
"Israel acts as if we do not exist. While others write her story, she sometimes
does not write anything, or, when she does, it is hastily disparaged and swept
aside by people who prefer their own misinformation to such inconvenient facts."
Amit Barak is a veteran activist and expert in Israel and the Christian world.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
The Manchester Synagogue Attack Exposes Islam’s
Three Most Dangerous Doctrines
Raymond Ibrahim/October 12/2025
The Manchester synagogue attack — like all such seemingly “random” terror
attacks — is a reminder of Islam’s three most dangerous and problematic
doctrines. To understand this, we must trace its logic, which, as usual, the
Islamic State has forthrightly delineated.
On October 2, Mr. “Jihad the Syrian” — yes, that’s the actual translation of his
name — crashed his car near the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation before emerging
and stabbing two Jews to death. Less than two months earlier, the Islamic State
had called on Muslims in Europe to engage in precisely such attacks.
In August, ISIS published an editorial in its Arabic language newsletter,
al-Naba’, praising the Islamic slaughter and beheadings of Christian “infidels”
in Africa, specifically in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It
then called on the “knights of Islam” to engage in the same behavior in Europe:
May Allah illumine your paths and preserve your jihad, and assist you in
carrying and delivering it to the shores of Europe, that it might invade them
and disperse their security and turn their‑streets and‑capitals into another
Ituri [devastated province in Congo] and another Cabo Delgado [devastated
province in Mozambique]! For [Muslim] hearts still burn for revenge against the
Christians of Europe, and the call is still open for the champions of Islam to
repeat the [same] acts upon them, invade their homeland, and bring down the
judgments of Allah upon them as, their brothers did in Africa.
The reason that ISIS says “the call is still open” to slaughter infidels is
because it made an even more graphic call — with detailed instructions — on how
to kill Western infidels earlier in 2024. After killing over a 100 people in a
terror attack on Kerman, Iran, it issued an audio recording titled “And Kill
Them Wherever You Find Them” (a reference to Koran 9:5).
Kill Civilians Before Soldiers
After urging Muslims not to attack Israel now, as that would only empower PA and
Hamas, which are not, according to ISIS, “true Muslims,” it called on its
followers, the “Lions of Islam,” to:
Chase your preys whether Jewish, Christian or their allies, on the streets and
roads of America, Europe, and the world. Break into their homes, kill them and
steal their peace of mind by any means you can lay hands on. Understand that you
are the arm of the Islamic State hitting in the kuffar’s [infidels’] homelands,
and are avenging the Muslims in Palestine, Iraq, Sham, and other Muslim
countries. Solidify your plans and diversify the
attacks: detonate explosives, burn them with grenades and fiery agents, shoot
them with bullets, cut their throats with sharp knives, and run them over with
vehicles. A sincere person will not lack the means to draw blood from the hearts
of the Jews, the Christians, and their allies, and thus ease the suffering in
the hearts of the believers.
Come at them from every door, kill them by the worst of means, turn their
gatherings and celebrations into bloody massacres, do not distinguish between a
civilian kaffir, and a military one, for they are all kuffar [infidels] ….
Intentionally seek easy targets before hard ones, civilian targets before
military ones, religious targets like synagogues and churches before others, for
this will satisfy the soul and will demonstrate the characteristics of the
battle, as our battle with them is a religious one and we kill them wherever we
come upon them in response to Allah Almighty’s command.
Behind these calls of slaughter — in ways that everyone in Europe should be
familiar, including driving vehicles over, blowing up, and stabbing infidels to
death — ISIS spent much time delineating the three Muslim doctrines that most
support this frenzied bloodlust.
Fight Jews and Christians Until They Grovel at Your Feet
All non-Muslims would do well to familiarize themselves with these three
doctrines, which ISIS summarizes accurately. ISIS’s most recent editorial begins
by quoting Koran 9:29: "Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last
Day, nor comply with what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace
the religion of truth from among the people of the book, until they pay the
jizya, willingly submitting, fully humbled." The
mainstream Muslim understanding of this verse has always been that Muslims must
fight “the people of the book” — a reference primarily to Christians and Jews —
until they either convert to Islam, pay jizya (tribute), and embrace
second-class status, or die. The fashionable claim nowadays that this verse
means fight them only when they initiate aggression is a lie.
And so, after quoting Koran 9:29, the ISIS editorial continues by telling
the Christians of Africa that, “if they want to emerge from a state of death and
displacement, they must know that Islam grants them the freedom among three
choices:
Accept Islam and they will become our brothers, equal in rights and duties.
Pay the jizya in humiliation and submission, and their blood will be
spared. If they refuse both, then death, which is what
they have suffered for years.”
A Religious Duty of Hatred
Calls for jihad and jizya should, by now, be familiar, including to those few in
the West who are moderately informed. But ISIS also invoked the overarching
doctrine of al-wala’ w’al bara’ — loyalty and enmity.
This little known doctrine is the root source of all Islamic hostility. Its
first part (al-wala’) commands all Muslims to be loyal and helpful to one
another; its second part (al-bara’) commands all Muslims to disavow and even
hate all non-Muslims.
It is, in fact, what fuels jihad (warfare) and jizya (mistreatment of conquered
infidels).
Although there are many Koran verses that support this doctrine (3:28, 4:89,
4:144, 5:51, 5:54, 6:40, 9:23, 58:22), Koran 60:4 is its lynchpin. Allah informs
Muslims that "You have an excellent example in Abraham [Ibrahim] and those with
him, when they said to their people, 'We totally dissociate ourselves from you
and what you worship besides Allah. We reject you. Enmity and hatred has arisen
between us and will last until you believe in Allah alone.'"
You Must Hate Your Infidel Wife
The hate is intrinsic; it is so final and so total that even if a non-Muslim is
genuinely good and kind to a Muslim, the Muslim must still hate him, or her.
Yes, while Islam allows Muslim men to marry women “of the book,” Christians and
Jews, he must, nonetheless, hate them — and show them he hates them. Here, for
example, is how Egyptian cleric, Sheikh Yassir al-Burhami, responded to any one
puzzled by the idea that Islam requires Muslim men to hate their Christian or
Jewish wives:
Where’s the objection? Do all men love their wives? How many married couples
live together despite disagreements and problems? Huh? That being the case, he
[Muslim husband] may love the way she [non-Muslim wife] looks, or love the way
she raises the children, or love that she has money. This is why he’s
discouraged from marrying among the People of the Book — because she has no
[real] religion. He is ordered to make her hate her religion while continuing
marriage/sexual relations with her. This is a very standard matter….
Of course he should tell her that he hates her religion. He must show her that
he hates her because of her religion, and because she is an infidel. But if
possible, treat her well — perhaps that will cause her to convert to Islam. He
should invite her to Islam and call her to Allah….
In fact, let me tell you: whoever rapes a woman, does he necessarily love her?
Or is he just sleeping with her? He’s sleeping with her for her body’s sake
only, and he does not love her in reality, because if he loved her, he wouldn’t
have hurt her. Therefore it is possible to have sexual relations [between a
Muslim man and a Christian or Jewish woman] without love. This is possible, but
as we said, he is commanded to hate her.
No Non-Muslim Friends Allowed
Or consider the simple, straightforward and highly authoritative words of Ibn
al-Taymiyya (1268-1328), who’s great influence down the centuries has earned him
the singular honorific Sheikh of Islam among Muslims:
The believers are loyal to Allah, and so they are [naturally] one another’s
allies. The infidels are the enemies of Allah and thus the enemies of the
believers…. He prohibited befriending the infidels, making it clear that this is
impermissible for the believers…. The believer needs to reflect on the
difference between these two ways…He needs to know that he is obligated to
befriend a believer — even if he is oppressive and violent toward you, while he
must be hostile to the infidel — even if he is liberal and kind to you. Allah
Almighty sent prophets and revealed scripture so that all religion would be
Allah’s alone; that there would be love for His allies, hatred for His enemies;
honor for His allies, contempt for His enemies; rewards for His allies,
punishments for his enemies. In short, Muslim hatred
for non-Muslims is an expression of faith. It is a direct commandment of Allah —
with the weight of heaven and hell attached to it — and thus nonnegotiable.
What Islam Offers Outsiders: War and Enslavement
Now let’s see how this doctrine complements and even actuates its two more
popular counterparts—jihad and jizya:
1) Hate for “the infidel,” that is, constant spiritual or metaphysical hostility
against all non-Muslims, naturally manifests itself as
2) jihad, that is, physical hostility against and attempts to subjugate the
non-Muslim whenever and wherever possible. And successful jihads beget
3) dhimmitude, the inhuman position that all non-Muslims who refuse to forfeit
their religious freedom by converting to the victor’s creed must live under in
an Islamic state. Put differently, Jihad — war on
non-Muslims simply because they are non-Muslims — is the physical manifestation
of the hate Muslims should feel for all non-Muslims — again, just because they
are non-Muslim.Incidentally, not only is it natural to attack and seek to
subjugate those whom one is bred to hate, but the doctrine of jihad, including
to spread and enforce Sharia around the world, is — let no one deceive you —
part and parcel of Islam.
What “Jihad” Really Means
Before it was subverted in the name of political correctness, diversity, and all
that, when it was still an authoritative source, the Encyclopaedia of Islam
stated following under its jihad entry: "The spread of Islam by arms is a
religious duty upon Muslims in general … Jihad must continue to be done until
the whole world is under the rule of Islam … Islam must completely be made over
before the doctrine of jihad can be eliminated." But
as infidels are to be hated per se and not merely in the context of jihad, the
hostility continues even after the cessation of successful jihads. Other
conquerors generally permit the conquered to go on unmolested so long as they do
not challenge the new order — some even try to appease and win over their new
subjects. But whenever and wherever Islam conquers, that old metaphysical
hostility which fueled the original jihad remains to mistreat its subject
infidels. Thus, not only must the Christians and Jews pay extortion money (jizya)
and accept second-class citizen status — according to the juridical texts, they
must also be reminded and made to feel inferior, including as a way to “inspire”
them to convert to the “true” faith.
Either way, Islam wins: If the infidel continues in his faith, Islamic society
continues to extort him; if the non-Muslim eventually “surrenders” to Islam, the
umma gains a new recruit (with death as the penalty should he later entertain
second thoughts and apostatize).
Incidentally, none of this is limited to doctrine or theory. All the above is a
perfect description of historic Islam: it preached undying hate for infidels,
invaded and conquered their lands, and placed those who refused to convert in a
state of degradation and bondage.
Nor, and returning to the most recent expression of Islamic hate and jihad, the
Manchester synagogue attack — to say nothing of the ongoing genocide of
Christians throughout Africa — is any of this limited to the past. It is all
very alive and well in the present.
Harris’ memoir deepens the Democrats’ divide
Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/October 12, 2025
When political memoirs start to read like confessions, it usually means a party
is in trouble. That is where the Democrats find themselves today. Within months
of losing the 2024 election to Republican Donald Trump, two books have tried to
explain the collapse.
The first, “Original Sin” by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson, was
released in May and exposed how party insiders and the press conspired to hide
the decline in President Joe Biden’s health. The second, former Vice President
Kamala Harris’ “107 Days,” released last month, describes what happened after
Biden finally stepped aside and how she failed to rescue the campaign. Together,
they reveal a movement consumed by denial, blame and exhaustion.
Harris’ memoir was intended as a story of persistence: a vice president
handed an impossible task, forced to rebuild a collapsing candidacy in barely
three months. Instead, it feels like an indictment of her colleagues, her
advisers and the culture of self-protection that has come to define modern
democratic politics. The prose is polished, the tone personal, but beneath the
surface lies bitterness and disbelief. The former vice
president opens her book by criticizing her former boss’ decision to delay his
withdrawal from the 2024 election contest, calling it “recklessness.” Yet, at
the same time, she insists that she never doubted his ability to lead. That
contradiction captures the Democrats’ larger dilemma, torn between telling the
truth and staying loyal to their leader. Harris paints herself as the loyal
deputy who followed orders and was betrayed by the president’s indecision.
However, she avoids asking the harder question: Did her own silence make her
part of the cover-up that “Original Sin” exposed? By refusing to confront that
truth, she mirrors the party’s struggle to face its own failures.
The same pattern runs through every chapter of the book. Whenever things
went wrong, the blame always fell on someone else. When her immigration policies
failed to deliver results, she claimed her staff did not properly explain her
vision to the public. When her approval ratings plummeted, she argued that the
media twisted her words or ignored the full story. When major donors began to
walk away, she pointed to bad timing and external circumstances.Harris’ words
reopen old wounds and remind readers how deeply split her party has become.
In each case, Harris avoids taking personal responsibility, rewriting events to
present herself as the misunderstood leader rather than the one who made poor
decisions. The story she tells is not about what truly happened — it is about
how she wants history to remember her. What she cannot bring herself to admit is
that the American people did not lose interest because of bad communication or
unfair coverage, they stopped listening because they no longer believed her.
One of the most talked-about parts of Harris’ book focuses on the people she
considered as potential running mates. She said she thought about choosing
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg but decided that a ticket of a Black
woman and a gay man would have been “too risky.” That remark sparked a backlash
and Buttigieg publicly denied that such a conversation ever took place.
Harris also describes Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as “too ambitious,” a
comment that frustrated many in the Democratic Party, who saw it as a warning
aimed at a future rival. Instead of helping to bring Democrats together after
years of division, Harris’ words reopen old wounds and remind readers how deeply
split her party has become. One major flaw stood out
in Harris’ book. “107 Days” reads less like an honest reflection and more like a
lawyer’s defense, an attempt by a politician to justify every decision rather
than learn from them. Reviewers have described it as a long list of complaints,
full of explanations and excuses but short on humility. Even when she tries to
add humor, her words sound tense and defensive, as if still arguing her case.
The few personal sections, about her mother’s influence or her pride in breaking
barriers, feel disconnected from the rest of the story. They seem to have been
added to make the book feel more human and emotional but instead they only
highlight how cold and guarded the overall tone remains.
To add insult to injury, her book tour has done little to improve how people see
her. In New York, Gaza protesters disrupted one of her events, accusing her of
hypocrisy for trying to distance herself from Biden’s foreign policy decisions.
The confrontation drew national headlines and made her appear out of touch with
both sides of the debate. In Los Angeles, she tried to
lighten the mood by joking that the Trump administration had been “crazy,” but
the comment backfired when the White House mocked her trademark laugh in
response. What was meant to be a comeback tour turned into another round of
controversy. Instead of rebuilding her image or winning back trust, it only
fueled her critics and deepened the public’s doubts about her credibility.
What makes “107 Days” stand out is not what Harris wrote, but what she
left unsaid. There is almost no honest reflection on why Democrats lost the
support of working-class voters, why inflation and border insecurity had
destroyed public trust or why so many moderates felt abandoned by their party.
She avoids addressing how her message failed to connect with everyday Americans
— the same voters who once saw her as a sign of progress and possibility.
Instead of examining those hard truths, the book focuses on defending her record
and revising history. In the silence where self-reflection should have been lies
the real reason for her defeat. For Democrats, the
timing could not have been worse. The party is divided, its leaders uncertain
and its message confused. This memoir, instead of closing a painful chapter,
reopens the same wounds that “Original Sin” revealed. It reminds voters that the
Democratic National Convention establishment still has not learned one of
democracy’s simplest lessons: humility. By the time last year’s election came,
Americans had seen enough. They were tired of excuses, tired of being misled and
tired of politicians who blamed everyone but themselves. That fatigue turned
into clarity in November 2024, when they chose change and voted for Trump.
**Dalia Al-Aqidi is executive director at the American Center for Counter
Extremism
Starmer consolidates his foreign policy successes
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/October 12, 2025
Fifteen months into his time in office, the domestic challenges facing UK Prime
Minister Keir Starmer are often highlighted. However, what is less discussed is
his string of achievements abroad. These include the negotiation of a Brexit
reset agreement with the EU, plus a trade agreement with India, the Asian giant
that is forecast will soon be the third-largest economy in the world,
leapfrogging both Germany and Japan.
Bilateral UK-India trade on goods and services is estimated at £41 billion ($54
billion) in the 12 months to September 2024. The trade deal agreed by the two
nations in July is expected to significantly boost this figure, such as by
reducing tariffs on many goods while opening new market channels for both
economies. Of course, London and New Delhi have long
had a unique historical relationship that continues in today’s Commonwealth.
What Starmer is seeking to do is entrench this in the context of the new trade
deal. In his first official trip to India last week, Starmer was widely feted,
with hundreds of billboards showing pictures of him and his Indian counterpart
Narendra Modi. Starmer was also a guest at the sixth Global Fintech Fest in
Mumbai, a key Asian business summit.
To try to help move Trump closer to UK positions on key issues, Starmer used the
full pomp and pageantry of the state.
However, it is perhaps Starmer’s currently good relationship with Trump that may
be his biggest and most unexpected foreign policy accomplishment to date. The UK
prime minister has struck up an unexpectedly positive rapport with the US
president, despite their deep personal and political differences, helping to
secure an early UK tariff agreement with the Trump team.
Despite the many political differences between the conservative, populist
Trump and the left-of-center Starmer, the two leaders appear to have a
constructive bilateral partnership. This builds on the traditional ties between
the US and UK, which are founded on demographics, religion, culture, law,
economics, politics, defense and security.
Given that both Trump and Starmer are expected to be in power until 2029, the
relationship they have forged might well be very important for international
relations in the years ahead. This is particularly the case with some
potentially exceptionally difficult diplomacy ahead to try to bring a conclusion
to the war in Ukraine, despite continued Russian intransigence.
The positivity of the current US-UK relationship was showcased at last
month’s state visit by Trump, which had the potential to be a very tricky moment
as it came just days after the sacking of London’s ambassador in Washington,
Peter Mandelson, over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey
Epstein. The UK government understandably feared that Epstein-related
allegations in the media during the trip may have darkened the atmosphere.
Trump is no stranger to such problems, including during his last UK state visit
in 2018. Even by his own standards of disruptive diplomacy, that trip was often
off-message, seemingly undermining then-Prime Minister Theresa May at virtually
every turn. Not only did Trump declare the UK to be in “turmoil” following
several Cabinet resignations, but he also undermined key facets of May’s Brexit
policy and praised Boris Johnson, who had just quit as a minister and who
ultimately succeeded her in 2019.
But last month’s Trump visit turned into a significant success, not least on the
business front. Significant investments were announced, including the launch of
a data center project by OpenAI and Nvidia. Moreover, Blackrock announced an
investment of about £500 million as part of a joint venture with Digital Gravity
Partners that is focused on acquiring and modernizing data center
infrastructure. The UK government claimed the
investment total was £150 billion and that this would create 7,600 jobs. The key
drivers are artificial intelligence, semiconductors, telecommunications and
quantum computing, alongside enhanced energy collaboration, including nuclear
power. To try to help move Trump closer to UK
positions on key issues — such as the US tariff regime, including on UK steel
imports, and transatlantic tensions over drug pricing, with Trump pressuring
British pharmaceutical firms to slash the price of American prescription
medicines — Starmer used the full pomp and pageantry of the state. He knows
Trump retains a deep affection for the nation, not least as his mother was born
in Scotland.
Traditionally, US presidents serving a second term are not offered a state
visit; instead, they are usually invited for tea or lunch with the monarch, as
was the case most recently with Barack Obama and George W. Bush. However, an
exception was made for Trump, who, unlike Obama and Bush, is serving
nonconsecutive terms. Starmer will now hope that last
month’s successful trip will help cement his unlikely political friendship with
Trump. However, significant risks remain, as the mercurial US president’s policy
positions remain unpredictable.
*Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.
Selected English Tweets from X Platform For
12
October/2025
Pope Leo XIV
Marian spirituality is at the service of the Gospel: it reveals
its simplicity. Our affection for Mary of Nazareth leads us to join her in
becoming disciples of Jesus. It teaches us to return to him and to meditate and
ponder the events of our lives in which the Risen One still comes to us and
calls us. #Jubilee2025
Clash Report
Leaked U.S. files reveal that despite condemning Israel’s Gaza war, Arab states
— including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and the UAE — quietly
deepened military cooperation with Israel through U.S.-led trainings on Iran and
Hamas tunnels.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Like almost everything Wash Post, it's a hit piece not actual reporting. What
the paper is talking about is CENTCOM Integration of the countries within its
command zone that started long before October 7 and continued, regardless of
who's in the White House.
Donald J. Trump
I am pleased to announce that the great Dan Scavino, in addition to remaining
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Trump Administration, will head the White House
Presidential Personnel Office, replacing Sergio Gor, who did a wonderful job in
that position, and will now become the Ambassador to India. Dan will be
responsible for the selection and appointment of almost all positions in
government, a very big and important position. Congratulations Dan, you will do
a fantastic job!!! President DJT